maanantai 23. marraskuuta 2015

Learning

Here comes part two of my blog writing assignment.

I suppose every exchange student learns a lot related to culture, both the new one you have to face during your year, and also the one you used to live with before and have to readjust to.
For me, the most concrete thing I learned in Hungary was the Hungarian language but that is certainly not all there was. At some point I began to realize that the Finnish way of doing things is definitely not the only and often not the best way.
One of the most visible everyday things that I think we Finns have not really gotten the hang of is MANNERS. Compared to not only Hungarians but many the other nationalities, too, Finns suffer from a serious lack of manners. Of course, I'm doing a bit of generalizing here, BUT, I really think many of us would benefit from seeing how they handle social situations elsewhere. I'm not talking about huge differences here but about some small gestures that could really brighten everyone's day, like opening doors for other people, for instance. Yes, it might be a bit dated to think that boys should always open doors for girls and let them go first, but that's not even the way they do it. I think anyone can open a door and be polite for anyone, regardless of gender, and I believe this is the opinion of a few other people besides me.
So, this is the nice way of acting when it comes to going through doors. Then, there is the Finnish way which basically includes desperately trying to be the first one to get out or in. In addition to this, the Finnish way sometimes features the act of slamming the door onto the next persons face. I mean, let's face it, we are all too busy to hold doors for people we don't know.

Enough with the doors, now. I'm not saying that everyone in Finland is rude and has no manners, that's not the case at all. What I'm trying to say is, we may have some things to learn and work on, like this matter of politeness, for instance. Needless to say, there are also many wonderful things in our culture that I missed while on exchange. Like our famous education system (and school food - really, nothing makes you appreciate Finnish school food more than eating in a Hungarian school cafeteria) and the fact that we are good at not saying too much and knowing when to keep quiet.

In conclusion, traveling and getting to know other cultures makes you think about your own culture too. Having contact with foreign people makes your point of view so much wider!

See the world, it makes you happy!

2 kommenttia:

  1. Niin totta toi kouluruoka! xd Traumat on ja säilyy

    VastaaPoista
    Vastaukset
    1. Jep, sitä ei vaan voi ymmärtää ennen kun on sen kokenut :D

      Poista