Popular Questions For Foreigners!

Whenever you move to another country - sometimes it is possible to blend in.
Then again - sometimes you stick out like a sore thumb...

I think I am a bit of both...physically I do not look Finnish or European at all.  Definitely not Swedish or Estonian...but yet Finns speak to me in Finnish all the time - which I take as a compliment.
It's an even BIGGER compliment if they understand when I speak Finnglish!

So, what are some super common questions asked of foreigners living in Finland?

• Where are you from?
• No, I mean where are you from REALLY? (I guess I don't look Canadian either.)
• Why are you in Finland?
• How long have you lived here?
• Do you speak Finnish?  Do you understand it at all?
• When will you learn to speak Finnish?  Do you find it difficult to get around without the language?
• Has any of your friends or family visited Finland?
• Have you gone back to your country to visit?
• What do you think of Finland?
• Do you have many friends here?  (If your response is yes, do not be surprised if they are stunned and then ask, "Are they all Finnish?!")
• What do you miss the most about your home country?
• Do you speak French?  (French is Canada's second official language.  No, I do not - despite the French first name.  Sorry.)
• Have you travelled to other parts of the EU?
• Do you live near Anne of Green Gables, on PEI?  
• Is the weather similar?
• Do you like Finnish food?
• Do you like the sauna?  Do you have saunas in your home country?
• What is the weirdest thing about Finland that you have noticed or experienced?
• How long does it take to fly here from your country and how many stops and where did you stop?
• Did you bring your pets with you?
• Why did you give your children Finnish names?  (Most Finns think it's interesting that we do not know if we're living here permanently but because our boys are born here - we gave them VERY Finnish names.)
• What do you think of the long winter and dark days and the long sunny days in the summer?
• Can you cross-country ski?
• Do you like hockey as much as Finns do?  (Personally - not really.  And Canadians in general LOVE hockey - even to the point there are brawls and total destruction of cities when a Canadian team loses.)
• Do you find it hard to sleep with almost 24 hours of sunlight in the summer?