tummansininen wrote:The UK is far less foreign to a Finn than Finland is to someone from the UK. Both in language and culture.
Finns are exposed to great amounts of both the language and culture. The same cannot be said for Brits.
Trying to suggest that a Finn with reasonable English would be shell-shocked by UK culture is a load of balderdash.
Oh? Have YOU been Finn in UK? One with anxiety disorder.
Go to Tesco for your shopping... check yourself out at the register and go home without even having to speak to someone. You understand all the labels on the products. If necessary to speak to someone, at least you know the words to ask. You get on the correct bus because you were able to search the destination on your phone. Maybe when you get home you're a little sad because you couldn't buy decent rye bread like they have back home.
SO WHAT IS THE @#$% DIFFERENCE TO BRITISH? JUST PRETEND IT IS ONE BIG GODDAMN TESCO!
Now try that %&# in Finland where you can't even figure out which bus is right or why it has two suburbs listed. You don't know how to look it up on the internet. Then in the supermarket you don't what's in the box. But you're too shy to ask anyone because you sound like an idiot in English so you just guess which is the right sugar. You also have a guess with the cream, but you're not sure. The checkout operator is a kind person who asks if you want your frozen peas in a small bag, but they might as well be an alien because you don't know what they're on about and you feel so stupid that you just stand there while they stare at you, and so does the guy standing in the queue behind you. You fumble to pay (after wondering what she asked you about, because you don't understand "have you got a rewards card") and then realise that Finland doesn't give out shopping bags and you're stuck there with nothing to pack your groceries into. They all stare at you because you can't pack things to leave and you are in everyone's way. Eventually you put it all in the small fruit bags, then get home and you think the cream is off. But it was viili, so you wasted your money and can't cook what you wanted to. Your cup of tea has jam-setting sugar in it and your cake doesn't rise because Finland has no such thing as self-raising flour. So you throw that in a bin and cry some more. Your partner tries to comfort you but really there's nothing he can say that will make it ok. And this goes on for YEARS.
And this is basically same issue REVERSED for Finn in UK. "Where the @#$% are the shopping bags?" "What the hell is this stuff."
EVERYTHING YOU HAVE SAID OF PROBLEMS FOR BRITISH TO COME TO FINN APPLY TO FINN GOING TO UK WITH SUPERFICIAL DIFFERENCES!
How the hell is HE going to figure out he needs some kind of idiotic utility bill to prove his address and all that other BS you people were perfectly adjusted to when YOU were in UK. Because that was what you were accustomed to!
This is typical British racism "Oh you get along fine in UK, because it is so easy to handle." Of course. FOR YOU!
For Finn, it is bloody cultural disaster. Regular Finn without any mental problems can bear it out, stressful as it might be, but someone with anxiety disorder is going to have problems go worse.
As for support groups Flossy... They are worthless... BECAUSE THEY SPEAK ENGLISH! I am rather fluent with English overall, but I know that if forced to express my feelings, insecurities and so on in English. It would be a @#$% disaster! Not just that I am Finn and culturally talking about that stuff is not exactly high priority in our society (unfortunate it might be but whatever) I would have to do it in alien language where my ability to express myself is hindered!
And let's add the mentioned "afraid to look/sound stupid making mistakes" which applies to Finns, perhaps quite a bit more as we are indeed drilled to avoid mistakes...
Yay. It is Charlie Foxtrot waiting to happen!
You lot are essentially racist here, acting as if British culture or society is somehow universal thing where anyone easily slips. Reality is that it is NOT. And no amount of watching Emmerdale or Doc Martin or Mr Bean or whatever is ever going to make you adjusted to real deal.
Honestly, I could have said everything you said about UK about Finland. After all, when I look at it it is so painfully easy how things can be handled here. But I am realist and realize that it is because of my background. And, having been abroad I realize that others do not share my background, so I can put myself in their shoes and realize that what is simple for me is a hurdle for others. I would have expected you people to have realized that too. But perhaps this is some of that anglo arrogance.
