Cultural Difference Part 1: Houses

Every home is different no matter where you live. I grew up in Woodbridge, California (picture on the left of manmade lake) where there are about 5 different models of homes. The housing association was strict and your house had to meet many requirements for the exterior (http://www.wva.org/de-arch.htm). For example, your house couldn't be the same color as your neighbors, if you wanted a basketball hoop on the garage it had to be a certain size and have a clear backboard, etc. But when you went into a friends house that was the same model as yours, it was always different inside. Each person adds their personal touch to making a cloned home their own. Nowhere I've lived before has incorporated what the finnish have in their homes.

The Finnish home:

Here in Finland I'm experiencing new things with homes. For the first time in my life, I have a sauna. The Finnish are the inventors of the sauna and pride themselves for this by throwing sauna parties. Sauna parties can be at your house or at your holiday home by the natural lake.

The tiles of the shower floor are heated and the temperature controller is on the wall outside the shower. Because the shower does not have a base, a squeegee is used to push the collected water down the drain in the middle of the shower room.

This next difference is the most interesting. Sometimes you just have to sit longer on the toilet than other times. When this occurs, you don't need to worry about all the wiping. Just use the water spray to help clean yourself. Simple.

Besides the obvious favorite of having a sauna in my home, my second favorite thing is the rack for drying dishes. No dishwasher here, as is a typical European thing, so I'm back to handwashing all my dishes. My least favorite part when cooking. However, the cool part of drying dishes is the dish rack inside the cupboard above the sink. The water drains straight down onto the stainless steel sink. No mess, no fuss.

When entering the house, there are two doors. By having this second entrance way, the house stays more heated during the -30 degree celcius winters.

The windows are all double pane. Another helpful architectural design in keeping the house warm during the below freezing winter.

I'm more than happy with the added character to my home. I'm relaxed, clean, and warm. Couldn't ask for a better way to live.

Kiitos Suomi!

Finland loves Conan O'Brien

It all started with Conan O'Brien creating a mock Presidential campaign add for the re-election of Finnish President Tarja Halonen, all because he looks like her. Because of his humor and uncanny resemblence, the Present (she was re-elected) met with Conan O'Brien back in 2006. When Conan would mention anything having to do with Finland on his talk show, the media in Finland made sure to cover it. With their support for him over the years, Conan has stayed a strong part of Finnish media culture. When his show was no longer airing in Finland in 2010, fans gathered in Helsinki to protest. Their slogan was “Don’t be like a Finnish tv-network, be WITH COCO!” (Coco is Conan's nickname). With the country backing the comedian, Conan's tv show is now showing in Finland.

I watched an episode last night and felt so proud to be in Finland watching the ginger Irish comedian mock others with his quirky jokes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU6ierlsI0I&feature=player_embedded

Donald Duck is naked in Finland too!

You may or may not have heard about the past history of Donald Duck in Finland. The rumor goes...

Back in the late 1970's Donald Duck comic strips were banned from Finland because Donald Duck didn't wear pants.

The truth is that in 1977 budget cuts were being made in Helsinki during financial trouble. The Parliment believed that the comic strips were not in line with the educational goals for the children in Finland and decided to cut the comics from that years budget. The rumor is still believed by many today.