5 CULTURE SHOCKS IN
FINLAND MOVING FROM AFRICA TO FINLAND
I
really did not plan to have a culture shock moving to Finland as an African
well, that’s because I did not brace up for it honestly. Why should I or someone be
thinking about the culture shock of a new place (Finland to me) When you’re
still basking in the excitement of moving to a new place? That was my
thought until I had a fair share of it that left my mouth wide open😂
I’d like to
reflect on some of the culture shocks I had moving to Finland as an African on this blog post with the hope that they help others prepare for the culture shocks they might experience.
THE
CLIMATE AND THE ADJUSTMENTS IT REQUIRE: I knew that up in the northern part of
our globe would be cold and that Finland happened to be located there BUT I
just couldn't wrap my mind around how it was going to feel until I experienced it especially
coming from a place where it is summer all year round.
As a way of adjusting, I’ve tried to go out
layered up but another shock I did not see coming was the long nights called
darkness during the winter and the long daylights during the summer that shook
me!
My
question to my teacher the first time I noticed the night coming while we were
in class was "Do we have to keep learning?" Remember, I am from a place were when
it’s day, it’s day and when it’s night, it’s night.
HEAVY
COFFEE DRINKING CULTURE SHOCK: Another experience I had was how quickly people
in Finland are to offer you a cup of hot coffee! Why coffee? I thought they do
not produce coffee here! How come it is so abundant? I came to realize that
coffee is very important for Finns to start the day right and happy. Perhaps,
this can be because of the long darkness during the winter to keep them awake. Do you know why Finns drink a lot of coffee? Let me know.
FINLAND
IS QUIET CULTURE SHOCK: Just a little background about me. I am from a country
with over two-hundred million people in population. Can you guess where I am from
already? In my country, you can not have enough space to move freely without touching someone
in a market place. Now you can imagine how shocked I was when I moved to
Finland and realized that it’s just about Five million people in population! When I landed in Helsinki, I knew this place was different because you could
hear someone talking a mile away! I think that you could cough in Finland and
the whole country will come asking if everything was okay:)
NO
MEANING TO NAMES CULTURE SHOCK: I’m from a culture where names mean something
and are highly valued. I remember introducing myself to a Finnish friend and
telling her the meaning of my name hoping to know what hers meant just for her
to say “it’s just a name it doesn’t mean anything” Talk about culture shock moving
to Finland from Africa!
Love
of Privacy: Again, I am from a society that values communal way of living. Which means
that it is normal to have unwanted visitors, talk to strangers deeply and
engage in small talks. Well, that is not the case in Finland. Actually, it is
the contrary! It is not usual to see a Finn talk for a long time in a gathering
or make the first step in igniting a conversation. In a quest to know why this
is so, I understood that Finns have the tradition of SILENCE IS GOLDEN although
some foreigners think Finns are just shy. My thought about this? CHECK HERE
I have
more culture shocks about moving from Africa to Finland and I’d love to share
them with you. Click on the video to watch and don’t forget to visit my YouTube
channel HERE to see more of me. YOUR COMMENT IS TREASURED ALWAYS.
Thanks so much for visiting my blog! As always, your comment is treasured, I look forward to seeing them.
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