By the time you read this, I’ll be getting on the plane from Helsinki to Portland. Before leaving home, Matt Winters, our editor at the Chinook Observer and I discussed whether I’d write from Finland. I was concerned I wouldn’t have the presence of mind to reflect and write, but Matt suggested it’d be interesting to know what Finns are thinking about.

In fact, I have been pleasantly overwhelmed; this trip has unfolded in unexpected ways. We have visited a string of Finnish cities as well as remote places in Lapland, going all the way north into Norway to see the Arctic Ocean. Along the way, news of my visit led to invitations from a series of cousins, all people from my dad’s Pitkanen side… something totally unanticipated. The only person I knew ahead of time was my cousin Helena, who visited us in Ilwaco over 20 years ago.

It’s finally summer in Finland after an uncharacteristically cool and wet June. We’re back in the Helsinki area with Helena and her family, so I had the opportunity to ask Helena and Jari directly, “What are Finns thinking about?” Helena’s first response was, “being close to nature.” Many Finns have summer cottages, which sound rather grand, but are often quite rustic. Hauling water and using a composting toilet in an outhouse is not unusual. The summer season kicks off with Juhannus, this year beginning on the evening of Friday, June 19. We were staying in Rovaniemi right at the Arctic Circle; the city was as quiet as Christmas eve, but a large traditional bonfire attracted crowds of people to the river. From that weekend on, Finns will cram in as much outdoor living as possible.

The economy came up repeatedly in casual conversations with Finns; unemployment is roughly 12 per cent, better in urban areas and worse in less populated places. There hasn’t been a rebound since 2008, but economic conditions aren’t as bad as they were in the early nineties, when the dot.com bubble burst. Technological innovation has been the major force in Finland’s economy for decades. However, Nokia, the cell phone company, has been in decline for several years. Finns say that while Nokia developed smart phones before there was a name (or market) for them, Nokia’s organizational culture became complacent to the point of arrogance, and didn’t anticipate all the ways people would like to use their phones.

Finland is part of the European Union and also has major markets in Russia. The EU’s economic sanctions on Russia has negatively impacted the Finnish economy, leading to more layoffs and unemployment. Finland has had an uneasy relationship with Russia since WWII; Finns hesitate to join NATO for fear of offending Russia, but aren’t sure Russia will stay inside its borders — then who would help Finland? Finns also indicated they don’t trust Putin, seeing him as an erratic personality. (In Finland, by the way, your word is expected to be as good as a contract.)

People say Finland’s education system, one of the best in the world according to many measures, is suffering from budget cutbacks. However, it is taken for granted that if you have the talent, you will receive free university eduction; that is very unlikely to change. Quality eduction is recognized as the foundation for Finland’s technological innovation. With few natural resources, Finland’s people have had to be both efficient and creative, and the long, cold, dark winters have always provided negative reinforcement for mistakes.

Finns have a reputation for being dour people. On Helsinki streets, people don’t make eye contact, but as soon as you “have the courage to ask us,” as new friend Jorma said, Finns are open, friendly, helpful, even playful. Winter or summer, Finns are very active. In five weeks here, I’ve seen only two obese people, but I’ve seen hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people of all ages walking, biking, roller blading and nordic walking. It’s a way of life to be outdoors and physical. In the winter it would be skiiing, ice skating, dog sledding or even swimming.

Our five weeks in Finland have been both too long and too short. Too long because the culture, history, and scenery is almost too much to absorb. It is also too short because the country is very large, has something for everyone in terms of activities, whether outdoors, in history or art museums, visiting renowned modern architecture, or lakes, islands or the thousands of available cottages… even without a string of cousins to meet.

Victoria Stoppiello is a freelance writer with deep roots in Ilwaco’s Finnish community. You can reach her at anthonyvictoria1@gmail.com