| Culture Shock!: Finland |
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| By Caroline Liebenow | ||||||
| Thursday, 14 July 2005 | ||||||
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Culture Shock!: Finland - A Guide to Customs and Etiquette by Deborah Swallow - reviewed by Caroline Liebenow Deborah Swallow is a professional speaker and cross-cultural instructor from the UK. While she has never actually lived in Finland, she has visited a number of cities here on various business trips. Her book, Culture Shock!: Finland, was published in 2001, after Finland joined the EU, but shortly before the euro currency went into official circulation. Fourteen chapters cover general topics of Finnish society, and each is divided into shorter sections detailing more specific examples. This makes it very easy to use the book as a reference, so you can find the topic you want in the index, and go directly to it. Each sub-section contains a nice mix of historical facts, personal opinions based on experience, and current data. Culture Shock!: Finland was written mainly for business travelers or people coming to work for Finnish companies, and that is mentioned in the book, so it is naturally not intended for foreigners arriving in Finland as students or spouses of Finnish citizens. There are, though, a number of surprisingly accurate cultural observations that all foreigners living in Finland or having long-term interest in the country should know about, such as: a strong sense of nationwide respect for the environment; the fact that dress tends to be very casual; the impeccable cleanliness of everything; little importance placed on enjoying meals; the pressure to conform emphasizes the national trait of not wanting to stand out from the crowd; and the fact that Finns find it difficult to share or set up business partnerships because they view such things with suspicion as they believe you might be trying to take something from them. The part about customer service is right on target and you should take note of it. Adding to the strength of these points, Swallow gathered some input from some other foreigners living in and visiting Finland, as well as from a repatriated Finnish family that had returned from living in Tenerife for two years. One can’t help but conclude that if the same observations about Finland come from both Finns and foreigners in Finland, then the points must be very valid. I noticed some contradictions. For example, the section on gender equality praises all of the accomplishments of the nation’s women, but then points out some ways in which the society is not so modern in this issue, and concludes that “Finland is still a macho country towards women”. In the section on business, Swallows says that Finns are very open to new ideas, but also recounts stories of prejudices that foreign employees have dealt with in Finnish companies, and admits that “embracing foreign workers as valued, trusted, and permanent members of their companies is not the easiest thing for them to do”. I tend to wonder if one viewpoint is a kind of propaganda aimed at giving the best possible image of Finland; whereas the contradicting viewpoint is more of a dose of not-so-positive reality. If you are new to Finnish society, you may have difficulties deciding which perspective to believe. Some of the things mentioned are stereotypes, such as a passion for berry-picking and applying honey to the skin during a sauna. A few observations seem way off base, such as the caution that women will find it difficult to get a hair stylist appointment because reservations are made well in advance- this is not so in my experience. Although the book does a fine job of being an all-purpose guide by covering nearly all aspects of the culture as it applies to various regions in the country, foreigners specifically coming to live in Oulu will not find much advice or information pertaining to the area. There is mostly mention of some sweeping generalizations about natives of the eastern region versus the west, as well as a section on the eccentricities of the Savo people. If you are a beginner at learning Finnish, do not be paralyzed with fear at Swallow’s evaluation of the language as being nearly impossible to learn. She was apparently advised by a native speaker that Finnish is not difficult- just different- which she strongly disagrees with. But my guess is that her negative experience with it is more closely connected with having little true desire to learn, as well as not having been in an environment where she was forced to practice. Following the main part of the book, there is a multiple-choice cultural quiz, which is fun and in some cases contains accurate, typical scenarios, but is not to be taken too seriously because in actuality few people would act exactly as described in each situation. The next section, an appendix of Do’s and Don’ts, is useful as a quick reference to avoid faux pas. The list of Don’ts is somewhat redundant, as it appears to bring up the same points as the list of Do’s, only as statements to the contrary. The book ends with a convenient glossary of useful words and sentences for visitors, as well as a resource guide of attractions, contact information, and how-to of getting around in Helsinki. Culture Shock!: Finland makes for easy and enjoyable reading. Although many of the points made are questionable and subject to debate, it is a good resource for someone who needs a compact, general introduction to modern Finnish culture.
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