How Foreigners Make Finnish People UNCOMFORTABLE (unintentionally)

Visiting or moving to Finland is exciting because you will get to meet Finns! However, there is several mistakes you can make in by accident that upset Finns. Make sure to watch the video to learn more!

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[Mpnavy]

The first time I asked a finn how they're doing, they invited me to a tentlike structure with a bonfire in the middle and handed me something to drink. I had no idea what it was, it was probably about 65% alcohol and tasted like distilled moss.
10/10 would ask again.

[else]

As Finn I don't talk about religion for 2 reasons: 1. I think that it is private matter. And 2. I don't really care about religion that much.

[tomijaroli]

The Finnish face of disapproval cracked me up 😂

[livinginthetropics]

Good video Aleksi. I am Finn living in Australia and I had to adjust my "Finnishness" - so I think I am half Finnish and half Australian now. I had to adjust to the more cosmopolitan lifestyle, we probably have people from every nation living here. We are always greeting one another in the street, hugging & kissing etc. I married my Aussie GF but she still thinks I am "different" - that's the Finnish half. I don't think I will ever totally lose my "Finnish Roots".

[SoloTravelStory]

I feel the anglophone greeting of "how are you" as a form of hello is really just limited to anglophone nations. No other European nation asks this question without expecting a long and honest reply. Germans do it, the Spanish do it and we find it irritating too when we get asked "how are you" by Brits but they don't care when you start unpacking your inner conflicts. 😂

Honestly everything you've mentioned and explained sounded perfectly fine to me. I'm German and I also don't give out many compliments unless I really mean them and the person has earned it. Maybe there's a Finn inside my soul because everything you mentioned is part of my culture too. Kiitos!

[midnightjay]

4:26 I absolutely hate when someone sits right next to me and the waiting room or whatever has so many available seats. I don't know why people want to cluster when it's unnecessary lol It is very uncomfortable even if the people who do it mean no harm. I wonder why people choose to sit next to me too. It makes me nervous, not that I think they want to do something or fear but I can't relax when a stranger sits next to me. Good to know that if I ever visit Finland that's not something I'll have to worry about lol

[kasseesmythe]

This just popped up in my feed -- the first one since you decided not to continue posting. It reminded me of how much I've enjoyed watching your videos. Hope things are going well for you, Aleksi. And thanks for all the insights you've given to us here!

[ninaj]

I am from Serbia, much more extroverted country, but not nearly like the USA. Here "how are you" is a weird greeting, too. I remember when I went out and in a small shop that I went to that worked during the night, there was someone speaking in English, asking the woman who worked there "how are you?", and then started to ask more and to chat with her all smiley, and I think he called her "dear", and she giggled and was all blushing and it was so funny and awkward, even to me, it looked like flirting then. But I now think that's just how the American's behave with everyone. 😂

[poweredman]

Hi Aleksi! Great video and I really like the effort you made with the angles! Made it quite captivating!

I just wanted to suggest you look into introversion in countries of Europe. I always thought I, as a Portuguese, couldn't possibly have a lot in common with Finns, but it turns out I feel quite at home with you guys and that's because we are one of the most introverted countries in Europe!

[AleksiHimself]

About the average net worth image, the numbers are average net worth per household, not per individual.

[thenordicjamaican]

So I have been pondering this question for years now about Finland. As you mentioned, Finns don't know how to handle compliments and that they are shy 8:27 . How on earth do Finns find their spouses? How do they flirt? How do they express interest?

[gegixogegixo]

Awesome video! I like these kind of videos because honestly when I travelled for the first time in another country I wasn't aware that you are not suppose to occupy all the escalator space and I felt so bad when a guy pointed that out to me. So I would love to see more videos on the finnish etiquette for all kind of situations, even if it seems trivial for you! 😂thanks gor the video!

[kulcsarandras]

We pronounce "sauna" the same way in Hungarian, it is so obvious! 🙂
Your videos are great, it is so interesting to gather some insights into the culture of other countries.

[ev]

Finns seem to be very quick with compliments when you pronounce words correctly. They almost seem...happy 😮

[Hukkahanska]

Talking about money (for example your salary) is also a difficult topic for most of the Finns.

[ThatRecreationGuy]

ALEKSI miltä tuntuu tänään. en ole katsonut täällä videota vähään aikaan. toivottavasti teillä oli hyvä pääsiäinen

[marugochan]

The escalator thing is also a big city (people) thing. I'm originally from the region of Paris, I moved to a German town that's 10% of what I'm used to in Paris in the public transports.
If I take an escalator, most times I walk the stairs up/down and there are some people in the way, so I have to do the fake throat clearing or I just bluntly say sorry and move forward (cuz we don't care for waiting in Paris).

[IamSleepyFr]

As a Finn, if some stranger talks to my, my entire mind just shuts down. I just get insanely anxious, but it ain't their fault. I just have anxiety.😅

[kostasplaneart]

thanks Aleksi...really informative and funny video!!!!

[Crevettola]

I just found out your channel and I really love your videos! It's so funny to me how almost everything you describe about finnish culture was a culture shock to me when I moved from France to Canada hahaha. Getting used to all of it was really weird at first, but nowadays for example when I go back to France the thought of cheek kisses just… u r g h, no thanks

I guess that harsh winters make people more similar than they would think!