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ENGLISH TASK

Name : Callista Apta Tunggadewi


Class : XI – MIPA 4
Reg. Number : 10
FINLADIA
Finns can be described as honest, modest, and reliable people who place great value on
words. “Take a bull by its horns and a man by his word” is an old Finnish saying. A Finn’s
‘yes’ is a ‘yes’ and a ‘no’ is never a ‘perhaps’. They also tend to say little and avoid
‘unnecessary’ small talk and they are better at listening than at talking. They don’t get
nervous if there are breaks in the conversation; silence is regarded as a part of
communication. Finns rarely start a conversation with strangers and they are curiously silent
in the metro, the bus or the tram. In lifts, they suffer from the same mute embarrassment as
everyone else in the world.

Extreme modesty is a characteristic that applies to almost all Finns. They don’t boast about
their own achievements and you might spend an entire evening socializing with someone –
only to find out later that they hold a world championship title in a sport, invented some
important gadget, or some such other “minor” achievement.

Finns are also famous for their honesty – since 1998 Finland is the least corrupt country in
the world. The reasons for that include record low unemployment, well-structured law and
order, controlled inflation and a stable economy.

Technology is another strong point. Finland’s mobile phone market is one of the world’s
most developed. 98% of households have mobile phones and also, Finland is one of the
leading countries in Internet use.

Finns have a very strong sense of national identity. Being realists, they do not expect
foreigners to know a lot about their country and its prominent people, past or present, so they
will be pleased if a visitor is familiar with at least some of the milestones of Finnish history
or the achievements of Finnish rally drivers and Formula 1 stars. While Finns are aware that
Nokia is often mistakenly thought to be a Japanese company, this misconception is viewed
forgivingly but with pity. They are proud that the inventor of Linux, Linus Torvalds, is a
Finn.

Finns love reading things written about their country abroad, and visitors should expect to be
asked repeatedly what they think of Finland. Although Finns are ready enough to criticize
their own country, they do not necessarily wish to hear visitors doing so.
When it comes to gender, there is a high degree of equality between the sexes in Finland. At
the time of writing, the President of the Republic is Tarja Halonen, Finland’s first woman
president. There are also women priests in numerous parishes. No woman has yet been
elected a Bishop, though.

Finland is one of the world’s leaders in the reading of books and newspapers and the use of
libraries, and they are fairly well informed on what is happening in Finland and in the world.

When introducing themselves, Finns will say their first name followed by their last name.
Although Finns are proud of any official titles they may have, they rarely mention these when
introducing themselves, but that doesn’t mean they don’t expect to be addressed by their title
in professional and official contexts. Apart from this, Finns will not be offended if they are
not addressed by name and it is not usual to address people by name when greeting them
(regardless of how familiar one is with them) or in the course of a normal conversation.

When meeting, Finns shake hands and make eye contact. Handshakes are brief and firm, and
involve no supporting gestures. Embracing people when greeting them is rare in Finland.
Friends and acquaintances may hug when meeting, and kisses on the cheek are also possible
(however, most Finns feel that three kisses is going a bit far), although this habit is not
generally found in rural areas.

Finnish cuisine has Scandinavian, western European and Russian elements. Table manners
are European. Breakfast can be quite substantial Lunch is usually eaten between 11.00 and
13.00, evening meals at home are eaten around 17.00-18.00. In most restaurants, dinners are
served from 18.00 onwards. Nowadays, vegetarianism is becoming more and more popular in
Finland, especially among the youth and there are plenty of vegetarian/vegan restaurants in
Finland.

When it comes to drinking, Finns drink coffee anywhere and everywhere. More coffee per
person is drunk in Finland than anywhere else in the world. Also, the consumption of wine
and beer has increased in recent years.

However, smoking has decreased in recent years, and attitudes towards it have become more
negative. The law prohibits smoking in public buildings and workplaces and most of Finns
obey that law and only smoke in specially designated areas. Nevertheless, smoking is still
quite common, in all age groups

While in other countries it is more common to meet over a meal in a restaurant, the focus of
social life in Finland is the home in a fairly relaxed and informal atmosphere. There are
cultural, and also economic, reasons for this.

Finns like celebrations and their calendar of official festivals is not very different from that of
other European countries, but visitors may find it strange that Finns have calm and serious
festivities on occasions that would be joyful in continental Europe. Christmas is generally a
quiet day. It is a family festival in Finland, usually spent at home or with relatives. On
Christmas Day, Finns light candles by the graves of deceased family members. They wish
each other ‘Merry Christmas’, but equally often they say ‘Peaceful Christmas’. December 6
is Independence Day – a day for remembering those who fell in the wars to protect Finland’s
independence, which was achieved in1917. On that day, the President of the Republic hosts a
reception for some 2,000 guests and watching this reception on TV is one of the most favorite
pastimes for the entire nation.

The Finns are very proud of their saunas – they have over 1.5 million saunas and having a
sauna is something completely natural to them – learning to bathe in the sauna comes as
naturally as learning to speak. In Finland, both men and women bathe in the sauna, but never
together except within the family. There are no mixed public saunas. The sauna is no place
for anyone in a hurry and Finns never tire of talking about saunas, so a guest’s comments on
this subject will be listened to with interest.

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