So since I moved to Finland a whole six months ago a number of things have caught my attention about the chilly, pretty country I've been able to call home. So, I've compiled a list. At the moment it's quite short but other things may catch my eye that I can add, I am here until May.
To kick things off, I think I'll start with something that has BAFFLED me since I first noticed it in late August/early September. Ice cream sections are MASSIVE. I mean, fair play frozen sections in supermarkets house other things, like garlic bread but none the less there is a lot of ice cream in those frozen sections. This wouldn't be so weird if I was in, you know, Spain not in Northern Finland where the average temperature is around -16. At first I thought it was just a one off, you know maybe K-Market had too many an ice cream sandwiches so they just put loads out to get rid of them but no. The Sale in town has an even bigger selection of ice cream. Which you know, is fab, I love me some blueberry and white chocolate, it's good for the soul. However, I was and still am gobsmacked at just how they can be so big, when winter lasts for at least six months of the year. I just don't get it. When this was bought up in Adaptation Charting (more on that later) my lecturer was perplexed that I was perplexed. Remarking simply
"In winter people eat ice cream inside, do you not do that in England?"
A simple explanation, and I have been known to tuck into a bowl of mint choc chip in mid December. But, at home it's not pushing -18 and I don't feel like a human icicle. Each to their own, kudos for being so brave, Finns.
Whilst I'm on the subject of supermarkets. They have fruit machines in supermarkets here. You have to be 18 and over to play - please gamble responsibly. There's at least one in every supermarket I've been in here so far and I've found that you're more likely to be able to gamble in a Finnish supermarket than you are to find a cash machine. This is a far cry from the UK where I've grown very accustomed to being able to check my bank balance by every Tesco express. Never having been a gambler myself I haven't tried this out yet, I'm not sure I could see myself getting my shopping then deciding to have a quick flutter with my change, but each to their own.
Sticking with the money theme, this is something I think I've subconsciously realised but not realised and never voiced out loud until the other day. I'm unsure if this is the same for all countries that use the euro but in Finland 1 cents and 2 cents coins aren't a thing. They're not given as change, they're not in circulation anymore. Since being here I'd noticed that if something was €1.49 it'd be rounded up to €1.50. At first I noticed but never thought about why. It only came to me when I was buying some peppers and a trusty Karl Fazer 35g bar that it hit me. It played on my mind so I did what I could and turned to Google and in turn Wikipedia, of course. Finland has adopted what is known as 'Swedish rounding' when it comes to one and two cents and the coins aren't in circulation anymore due to the cost of accepting and producing them. If the sum ends with 1, 2, 6 or 7 it is rounded down to the nearest 5 but those ending with 3, 4, 8 and 9 are rounded up. This is a bit weird to get my head round because that's not how I was taught to round at school, but you do you.
Moving on slightly but kind of staying on the supermarket train but moving to food. Here in Finland and in the Scandinavian countries I've had the privilege of visiting since my Erasmus year began bread is small. Not in terms of how much you can buy at the time, physically the slices of bread are smaller. For someone that loves a good carb, especially bread in pretty much any form this was a great disappointment at first. The noticeable difference was a tough one to handle but since August I've trained myself to handle it. Staying on the food and drink front, but moving distinctly towards the drink section in some restaurants, ordering tap water costs €1. This was a huge shock, as someone that has spent their youth and some of their early adulthood so far taking full advantage of the 'tap water is free' opportunity at home I was shocked at this. The water in Finland is some of the cleanest in the world which I suppose people would pay good money for, but knowing I can get it from the tap in my kitchen whilst I'm paying a euro is not satisfying.
Something else that I've noticed about Finland, I'm surprised I even noticed because I can only say a few things in Finnish, most of them being derivatives of hello and bye. Anyway, in Finnish there is no word for please. When they ask for things it probably roughly translates as pass me that or words to that effect. Obviously to Finns, it's not rude at all, but to someone from England, who apologises when they need to say excuse me it's a strange notion. Absolute power to you, if you need a paintbrush or another item of cutlery then you should have it. As long as no one else is using it.
This one makes my heart happy as Lucy would say. Although I've never been a particular fan of Valentine's day much preferring the lesser known 'Galentine's Day', I think this is really cute and something that should be taken far and wide. In Finland Valentine's day isn't about romance and thinking about how Finns interact that makes sense. Instead Valentine's day is about friends. I was inspired to research this further, so as per, I turned to trusty Google. Upon doing some research I found out that February 14th was first listed as a special day in 1987 and it's traditional to give small gifts to your friends and people you care about. I wish this was more popular (maybe not the small gifts part because I'm poor). I don't know if there is a friends day at home and Galentine's day isn't as far as I'm aware and official thing. I got it from Parks and Recreation when I watched it with one of my pals. I think it's really cute and when I'm home I'd like to make it more of a thing for my friends.
On to something else now, airports. Something suitable to finish off with I think as planes get me to and from. At the time of writing I think I've spent about 15 hours in Helsinki airport since August, which is a bit depressing but hey ho, this gives you time to notice things. Inevitably I've acquainted myself with the bathrooms (15 hours is a long time), in Helsinki airport there's a soundtrack of bird noises being played. I've been used to the classic, put the hand dryer on trick but bird noises was a new one. I wasn't sure if they only played them in the female toilets or the male but I was later informed you can hear the sweet cheeping of birds in the male loos too. The purpose this serves I'm not sure because you definitely know when you're in a bathroom. A Helsinki quirk or a Finnish quirk I'm not sure, but a quirk none the less.