Genersal Statistics and pointless facts.

Hello, in this blog I will tell all about random facts about Finland, for example their capital and national animal. Maybe you don't care but maybe you do. The point is after reading this post you will be one step of everyone else in this world because you know things that other human beings don't about Finland.

Capital: Helsinki
National Animal: Brown Bear
National Bird:Whooper Swan
Population: 5.414 million
Language: Finnish and Swedish
Size: 130,666 sq. Miles
Currency: Euro
President: Sauli Niinisto

Now you are one step ahead of the world which makes you a better person and you will now have a better life. You have succeeded for the day.

Honesty and myself

Now this is my eighth post on this blog. To be honest with all of you I am struggling to learn the finnish language. I couldn't tell you exactly why. Maybe because I don't study on my free time how to pronounce or even learn new words. I just learned in psychology how to study more effectively.

My finnish foreign exchange student and I  don't hang around each other as much as we used to therefore I don't learn finnish as much so ill promise that my next blog ill have something to learn.

Just know that before you learn any new language that its probably easier to learn with a class. Because you have a teacher, people in it, and you're almost forced to do it. Next week i'll talk more about the finnish culture rather than the language just so I have something I'm actually interested in.

Nature and Pets

  For my next attempt at teaching finnish I guess ill try and explain how to pronounce or say pets and nature activities. Such as camping activities and explaining how to say a pet fish or dog or even a cat. Maybe ill even try a few weird pets.

Indoor pets translated:

Dog- Koira
Cat-Kissa
Fish-Kala
Hamster-Hamsteri
Guinea Pig-Marsu

Camping Activities:

Fishing-Kalastus
Hiking-Patikiointi
Canoeing-Melonta
Grill-Grilli
Hunting-Metsästys,
Outhouse-ulkorakennus

I'm trying to help myself and whomever reads this learn this foreign language. However, this language has gotten pretty hard to learn since I talk less and less to my foreign exchange student who speaks finnish. He wants to speak English more now. Alright y'all bye.

Finlanders and they're food

In america we are a bit numb to what other countries eat and prefer for taste. In Finland they prefer a little different taste. Such as hard bread...like really hard bread that you eat with tea or coffee. Also the candy usually has a black licorice taste. I don't like the taste of any of that stuff. However, the chocolate tastes are usually the same. I'm not saying that Finland is weird im just saying that if you're going to try it then be ready for something a little different then what you're used to.

In  america we actually eat alot of plain stuff, such as hamburger or meat. In other countries they would cook stuff into the meat or add lots of flavoring with jelly or sauce. I don't really know too much about this subject so please don't hold me to it. All i'm trying to get across to you is that their food is a bit different then ours.

Goodbye cousin.

Finland as a country

   I've talked a lot about the Finnish language...probably because that's what my blog is about. However I should waste one post on teaching people about the culture and geography of Finland. The culture and lifestyle there is a bit different then the U.S.. The changes aren't that significant but they are big enough changes that you would notice the. The countries climate is similar to the northern U.S., if you've ever been to Michigan, Minnesota, or Wisconsin then you know what it feels like to go to Finland. We're so used to the U.S. but you may not find Finland as that big of a change.

   I'll start you off with some fun facts about Finland. If you've ever been to Finland then you know when I mention a sauna you should know what I'm talking about. Almost every family in Finland has a personal sauna. Sauna's are believed to be emotionally and physically cleansing...therefore maybe we should all consider investing into a sauna. Finland is the 5th largest country in Europe...just a fun fact. The people in Finland also like to participate in ice hole swimming...which is just like it sounds, you cut a hole in the ice and you dive in. The two main languages of Finland are Swedish and Finnish however English is widely spoken in Finland. Finland was also the last country in Europe to take in Christianity.

   The climate and geology is also something you may find enjoyable. Finland is beautiful. The country is about 68% forests and covered by lakes and rivers. Also, the northern part of Finland has White nights and Polar nights which means that in the Summer Finland has73 days where the sun doesn't set. Polar nights means that Finland has 51 days of night where the sun doesn't rise. The climate there and geology is amazing.

   Moving to Finland would be fine with me. I Think ill just think of it as a  vacation trip though.

Finnish Sports

In Finland culture they stress to play only one sport. This way you can perfect which ever sport you chose. I'm choosing to write about this only because in America we chose to play as many sports as you can to show and better your athleticism. In this post I will translate how to say sports in the Finnish language and tell if that sport is a major sport played in the Finland culture.

Hockey: Jääkieko
Tennis: Tennis
Basketball: Koripallo
Volleyball: lentopallo
Soccer: Jalkapallo

Throw: Heittää
Catch: Saalis
Pass: Kulkea
Kick: Potkia

These are some Finnish words that either are verbs from sports that I learned or just sports. In Finland Hockey is probably the top ranked and known sport. With tennis and soccer taking second. Finland doesn't have high school sports like the US therefore all of the sports have to be played in a club. This may be the reason that they stress playing one sport. Which I hate but its  just a whole different continent.

Remember when you try and pronounce these words that double a's are strongly pronounced and j's  are a y sound. Just some things I learned when pronouncing these words. Finnish still isn't getting easier to me and I have a personal tutor. So, good luck. Hei hei.

Your boy, Seth.

My Character Strengths

Recently I have not learned much Finnish, which really goes against this whole blog. I did take a survey thought that reported my personal strengths. My personal strengths are:
1. Perseverance
2. Hope
3. Teamwork
4. Bravery
5. Love
My top 5 strengths aren't the 5 that I would chose. Mostly because my vocabulary is pretty weak, but also because love is not a good topic for me.

Anyway I need to apply these characteristics to my research. Which because of perseverance, I need to finish this Finnish project psychologically. But, based on my teamwork characteristic I may not do so well. Why? Because I'm working on this project by myself. However I do need to find some way to apply these to my research.

I apologize for this post being so short but I don't really know how to tell you about how I'm going to apply my characteristics to my studies anymore. On to the next one. Hei hei (bye in Finnish).