Finnish life 202.

It was while eating at the university [of Tampere] on Friday that I made great strides towards understanding something about Finns and how foreigners perceive them. Ever since I moved here, people, including Finns, have been asking me what I think of Finns. "Some people think we're really rude." I would always draw a blank when I got this question because it confused me. I have many Finnish friends and acquaintances, none of which I consider rude, so why would people keep asking me that?

And then it hit me.

It's a slight difference in culture that sometimes makes people from a different culture slightly uncomfortable... and it happened to me last Friday. I realize now that it's happened before [which is why I was able to draw some "conclusions"] but I never really thought much about it. So here goes...[btw, this is a stupid story that you're likely to consider pointless.]

I was getting food from the vegetarian line-up, which apart from me was empty, but I was having a hard time understanding which was a side-dish and which was a main course. Then another girl came and since I didn't want to be in the way, I moved my tray and said: "you can go ahead, haha" followed by a somewhat awkward laugh, the kind you sometimes end up making when talking to a stranger. She seemed to give me a weird look and went in front without saying anything.

Now I don't know, and feel free to comment and prove me wrong, if Finns see anything wrong with that, but us North Americans do. [At least in the context of our own culture.] In Canada, it's polite to say thank you, or at least something to make you not feel silly, since no one wants to feel weird for too long. I discussed it with Juha and Jonne after and they both laughed at the expectation for further, however brief, dialogue.

So alas, I guess some cultural implications don't translate into other cultures. By now I know it doesn't matter how prepared you are; you'll still find these little things happening to you. Even after the tiny, meaningless thing, I couldn't help but feel a little stupid... and here I am, writing about it and reliving it haha.