Communication Class

While I am here in Turku, doing my Exchange I am also joining some special classes for Erasmus students in order to get to know interesting facts about the Finnish Culture.

 I think it is very important to know which are the “communication rules” of other countries (especially if you live somewhere for a certain period of time). 

Finnish society is very different than the Italian one and I personally think that the communication is one of the most obvious different factor.

In Italy we love to talk, to be laud, to use our body language and our facial expressions to say a lot of stuff every day. Here is completely different (I would say that it is the exact opposite actually).

Finnish people are more reserved, they talk just when it is task-related and they appriciate to listen and to be listened. When dealing with a finnish person, it is good to always be on time , to avoid body contact and to be direct and (the most important thing) to be honest.

For me it is really good to be aware of these things, so that I do not misunderstand reactions or behaviors and, at the same time I can adapt, showing my respect for the culture.

I think it is Amazing how, talking to people from other countries makes you see the huge differences but, at the same time, it makes you see how many things you can still have in common, even if you grow up in opposite parts of the world.