My Finland
There are many good places on the Internet where you can learn more
about Finland. That is why I here will tell you what I think is good
about my country.
Another good reason is the fact that Finland is not yet known enough,
not out side Europe anyway. And I really want every one to know that we
don't live in big forests among ice and bears. :-)
Finnish people in general are interested in other countries and
cultures, travel a lot and know much about the rest of the world!
Finland is one of the European countries with a high standard of living,
unfortunately we have high taxes too... but:
We have a good social security system. Every one can get help and care
on our health stations for free and even in hospital you don't have to
have big money. For me as an asthmatic who needs regular health care and
every day medication it is very important. The Finnish State also pays
most of the medication needed by people with chronic diseases; otherwise
it would be impossible for us to manage economically.
We also have a good all-round education. Children start school at seven
years of age. They are obliged to continue for nine years. After that
they can choose if they want to continue their education or not.
Fortunately most of them decide to go on - or maybe their parents...
Finland is a bilingual country: Most people speak Finnish, a small part
of the population is Swedish speaking and in Lapland – the northern part
of the country - you can hear the Laplanders own language, which in
Finland is called “Saame”.
In the Finnish school the first "foreign" language is Swedish - if you
go to a Swedish school you naturally have to learn Finnish properly. At
higher levels you can choose to go on with other languages, almost any
language you want: the most common languages as English, German, French
and Spanish but also for example Russia or even Chinese...
It is important to know that the pupils get a free meal at school every
day. Finland and Sweden are unique at this point.
Someone was looking on the Internet for possibilities of studying
Finnish in Finland during the summer. Try the University of Turku or
Helsinki. You find the address to their Web Sites in the
links on this page.
Computers are very common in Finland. Children learn to use them early
in life. They work with them in school, learn to use the Internet and
even make home pages of their own in class.
There are several Finnish famous opera singers, conductors and composers
working around the world and Finland is also known for the high quality
of architecture and glass- and textile art. About other areas worth
mentioning such as ship building, paper industry and so on you can read
in the links.
The Finnish nature is most beautiful! To give you some picture of it -
think about Canada. I have also heard that the nature in New Zealand is
quite alike. There are many lakes (about 70.000) and big green forests
and there are the four seasons, all beautiful although I don't enjoy the
cold winter because of my illness...
What I love most is the Finnish spring and summer. Even the nights are
very light for about two months and if you go to Lapland you can see the
midnight sun, it doesn't set at all for some weeks!
Maybe you have wondered about the golden spot on the picture of Finland.
That is Turku, the city where I live in. Now you probably don't wonder
anymore why I have so many sea- and other nature pictures on my site. I
have mostly all my life lived closed to the sea and I could not imagine
living far from it!
There is excellent ferry service between Finland and Sweden. The ships
are almost like floating hotels: restaurants and pubs, good food and
dancing, sauna and swimming pool, tax free shopping, fun for the
children and of course cabins for resting. The ships also take cars and
cargo. All this is quite affordable so people often make trips just to
enjoy themselves and to show their guests the archipelago.
Many Finns have two homes: a winter- and a summer home. The summer homes
are often situated by a lake or the sea.
A must at the summer place is naturally the Finnish "Sauna". For you who
don't know about it: It is nearly a kind of a ritual, you sit in a heat
of 70-80 C. You wash your soul with the heat and your body with water
and afterwards your throat with beer! The lake or the sea is there for
you to cool down in now and then... And the best sauna is always heated
up with wood - not electricity.
The sauna is not an unnecessary thing at all; many important political
decisions have been made in the sauna!
Finnish people are known as hard working and honest. We are proud to be
Finns; we love our country and nature and try our best to take care of
it. We perhaps don't talk "all the time" but when we talk we usually
mean what we say. And when you get a Finnish friend you probably have
got a friend for life!
Finnish women... have heard that they are mentioned as natural and
beautiful. They are also quite independent and want to be equal with
their men.
These were some thoughts about my country. In the links below you will
find a lot more, also official facts and statistics about Finland. |
In
the market place in the centre of the city you can buy vegetables and
fruits, fish and home made bread, including rye bread which isn't baked
in many countries. Everything is fresh and brought in early in the
morning straight from the farms. In the autumn you can buy mushrooms
from the stalls and all kinds of berries you can store for the winter.
And of course, there are plenty of flowers...
