I find being a Finn to be a great privilege. I’ve lived in multiple countries and I love to travel, but being born in to the Finnish culture is something that I truly appreciate. Finnishness to me is many things. In the core there is safety, security and calmness. It’s a place for peace and resting. Whenever I come back from another country, I realize how serene everything is; the nature and the people. My favorite part about the Finnish culture is sauna and avanto, as the feeling after is something I haven’t found elsewhere. – Emmalotta Kivel ..read more

I find being a Finn to be a great privilege. I’ve lived in multiple countries and I love to travel, but being born in to the Finnish culture is something that I truly appreciate. Finnishness to me is many things. In the core there is safety, security and calmness. It’s a place for peace and resting. Whenever I come back from another country, I realize how serene everything is; the nature and the people. My favorite part about the Finnish culture is sauna and avanto, as the feeling after is something I haven’t found elsewhere. – Emmalotta Kivel ..read more

When I think about finnishness and Finnish people the first things that comes to my mind are safety, sisu and equality between people. Even though we Finns are quite shy and sometimes afraid to take big risks, we still have a huge amount of sisu. Sisu means that we have the willpower to go far. Finland is the one of the safest countries in the world to live. As a woman you can walk outside alone as well as you can trust the police. As far as equality is concerned, women and men have the same rights in Finland. For example, a woman can go to work even if she has children and a man can stay home ..read more

I haven’t always loved my country. I grew up in a very small town, full of farmers and fields. When I was younger, I remember always flicking through this big, red Atlas -book we had at home.  I dreamed of traveling to all those exciting countries and I hoped I would live somewhere else as an adult. Maybe in a tropical paradise. Finland felt small and boring. I hated the cold and dark winters. When I was 19, I moved to a much bigger city in Sweden. That was my first time living far away from my home, but Sweden and Finland are culturally quite close. Maybe it was more exciting to live in ..read more

As I begun to think about Finnishness and what it means to me, I recognized that besides all its own cultural nuances and values it is also a part of who I am – it has obviously made an impact on how I view life and this world since I’ve lived in Finland my whole life. However, I do think that my love for Finnishness and observations on this matter have only grown and become clearer to me as I have traveled in other countries. Now I will do my best to try to explain how I view this subject that – to me – consists of so much more than just the beautiful lakes and forests and endless summer nigh ..read more

For me, Finnishness means trust between people. I feel that Finns are also very honest. If something is said, it is usually true. In my own experience, Finns keep their promises well. While traveling in different countries I have had to face numerous scams and a lot of lying. Of course, those things are happening in Finland also, but in principle, I can trust the word of the people here. When walking alone outdoors I am not afraid that someone will want to rob me or attack me. I feel privileged to live in such a safe country. In Finland, we have clean and fresh air and four different seasons ..read more

My experiences of Finnishness When I think about Finland, I see snowy winters and rural Lapland. However, when I think about Finnishness, I tend to seek for more emotional aspect of Finland. I moved abroad for the first time on 2018, when I booked a one-way ticket to Australia. That time in Australia, taught me a lot about my own relationship with Finland while I had never actually thought how I feel about Finland before leaving my home country for a longer period. What I learned to appreciate the most about Finland was the freedom. When we are born, our whole life is filled with open doors. T ..read more

I am coming from a different country which is why I do not what real Finnishnes is. However,  I have some things in mind which could describe Finland in a unique way. It is a dream for photographers to be able to take photos of Finnish landscapes. I had a great photoshoot of streets in Tampere. Here you can see some photos, which I have made by myself for memories. I really like the structure of education in Finland. The lectures are very interesting and fascinating. I got a lot of useful information, which I can apply in real life and my future profession. I enjoy the atmosphere during ..read more

Finland is regularly ranked among the world’s happiest nations and I think it is because we have great and secure nature, free education, and freedom to be and do what we want. People see Finnish people as shy, but I see it that way that most of the people just don’t want to make a big number of themselves. Most Finnish people are very proud to be Finnish and In Finland, people easily have a sense of unity, especially during the Ice Hockey World Championships, when everyone is each other’s friends and we go to the “Tori” when we win something or hear that something from Finland is mentioned in ..read more

Finnishness for me is mostly about these three things. The nature, the people and the mökki (cottage). These things remind me of the many privileges there are to living in Finland. Every time I go to the forest to hike, mountain bike, play disc golf or just run, I enjoy the privilege of being among Finland’s untouched nature. Every time I meet my friends and family, I enjoy the privilege of being around people that just simply get along and enjoy life regardless of their beliefs and differences. Most importantly every time I visit a mökki, I enjoy the privilege of my family being able to buil ..read more