5 things Finnish people ask me about America, thanks to Hollywood
![\"America](\"https://inktank.fi/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AmericaFinland.jpg\")
I have lived in Finland for nearly five years after moving from the United States. Curious Finns ask many questions. Usually they start with why I came here. I tell them it was for university. Then they ask why I stayed. I stay because I love it here.
After a few drinks the conversation turns to American stereotypes. Finns focus on the tropes portrayed in movies and television. Much of the world consumes entertainment from Hollywood. Most Finns see the same tropes repeatedly. They wonder if these are Hollywood inventions or reflections of real life in the United States.
American stereotypes are plentiful. Here are five common questions I receive about life in the United States based on what movies and TV tell the world.
Do Americans really never take their shoes off indoors?
Shoes come off at the door in Finland. Everyone knows this. American movies and TV almost never show characters removing shoes when entering a home. It is natural that this question arises. In the US there is no hard rule for shoe removal. It depends on region, climate, floor type, upbringing and personal preference.
Tracking dirt or mud into a home is rude. People in wet or snowy regions are more likely to remove shoes. Those with carpets feel the same. However it is considered rude in some areas to ask guests to remove shoes at a gathering. Going barefoot can be seen as not being fully dressed. It might embarrass guests. Immediately kicking off shoes in someone else’s home can also be viewed as overly intimate. Unlike Finland there is no unspoken cultural tradition. It is best to watch the host and follow their lead.
![\"Fresh](\"https://inktank.fi/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Fresh-Prince-shoes.gif\")
Do they really wear towels in the sauna?
Sauna is one of the greatest gifts Finland gave the world. There is nothing better than peeling off clothes and relaxing in the heat with friends and beer. Almost every movie or TV scene in a sauna shows characters wearing towels. Finns wonder what is happening. They want to know if this is a Hollywood invention.
Modest sauna scenes are partly due to film ratings. Americans also tend to be uncomfortable with public nudity. If you visit a sauna with an American friend you might have to coax them to drop the towel. Sauna users in the US are a mixed bag. Some choose nudity but the majority wear a towel or swimsuit. Mixed gender saunas often have signs prohibiting nudity. Single gender saunas often discourage it because it makes others feel uncomfortable.
Etiquette guides in the US suggest that making people sit close to your naked self is uncomfortable. They suggest bringing extra towels for those who lack proper etiquette. Telling a Finn that their nudity is shameful would not go over well.
![\"Seinfeld](\"https://inktank.fi/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Seinfeld-sauna.gif\")
Is college life anything like it is in movies?
Fraternities, sororities, keggers and beer pong are staples of college movies. People ask if there is truth to this portrayal. Hollywood is more or less accurate but exaggerated. Wild parties happen at larger universities. It is up to the individual to participate. Many students focus on their studies. Movies leave out the constant studying and the crippling student loan debt. They focus on hijinks because it is more fun to watch.
What’s with all the red cups?
This is the most common question I get. These red plastic cups are in every high school or college party scene. Rumours suggest films use them because they are opaque and hide underage drinking. They are used in real life too. Large parties with kegs and mixed drinks require many cups. Broke college students do not have enough glasses.
The recyclable red cups are made by Solo. They are cheap and easy to find. They have become a tradition. Solo makes other colours but consumers prefer red. It is a neutral colour appealing to everyone. The cups are so iconic they have their own country song.
Wearing a towel in the sauna is like wearing clothes the bath
That is how I learned it growing up in the US. The towel thing is news to me.
We take our shoes off in only two places bathroom and bed. It’s how the west was won
At least you don’t wear them in the sauna. That’s an even worse Nordic sin than the towel :)
But some do wear shoes in a sauna, I’ve seen them in pictures, and of course normal (gym) clothes, too. I really don’t understand why they do that.
So Finnish universities don’t have students sitting on the quad playing guitar? And high schools don’t have cliques? What is Finnish TV like? Americans love cattiness and conflict, what do Finns prefer for entertainment?
Finnish students don’t live on a campus, they go to the university mainly to study. The free time is spent elsewhere. The same with the “high schools”, the school is for studying and hobbies are elsewhere. There are not many school clubs, so students mainly spend their time at school with the people who are taking the same class(es).
There is no specific Finnish TV taste but I’d guess that “cattiness and conflict” are among the least favourite.
I guess because we are older than you in high school, the drama and cliques is usually left in middle school in Finland. In High school, you can be potentially kicked out for bullying someone because you are over 16 and school no longer have obligation to have you.
Baby boomers have no issue with nudity in the US It is those under 35 who became neurotic.
The cup country song is great.
Red Solo Cup: I wish that I had been there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhBx1Fbbp6Q
And in the West you don’t want to remove your shoes in case you step on a scorpion. I order my Finnish guests to keep their shoes on at all times while at my house. Bark scorpions are small but poisonous
Agree with all of these. Spent 7 years in the States and have answered every one of these questions. Also, “Are Americans really that fat?” keeps coming up as well. Was going to post the Toby Keith song here, before I saw it was already embedded, lol. Good post!
Gyms are the worst for sauna. so bad here, so dirty you almost want a towel on the bench (most) ppl gpo in w headphones and newspapers just a travesty lol. Thank god we have one ;)
Amazing how popculture brands the USA.. Being from Chicago and when in Finland there was always something said about Al Capone. Jenkki poikka.
I teach at American high school in the Central Valley in California. There are a lot of different clubs and activities at our school available for our students. Unfortunately there are gangs as well, primarily the Nortenos and the Sordenos. I try my best to stay away from them, but several of my students are involved in them. They actually recruit students for their gangs at the elementary school level. Sometimes it is a family thing where their parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins are or were involved in gangs. It is a sad part of American life.
That’s disgusting, I’m so glad we don’t have gang life of such levels in Finland, I hope your politicians find some kind of an answer to decrease such an awful thing, since none of those kids obviously doesn’t know any better (since they’re so young) {ELEMENTARY???!} C’mon.
What I really want to know is how they can get the opne turkey to last to so many people in thanksgiving day?
I’m American, and high school experience was FULL of cliques and nasty, catty girls. It was very much like “Mean Girls”. :U Though, the town I lived in was full of wealthy people (who were also quite pretentious). I was bullied during my entire school experience by at least ONE person, but usually more. :|
It’s strange! I have lived in Helsinki almost 10 years and while I’ve had a variety of American stereotyped questions, none of them relate to these listed! Interesting!
I want to know why almost none of American houses and apartaments have no door bell.
I saw in some late night talk show, that, in an experiment they did, most of the folks didn’t even know where US is on the map.
I do think that the people chosen to be seen in the clip must have been the worst of them all. There wouldn’t be any drama otherwise.
But. I have heard that the educational programs is US tend to leave the rest of the world out of them. Now, making America great again could start from understanding that even USA needs the rest of the world to help out once in a while and that respecting other countries and religions would go a long way in “not deploying the troops half around the world and protecting us”-policy.
If that’s an option that is.
Make America great again -> educate the people better and give the oval office keys to Bernie Sanders. That way the rest of the world has a even little chance of surviving.
The last one about high school cliques really got to me. Yes, they are real. I’ve been out of school for 55 years now and they still exist to the point that only certain people are “invited” to class reunions. In each of our reunions if a person who was not in the “clique” expressed interest in attending they were politely informed that the venue is small and all of the available tickets were already taken. I went to our first reunion 45 years ago and when I asked about why a certain person wasn’t there I was told they couldn’t be located even though they were listed in the phone book and only lived about 3 blocks from where the reunion was held. I keep in touch with the people who have been planning all of the reunions and their attitude hasn’t changed so I haven’t been back. In this particular school cliques still exist to this day and certain students are excluded from activities. Small towns never seem to change.