HÈLSINKI

Hyvää perjantaita (friday_divendres) kaikille!

Helsinki Sauna Day is an event in which friends and strangers alike get to enjoy taking a sauna together. The second Helsinki Sauna Day will be held next Saturday 29 October. So, if you're in Helsinki, you'll know what to do! _Helsinki Sauna Day és un esdeveniment en el qual amics i desconeguts per igual gaudeixen de l'experència de prendre una sauna junts.  segona ocasió en què se celebrarà el Helsinki Sauna Day es durà a terme el proper dissabte 29 d'octubre. Per tant, si ets a Hèlsinki, ja saps què pots fer!

The first Helsinki Sauna Day, in March, proved the popularity of sauna gatherings. In March the event attracted large numbers of locals and visitors who were keen to try different saunas. _La primera vegada que es va celebrar Helsinki Sauna Day, al març, ja es va demostrar la popularitat d'aquestes sessions conjuntes a les saunes. Al març, l'esdeveniment va atraure un gran nombre de veïns i visitants que estaven disposats a anar provant diferents saunes.

src Visithelsinki

Over 30 saunas throughout Helsinki have signed up for the event, including saunas in private homes, residential saunas in apartment buildings, rooftop saunas at hotels, and even tent and portable saunas. Helsinki’s new sauna culture will also be represented by Löyly and Allas Sea Pool. Some of the sauna sessions for the forthcoming event in October are already fully booked, but there are also several saunas participating that do not require bookings in advance. _Més de 30 saunes per tot Hèlsinki s'han inscrit per a l'esdeveniment, incloent saunes en cases privades, saunes en edificis residencials i d'apartaments, saunes en els terrats dels hotels, i fins i tot en tendes de campanya i saunes portàtils. La nova cultura de la sauna d'Hèlsinki també estarà representada per Löyly i Allas Sea Pool. Algunes de les sessions de sauna per al pròxim esdeveniment a l'octubre ja estan complertes, però també hi ha diverses saunes participants que no requereixen reserves amb antelació.

src Visithelsinki

Helsinki Sauna Day is representative of Helsinki’s communal urban culture. It also offers visitors the chance to try a truly local experience – a combination of excitement and peace that is unique to Helsinki. This is one of the 17 reasons to visit Finland not only in 2016 but in 2017, its Centenary. _Helsinki Sauna Day és representatiu de la cultura urbana comunitària d'Hèlsinki. També ofereix als visitants l'oportunitat de provar una experiència veritablement local: una combinació d'emoció i pau que és única a Hèlsinki. Aquesta és una de les 17 raons per visitar Finlàndia no només en l'any 2016, també el 2017, l'any del seu Centenari.

 

src Visithelsinki

Nauttikaa! Enjoy_gaudiu!

MOI, MOI! Ja ihanaa viikonloppua!

HELSINKI

Hyvää perjantaita (friday_divendres) kaikille!

Last time we were in Finland, we bought this hilarious book "Finnish Nightmares", by Finnish digital media pro Karoliina Korhonen.

This is a comic small book about Finland's national stereotypes, "the most awkward social situations a stereotypical Finn can encounter", says Karoliina. Here there is the interview Ink Tank fanzine did to her.

How long have you been drawing cartoons and what inspired you to start Finnish Nightmares? 

_I’ve drawn a lot and grown with pencil or brush in my hand but I’ve rarely drawn “proper” cartoons. At least as a daily basis or in attempt to become a ”cartoonist”. It has been more like a tool to doodle some funny scene I’ve had in my mind and then show them to friend or two. (...) I just thought that it would be fun to present the most awkward social situations a stereotypical Finn can encounter. Just plain text would’ve been boring so I decided to doodle it out. Then kind of jokingly I made the Facebook page and thought a friend or two would like it. And then this happened.

So far you’ve published six Finnish Nightmares. Where do you get your ideas and how long do they take you to do?

_I get the ideas mostly from my own life. I’m kind of an incarnation of Finnish stereotype when it comes to social awkwardness. Some people have already told me some ideas via the Facebook page too. After coming up with the idea making of the comic itself doesn’t take longer than an hour.

The six you’ve published so far showcase some famed Suomi characteristics, such as the fear of small talk and hugging. Why do you think Finns are so nervous about human interaction? 

_I wouldn’t say it’s fear. It’s just something we’re not used to and it makes us feel uncomfortable. The Finnish culture I live in respects personal space and privacy. Adding to that we usually reserve the physical touching to people we care a lot for. Therefore when a person who you don’t know well comes too close and tries to greet you by hugging you as if you two were bosom friends it feels weird. Kisses are even worse because some Finns (such as myself) reserve kisses only for the significant other. It can be seen very flirtatious (or even worse) when someone attempts to kiss someone they’ve just met. But in longer and closer relationships touching and hugging isn’t so uncommon and feared of. 

What comes to small talk. I actually had to use google to find out what people say when they’re doing small talk. It’s not just something we do with strangers. We can answer with a word or two but if we’re not genuinely interested in you it feels forced and phony to pretend that we were. For some small talk brings the embarrassing situation when the other person asks how their day has been and they describe everything they’ve done that day until they realize the other person didn’t ask that literally. That has happened to me more than once.
And some of us just feel like asking questions or trying to talk continuously without any proper reason, even if they were about lighthearted subjects, would be a bit intrusive. It would be bothering the other person’s personal bubble of peace and silence around them. It’s more common to respect that imaginary bubble of personal peace than break it in an attempt to just chat with someone.
Of course, these are all stereotypes and there are Finns who are like fishes in the water when it comes to social encounters with hugs and small talk. This is just my experience. 

Finally, what are your own three worst Finnish nightmares?

_First of all would be a situation where it would be clear that small talk is required. I just can’t think of any proper questions for people I have never met before. Especially if I would have to introduce myself at that time too. The most likely I would introduce myself, ask the other person’s name and say ”pleased to meet you” and then my mind would go blank.
The second one the one I did the cartoon about. Stumbling or slipping in public. It really hurts more in soul than in body if you slip and fall and someone sees it. I feel like Finns are generally afraid of what other people think of us and slipping down in public is your personal catastrophe of embarrassment.
And the third one is when you’ve met someone few times but you don’t know if you can call them an acquaintance yet. Then you two meet on the street and you start to think if you know them well enough you can greet them. If it goes well, you greet them and they greets back or the other way around but it can also go very wrong."
 

Besides, these traits are all hilariously familiar because it's easy to see that we all share some too. We’re not all so different after all.

Nauttikaa! Enjoy_gaudiu!
MOI, MOI! Ja ihanaa viikonloppua!

HÈLSINKI

Hyvää perjantaita (friday_divendres) kaikille!

(Inspirational images of) Autumn in Finland, one of the best aurora seasons. This is the season known as ‘ruska’, when the autumnal reds, browns and yellows are especially beautiful on the fells of Lapland. Dreamland for mushroom and berries pickers._La tardor a Finlàndia, espectacle de la natura, i una de les millors estacions per a les aurores boreals. Aquesta és l'època coneguda com Ruska, quan els vermells, marrons i grocs de la tardor són especialment espectaculars als turons de Lapònia. És l'època idònia per als bolets i les baies.

"Autumn is the time when Finns are taking their boats out of the water, putting their bicycles in the garage, and preparing to get out their skates and skis (VisitFinland)". _"La tardor és l'època en què els finlandesos treuen les seves embarcacions fora de l'aigua, guarden les bicicletes al garatge, i es preparen per treure els seus trineus i esquís. (VisitFinland)".

Nauttikaa! Enjoy_gaudiu!
MOI, MOI! Ja ihanaa viikonloppua!

una MICA de TOT...

Hyvää tiistaita (tuesday_dimarts) kaikille.

Today is Cinnamon Roll Day. It is unkown how exactly Cinnamon roll day began, but there is a popular Swedish festival called Kanelbullens Dag. Cinnamons rolls of all kinds are served. Some are made from different kinds of flour, some are glazed with various kinds of sugar or toppings, or mixed with several fruit fillings. In Finland they are called korvapuusti ("slap in the face"). _Avui és el dia del rotllet de canyella. Es desconeix exactament com va començar el dia del rotllo de canyella, però hi ha un festival suec popular anomenat Kanelbullens Dag. Aquests rotllos de canyella se serveixen de tota manera. Estan cuits amb diferents tipus de farina, amb diversos tipus de sucre o ingredients, o farcits amb diverses fruite. A Finlàndia se'n diuen korvapuusti ("bufetada a la cara").

 

 

Nauttikaa! Enjoy_gaudiu!

MOI, MOI!