Life in Finland

Some fun at the playground

Lutheran church in Finnish coastal town of Kristinestad

Storm front off the Baltic sea making its way into Kristinestad

Finnish countryside on the drive out to the western coast

Enjoying some Belgian style waffles at the Summer Market Fair Days in Kristinestad

A few people have recently asked me what is the difference between life in Finland and the U.S.
That is fairly easy for me to answer. I think that nearly everything about life in these two countries is different. Simple things like how to open a carton of orange juice, or open a door, window, or trunk of a car are all different. Baths are rare in Finland as almost all apartments or houses have showers. The showers are large open areas with no curtains and a sloping floor with a drain in the middle of the room. Bedding is different here as I have not come across a fitted sheet since I left the states. Other simple everyday tasks such as grocery shopping are very different as well. There is a charge for a cart or a buggy as some call them in the states. There is also a charge for each and every bag that you use to haul your groceries home. Produce has to be weighed by you the buyer when you select the item. You punch in a code for the fruit or vegetable as you put it on a scale and then it spits out a sticker with the price on for you to put on the item so the cashier can ring it up at checkout. Checkout lines can get long, but move quickly as most people buy small quantities of items on a near daily basis. Many items that we are familiar with can be difficult to find such as peanut butter, cheddar cheese, sour cream, etc... Even familiar items such as Coca-Cola, M&M's, and cereals taste different from the American versions. In general, foods are far less sweet and juice that you would get in a restaurant looks and tastes more like water than juice. Also, if you buy a hot dog or sausage at a game or venue in Finland, it is not customary to get a bun with it. The sausage is instead placed in a bit of plastic wrap. Ice cubes are not commonly used in drinks and air conditioning systems seem to be very rare. Clothing items are sized differently, temperature is listed in degrees Celsius, weight is always reported in kilograms, and distances are reported in kilometers. Settings have to be changed on computers to be able to play a Finnish DVD/ or movie on them. The currency is different, the date is written differently, and time is communicated in a different way ( reported in military fashion). Plugs and outlets are different as are the design and operation of most appliances. Road signs and traffic laws are different, (for instance turning right on red here will get you a ticket). At least we are in agreement to drive on the right side of the road. I have also found Finnish people to be more active than the average American. Finns seemingly walk or bike just about anywhere, even when the weather is rough. The Finnish society also allows for more time off from work for the average Finnish worker as compared to American society. The holidays or vacations as we like to call them often extend for anywhere from 4-5 weeks at a time over here. That is not all the time they get either. They generally get a few other weeks off during the year, so they seem to have better balance in their lives when it comes to family and leisure time. By no means is this an exhaustive list. There are many other things that make life here strangely different from what we are used to, but we have learned to adjust and appreciate many of the Finnish ways of life and methods for doing everyday tasks.
Here are some more pics.
Lights out.