You know you’ve been in Finland too long, when…
This text has been around the internet for a long while. I took the longest version I could find, removed a few outdated points and added one.
- A stranger on the street smiles at you - you think:
- they're slightly insane
- they're a foreigner
- You don’t think twice about putting the wet dishes away in the cupboard to dry.
- You see a student taking a front row seat and wonder “Who does he think he is!!??”
- Silence is fun.
- The reason you take the ferry to Stockholm or Tallinn is:
- duty free vodka
- duty free beer
- to party heartily…no need to get off the boat in Stockholm or Tallinn, just turn around and do it again on the way back to Finland.
- Your native language has seriously deteriorated, now you begin to “eat medicine”, “open the television”, “close the lights off”, and tell someone: “you needn’t to!”. Expressions like “Don’t panic” creep into your everyday language.
- You associate pea soup and awesome pancakes with Thursday.
- If someone has a beer on a weekday you think they must be an alcoholic, but it's perfectly normal for half the town to get drunk senseless every Saturday.
- Your idea of unforgivable behaviour now includes walking across the street when the light is red, even though there are no cars in sight.
- Your notion of street life is reduced to the few teenagers hanging out in front of the railway station on Friday nights.
- You finally stop asking your class “Are there any questions?”
- Your old habit of being “Fashionably late” is no longer acceptable. You are always on time. And on time means five minutes early.
- Hugging is reserved for sexual foreplay.
- You hear loud-talking passengers on the train. You immediately assume:
- they are drunk
- they are Swedish-speaking
- they are Americans
- all of the above.
- You understand why the Finnish language has no future tense.
- You no longer have to search for the flushing mechanism.
- You’ve come to expect Sunday morning sidewalk vomit dodging.
- You know that “religious holiday” means “let’s get pissed.”
- You enjoy salmiakki.
- You know that “Gents” is another term for sidewalk.
- When you’re hungry you can peel a boiled potato like lightning.
- You’ve become lactose intolerant.
- You accept that 80°C in a sauna is chilly, but 20°C outside is freaking hot.
- “No comment” becomes a conversation strategy.
- You can make spaghetti with meat and ketchup.
- You understand why Finns love to lay back and enjoy the sun during sunny summer days!
- It’s acceptable to eat lunch at 11.00.
- Your front door step beggins to resemble a shoe shop.
- Even you don’t understand your own jokes.
- You always KNOW what temperature it is.
- The next day when they say “We broke up.” you know it means “He didn’t call.”
- You know that “Can I get you a drink?” means “Give me your money and tell me what you want.”
- You understand the importance of double vowels/consonants.
- You can actually pick out mistakes in the subtitles.
- You stand in a bus if you can’t find a vacant pair of seats.
- You prefer to run like a maniac to catch the bus/tram rather than wait in the cold.
- You know that if a finnish guy is talking to you in a bar … he is flirting!
- You understand the need of taking vitamin D in winter.
- You start to say “we” when talking about Finland e.g. In Finland “We” have lots of lakes. In Finland “we” like to drink, etc.
- You think it's weird that a person kisses you on the cheek when you just met. You just need your personal space…
- You enjoy winter and snow but you hate räntä.
- You understand what “Smells like winter” actually means…
- Your bad mood becomes your good mood.
- You get all the Swedish jokes.
- Whatever is left of your salary after paying rent, you spend on food and alcohol.
- The only couple talking in a tram or a bus always seems to annoy you.
- You are immediately suspicious when somebody starts talking to you in the street.
- You no longer have a problem accepting money from someone bumming a cigarette.
- You seriously consider visiting the sauna more than three times a week.