Finland is a country about the size of California but with a much smaller
population. 1.5 million of the 4 million Fins live in the Helsinki metro
area. This creates a feeling of being in the center of it all, because
basically you are. The city is very European in layout and architecture.
The train station serves as transportation hub and city center. Stores and
restaurants fan out from the plaza around this structure. Finland has its
own language but English is widely spoken and the Euro is accepted as
currency alongside Finnish bills and coins. I find the Euro easier to work
with since it works in most of the European countries and the exchange rate
is easier to convert. The population is for the most part white, blonde and
very perky and friendly. I felt as if I was in a neighborhood instead of
the country’s metro-center most of the time.
It is hard to put into words since it is more of a vibe than a tangible event or circumstance. The cars, buses, cell phones, and media all had the polish of new and cutting edge. Nice clean graffiti free buses and trains zoomed about the city alongside cabs that never looked more than a year old. Oh yeah, there is a lot of walking too. Imagine that? People who still use the stumps under their waist to move from point A to point B still exist. The walking thing was fine with me since I am used to walking in San Francisco but the distance measure had me confused. Plus the weather made even the shortest walk an artic adventure for me in my Puma rafting shoes and leather jacket. I think I screamed tourist or foreigner without ever opening my mouth. Anywho the metric system is alive and well in Finland. I never really got the metric system and to this day I still associate meters with swimming pools. I think it’s an Olympic thing.
Asking
for directions in Helsinki resulted in a general description and distance in
meters. “The Stockman’s store is up this street on the left 500 meters.”
Ok? How many swimming pools is that? Breast stroke or butterfly? Should I
walk or take a cab? It’s -2 Celsius and snowing but I am assured it is a 5
minute walk. Somehow it doesn’t feel right so I go for the cab anyways.
Good move because the cab ride was at least 7 minutes at Mach II so I
shuddered to think what the walk would have been like. Apparently the term
Finnish walk describes this phenomenon. The Finnish walk assumes proper
gear and fitness, something we fat lumbering Americans have forgotten about
long ago. So it may have been a 5 minute walk for a Fin but it would have
been at least a 15 minute walk for me in the frigid wind and snow. Lesson
learned here was take a cab as long you can expense it no matter how “close”
the destination is reported to be.
Let’s talk food next. Gotta eat right? I had never heard of Finnish cuisine so I didn’t know what to expect in this department. I was pleasantly surprised to find their menus to be simple in ingredients and preparation and elegant in presentation. During my stay I enjoyed lamb, liver, melt in mouth beef and lots of crunchy vegetables. Each of the dishes was beautiful to look at and satisfying once consumed. I had to take a few pictures of the plates before getting down to the business of making my belly a warm happy place.
Speaking of warm happy places I do have to give props to the Radisson SAS Hotel. My room had it all. Iron, coffee maker, some TV, but the best part was the shower with a thermostat. Set the temp and turn on. Heaven from a nozzle. No waiting for the water to warm up and no loss of temp or pressure when the guy in the next room flushes 6 times in a row. And best of all it saves your last setting so it is perfect each day after day after day until I left. Extra thought went into this set up. Simple pleasure from simple design is the rule. My room also had a pants press which is wonderful device when traveling for business. Thirty minutes in this machine and your pants are ready for you. Sweet. Sort of an automatic valet.
So
what does all this have to do with my original premise? What was my
original premise? Oh yeah Americans and their narcissistic focus have caused
the demise of community and belonging and replaced it with media and
products for our consumption. I often refer to myself as a Leftcoaster or
former NYer or veteran or older brother or…I can’t remember the last time I
referred to myself as American. I can associate myself with a lot but what
is American these days? For the most part I don’t like the media produced
definition of what we are. Remember the halftime show at the Superbowl in
2002? After 911 it was a patriotic salute to America because we needed to
be reminded that we are all connected then 20 minutes later it was over. That
was all the time we could muster since if we stopped driving the SUV to the
Wal-Mart to buy Budweiser it would mean the terrorist won and that of course
meant the end of civilization as we charge it on our MasterCards. As a
culture we are now living ahead of ourselves.
We
pay for it later, plan for it later, prepare for the next thing each day.
So now each day is consumed with planning the next. When do we get to be in
the today? Not here, but in Finland they live each day. In business this is
a shift from the American way of doing things. Taking the time to think
about something before acting still happens and I needed to slow down to
keep up. Lunch was for lunch and worked actually ends each day at the same
time. That’s progress in my book. Working to live your life and taking
time to talk to people instead of talking at them were the two biggest
differences I noticed between US and them. American’s like to think we are
ahead of the world but in many respects we are only moving faster at a greater
cost.
My business hosts were quite patient with my outbursts and hyperactive sense of urgency. By the end of the week I was integrated and all I can say is thank you. Life and new places can always teach if you are willing to learn. Don’t think your way is the right way and don’t think your rights are more important than anyone else’s. The Finnish people have managed to move into the new world and still retain the best of the old. Neighbors matter and citizens have a duty not just privilege in their country. Simple parts elegantly displayed describe the food but I think it’s a metaphor for the entire culture. I hope I get to return soon and thank all my new friends in person. Until then I hope they know I appreciated the opportunity to slow down, tune up and still manage to get work done.
Peace,
Sean