A true friend, as the saying goes, is hard to find and this is what makes many
foreigners living in Finland inclined to believe that Finns are unfriendly.
Actually, this is an erroneous thought but the so called Finnish silence and
privacy as I always termed it have made it to be so. But remember, it is
until you live in palace, you may not know the influence of a king or queen.
I must confess, Finns nature of beeing quiet is sometimes irritating but if
you come closer to them and get to know them better you will realize that
Finns are lovely and friendly people. They believe in genuine friendship
devoid of lies because honesty is their hallmark, therefore honesty is
better than any policy in Finland. They believe that one must keep himself
to his self and one must respect this fact because, when in Rome, do what
the Romans do! And one can not forget this policy of the Finns.
My dear readers, you will see eye-to-eye with me that, understanding one’s
society is the most important thing for any person who finds him or herself
in a different environment. It is the only way to survive in the wilderness
of someone’s country. That is why Ghanaians often said that, “the stranger's
eyes are very big with looking, but he/she doesn't see anything”
Finns are like a triangular wedge across the sky, they are very sensitive to
what happens around them, but I am here to tell you that if it is possible
for “the elephant to be drag with a hair, by sweet tongue and kindness,”
then it is an open secret, that you can win a Finn friendship by a sweet
tongue, honesty and perseverance. Don’t start a conversation with a Finn,
unless he or she is ready to start one with you. And if it happens be
prepared to answer questions in your first approach because most of them get
almost paranoid about meeting new people and therefore always want to know
your intentions. But I tell you those people are rare!
However, one important thing as a foreigner you must know about the Finnish
society is the use of words like Love. Love means completely different thing
to a Finn. To a Finn “I Love you” means that would you marry me? And it is
not something they joke with! A Finn will always see you as a liar if you
meet him or her for the first time and start talking about love. It is not
difficult to deal with a Finn but it will always be difficult for you if you
make things difficult for yourself.
Furthermore, don’t feel bad as foreigners especially Blacks (Musta) if a Finns
steal glance at you continuously on street or a market place. Actually, it’s
funny, but it’s because some of them are seeing blacks for the first time.
Instead of “squeezing” (frown) your face to scare him or her, you can rather
beam him or her with one of the African’s smile that never fail to lure a
person suffering from toothache!!!! Hehe...
Hyvät lukijani! In a nutshell, as long as foreigners are trying to understand
the Finnish culture let all agree with the Reggae legend, Lucky Dube’s song,
that says: “Different colours, one people” and live together peacefully so
that with one accord we all work towards a common destiny. Remain blessed!
