As Finnish Independence Day comes and goes the city is ablaze with Christmas lights Finnish style. Which means, more reminiscent of a traditional country Christmas than the neon lights seen in most capitals and cities of importance. For the record, I love and embrace both (much more than the concept of snow beyond Epiphany). The…
Tag: Finnish nationalism
Finland’s Incessant Need for the Volunteer (always of foreign origin, never a Finn)
“We don’t really do volunteer work in Finland as such, because we get paid for charity work,” is what I heard many times when I inquired about volunteer work in Finland. And yet I really did keep hearing of people volunteering their time and expertise to a variety of causes. There were the retired folks…
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…
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 . . .
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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