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During my stay in Finland I learned a lot about Finnish culture. I noticed that the Finns listen very carefully. They seldom interrupt the speaker; they usually wait for him/her to finish and then speak. First names are very seldom used. E-mails often simply begin with 'hi'. It seems that Finns don't often address one another by each others' names unless they are close. The sauna is very important in Finnish culture. Many Finns have saunas and if they do not, they usually have access to one. During my stay I was fortunate enough to be able to try many different kinds of saunas, even a menthol sauna! The Finns are not famous for small talk. They often only speak when necessary. They also tend to be modest and direct. Rather than saying that something tastes delicious or that a dress looks beautiful, a Finn will often say that something merely tastes good or that a dress looks nice. Listening carefully, not interrupting, avoiding the use of first names and small talk are some of the characteristics of the Finnish culture.

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