When I first went to London I didn't really notice any big differences, not in people or surroundings. Then I visited Finland after about 8 months and noticed that in England they don't have trees. Okay, they do have a couple of them, but most have been cut down ages ago to get more fields and food to people... England is also lacking in lakes, which Finland of course has plenty of. There is an area where english have put most of their lakes, but I haven't made it there yet. In Finland you don't have to look for one, rather watch out.

And what about the people?
Well...
In Helsinki we have really wide streets in the centre and just a couple of persons walking there. The amazing thing is that they manage to walk straight towards you and almost use their elbows to make way. And do I hear a sorry or even a grunt? Hah. During rush hour (yes we have those even though there is only 500 000 people in Helsinki instead of 20 million) in a tram things get a lot worse... So far only one stranger has behaved even remotely civilized - about a 7 year old boy came up to me and said hi and started to tell me a little story. Very nice, no elbows nor biting.
In London people do use the "sorry" word a lot, but I have recently come to the conclusion that they probably don't repent the fact that they accidentally almost touched you, but by commenting they acknowledge the fact that there is someone else near by. It really is okay to look at strangers occasionally instead of treating them like air.

The other extreme in Finland are these people who think that hugging everyone is the proper thing to do - just like people abroad. Well, abroad they hug their friends if they feel like it, but it is not a thing that you have to do - if you make an obligation of it you lose the sincerity and hugging becomes either irritating or amusing.

I remember now that when I started working in London I had to practise actually saying a word every once in a while when someone told me a long story instead of just using grunts like "hmm", "aha." Person talking would stop or start all over again if I didn't say a real word like "yes" - I guess they don't communicate like that. In Helsinki you hear a) a lot of silence or b) grunts.

Does it sound like I am complaining? Well, the next person who tries to walk over me should watch out. I am loosing my patience and have sharp & bony elbows  

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