French student in Erasmus in Finland

Spending a school year in Finland was a very enriching experience for me. I saw new landscapes and had to adapt to a climate I was not used to, which was a real challenge for me as I am a girl from the south of France used to the heat. It also allowed me to open up to others. In a foreign country, the cultures are different from those we have in our own country. And to be able to live in harmony with this country you have to know how to adapt and try to understand them. I have also made a lot of progress in English. The Finnish language being very complicated to learn if you have a problem, you have to be able to manage in English to "survive". It's a great character builder. I also believe that it has allowed me to grow and mature. Living alone in an unfamiliar country with no friends as a base is hard enough at the beginning but then it becomes a crazy experience.

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 ...

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 fac...

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 ...

THE COUNTRY Official name: Suomi - Finland (in Finnish and Swedish). »  Capital: Helsinki, Helsingfors in Swedish.  Area: 390,905 km2, of which 10% is water, 72% forest and 8% farmland. » Head of state: Sauli Niinistö elected since 1" March 2012 (conservative party).  Type of state: parliamentary republic.  Main cities : Tampere and Turku and Helsinki  (628 208 inhabitants in 2015) Religions: 73 per cent Lutheran Protestant, 1.1 per cent Orthodox (60,000 members), 1.6 per cent other religion, 24.3 per cent non-confessional or unknown.  FLAG MONEY Currency: the euro.  THE POPULATION  Number of inhabitants and surface area: 5.5 million inhabitants for a density of 18 inhabitants per km2 (2015). Urban population: 83% (2011).  Natural growth rate: 0.01% (2012). Languages: Finnish (88%) and Swedish (5.5%).  Sami population: 6,400 inhabitants living in Finnish Lapland.  Life expectancy: 83.3 years ...

BIKE IN FRANCE In France to get around by bike depending on the city where you are is not always very convenient, you sometimes have to ride on the road with cars because there is no bike path and it can be very dangerous. That's why we generally see very few people on bikes, or else it's for bike rides but in a particular place or for a particular event. BIKE IN FINLAND What shocked me the most in Finland is the fact that EVERYBODY is cycling to do EVERYTHING at ANY time. There are much more bike paths than in France.  And Finns have a great respect for people who are on bikes: pedestrians don't walk on the bike lane, cars stop immediately when a bike wants to cross the road. Whether it rains, snows or goes shopping at the supermarket, Finns use bicycles. I've never seen that in France. Cycling in Finland is part of everyday life for Finns. There are hundreds of kilometers of cycle paths, including between cities. It is therefore not uncommon to see Finns ...

WHERE IS IT ? I went there completely accidentally but it's a really nice place that you should go if you staying in Turku. It's in a building with shops in the center of the city. You have to enter in the building and take the elevator to go to the last floor of the building and there is the  Walo rooftop bar. There, you can drive very nice drink but also very expensive... The atmosphere is really nice an really cosy. WHAT IS SPECIAL ? It's more than a bar you hav a  Wonderfull point of view of all the city. There is two floor, one inside and an other on the top, top, outside. You will get an over view of all Turku with all the importants monuments. There is also a map in the bar which can explain to you what are the building that you are watching. You can do int on the evening or during the day both experiences are amazing.

YOUNG CULTURE I went for a walk in the Museum of Modern Art in Turku and looked for information about the history of art in Finland. It is important to know that Finnish culture is relatively young. It is still developing intensely. Between the second half of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, artistic creation crystallized around the cult of national identity. It was still necessary to get rid of the Swedish traditions conveyed by an omnipresent Swedish-speaking elite. The painters were therefore inspired by the Finnish regions of expression, such as Karelia, the cradle of the Kalevala.  NATIONAL ROMANTICISM National Romanticism, the Nordic counterpart of Art Nouveau, found its most brilliant spokesman in the painter Aleksis Gallèn-Kallela (1865-1931), who drew the essence of his work from the Kalevala. Writers and composers alike find inspiration in the Karelian forests to uncover their authentic Finnish roots. The large canvases of Gallèn-Ka...

THE SAAMI When I went to Lapland I learned a little more about the Saami and their traditions. First of all, you have to know that the Saami are a people of Lapland, an area that covers the north of Sweden, Norway and Finland as well as the Kola Peninsula in Russia .  THE  REINDEER It is said that the Saami used to use reindeer as beasts of burden, especially to pull their sleds. Milk and meat were a highly valued source of food, while the skins were used for clothing and protection in makeshift dwellings. The kota was a kind of tepee covered with reindeer skins.  THEIR CLOTHING In the clothing department, their taste for colour is reflected in the making of clothes with often very bright shades of blue, red and yellow. Reindeer fur is still used for coats, leggings and mittens.  CHAMANISM In these boreal latitudes, where mankind is fighting an incessant battle against the elements, it is not surprising that shamanism has found favourable grou...

A HOFSTEDE DIMENSION One challenge facing humanity, today and in the past, is the degree of socialization of young children. Without socialization, we do not become "human". This dimension is defined as the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses according to the way they have been brought up. A tendency towards relatively weak impulse control is called "Indulgence", while relatively strong impulse control is called "Restraint". Cultures can be described as either indulgent or restrained. RESULTS The relatively high score of 57 indicates that Finland is a forgiving country. People in this society generally show a willingness to fulfil their impulses and desires to enjoy life and have fun. They have a positive attitude and tend to be optimistic. In addition, they place more importance on leisure time, do as they please and spend their money as they wish.

FINLAND TODAY  The first thing that shocked me in Finland was the road signs, I couldn't understand them. To indicate a place there were always two names on them. Then I learned that there was a Finnish and a Swedish version.  Finland has 5.4 million inhabitants with a population density of 16 inhabitants per square kilometre. While 85% of the population lives in urban areas, 15% of Finns live in rural areas. In the vast areas of Lapland, the density does not exceed 2.2 inhabitants per km2. In addition to the Finns, who make up the majority of the population (93%), there are also three minorities in Finland. The largest is the 300 000 Finlandsvensker or Swedish-speaking Finns. The country is indeed bilingual with two official languages, and this minority group includes the few that coexist: Finnish and Swedish. The second settled north of the Arctic Circle. Unlike 7,000 Saami (formerly called Lapps) to the Inuit, they came into contact with the more southern peoples at a ...

WAHT YOU SHOULD KNOW... I'm telling you here some tips about the character fo the Finnish. What you should know and understand their values to be more in contact with them. INDENTITEDNESS  Three groups are emerging in Finland: the Finnish-speaking, the Swedish-speaking and the North Sami. These groups are further subdivided according to their level of education and occupation. Finns are generally very patriotic. Recent independence and a tumultuous and painful history have united the nation. However, a strong Russian and Estonian diaspora is increasingly felt, especially after Estonia's accession to the European Union in 2004.  MORALE   Finnish customs are partly modelled on those of the other Nordic countries. At work, seriousness dominates. At weekends, on the other hand, the party is in full swing and the alcohol is flowing. At the same time, the sauna remains an institution. On average, people go there once a week. As an extremely health...

A HOFSTEDE DIMENSION This dimension describes how each society must maintain certain links with its own past while facing the challenges of the present and the future, while giving different priorities to these two existential objectives. Societies that score low on this dimension are normative, preferring to maintain traditions and ancestral norms while viewing societal changes with suspicion. On the other hand, those with a culture that scores high adopt a more pragmatic approach. They encourage thrift and effort in modern education as a means of preparing for the future. RESULTS With a low score of 38, Finnish culture can be classified as normative. The inhabitants of this society are very keen to establish the absolute truth. They are normative in their way of thinking. They show great respect for traditions, a relatively low tendency to save for the future and a concern for quick results.

ABOUT THE CITY  With 40,000 inhabitants, Rauma is one of the most unique and pleasant cities in Finland. This former harbour and lace-making town with its old wooden quarter is one of the best preserved in the country. It is one of the best preserved in the country and is the largest of its kind in the Nordic countries. Miraculously untouched by fires, almost 600 wooden houses display their delightful pastel-coloured facades in a maze of paved lanes covering almost 30 hectares. In 1991, this site was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Founded in 1442 on the outskirts of an ancient port, Rauma developed around a 15th century Franciscan monastery. Thanks to the export of wood, the town chartered its own sailing ships for a long time. In 1550, however, its inhabitants were forced to move to Helsinki to populate the new city that the Swedish king, Gustav I Vasa, decided to found. This forced exodus weakened the municipality. The origin of the lacemaking activity remains uncertai...

LEADING COUNTRY In socio-economic terms, Finland and France are among the most advanced countries.  LEVEL OF LIFE In addition to being both members of the euro area since its creation, they have many points in common, particularly in terms of their average standard of living. This is rather high, with a Gross National Product (GNP) on a par with purchasing power of around €35,000 per inhabitant.  HEALTH Social protection in both countries is also very high. Indeed, their healthcare systems offer many benefits not available in any other country. It is due to this that both countries have a low mortality rate and high average life expectancy. EDUCATION With regards to education free basic education is offered to all children in both countries. Higher education is also available in both countries at an affordable cost. It is thanks to this that more than ⅓ of both populations have a higher education diploma. RANKING All these qualities are reflected in...

A LOT OF SENIORS Since I've been in Finland I've noticed that I've seen more elderly people than in France. But also a lot of active and working older people. In Finland, the population is ageing faster than in many OECD countries, putting increasing pressure on public finances, particularly through pensions and health care spending, and on labour resources. In addition to reforming pension systems, longer working hours also requires improving the employability of older workers through training and reforming certain labour market policies to boost overall employment. FIGHTING AGAINST THE DIFFERENCIATION AGAINST THE DIFFERENCIATION OF OLDER PEOPLE IN THE WORK ENVIRONMENT That is why Finland is fighting against the differentiation of older people in the working environment. The country has introduced a number of reforms to eliminate unequal treatment on grounds of age. Reforms which France and other European countries should take as an example. Finnish companies have...