Hey everyone! Moi kaikille! Nice to meet you all! My name is Maija and I come from Finland. I am studying the academic year 2010-2011 at Loyola as an ISEP exchange student.
First of all, Finland is not situated next to France, Slovakia, Albania, Poland, England or any of the other countries that you dear Americans have guessed. We 5.3 million people live in northern Europe with Swedish, Norwegian and Russian people as our neighbors. Finland is a land of hundreds of thousands of lakes and saunas, and the home of the Santa Claus, the Duudsons, Nokia, and heavy metal music. Our female president Tarja Halonen is a Conan O’Brien look-alike.
Going to the other side of the world for a year is always a leap into the unknown. Overall, I have really enjoyed my time here thus far. I have met so many wonderful people, and New Orleans definitely has a unique charm and atmosphere. There are so many things I could talk about, but I decided to list 11 more or less important things that I want to point out:
1. Some Americans have said to me that they drink a lot. I have said to them that they should come to Finland to get some perspective to their lives. 2. A shy American is equivalent to a normal Finn. 3. In America everything is bigger, at least when it comes to food. If you buy a small Coke in Finland, it means that it is small. If you buy a small Coke in the U.S., it means that it still is rather large. If you buy a roast beef sandwich in Finland, it includes a lot of salad and vegetables, and a few slice of roast beef. In New Orleans, the sandwich has so much meat in it that carrying it replaces my daily exercise. (Maybe there are some green things in it, but you need a magnifying glass in order to see those.)
4. People’s helpfulness in New Orleans, and in the U.S. in general, is heartwarming. During the semester I have received so many helping hands from strangers. Free Wendy’s meals, free cabs, and once one lady gave me her train ticket because I had bought a wrong one. She said “pay it forward” when I tried to give her money for that ticket. The list is never-ending.
5. I have realized that telling my true feelings and whole life story is not what people expect when they ask, “How are you?” It is called “small talk.” We don’t have small talk culture in my home country. Furthermore, Finnish people don’t say often things such as, “I love your shirt” or “We should hang out more,” but if they do, it is really serious. 6. Finland has a high standard of social security, healthcare, and education, all financed by the state. Even the higher-level education is free, and most course books can be rented from the campus or city libraries. The high amount of money people have to invest in education in the U.S., and the complexity of the heath care system,makes me appreciate the benefits that a small country can provide. 7. Though I knew that Louisiana is a red state, it still came as a little surprise how many critical comments I have heard about Obama. In Finland and in Europe in general, everybody loves Obama. The Nobel Prize was maybe too much too early, but after George W. Bush’s era, Obama has given the States an extremely positive face lift in the international media and in Europeans’ eyes. 8. I really like the teachers that I have had at Loyola thus far. Thank you Benjamin Clement, Marcus Kondkar, Boyd Blundell, and Aaron Spevack. In the University of Helsinki, which is my home university, the class sizes are much larger and there can be hundreds of students in one class. At Loyola, the teachers know your name and they are easily approachable. I feel that I am a person, not a number. The small class sizes also enable real conversation and interaction.
9. The constant homework has been a challenge for me. Readings, Blackboard posts, portfolios, quizzes, exams, papers and journals are not the things I will miss when I go back home. Studying here sometimes feels like going back to high school. In Finland, the one big final exam is the most important part of you grade, and class attendance is usually not mandatory. We call it
“academic freedom.” 10. I love to tell in my Facebook status how warm it is in New Orleans: “Oh, should I choose green or black shorts today?” My Finnish friends who are currently freezing cold have less and less understanding for my status updates. 11. Feet are body parts, not a unit of measure! Please join the rest of the world and stop using miles, pounds, Fahrenheit, ounces and whatever! It confuses me. I am 160 centimeters tall, I weight 63 kilograms, and outside is +20 Celsius. Period.
Maija Halme can be reached at [email protected]
