Cultural Differences

I feel that the teachers there gives a lot of encouragement to their students. This kind of encouragement is very rare in the context of Singapore. I do like the way teachers encourage their students, giving them ‘hope’ in the things they do. In addition, this also serves as a kind of motivation for students to strive for success. [Kam hung]

I noticed that Finnish students are generally more outspoken in class as compared to Singaporean students. They seem to have no qualms about speaking up in class and asking questions. Singaporean students, however, are shy and would think twice before raising their questions to the class. [Ruo Ting]

Amazingly, they told me that for the Finns, they do not really like to take taxi. They do not have the patience to wait for the cab and also because it is expensive. They would rather take trams or buses. It came as a surprise to them that we do have a lot of cabs and the cabs are of different colours as well. [Ira]

Thoughts and comparisons on Finnish & Singapore films

I particularly enjoyed 2 Finnish films, the screaming men and A Christmas Story. I feel that the movies are unique to the Finns way of life. Comparing their films to our local films, I feel that there is still a long way to go for the Singaporeans in terms of concept and story-line of the production being showcased to the world. However, this does not mean that Singapore films will never be able to stand out internationally some day. [Ho Wee Jie]

We have a film lesson about the history of Finnish film and “mono myth”. Although I couldn’t really understand the film as I only watched a short part of the whole film, I still can see the difference between Finnish and Singapore films. Singapore films such as “Homerun” and “I’m not stupid” gives a heartwarming feeling and is more family based. [Henry]

National Icon

Perhaps the national icon in our upcoming years of Singapore should be focused on new media arts. Since most of the new generation Singaporeans are media literate. With new media and creativity, a wide range of media arts can be created. [Ira]

A national icon is someone who will represent Singapore on the international stage. The person does not necessary have to be extraordinarily clever, or talented. The person could just be a normal citizen who truly love Singapore with all his heart. [Ruo ting]

A national icon, to me, is a person who brings glory to his country in the area he specialises in internationally, Singapore has national icons like Lee Kuan Yew and Tan Tock Seng. Most of them are our country’s pioneers and I have always believe that we will have our very own national icon from our generation. Singapore is a young country and we are full of potential. We have areas to expand into, such as sports, science and the Arts. [Pamela]

Icons in this field are people who are the first thing that comes to the mind if the country is being mentioned. Anyone could be a national icon but it is the amount of work, effort and sometimes talent that determines how far we can go. You can acquire the skill, practise and spend lots of time in photography yet the lack of talent does make a big difference. Hence, icon does not appear like that, it takes time for that talent to ‘pop out’. [Henry]

Cultural Difference

The reindeers and the huskies were absolutely adorable, but what struck me most was the tender loving care that their owners provide for them. Let’s take the Husky Farm for instance. There are over 400 huskies living in the farm, and each and every one of them has their own name, its own feeding bowl and a personalized kennel. Not only that, the farm’s helper/owner we spoke to was able to recognize up to hundred of dogs in their care. This is very different in Singapore because we are more profit driven, and the owner do not actually put much effort in caring for the animals. At the Husky Farm, the huskies get to live in the farm until they die of old age. [Ruo Ting]

Also, they celebrate their Independence Day which was very much different from our National Day. We celebrate it as a whole nation with our friends but the Finns prefer to spend time with their family on that day. [Afnidah]

Singaporeans like free stuff, however, in Finland it was totally opposite. I saw stacks of newspaper for grabs around Finland but hardly anyone was interested in it. In Singapore, our daily free newspaper would all be gone within the first 2 hours it was given out. This is another example of the difference in the culture here and in Singapore. [Pamela]

Different groups of people could pick up different skills at different time. For example, Finnish people could easily learn skiing whereas an English man would take a longer time to master the skill. This may be due to the fact that they started skiing at a younger age, and skiing is one of the famous sports in Finland. [Teck Beng]

People

For starters, the people here are all rather friendly or well, at least those which I have met. It’s a pleasant change from the typical you-are-a-stranger-and-I-will-not-talk-to-you kind of attitude which is apparent in the Singapore society. [Ruo Ting]

The social welfare system here is also different as compared to Singapore. For example, the university here for the locals are free whereas in Singapore you need to pay for your education. Another example would be that there is a place where they will build houses for the senior citizens. In addition, they also built shops near these houses for the convenience of the senior citizens. [Faiszah]

The people here are also very considerate and patient. Take for instance, when our bus stopped and blocked a car from driving, the driver did not honk and waited patiently for the bus to drive away. This could be due to their different way of life which might be at a slower pace. [Teck Beng]

Today is the most exciting day ever, meeting Santa Claus himself! It was one of a kind. It was also unexpected at the same time. This was because I thought it was not possible to interview the Santa Claus himself but I was wrong! The people are always willing to go the extra mile to assist us and they have great patience. This shows how calm and relaxed they are and not rushing all the time like Singaporeans. [Afnidah]

Food

For some reason, Finnish takes their salmon very seriously. Also, their staple diet includes salmon, potatoes and bread. Their dishes were more towards cold dishes such as sandwiches and salads. Frankly, I’m no longer a fan of salmon anymore. However, I guess the Finnish views salmon just like we view rice. They have many variations as well as taste of the same dish. [Marvin]

Apart from this, the food that they eat really amazes me! It is a totally different diet! I really appreciate home food (Singapore) now but I am impressed that they can cook their salmon in so many different ways! [Afnidah]

Today I ate something I have never eaten before. Snail! Reindeer meat! The meat varieties are something that cannot be found in Singapore. It is a delicacy to eat them today but, as I haven’t gotten myself accustomed to eating these exotic food, it made me ‘psychologically uneasy’ after the dinner. One thing about the food is, the Finns like them salty and they have strong tastes. This is something a Singaporean cannot accept easily. I miss Chinese food! [Kam Hung]

Kiasma Musem

Today we went to the Kiasma museum. I used to be a person who do not know about Arts very well and I do not have much interest in it. However, when I visited this museum, it influenced me. I started to enjoy admiring the Arts and think of the Arts and started loving the Arts. The Arts in Kiasma museum are really very unique, special, creative and nice.  It shows simplicity and is very unique. [Evannia]

For the media piece using photocopier machine, it was easy to understand yet sophisticated in concept. The piece reflects on the “orchestrated musical version of provoking life”. Using the sights and sounds in the office, the artist represents the lifestyle that is busy. I like the use of the visual arts that increase the depth of the piece. [Marvin]

There was this video named ‘Remake’ that was screened in the dark room. The video was about a middle-age man dancing with his partner. But herein lies the irony. His partner is a lifeless mannequin. The male dancer controls the movements of the mannequin and gets it to move and dance along. The movements of the mannequin were so life-like, I didn’t even realize it is just a doll until the camera zoomed into its face. However, what struck me the most was the apparent sense of solitude that the video portrayed and I really felt sorry for the guy. [Ruo Ting]

It was the paper making exhibit. Everyone could make anything out of paper and pin it up on the board and it turns out into a nice art piece. We did enjoy and had a fun time. [Kam Hung]

The artwork that I felt was best was the artwork where you will look through two different holes that are directed to the sky. You will be able to view the sky at a different angle. It actually puts a new perspective and changed my view of the sky. I felt that this concept can be integrated into other mediums and interesting results could be observed. [Shou Jun]

Espoo Museum [EMMA]

The reason why I chose the ‘Ossi’ because it really caught my attention. It was a simple art piece with only the words of ‘The rise of Ossi’ and ‘The fall of Ossi’ and this became a wonderful art piece. [Kevin]

I am a fan of B & W, the use of the contrast and toning makes the work very extravagant to me. The circular design of the gray portion also made the design display so much more depth. [Marvin]

One art piece that impressed me was the thousands of straws in a huge rectangular container. Who would have thought of using straws to create an art piece? You can see that the art piece changes every time we look at it. It differs with every different angle. You cannot get sick of the art piece. [Pamela]

The artwork of 21,000 straws can be seen in different forms from different angles. It was very interesting and nice. I can’t believe that something that we use in our daily life could be used and represented in an art form. It really amazes me. [Kam Hung]

I feel that the Finns are very pleasant people. When we went to the market square, my crew and I had to do filming and photography. The store keepers are very friendly towards us even though it was pretty obvious that we would not purchase the items. They allowed us to take photographs of the items and even agreed to do an interview with the vodcast team. From my perspective, I feel that the people had a lot more patience and are a lot warmer than in Singapore. Perhaps it is due to the difference in the pace of life. [Ira Maya]

The other aspect that interests me is the range of languages they had to learn. Their first language is Finnish, second-Swedish and third-English. In Singapore, most of us speak only 2 languages. So this really impressed me a lot. It is really amazing that they have the capacity to learn so many languages.   [Ira Maya]

At the Suomenlinna Museum I learnt a lot about the history of Finland. Their history seemed so much richer than ours! It’s so interesting. I wished we could try more of Finnish food. To be able to be in Finland is such a rare opportunity, I feel that it is important to experience living like Finnish. [Pamela]

I spotted a very common routine for today that is very polite. The driver will actually stand at the door at the end of the day and thank us. [Afnidah]

Today’s trip was rather enriching especially the trip to Suomenlinna Sea Fortress. The history and background of the place was enriching. Who would have knew that Finland had to go through so much before they achieved independence! The trip was also enriching as it depicted the history of Suomenlinna, and its historical importance to Finland. It wasn’t just a fortress but a sanctuary for the soilders and nobles alike. It was also interesting to watch how changes to Suomenlinna, such as leadership can make such an impact to the country. [Marvin]

When I was in the Suomenlinna Museum, I realised that the history of Finland is much more richer as compared to Singapore’s history. It was very interesting that the museum used videos to explain the historical events like how the Suomenlinna Fortress came about. This gives me a much clearer picture of how these events took place. Besides that, the view of the museum exterior was breathtaking. It is rather rare to see such an old and rustic view in Singapore. [Faiszah]

After the museum, a few of us headed south towards the hill fortress. When we reached there, the view was simply spectacular. We had a good view of the Helsinki coastline and the never ending sea horizon. It was a good sight to catch, which has left a deep impression in me. This was definitely one of the sights not to be missed and worthwhile to catch. [Shou Jun]

After going to the market hall, we went for a Audio City Tour which enabled me to gain a greater understanding of the historical sites in Helsinki. This tour was conducted in 12 different languages which was played over a earphone. Unlike Singapore, this tour was conducted without a tour guide but with a recorded voice which was played over a earphone. [Teck Beng]

Let us bring you through a snippet of the highlight of Day 1 in Helsinki : Temppeliaukio Church

 

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I noticed some interesting structures and statues along the road. The buildings look ‘historical’. I supposed that the Finnish actually treasures these historical and cultural image of their country very much. [Ira Maya]

First meal was a “baked potato with chicken and shrimp with salad and dressing”. Its supposed to be a rather Finnish meal and on the overall its taste was pretty good. Expensive definitely, it just makes us realize how much more precious and affordable things are in Singapore. Yes, and the Finnish apparently have an overwhelming number of COLD FOOD outlets, inclusive of salads, sandwiches etc. I have not seen 2 Subway (sandwich chain) in just one street! [Marvin]

After having our lunch, we proceeded directly to Temppeliaukio Kikko (church) which was around a 15 minutes bus ride from the place where we had our lunch. When I reached the church, I was in complete awe. The structure itself was beautiful since it was made by blasting it from a rock. Upon accessing the higher levels, there was a male oprah singer who was accompanied by a talented organ musician playing alongside. The organ that was in the church was very big and had many several different keys. The sound that comes off from the organ was very melodious and harmonic. [Faiszah]

When I decided to interview the organist for his opinions, I got more than I wanted. I was simply amazed and at a loss for words when I saw his demonstration right in front of my eyes! It was just very generous of him. I had thought he would be unwilling to allow us to interview him. [Afnidah]

Hi all,

As you all can see, the blog is back up and it’s 2 days to take off for the trip.

It is expected to be really cold there. Hope it doesn’t freeze my blood… *acks*

Anyway, most of us have shared our pre-trip feelings at our forum. Personally, I think it’s a trip to look forward to and enjoy ourselves. (^^,)

Shuj