Tag Archives: society
Vappu
For a good overview of this most liquid of Finnish festivities and how it’s celebrated you can check out Wikipedia. On that day I remember why binge drinking is not a good idea and how practical it was to run around in overalls…
Ethnic passengers?
First world music, now ethnic foodstores and even ethnic passengers (see second paragraph)? Can’t these individuals understand people are just people like any other?
The usage of these kinds of terms to describe different points of view seems to me rather, erm, ethnocentric.
Finnish dance halls
One of the most interesting features of Finnish dance halls besides the age group, the music mix of tango, ballads, humppa and rock & roll and the fact that a few of the men seem to need too much courage of the liquid variety is that there are signs like this one here that also give the sexes turns to ask for a dancing partner, so that if the first line is on women look for men, the second men look for women and the third signals the “free-for all”.
At least dancing is something I more or less know how to do, and I already have a good partner ;-).
Finnish tabloids
In Finland you will find two nationwide tabloids: Iltalehti & Ilta-Sanomat. The Ilta-rags share a similar tone with their Mexican and British cousins, focusing on the main page on issues that are really not that serious.
The main difference I find between the local versions and others is also their focus on, how can I say it, jealousy. Not only will there be endless features on the Tax circus every year around tax retrun time, but also continuing coverage of the financial dealings of “celebrities” and other individuals.
This envy-as-a-social-phenomenon is something I hadn’t given much thought to unil I read Juoksuhaudentie, a novel about the Finnish dream of having a house of your own. The chapters where we see what the neighbours think about the main characters are quite chillng, as not only they disapprove completely, but express it freely and want to make their lives more miserable.
This kind of attitude is something that I tried to get rid of, as in certain circles where I grew up it can be quite common. I know in the case of a novel it’s just fiction, but are people really like that? Maybe it’s just human nature…
Globalisation & my high school class
This week I learned that two of my classmates from high school in northern Greater Mexico City are also in a relationship with Finnish girls and both are also living abroad. That got me thinking about how many of the guys and gals I used to go to school with back then are also overseas, and the sample is quite broad.
I’m not particularly surprised of this development given that we were educated as the so-called NAFTA generation learning English (and sometimes other languages) from childhood, and given a broader view of the world than people before us (I remember attending lessons on economics, global affairs, the stock market and compared history of North America at that time).
What sets us apart from those before us I think, is not that some of us would go abroad, but that we would not concentrate in the United States as before. In my sister’s high school class (she is only a few years older than me) most of those who are working abroad are doing so in the US (a couple here and there in Europe, but it’s a minority), whereas with us the geographic dispersion is much broader: I have classmates in Mexico, and all over the US, true, but also in Canada, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Australia, France, Brazil, UK and I believe even a couple in China. Moreover, many of them who are back in Mexico also have international experience, either as students or during their careers.
I’m sure that this is partly due to American immigration regulations after 9/11, but I believe it also has something to do with many of us wanting to see what else was out there. I wonder if the Institute for Mexicans Abroad will start tapping this kind of talent network too, as many of us are working for institutions like e.g. Shell, Nokia, Microsoft, ESA or Volvo or studying at recognised institutions all over the place. Maybe we should learn something from what the Indians and the Chinese are doing by taking advantage of their expatriates, instead of complaining about the brain drain?
Regardless, it’s good to see that most of them in Mexico or wherever they may be are doing well.
Strawberry fields forever
You may be aware that Mexico is not one of the most egalitarian societies on this planet, and socioeconomic differences are very much a part of the social fabric. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a middle class family in the capital, with access to good schooling and domestic and international travel.
While growing up I think I tried to make the best possible use of these opportunities, but when I reached my teenage years I realised I truly disliked the pseudo-elitist environment I was brought up in, and got rather fed up with those social standards on what to wear, how to act, what kind of music to listen, what car to drive, when to gossip, etcetera.
Fast-forward 10 years. I had been living in Finland for a few years and moved to Brussels to study my masters degree. The school was not very big, so for extra-curricular activities and a couple of courses they tended to band together the undergraduate exchange students and the foreign graduate students for what one could call "economies of scale".
Two of the exchange students were from Mexico, and one of them embodied pretty much everything I disliked of that environment I had left: the feigned (or real) ignorance and lack of curiosity, the social and religious conservatism, the gossiping and the materialism were all there, and I couldn't avoid this person for half a year.
Needless to say, the beginning was quite hard, but it definitely taught me to face my own prejudices and not only deal with it, but actually get along pretty nicely and (most importantly) sincerely. While we didn't become best friends, I believe we were able to have a good working relationship, which is one of the most valuable lessons learned from my time there.
Mexican wedding receptions
One of those things that I was not used to anymore was how Mexican wedding receptions are organised. The wedding ceremony itself can be religious or not (usually you have both, as there is complete separation of Church and State in the country) but as almost everywhere else you have the reception.
In Finland, the reception is a very orderly affair, with a programme that will include the toast and the banquet, performances by a band and maybe even the guests, speeches and finally some dancing. In Mexico, it is quite orderly as well, but you don’t notice it so much. You will first have the toast and the banquet, then the first waltz and finally a lot of dancing (6 hours of it).
To keep the audience entertained, depending on the music being played the band will use props that will also be distributed to the audience, so for example they’ll have balloons when having samba, cowboy hats for music from northern Mexico, hats, shirts, etc. Furthermore, they’ll bring in certain members of the audience to dance on the stage with their respective attire, which becomes very funny with songs like YMCA.
I’m not saying one is better than the other, they’re just different.
Immigrant entrepreneurs
I've read a couple of stories about immigrants and their children starting up their own companies here in Finland, especially in the service sector. There are two companies whose services I use that are founded by immigrants: my barber (Figaro barbers in the corner of Albertinkatu & Uudenmaankatu, Helsinki) and one of my favourite fast-food places (Habibi Lebanese cuisine in Forum, Helsinki).
Given the simple facts that there are quite many barriers to open a business (capital investment required, cultural, regulatory, etc) I find their belief in their success quite admirable.
I'm just waiting to see when would somebody open a proper Mexican restaurant, as the stuff hereabouts is Tex-Mex. Maybe I'll have to do it when I retire. Mole poblano and tacos al pastor anyone?
Work in Finland
This is a marketing campaign for Kauppalehti, the leading Finnish business daily that brings forward the labour shortage in Finland. The English language version of the online component of the campaign is actually quite bad, whereas the Finnish one has real content in it. I guess that contrary to what the campaign seems to be about, they didn’t care too much about the immigrant / foreign audience after all.
Funnily enough, there was a completely wasted bum/drunk just next to this ad, but I couldn’t bring myself to take that picture. I guess it would have been too poignant of a social commentary.