As a foreign newcomer in Oulu, Finland, it is not easy to “survive” in such a different environment, especially you do not speak the language-Finnish. Fortunately, I make some Taiwanese friends, who have been in Oulu for more than three years. They help me develop the interest in Finnish language and know the Finns better. Yesterday, my Taiwanese friend, Corrina (interesting enough, Taiwanese in general like to have English names ), spent the whole day with me to give me the survival guidance in Oulu. The first stop is to the information center. To my surprise, Oulu has such a thoughtful service for bikers. There is a map for bikers in three languages- Finnish, Swedish and English. As you can see in the map, the city is covered by well-organized bicycle paths to almost everywhere. How convenient it is!
Then, we went to the market hall, which the local calls it “red house” in Finnish. They have fresh meat to buy. In Taiwan, we believe in buying fresh ingredients in traditional markets instead of supermarkets. Shopping here for food makes me really comfortable and homesick. My friend used Finnish to communicate with the butcher and bought some beef. It was fascinating to see one Taiwanese speaking Finnish fluently to the local. After we had the food, I told Corrina that I also needed my“ soul food,” so we went to try my luck in the biggest library in Oulu. The city library is the heaven for book worms. The space tries to make people as comfortable as possible. No wonder in Taiwan we hear so much about the Finns’ reading habit, that is the soft skip cannot be underestimated nowadays. Luckily, we found some Chinese books that I had been missing. Corrina did not understand why I came to Finland to read some Chinese books. I told her that staying away from Taiwan for two years in the U.S.A. makes me appreciate the beauty of Chinese language more. Even though I should take advantage of the chance to know more about the Finnish culture, I just cannot help myself to read some Chinese books. It was not surprising that simplified Chinese ( that Chinese use in China) books outnumbered traditional (that Taiwanese use in Taiwan) ones. We amusingly guessed that the librarians had no clue how to arrange these Chinese books, because the selection was a bit about Chinese classic novels, a bit about romance novels and a bit about some books that Chinese speakers hardly have the interest to take a look. Nevertheless, I was grateful enough for what I could have in Oulu! Kiitos!
Corrina told me that she wanted to “reduce some weight,” because she is going to visit her family in Taiwan with her husband soon. They would most likely tease about her weight once they see her, so she wanted to take me to swim with her (poor her! She is as light as approximately 46 kilograms! Why Taiwanese are so harsh on girls’ body figures?! ). The swimming pool near the library was shut down for maintenance during June. “Why did they shut it down when the people need to excise the most on vacations?!” Corrina argued. The K Market in the city center was the ideal place for Corrina to show me how to shop in Finland. She taught me how and when to buy some fruits. She gave me lots of tips to pick up all the ingredients. She said that in Oulu, unlike in Taiwan where we can get all the fresh local vegetables, meat and fruits; hence, we should do our best to satisfy ourselves at the least cost. After all, we are such the people who grandly value eating.
Three hours later from the trip in the downtown, Corrina invited me to her place. She lives in the students house with her Finnish husband. It was such a good pleasure to visit such a bicultural family. She baked Finnish cake for her husband but cooked Taiwanese food as well. Two people with two totally different culture backgrounds live in harmony, which is a perfect example for me to follow.
Comments
Hsuen-Chu, this becomes a journey in wonderland of cultural differences and your personal style will help all those who have little or no previous experience about Finland. I guess it's the other way around when someone moves from Finland to Asia.