The glorious alcohol tsunami.

There are a few things in Finland that shock me: Sauna? Been there, done that and  I love it. I think it's the best invention the Finns ever gave to the world. Ice swimming, why not? It is f*cking cold, but hey, I done it. Eat a rye bun? Give me an hour and I chew it away. Conversation with a Finn? No problem, silent Finns are a myth. You only need patience then you wish that silent Finns exist. The key is to treat Finns like icecream. Get them out off the fridge and wait a couple of minutes so they are a little bit stating to meld, then the are more teastier. Of course this is not an encourgement to start eating Finns, because that is illegal and such a same of the Finn. Finns can serve the world in a better way then only as food. But you get my point: give Finns the chance to get used to a situation with involves you, help them to leave their confertzone a tiny little bit and then the silent Finn turns into one of the most social beings you ever encounter in the world. Of course, like in every culture, alcohol will sometimes help to speed up the progress.

But the use of alcohol can be a little tricky, before you know you are deeper into Finnish culture then you want to be. Because almost everything in Finland seems to include alcohol, a lot of alcohol. Going to friends, beprepared to drink wodka, poplar, lonkere or cheap beer. Not drinking is a cultural shock for them, seeing them drink alcohol like it is soda is a culturel shock for us. Either way, someone gets shocked and most of the times it is not the Finn. They are so into alcohol sometimes that they hardly notice some is not drinking or not drinking in the same pace as they are.

For me as a Dutch, I drink to get rid of the last taboos our sociaty has in social interaction. While it's perfectly normal to discuss the topic of sex, shamefull exeperience and so on loud in the open. When we are getting drunk with fellow Dutch, we start inviting other people in and give others advise of things they have to do. Finns on the other hand seems to drink only to get wasted, this actualy confirmed by some Finns I know. I'm happy that I only have good memories with drinking with the Finns. Our ever social and "taboo is Chinese food like tofu"  Dutch culture and the Finnish a half full bottle of alcohol is a great shame culture, is a great cobination for great parties, games and the cement for great friendships. Memories of cultural diffrences overcome by alcohol and the desire to meet each other again and again to relive the memories. Unfortunaly, it is also the one-way ticket to a terrible hangover the next morning.