Like a celebrity, countries are excellent at putting out an image to the world of how they want to be seen. There’s the brazenly rugged terrain or the soft rolling hills, or the vibrant metropolis. No matter how a country decides to brand itself, there is always an element of truth, wishful thinking, a lie and a dash of reality thrown into the mix. 

In Finland especially the discrepancies will vary greatly, depending on whom you ask. In fact, you’d be forgiven for thinking there are two parallel worlds, one for the locals and one for those who – permanently or temporarily – have decided to make their home in “the last bastion of Europe before hitting Russia.” A fact which is also evidenced in the World Happiness Index, which sees Finland as the Happiest Nation on Earth, a fact the country jumped on immediately by offering workshops on how to be happy and retreats which promise the same effect. Scratch beneath the surface and you will find many non-Finns fighting uphill battles with various government institutions and microaggressions in everyday life completely baffled by this result. The Happiness Factor merits a whole post by itself, but for starters, let’s look at some facts in Finnish society. 

This series looks at Finland via society, education, health care, human interaction and food and will feature five little known facts in each category. The facts themselves are usually well-known, the goal of this series is to dig a little deeper beneath the surface and explain what lies hidden beneath. The goal here is to give an unbiased picture by looking at the positive and the negative aspects respectively. Engaging with a country is always a subjective experience though, which means that despite staying neutral in wanting to look at an issue from both sides, the emotional factors involved will make it impossible to stay absolutely in the middle. Which is the beauty and purpose of these particular discussions. Our observations open the door to a dialogue in which both sides can express their emotions in a safe space. We listen to what the other person has to say, and we promise to absorb the critique knowing full well that it is not brought up with the intent to hurt us. Rather it is there to point out things that don’t work. By listening we can take things on board and then look for solutions. 

Because that’s also the beauty and purpose of this blog (and many others like it), to open up a dialogue by bringing in different experiences and being honest with our feelings.

I was commuting between Berlin and Norwich (and later Manchester) when the Finnish band craze kicked off in Germany and the UK. Everytime I stepped off the plane in England, or wait to board I’d head straight into WH Smith for my newspaper fix and to get a book (or as many as I could comfortable carry), whereas in Germany it was all about the magazines. And everytime without fail in England I was always greeted with a Finnish band on the cover of the NME or some other magazine. I could have become an expert on Finnish musical trends just by walking into WH Smith.