I'm Back...home

I have been having some difficulty in finding things to write about, not because Finland isn't full of fascinating topics...it is, but because I have become so comfortable here that everything seems normal.  If I wasn't sure about it before we left, I am certain of it now:  Helsinki, Finland is home.

About three weeks ago we arrived home from our month long visit to the States.  We visited family and friends and did everything that we missed doing while we have been away from America.  Mostly we ate....fast food...mostly unhealthy, and all fattening.  My husband did better than I did...he chose the healthier options in most cases.  I went for it.  Now I need a gym.

So we discovered a few things while we were in the States.  Food portions are way huge...far too much food for one person.  Here in Finland the portion sizes are smaller, more reasonable.  You order a small Coke in America and get a cup that is larger than the largest size available here in Finland.  At first, I couldn't finish anything...then I got used to it.  Did I mention I need a gym?

I also had a bit of culture shock in the first few days I was there.  The Finns are a quiet, reserved people (unless they are drinking).  In day to day contact, there is no chit chat, no extraneous talk, not a lot of background noise.  Not so in the States.  I found myself overwhelmed by the volume around me.  I guess a part of it, too, is the fact that I don't speak Finnish...it is easier to block out conversations that you can't understand.

Now I'm going to offend some people.  It wasn't just the amount and volume of the voices around me...it was the negitivity.  Americans can be very negitive.  There, I've said it.  Here's the disclaimer:  I'm not saying that ALL Americans are negitive, just that there is an overall feeling that I get when I listen to people talking.  I personally surround myself with some very positive people.  I think it's a way of talking, and relating to others, rather than a way of thinking.  What is being said is not necessarily negitive, but the way it is said is.  Americans love double negitives: "I won't not do it" could be an example of this.  We also like to commiserate with others and talk about the things that are negitive that we share, especially when it comes to work...it is a way of connecting and relating to others.  So I guess that what I am saying is that Ameicans are not negitive as a people, but are often negitive in their speech...that is what got to me while I was there.

What about the Finns?  you ask.  First of all, the Finns are a quiet, reserved people (except when they are drinking).  Sorry, I couldn't resist.  The Finns seem to me to be deliberate speakers.  They take the time to formulate what they are going to say, not being afraid of silence, and then they say things in a most direct manner.  I gave an example of what a double negitive is for the benifit of my Finnish followers...I'm not sure if they have experienced them.  Double negitives are not direct, they are less efficient when getting to the point.  They can be confusing too.  Finns are not confusing. What little instruction I had in the language taught me that they have few extraneous words in their vocabulary.  They speak efficiently, using few words.

And Finns tend to commiserate with positive things as near as I can tell..at least when they are speaking English.  My experience may be colored, though, by my inability to speak Finnish fluently.  Whatever the reason, coming home has been a joy.  Soft tones, few words, and positive inflection.  I love America, but I enjoy it here too. Finland is home now, and I guess that is good since I live here.  I miss my friends and family, who I love, but am enjoying my new friends and way of life here too.  The bottom line is:  I'm back...home.