Jim,
Our "father" was Soviet Union 1918 => late of 80s and even begining of 90s so in practice Finland is like grown up teenager today.... in many ways.
Grazy people who trying to act like western people and same time forget that only thing what havin some value is that creative grazyness.

life sometimes is stupid.. for a teen ager like me.. but sometimes, itz cool!

the world stinks see
this stinks

I wish boingboing had trackback enabled. I would have trackbacked my comment...

http://www.dedanaan.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=154

"My message to Finland: I've got a capture buffer and I'm not afraid to paste it. -- Luv, Griffin"

Grow up Finland, Headshot circa 1996. Use one of those fancy digital cameras to post something recent - truth in photography - what a concept.

Funny thing, language. For some reason I've always had a tendency to react literally to questions like "how are you." So imagine my difficulties when I visited Bali in 1997-98. Balinese way of greeting is not simple "how are you" but even more confusing (if you're literal-minded, like I seem to be) "where are you going." I found it extremely hard *not* to respond literally to a question like that: "Oh. just strolling along/going to a bar/trying to find a place to eat/etc."

But it's nothing more than a way of greeting really, just like "how are you." They don't expect you to give an in-depth explanation of your planned destination like I was trying to do. But it can be confusing. Imagine sitting at the bar, drinking beer, when the barman suddenly seems to ask you "where are you going."

Maybe it all boils down to a cultural background, but to my ears, things like "how are you" or "where are you going" just sound like serious inquiries no matter how hard I try to think otherwise. But still, I'm not the best (or worst) example of the average Finn in that sense. I just have this odd way of reacting to small talk which I *still* haven't learned to handle.
But it's as Jukkahoo says, simple "moi!" or "miten menee" goes a long way...

Edited by author 04-09-2003 07:11 PM
I lived in the States for a year (in 2001-2002) and it took me quite a while before I finally stopped answering honestly and thoughtfully to "how I was feeling" ie. thinking my answer and really explainig what I was doing and had done. Not that odd then when moving back to Helsinki, I started asking people "how they were" and "what are they doing" while not really _expecting_ an answer.

I still do that... but I'm getting better, really.

I myself tend to use "Terve!" (literally "healthy"; and more usually used as "terveisiä" when ending a meeting with friends and relatives and you wish to extend good wishes to _their_ families and friends) quite a lot, but "Moi!" goes a long way.

Males may also use a phrase "Mitä mies?" or "Miten menee?" ("What's up, man?" and "How'sit going?") which doesn't really ask a specific question nor expect an answer.

jim-
i'm a little disturbed to hear you describe something as now-commonplace as piercing as "self-mutilation" - unless there's perhaps extreme stretching going on there.

i myself have a nose piercing, which is rather racy in the american south, but i consider it and the other piercings you mention neither mutilations nor rebellion, unless they are rebellion against people who equate body modification with social statement. i assume you're not offended by clothing fashions like high heels, though they are uncomfortable and impede the wearer's locomotion. a nose or ear or lip is functionally equivalent with a piercing - it's just decoration.

what i'm trying to say, i guess, is that body modification of this sort is not about you the older generation, or the heritage and tradition passed down to us. if anything, it's about your prejudices. think long hair in the 1960s.

Edited by author 04-09-2003 11:54 AM
Anita: A typical Finnish greeting: Good morning! or Good day! There is also a one-word greeting that can have a thousand meanings, depending upon intonation: "Moi." I've learned that asking someone how they are is taken as a more serious inquiry than an American might expect.

I'll finally get to Finland this summer... yay! You're definately right about being the world's envy atm - it's even cooler if people living there are really that humble.

So what would a typical Finnish greeting be (in literal translation)?