French student in Erasmus in Finland

MOUMINES You can't miss it, the Moumines are omnipresent and very famous in Finland. Personally I didn't know them at all, which may shock the Finns. I have the impression that in comparison it's as if someone in France said he didn't know Casimir.  TOVE JANSSON Tove Jansson invented the Moumines (Muumi in Finnish) during the Second World War, so that children could escape to a lighter world. In 1952, she achieved a success that transcended borders and decided to change the format of the stories to comics.  HERITAGE AWARDS Three albums were translated into French in 2008 as part of the Petit Lézard collection and were awarded the Heritage Awards 2008 at the Angouleme festival. Les Moumines also won accolades from television (many series were produced in Europe and Japan) and cinema (Moumines and the crazy summer adventure released in November 2009).  DEATH IN 2001 Tove Jansson passed away in 2001, at the age of 86, on a small island where she liv

MY POINT OF VIEW My lifelong dream was to see the northern lights. I promised myself that one day I would see this northern light at least once in my life. Going to Lapland was the perfect time to see it.  Very lucky I almost saw them EVERY night. Yet in the same place, they were all different.  I spent several hours in the cold looking at them but it didn't matter, I was living a magical moment. So magical that I began to cry with joy at this natural spectacle. I know it may sound strange but I felt like I was watching horses gallop through the sky and leave a magical stardust behind them. LEGEND OF THE SÂMES The Saami see through the Northern Lights the manifestation of a divine spirit and call them "the Fox Fires". SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION  Scientifically, this phenomenon of luminescence can be explained by the entry into the atmosphere of solar particles, which release their energy near polar magnetic fields. They form with eruptions on the surface of

RECEIVE NO SHOCK Finns have a habit of letting your baby nap outside in freezing cold. Some Finns believe that this would improve the child's health. They leave their well-dressed baby on the balcony or in front of the well-dressed supermarket in the cold air. Even if for us as French people it seems inconceivable, the practice is very common in Finland.  A CULTURAL PRACTICE DATING BACK TO THE 1940S This cultural practice became popular in the 1940s when infant mortality was very high and air quality in homes was poor. It was believed that sunshine and fresh air could prevent rickets (a disease of growth and ossification seen in infants and young children) and increase immunity to bacteria. While children's health has improved dramatically over the decades, there is no research to prove that there are benefits to letting children embrace the cold.

There are some animals that we find in Finland and that we are not used to see in France, I have listed some of them during my stay. PREDATORS SUCH AS LYNXES , eagles and gluttons still live in the heart of the country's immense eastern forests near the Russian border.  THE BROWN BEAR , once feared so much that it was taboo to pronounce its name (karhu), remains the most impressive. Having regained its habitat since the desertification of the huge fir forests of Russian Karelia, which was annexed at the end of the Second World War, it is no longer threatened with extinction. Its flesh has even become a delicacy in some Russian restaurants in Helsinki.  WOLVES , on the other hand, have almost disappeared. In Eastern Finland, the age-old hatred and fear of wolves is such that once a wolf is spotted, it is immediately hunted down.  THE SEAL living in Lake Saimaa, whose species is practically extinct, is legally protected. THE REINDEER must face several

MIKAEL HED I found out that this video game where angry birds catapult themselves onto pigs that have pricked their eggs (Angry Birds) was actually created by a famous Finn named Mikael Hed. FAMOUS IN FINLAND It is all the rage in Finland: in three years, it has been downloaded a billion and a half times! Since then, the reputation of these angry birds has spread beyond the country's borders and it's impossible to escape the flood of all the derived objects! Amusement parks were also created in 2012: in Kuusamo, Vuokatti, Saariselkä and Lappeenranta in 2013.  NEW GAME FROM FINLAND The other phenomenon that is currently raging on mobile phones is also Finnish: the Clash of Clans by Super Cell, which is on its way to becoming one of the most lucrative games in the history of telephony.

DO Men, like women , shake hands for introductions.  Drink plenty of water, as the climate is dry.  Provide mosquito repellent in the summer.  Take off your shoes when entering a house, except in the country. Check the outside temperature before going out in winter. It can change very quickly.  Book hotels, restaurants, excursions, leisure activities, etc. in advance.  Say thank you after a meal. It is considered impolite not to say thank you (kiitos) to your hosts at the end of the meal, but saying bon appétit is not compulsory. DO NOT Believe a joke when they tell you that the toilet in the country house is outside: it's true.  Refuse an invitation to the sauna unless medically contraindicated. Another possible excuse for women: you are already brushed and made up (yes, yes!).  Cut off the speech. This is not in Finnish culture, you listen patiently to the person you are talking to and then you talk.  Go hiking alone and without a GR map... and get lost.