Ants Pants - less serious, more jovial! and things I want to remember!

[First Published on February 27, 2008 and adapted to date]

In February I had a cultural Finish exchange. Besides the business meeting, we also had interesting chats about what is different and similar between Finland and Romania. On short, here is what I have found out and remember :)




* Nokia - Finish brand Romanians use
* F-Secure is Finish antivirus while BitDefender is Romanian antivirus, both being present on Finish and Romanian markets.
* Finladia vodka vs Romanian Palinca - both are good for keeping you warm and are very strong.
* Sauna is very popular - if you have a business meeting or just friends coming over, go to sauna, have some beers and you will definetely agree on future plans in the benefit of all. People go to sauna starting with 2-weeks of age.
* Hockey - one of the most popular sports
* Mammi - traditional Finish cake that EU thought of banning because its awkward taste :)
* Romanian sarmale can also be found in Finland, but the recipe makes them a little more dry and brownish :). Both types are very good and delicious.
* Pickels are eaten quite frequently.
* 20 C degrees is summer time YEY
* 24th of July is the Midnight Sun day national holiday - many people get drown this day because they party all day, have fun, drink for a while and then go to have a bath in the sea or lakes.
* 6th of December is the Independence day: Finish people obtained the independence in 1917 from Russia. In Romania the Independence day is on December 1st representing the Unification Day of Romania and Transylvania on December 1st, 1918.
* 3 km on taxi in Helsinky will cost you about 18 EUR.
* "Kippis" is cheers in Finish, while "Noroc" is the Romanian version.
* Finish people do not regularly eat pig skin ("sorici"), while the most of the Romanians like it. I know I love it hihihi!
* We eat pig brain also. I don't know about Finish people in general, but my Finish partner tried it for the first time and he like it :)

This is just a short and quick comparison between Romania and Finland that I could make after a couple of pleasant days, but I am sure there are more interesting facts to discover. So...until I have an update, take care!