Finnish Culture and Language

Updated: 29.10.2025

Finnish people

As a people Finns are often said to be relatively shy, quiet, straightforward and honest. They appreciate privacy and space. However, a visitor who accepts an initiative will soon overcome the first difficulties in becoming acquainted. Once the ice is broken Finns will show that they are open, warm and reliable. Honesty, independence and punctuality are the three characteristics most highly valued by the Finns.

If you ever struggle to find a topic for discussion with a Finn it is good to remember that Finns have a special passion for sports. Ask about ice-hockey, cross-country skiing or javelin and you might well have found a new best friend.

The Finnish language

Foreigners moving to Finland often find the Finnish language strange and daunting at first. Only few words look familiar to anyone whose own language is not in the obscure Finno-Ugric linguistic family. But with a positive attitude and a sympathetic teacher, even the most tongue-tied newcomer can get to grips with Finnish surprisingly quickly. We offer a special Finnish language course for exchange students in the beginning of each semester. We recommend that you make an effort to learn Finnish also during your free-time as that will help you settle in the new country.

LUT Language Centre offers entire minor study components in Finnish language as well as a plethora of Finnish language courses, which are highly recommended for anyone with a dream of settling in Finland after studies. We recommend that you make an effort to learn Finnish also during your free-time, as that will help you settle in the new country.

Everyman’s Right and nature

Nature is a big part of Finnish life. Many Finns enjoy spending time in the forest and swimming in the many lakes across the country. Everyone in Finland has has the right to visit nature and enjoy what it offers us off the designated footpaths. However, this also means you should be respectful towards nature and other peoples' property. You can learn more about Everyman’s Right and how make the most of it on the Finnish National Parks website.

Finland has 41 national parks where you can relax and enjoy marked hiking routes, nature trails, and campfire sites. Visitors can also stay overnight in the national parks at designated camping sites, shelters, and huts.

Blog texts from Finland

Exchange students in Lapland - part 1

Exchange students and tutor teacher did a trip to Lapland. The week was success. We got to know each others better, enjoyed the nature and winter activites as well as Dutch and Finnish meals.

Moi! We are Erja, Lisa, Rick, and Sam and we are exchange students from The Netherlands. We study at LAB University for five months. The first day of school, our tutor teacher Katri was already waiting for us. She told us about Finnish people and how they are quiet and reserved. Katri herself, however, isn’t a typical Finn. In fact, she invited us to come with her and her friends to Lapland for a week.

In February it was finally time! We went to Lapland by train, which was hell on earth. But, compared to the week we had in Lapland, it was all worth it.

On the first day we were exhausted from the train ride, but we went skiing for the first time. It was hard, but seeing the bright northern lights that day was the best reward we could have wished for. We even saw them in pink!

Besides hunting for aurora nearly every night, we also sleighed with huskies and raced on a snowmobile. Lisa was sad that the snowmobile didn’t go faster than 45 km/h.

At our first dinner together in Lapland, we all received a blank postcard. The idea was that everyone writes a card to themselves with what they hope to do and to see this week. This was such a lovely idea, and it might be something we would continue to do in upcoming trips.

During the week, we stayed in a typical, wooden cottage with three Finnish ladies who taught us about Finnish culture and traditions. We went to sauna and then outside to the snow. With the most sisu, Sam and Rick made snow angels. Every day, it was someone’s shift to cook dinner and so we had Finnish and Dutch foods. We made pulla, they were delicious! We roasted sausages during the skiing trips, and we tasted mämmi. Not everyone was very fond of that desert…

Speaking of desert, we learned that Finnish people divide the desert into the amount of people regardless of size, while Dutch people just take the amount, they are hungry for.

After dinner, we did exercise every evening with Katri’s 84-years old mother via Whatsapp-video. This was very nice to do and made for fun moments with each other.

We skied through the most beautiful parts of nature, the trees covered in snow and the peaceful surroundings. Skiing was very fun and tiring at some times, but we all liked going downhill the best. The Finnish ladies were impressed by our courage and sisu, and they were very proud of us! We learned about naavat and made mustaches with it.

We learned a lot of new Finnish words, such as tunturi, revontulet, and some bad words as well. But the best word of all: no niin. You can use the word whenever you want and now, we know how to use it :D. Erja timed the use of no niin perfectly, which made for a funny and memorable moments!

The week in Lapland unfortunately came to an end, and we have returned to school. The school is very nice, teachers are casual and flexible regarding deadlines and exam dates. This is comparable to The Netherlands, where teachers are informal and are equal to students.

We also like that there is warm, cheap lunch at school. It is great for the student’s wallet!

Writers:

Erja Rijsdijk is an exchange student in physiotherapy, LAB University of Applied Sciences. Originally, she is a student in AVANS University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands.

Lisa Holtgrefe is an exchange student in nursing, LAB University of Applied Sciences. Originally, she is a student in AVANS University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands.

Rick van de Haterd is an exchange student in physiotherapy, LAB University of Applied Sciences. Originally, he is a student in AVANS University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands.

Sam van Kuijk is an exchange student in health technology and innovation, LAB University of Applied Sciences. Originally, she is a student in AVANS University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands.

Exchange students in Lapland - part 2

Hoi! I’m Katri, senior lecturer in physiotherapy and tutor teacher for exchange students. I have worked with international students for more than 20 years. When I was a student, I went abroad as an exchange student myself, first to Belgium, then to Norway. What I learned is the importance of getting to know local people and local cultures.

During wintertime, I do a lot of skiing and I especially love winter swimming. First, I go to the sauna to warm up and then I walk in a bathing suit along a snow-covered path to dip into a hole in an ice-covered lake. I asked Erja, Lisa, Rick, and Sam if they wanted to join me and experience this. They were very brave and came to the sauna with me and our local winter swimming group and dipped into the lake, as well. We all wore bathing suits. In the sauna I heard that they were planning a trip to Lapland. Since I was going there myself with my sister and a friend, we invited them to join us for a week of winter sports in Äkäslompolo. We were happy to have them share the cottage with us because we had such a great time.

Our first day in Äkäslompolo we three Finnish ladies taught our young friends how to do cross country skiing. They were eager to learn, learnt very fast, and skied 4 kilometers the very first day on a flat lake area. The second skiing day we took a picnic with us and skied to the foot of the fell Kesänki and had picnic there. Refreshed we walked a very steep path in the snow carrying our skis up to the top of the fell. There were no trees but a lot of wind, so there were no ski tracks. We skied down the hill in thick unbroken snow with our cross-country skis. Erja, Lisa, Rick, and Sam were very fast learners and skied up to 20 kilometers a day.

In the cottage, Eeva, Pirjo and I cooked Finnish food on our cooking days, and Erja, Lisa, Rick, and Sam cooked delicious Dutch meals when it was their turn to cook. We loved the world’s best salty pancakes and learnt that apple Nutella pancakes are a part of the main course. Not dessert. We also enjoyed a typical Dutch family meal of mashed potatoes mixed with bacon and kale served with fried sausages and applesauce. Delicious. During meals we had interesting and humoristic discussions when comparing our cultural habits. The topics varied from tulips, sports, and studying to euthanasia.

As a teacher I learnt that exchange students prefer the classroom teaching. Although the online learning has its advantages, it is not the best method for exchange students. For them online learning means lonely days inside their rooms in a foreign country not getting to know other students and not making any friends. This is what I have been discussing with my colleagues after the trip. At present, we are planning the new curriculum which starts in 2024. In the future we want to offer exchange students study courses which include more classroom teaching here in LAB University of Applied Sciences, Finland.

Writer: Katri Kämäräinen is a senior lecturer in physiotherapy, LAB University of Applied Sciences. She is the tutor teacher of exchange students.