Advice - Finland for beginners

[Upphew]

Until then you need to respect their personal space.

Indeed. I effing hate when foreigners try to swim to the skin. If I don't know you, I don't want you within touching distance.

[akaquaman]

I've been enjoying these links that should help you get a handle on the country and people:
http://finland.fi/public/default.aspx?n ... ture=en-US: Virtual Finland for a good introduction to everything Finnish, including studying in the country, news, factoid articles, and blogs.
I'm not a big blog follower, but these two ones are great:
http://www.dirtycarsmillioncows.com/
in that blog I found this classic "How to ride a tram in Helsinki" which is hilarious and mirrors well what everyone else has been saying about making eye contact, etc. As the narrator says "you have to know the rules!" http://www.dirtycarsmillioncows.com/blog/trams/
http://exactlyopposite.com/ An American and a Brit discover Finland together.

As for me, I finally made it back to "the old country" in 2012 and am looking to get back again next year for a family reunion with all the cousins. I well appreciate everyone's comments about how hard is to relate to Finns, but no problem for me - I'm family. My great grandfather immigrated to America around 1900, my dad grew up speaking Finnish, but unfortunately he didn't pass it on to me, so now I'm trying to self-learn through books and the internet. Very interesting and logical language, but it is hard to learn and my cousins, like most Finns talked about on the blogs, would rather speak English to me, rather than endure less-than-perfect Finnish. Cai in the dirty cows blog positively rants about that, but still loves the country.

Best wishes for your new adventure in life in suomi. Hei,hei, Rich

[Pursuivant]

The only stare for ten heads you get is when you pour milk in your tea. Ordering tea means you're an effete hippie as its a womens drink, unless you're a Russian, but pouring milk into the "builder's tea".... yup "how did you know I was foreign? " and if you are peculiar to Barrys bring a stock as its not existing.

And unlike Ireland, you mostly find local brews on tap in pubs. And unlike in Ireland, the local lager is drinkable. And unlike Ireland, the coffee is drinkable - the tea isn't...

If you get homesick joneses, some stuff like black & white pudding is almost there once you figure it out what the packaging is hiding it, but soda bread you'd need to make yourself. Lidl "wonderbread" is close enough to tasteless bland toast otherwise. Perfect for students as it never molds...

Oh, and don't go asking people "are you all right" - that makes them worry if they sprouted 10 heads and is hugely irritating if someone asks you that constantly. "No you tell whats wrong with me" as I told my Irish gf... A nod of the head in the beginning of the semester suffices... And don't scare the old ladies by saying hello, they'll think they got alzhimers they don't remember you or then get scared and jump in front of a tram lest they get mugged.

[sinikala]

Hi, I am an Irish guy who will be studying Law in Helsinki next year. I really can't wait. Finland seems so fascinating. If anyone has any advice about the do's and don't for Finland, I would greatly appreciate it for example getting to know Finns, surviving the long winter etc.

How long do you plan to be here?

The Finnish people aren't that much different to the english, a bit colder, a bit quieter, but they're not from Mars, so the rest is just travel tips - which are hardly amazing....

If you're studying, that should keep you busy 90% of the time, but in the coldish winter months after you've done a bit of sport, you might just want to watch a bit of telly .... netflix is now available here, but it's a slimmed down version of what's available in the UK / Ireland (which is itself a slimmed down version of US Netflix)... so if you don't already know, learn how to use a vpn so you can get access to decent telly.

A Kindle can be a good investment if you don't already have one.

Be sure you're set up with Skype credit for phoning home, keep the phone bills down.

Assuming you have a few electrical devices, bring a plug strip and a couple of Euro plug adaptors. Here you will be able to find cheap adaptors to turn euro into Ireland, but you'll pay a bomb for travel adaptor set for your 3 flat pin plugs here.

Henrik already mentioned tea, if you're a tea drinker stock up... the local favourite Lipton Yellow Label is !"#¤%. Nowadays you can acshually buy decent tea here, e.g. from http://www.punnitse.fi (they also sell Cadbury's stuff)... but being as this is a socialist country at heart, it's 4x the price you'll pay at home. As Proundhon said.... "Proper tea is theft".

If you're going to do any flying book your trips as far in advance as possible, e.g. book flights home for Christmas now, there is little competition amongst the very few airlines here, and you can get really screwed if you leave it till a month or so before travel. Ryanair flies London Stansted - Tampere, if you book them long enough in advance Tampere - Stansted - Dublin might be cost effective.

Good luck.

[Pursuivant]

Well, if one studies on Helsinki, Tallin routes are worth looking at.

[Upphew]

Henrik already mentioned tea, if you're a tea drinker stock up... the local favourite Lipton Yellow Label is !"#¤%. Nowadays you can acshually buy decent tea here, e.g. from http://www.punnitse.fi (they also sell Cadbury's stuff)... but being as this is a socialist country at heart, it's 4x the price you'll pay at home.

That and special stuff is priced at special prices.

[Sami-Is-Boss]

. And unlike in Ireland, the local lager is drinkable.

You have to be joking. Finnish beer is atrocious

[Oho]

You have to be joking. Finnish beer is atrocious

Beauty, of course, is in the eye of the beholder but having tasted Harp a few times I would say ole Witch Smeller is spot on. For beer in general, well that's another matter entirely.

[biscayne]

You will be fine.

Get "into" sauna - it's the great social leveler here, forget about the nudity, it's a non-issue, leave all the stupid catholic baggage at the door. Sauna gives you an immediate "in", you can make friends and get to know people.

Respect peoples personal space - Ireland has gotten wayyy too American lately with the hugging and the random "I love yous" - ditch that stuff double quick.

Try everything in terms of food and drink, you'll be surprised what you like. Mustamakkara is just black pudding eaten with ligonberry sauce, yummm, personally I can't live without salmiakki - salty liquorice and love the lighter coffee here. Viili is like icelandic skyr only better, piima is buttermilk, gorgeous with herring and new potatoes, reindeer meat is fab, but not eaten on a daily basis as it's dearish.

Winter can be enjoyable with a good attitude - get into cross country skiing or ice fishing, walking in snowy forests and enjoying that lovely DRY cold, which brings me to my next point: Finland is not DAMP and miserable like Ireland. Finns heat their homes PROPERLY, you will be warm and cosy inside not frozen solid like me visiting my brother where he has it about 19 c inside with the heat ON. Also, no feckin power showers required, Finland has proper water pressure and constant hot water, no Des Bishop jokes re. Immersions required. They are so far ahead regarding heat, hot water, bathrooms etc. it will make your head spin.

Enjoy.

[Upphew]

. And unlike in Ireland, the local lager is drinkable.

You have to be joking. Finnish beer is atrocious

He said lager, not beer. Iirc Finnish lagers have fared quite well in international competitions. Koff has (had?) some medals printed in their label that mark past wins.