Finns pride themselves on many things, and one of the things they will humblebrag on – alongside their claim to honesty, drinking capabilities and high tolerance of cold temperatures (due largely with the aid of the former) – is their concept of friendship. “A Finnish friend is a friend for life,” they will tell you….
Category: Finland Files
On Finland
On December 6 Finland – as every year – celebrated its independence from Russia with great fanfare. Not by showcasing massive parades or anything else that would draw mass attention to it. Instead post after post proclaimed the glory of Finland and why the poster – Finnish and foreign – considers Finland the “bestest country…
Three Positive Things About the Place You Live
Right now, and this may or may not change, Finland is not my favorite place to be. I’ve tried to achieve something (many somethings) that generated very positive responses in other countries but never here, and between that and the beyond abysmal healthcare – henceforth known as Burana Care thanks to the inimitable and super…
Journey Into Freedom: 1932 revisited in 2023
Finland was a playground on which I got to explore different sides of the proverbial coin – in this case life in Helsinki and its surrounding areas – and I was a most welcome guest. After all, who doesn’t like witnessing the process of creativity, especially when it comes to getting swept up in the highs (the lows remain nicely packaged up because they are never witnessed by those not in the know). But somewhere deep inside me I knew that this could not last forever . . .
The Finland, Finland, Finland! Initiation Quiz
So you’ve set your sights on Finland and now you want to pay the country a visit. Or you’re going all in and are about to move there. Have you thought this through? Are you aware of how you will fit in (or won’t)? It usually takes at least three months to get a proper…
Expat, Immigrant, EU Citizen – a quick lesson in terminology
They can be expats in the countries bordering those where their passport is from and as far away as to necessitate a 24-hour flight. And they can emigrate to another country with the intent of setting down roots whether that place is close by or extremely far away, thus making them immigrants. The terms are determined by the desire of the subject and never by the country they came from or the color of their skin.
Finland in 10 Points – for busy readers and the impatient
. . . only the most extreme conservatively religious will bat an eye when it comes to swearing. Even politicians at very classy gatherings have been known to open the meeting with, “we need to get a grip on this ****** situation.” The word used being that part of the female anatomy Finns like to bandy about when it comes to expressing surprise or disgust or any emotion really. It would come as no surprise to anyone in the congregation if it was uttered in church, from the pulpit by the vicar.
Triptych: Three Thoughts On the Current Political Climate III – the minority rep using the Holocaust as a Learning Moment
. . . as though you were just there for a cause. A cause that will serve others far more than it will ever do you any good in any way, shape or form. You are there for a purpose and it’s not to tell your story, but for them to feel good about themselves.
Triptych: Three Thoughts On the Current Political Climate II – The ones who fulfill all your basic needs
I like my villains visibly bad, because it makes it easier to cast them aside. When they are intelligent and well-spoken and if we have discussed ideas earlier and have established some sort of friendly rapport, it makes it that much more enticing to want to dig deeper beneath the surface to try and determine what (could have) made you that way. And if you changed, what was the inciting incident that made you change.
Triptych: Three Thoughts On the Current Political Climate I – The Flip Flopper
That person looked me right in the eye at a chance meeting much later and acted as though nothing had happened and she had never told our boss not to extend my contact.
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