Germany vs. Finland, part 2

Hello everyone,

Today we are briefly going to look at the differences between Germany and Finland in aspects of culture, living standards and the citizens. One thing we all need to bear in mind is that my experience of Finland is unfortunately only based on 4 months.

„Let me kick off!“ Germany is the country I was born and raised in. As everything on this earth Germany has its‘ good but also its‘ bad sides. Germany can be seen as a really disciplined country with lots of rules and regulations. That is one of the good sides of Germany. The bad side of this is that many Germans tend to be really strict, tend to feel like they know everything better and are less humorous. This sometimes results in some type of arrogance too. Besides that Germany has one of the most solid economies and government. In Germany everybody is entitled to basic needs such as free education and food. The bad side about the government is that there are still some people who feel neglected because of their cultural background or there are still some people who feel like they are being discriminated because of their cultural background. One thing that definitely belongs to the german culture is „Oktoberfest“ which is celebrated in South Germany in Bavaria every single year. Germans love to drink beer and enjoy themselves after working hard. Germans are really straightforward and for Germans work comes first before enjoyment follows. In Germany where I live (North Rhine-Westphalia – Düsseldorf) I have a multicultural environment and therefore I encounter many people having different cultures and the people are really openminded. This attitude is not found everywhere in Germany. It depends on which side of Germany we are talking about. Over here in Finland I have recognised that most of the germans are together all the time. That is the germans‘ comfort zone.

Finland is the country I chose to do my semester abroad at and it is actually my first time visiting Finland. All I can say is that I love it. The Finns I have met so far are just gorgeous. They are so friendly, welcoming and open-minded. The first day I entered the university I felt at home. Even though I don’t speak the language I still feel so welcomed over here. Finns are really helpful too! Whenever I go for shopping or need some help at the train station for instance they are so welcoming and help me with great excitement. One of the best things about the finnish culture is definitely the Sauna. By the way, students at SeAMK are offered free Sauna. This is such a privilege to me. Simply because it is free and in Germany we don’t get free things offered like that at my University. In one of my courses „Doing Business in the Nordic Countries“ I learned about the Nordic Model which is absorbed by the Nordic countries and I can tell that I love the way Finland is having this social system combined with a capitalist system. I have heard that there is some racism going on in Finland but honestly speaking I haven’t had any bad encounter with Finns in that sense. So I can’t judge based on that if I haven’t experienced myself. In Germany so far I have experienced racism that is why I can judge about that. This might be the topic of another Blog. I might think about it.

All in All, Finland is a country to stay at. I really love the way it is peaceful and quiet and the nature is just insane. Nevertheless, Germany is also a country to stay at. Both countries make it a little bit hard for foreigners to stay because of the languages. But hey! Everything is possible.

Stay tuned for my next blogs. Do you have any Topics you want me to speak about? Let me know in the comment section below!!

M-M. Aboagye

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