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Showing posts from April, 2025

Interview with a Finn

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       The person that I interviewed was Eemil Helynen, originally from Finland, but is here in Moscow for the semester studying abroad. Eemil is a co-worker of mine within our stat crew for basketball. He did once live in Texas when he was young so he is a little biased compared to most students who are in the United States their first time.  The first question that I asked Eemil was “What are key values or traits that are important in Finnish Culture?” He responded with honesty. Honesty is so important in their culture that you can have trust with anyone in the country. For example, one time he lost his wallet and someone gave it to him a week later. I then asked in further detail, “how do Finns handle conflict?” and he responded with only confrontation when necessary, most of the time just keeping to themselves. They are a very individualistic country so they can handle things themselves.  I then changed the subject with Eemil and asked how the socia...

Managing Differences

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       From my understanding, vacationing in Finland would be a fairly easy place to travel. It is a very clean place with lots of public transportation that anyone could use. According to Finland.fi, “Finland is an easy country to visit. Finnish customs and manners are clearly European, with only a few national variations, and attitudes are liberal.” They are very nice people and open to tourism at almost all times. I feel like it would be a great time, seeing people with a different perspective on life in more of a positive way, as well as also having many great pieces of nature that people can see. However, if you were to live here for longer than a couple of weeks there could be some issues for people to adapt. For example, Finns are very blunt and appreciate less communication and rather straight to the point. Americans could see this as potentially disrespectful and the people do not want to talk to them. Another problem that Americans may have is the balance ...

Education

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The education system in Finland is very similar to the United States. All levels of education are free provided by the government. They start with the regular elementary school starting at five with the option of preschool if the family wants. Private school is very rare in their culture because it is provided for free. They finish elementary school and go to secondary and finish out the normal route that occurs in America, graduating at about 18. However, once they finish secondary school, they have the opportunity to go to a University for free. Every single person qualifies for further education, which would be a blessing in American Culture. If a Finn attends college, then they are completely focused on that career, for example they can’t also be an athlete. Oftentimes, Finns are able to study abroad for a semester completely for free. After they complete all of the schooling they will then attempt to get a full time job.  A typical school day in Finland often occurs throughout...

Healthcare Contexts

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       The health care belief systems in Finland revolve around it being a basic human right. For example, in the United States the Freedom of Speech is a human right that every single citizen gets to receive regardless where you stand in life. According to healthcare.fi, “The Finnish healthcare system is based on public healthcare services to which everyone permanently residing in the country is entitled. In addition, every person has the right to receive emergency treatment during their stay in Finland.” This leads to the perception of the Finns to value the government and health care system with their high sense of equality. They also hold a strong sense of trust within their health care system because everyone should have access to care. With that being said, they understand the value that they hold that most countries do not. Since they are aware, they do not abuse this opportunity they have, only going in when they have serious issues. There are other perspect...

Business Contexts

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       The business protocol and practices for Finnish culture would have to base strongly on punctuality. It is recommended to always be on time when practicing business in Finland because it is seen as incredibly disrespectful. According to Suranaree University of Technology, “Finns take punctuality for business meetings very seriously and expect that you will do likewise; call if you will be more than five minutes late.” In a business setting respect should always be at a maximum since you are trying to negotiate and work together. When actually communicating in a business setting, oftentimes Finns like to skip all of the small talk and get directly to the point. In many cultures this could make you seen as an angry person, but for the Finnish it is just associated with business. When introducing yourself in these scenarios, you state your name alongside the company that you are working for. Once that is stated, they skip all small talk and get straight to busines...

Nonverbal Messages

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  Understanding individuals from other cultures nonverbal language and the cues they give off is important because they vary across different cultures. When interacting with these people misunderstanding could potentially happen and people may feel awkward in the situation or disrespected. Some cultures may not prioritize nonverbal communication, while others may do. Being able to understand what the standard is for that culture will help prevent miscommunication. Another huge reason for understanding nonverbal language is developing a relationship with the person and gaining their trust. When you act like someone from that country they are a lot more approachable and likely to communicate better with the person. For example, culturecrossing.net stated, “Eye contact is very important; it is a sign of honesty and integrity.” These are valued high by Finns so if you turn your eyes away it may seem disrespectful.  Some potential obstacles to accurately understanding nonverbal ...

Verbal Messages

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According to nordegio.org, “The Language law of Finland stipulates that Mainland Finland has two national languages, Finnish and Swedish.” The majority of people are raised with Finnish as their main language as nearly 90 percent of Finnish citizens speak Finnish. The second most popular language alongside that is Swedish, which has about five percent of the population. This five percent has grown to a very small number of what it once was. When Finland was a part of Sweden, the numbers were nearly completely flipped.  When using English as a lingua franca it could be very beneficial for finding a stable ground that everyone knows. The Finnish language is not too different from our English language but Finland is a lot more comfortable with this language than most European countries. Finland is more exposed to American work and the things we create, so they have seen it all and pickled up English well. This really helps when communicating with someone from this country because t...

Cultural History

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     One of the major key events in the history of Finland is when Sweden lost Finland to Russia in the Finnish War. This event happened in 1808 and was a major event in Finnish history. When this took place Finland had to have a new ruler, which was the Russian Tzar. They still had a little self-control to how they used to be, but now they had to live like the Russians which was different. Sweden originally evacuated the country because they knew Russia was going to attack. According to Britannica.com, “In 1809 the Finns themselves had to carry the responsibility of coming to terms with Russia.” Rather than it being their current rulers at the time, Sweden. This made the people of Finland have really no choice.  Another key event in the history of Finland is when Finland declared its independence from Russia in 1917. This event is so important because this is where they attempt to break free from who invaded them over 100 years ago. Just one year later, other co...

Worldview

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     The dominant worldview of the country of Finland is freedom of religion, meaning that anyone can believe in what they think is right to them. This is very similar once again with the United States of America which has an amendment for it. Where most people choose to stand in Finland is Lutheranism. Britannica.com stated, “Finland is now one of the most homogeneous countries in Europe in terms of Christianity and has the highest percentage of church membership in Scandinavia”. So it is considerably growing and impacting more people in the country. This is similar to the United States in how the majority are Christian, but it differs because Americans are more Protestant than Lutheran. The ethics in Finland culture are almost identical to America because they follow the basic values of Christianity. According to the National Library of Medicine, “In Finland, the secular notion of death is widely accepted, but some also embrace the idea of reunion in death” . This is ve...

Family Structure and Function

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          The traditional family structure of Finland is very similar to the United States of America. Both countries are considered to be nuclear families where there is a mother, father, and then their kids in a household. I believe Finland more accurately represents a nuclear family than the United States because there are large numbers of single parents with kids in America. In Finland, there are certain rights that receive depending on the status of the couple. According to infofinland.fi, “A couple can choose whether they want to live together in a common-law relationship or in a marriage”. Couples are also known for both genders in the relationship to be bringing in an income which is very similar to the United States. The average number of kids that a family has in Finland is 1.8, which is also very similar to the United States. When speaking about the economy in Finland, Britiannica.com stated, “Finland’s economy is based primarily on private owne...

Specific Culture to Study

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          The culture that I will be studying for in this project is the country of Finland. I chose this culture because I recently gained a new co-worker in my internship who is currently studying abroad. He is from Finland and it is very interesting hearing all of the details about his home country and the differences they have with the United States. After I take a deeper look into this country, I expect that my cultural knowledge will help me in all future interactions with people from Finnish descent. I will understand how they communicate and what to do to be respected and what not to do to disrespect someone. I plan on learning their hobbies and just really how they are as a person.            After doing some extra research on the country Finland, I found many other interesting aspects in their culture. According to CIA.gov, at age 18, all Finnish men must serve 5.5 to 12 months of service within a military bran...