5 Cultural Differences

I thought many of you would be curious about some of the everyday culture differences between Finland and the USA; so I thought I would make a post about 5 interesting cultural differences between the countries.

(Keep in mind though that this is written from an American point of view, and that my observations and opinions may be different than someone else's.)



1.) The houses and Finnish homes.

Houses here from what I've seen are usually painted either pastel colors, a solid bright red, or also dark green.

In the outside of the houses, a lot of people have white picket fences. My host family, (as well as a lot of Finnish families) don't have a clothes drier; so we hang our clothes outside to dry. So I see a lot of clothes lines in backyards as well. A lot of Finnish families also have a huge wood pile on the side of their house for the winter, so that is very typical sight to see as well.

You always take your shoes off as soon as you enter the house, and almost everyone always wears socks inside the house.

The USA is more casual about shoes in the house, and I never wore socks inside. While being in Finland, I actually felt rather awkward when I realized that I'm always the only one without socks. So needless to say, I started wearing my socks inside the house.

(As a little side note: Finns are also very polite and respect privacy; so if your bedroom door is closed, generally no one will bother you or knock on your door.)

Because of this, I actually always leave my door open unless I am sleeping or changing my clothes or something like that.

This is also very different from the United States, because people aren't shy to just open your door immediately after knocking, or even sometimes without knocking. This isn't because we're impolite or not respecting your privacy...but it's just HOW we, as Americans are. (For the most part.)

Houses in Finland are painted light colors on the inside, and usually the wood furniture inside is also light. It took me a while to figure it out why this is so common; but I think that it is because it is SO dark outside during the winter, and the winter is so long, that having light on the INSIDE it makes people happier and brightens the room during the long, dark season.

Most Finnish families have Marimekko in their house; and my host mom has Marimekko curtains in the kitchen and living room. (Marimekko is Finnish design, and they have bags, towels, pencil pouches...lots of stuff like that.)

2.) Riding The Bus

 This one is going to be harder to explain, because you can't relate to it  or understand it unless you have experienced it.

A lot of people ride the bus in Finland, and to be honest, I think you can really see the culture of Finland when you ride the bus.

The first few times I rode the bus in Finland, I was TERRIFIED! It took me a good week and a half to understand what I should and shouldn't do while riding the bus, and to understand what was going on.

To best explain it, I think I'll just walk you through what I do:

I walk to my bus stop, and once I get there I casually stand NEAR the bus stop. (People don't stand next to each other; and people don't line up...we just stand scattered somewhat near the stop.)

Once the bus starts coming, we walk a little closer to each other, to alert wether or not that the bus we will be taking, and we wait for the bus to stop.

When the bus stops, we let people on the bus basically in the order in which we arrived. (It's awkward if instead of getting on when it's your "turn", you  just wait by the bus and let others on before you...just get on the bus in the order which you arrived, and that's polite enough.)

Once I get on the bus, I check my bus card though, and then I find a seat and sit alone in the window seat. You never really sit by a random person unless there is literally nowhere else to sit; and some people actually stand instead of sit next to a random person. (I have been guilty of this.)

Riding the bus in Finland is actually amazing because the bus can be FILLED with people, and it is still absolutely silent. Since small talk doesn't exist, you don't really talk on the bus, even if you're sitting next to your friend. (And THIS is what freaked me out so badly the first few times that I rode the bus!)

Why was everyone so quiet?!

Was this normal?!

Indeed, this is totally normal.

(Another interesting little side note about the bus is that when your friend gets on the bus and you see them, it's not rude to only just look at each other and smile or give a little nod; and then just look out the window and go back to doing your own thing.)

I guess now I should mention what you do when you get OFF the bus. The bus actually has little red buttons located throughout the bus that you press when your stop is next. You don't have to say anything...you just press the button that beeps and notifies the driver that your stop is next.

So, how do you let the person next to you know that your stop is next?!

This one was a toughy for me, and the first few times I REALLY didn't know what to do. You never really just start talking to a stranger or someone you barely know unless you have a purpose; and so I learned that to notify the person next to you that your stop is next, you just start gathering your things. They will get the idea, and when the bus stops they will stand up and let you by. You don't have to use words to notify the person next to you that your stop is next. It actually took me awhile to figure out exactly how to ride the bus without looking like an idiot, and now it doesn't feel so foreign for me to ride the bus this way.

I think that this is one of the biggest differences between the USA and Finland...not the fact that they ride the bus this way, but because this is Finnish culture.

It's very different from people in the USA, and I think that's that's why I like it so much...the people are so different! It's not different in a bad way; it is so unique and different from the culture of American people.

3.)  School Fife and School in General

The school system is completely different from the schooling in the United States. Everyday I have a different schedule, and my school day starts at different times based on that day's schedule.

I already talked a bit about the school system in another post; so instead of repeating myself, I decided to just talk about the daily differences.

The classroom door is locked until the time class is supposed to start; and the teacher is the one who has the key. We wait until class starts, and all of the students stand scattered around the general area of the classroom. (Much like the bus stop.)

 Teachers arrive when class starts, and they unlock the door, and let the students in. We don't line up, and instead it's a bit of a game to see who goes in which order. Basically it's a polite push and shove game, and it works like this:

You all crowd around the door, and you sort of politely push your way through...people won't actually touch you though, and only one person goes through the door at once; so basically if you're walking through the door, the next person will wait until you're in the room to go.

It's a quick process, and it's something that I actually had to learn how the system works. This probably sounds funny, because its something that they all naturally do, and if any of my Finnish friends are reading this, they are probably pretty confused because its not something they have to think about. It IS just  walking through a door to get to class; but there is a certain order system that goes along with it; that is unconsciencely done.

In the USA, the classroom is generally always unlocked, and the teacher is usually there waiting for the class to start. So it is rather usual to wait outside of a locked classroom for the teacher.

4.) Riding In The Car

Riding in the car was rather awkward for me at first. This is also something that is very hard to explain unless you have actually experienced it...

I have said this a lot, but yes...Finns are very quiet people. (For the most part.) In the car, people generally don't talk much, since there isn't much to talk about that has purpose. (I can't think of a better way to best explain this.)

It's not that they are being rude, or trying to make things awkward for you; but small talk just DOESN'T exist. If you say something, you say it because you have a purpose or meaning behind it. (Generally speaking.)

However, there ARE times when small conversation pieces come up, but generally they are pretty short; but I guess they can be long as well. (It all depends on the subject.)

(Just as a little side note, I actually never put my headphones in while in the car; even if its a long trip. This is because the moment you put your headphones in, you automatically close the door for any opportunities for conversation later. Finns are very polite, and they won't bother you if you have headphones in.)

5.) The Views on Friendship

Friendship means a lot to a Finn, and for me it was actually VERY hard to start making friends, and I am continuing to still have this struggle.

BUT, this is actually one of my MOST favorite things about Finland and Finnish culture; because once you make friends with a Finn, you are friends for life.

THAT is how important friendship is to a Finn. Friendship is something special, and it is something that takes a long time to create and be worthy of.

It's a little frustrating because I feel sort of lonely sometimes, but I know that once I start REALLY making Finnish friends, that our friendship will last a lifetime. It's well worth the wait for sure, but I just wish that the process wouldn't take so long to make really good friends.



And I think that's a wrap up of our 5 examples of Finnish cultural differences! It's a little difficult to explain in the right way, and I'm sure that I could have done a better job...but it's hard explaining culture if you haven't seen it and experienced it for yourself. So hopefully you could kind of understand what I was trying to explain with the cultural differences.