communicating in a foreign country

Moving to (or even just visiting) a foreign country can be a scary thing in itself.  Add in the fact that the natives do not speak the same language as you do (or, at least, not as a first language) and it can be downright scary (and frustrating!).  I can honestly say that the language barrier is the #1 thing that poses the greatest difficulty and inconvenience for the hubs and I. 



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I recieved a message the other day from a fellow American woman who is moving to Finland.  She was looking for tips on communicating and how to best deal with the language barrier.  Although we are not currently in Finland so language issues are not in the forefront of our minds with it being the off-season, I wanted to share with you all the pointers that I came up with, in hopes that it will help others, as well.  Summer is also tourist season, so many of you may be able to put these to use on your upcoming vacation. 

These tips will work for any country, though some of them incorporate Finnish culture and the stereotype of Finns tending to be very friendly, but extremely quiet and reserved (sometimes true, sometimes not).  Even if English isn't your first language either, it still may help you when traveling (or moving) to a country that speaks a language that is foreign to you.  You'll most likely be using English as your 'common language' to communicate with the natives, after all! :)

-It probably depends most on where in [insert country] you will be.  If you're in a large city, you'll most likely be just fine.  If you're further into the countryside... people may not speak English as well, or at least won't be as comfortable speaking it.  The bigger the city, the more common English is, at least from my experience.  That doesn't mean they don't know English- they all start learning it in school at a very young age- but (Finns, at least) are very shy to begin with, and even more-so when speaking a language that is foreign to them.  The key is to be patient.

-I try and make anyone who I am speaking to feel very comfortable, and they seem to be more willing to open up and speak.  They're afraid they will say something wrong or sound funny.  I usually joke with friends or acquaintences how their English sounds wayyy better than my Finnish (it's true, after all!).  If it's someone I talk to often, I also let them know how cool I think it is that they speak multiple languages.  That's more than I can say of myself!  They seem to be more confident when they are praised for their speaking :)

-Obviously going to stores or anywhere in public is a little intimidating.  We still feel that way.  My husband and I joke about how rich we'd be if we had a nickel for every time we said the phrase "Sorry, I only speak English..."  It will never be "normal" for me, but you do get used to it.  I've found that the best way to avoid some of the awkwardness of it is to make sure that when they greet you (such as a cashier at the grocery store) make sure to say a big, loud "Hello".  Saying "hi"  or "hey" can sound too much like their Finnish greeting, "hei" (pronounced "hey") so they don't catch on as easily, or if you greet them in Finnish ("moi", "hei", etc.) they will assume you speak Finnish.  About 75% of the time I say Hello, they realize that I speak English and start speaking English off the bat from there.  (note: it may be cool and exciting to use your newly acquired langauge skills, but if you're in a hurry, it only adds another step to the process.  Save the showing off for the end and say "thank you" in their language, instead :) ).

-Another thing we found was the awkwardness of making phone calls.  Anytime I called anywhere (to make a hair appointment, for example) I was never sure if I should just start speaking English, or if I should ask them if they speak English first.  I usually went with the latter, and when I mentioned my concern to my Finnish friends, they agreed.  They made a good point- it gives them a chance to "turn their brain on" to speaking English.  If they're not ready for it, they most likely won't understand you the first time you say it.  That way they're prepared and can gather their thoughts first, or pass the phone off to someone who does speak English.

I'd have to say the language barrier is my least favorite part of living in a different country, but it isn't horrible.  The worst part is probably just not being able to get a full answer- like if you're at the store and want to know about a product.  They'll tell you the basics, but probably won't get the big long speech of information you'd get from someone in your home country. The important part is just getting them to open up- once they feel comfortable, they speak English just fine!

I'm back / finnish friday newsflash

I know it's been a little while, but I'm back in action!  I have been sick this entire week so far and haven't even had the energy to get off the couch, much less write a blog entry :(  I haven't left the apartment since J's game on Tuesday, which I clearly shouldn't have gone to either, since I was miserable the entire game.  Such a dedicated wifey I am, though! :)  Other than that my days have been filled with rest, homemade chicken noodle soup and watching 2 1/2 enitre seasons of my Newlyweds DVD's (for the 50th time... I have an extremely unhealthy obsesssion with Nick & Jessica, but that is a whole other blog post....)

Today's order of business?  My "Finnish" Friday Newsflash!   I mentioned that I decided to join in on this while visiting Marian's blog Escaping the Single Life, and since then I have been able to check out the blog where it all started- Poodleism by Casey.  I think I'll participate this week, but I'll have to see where it goes from there.  There isn't much in the way of news around here as it is (at least the "super-interesting" juicy gossip news- ha) so between that and the language barrier (my friend google translate really leaves me hangin with this Finnish stuff...), this wasn't an easy task.  What's a girl gotta do for some news in English around here? 

Anyway, here it goes.  Hopefully you find something interesting out of this, or at least learn something new :)

more "serious" stuff....

1) U.S. President Obama’s school reform seeks impetus from Finland. 

I thought some of you may find this one interesting seeing as it involves the U.S., and it definitely caught my eye from my "educator" perspective.  A research group has been sent to Finland from the U.S. to observe and learn from the Finnish school system.  As we all know, there is a lot wrong with education in the U.S. nowadays, so let's hope we can follow more in the footsteps of our Finnish friends.  They seem to have it all figured out! ;)  (Maybe this means we need to stay in Finland and raise our future children here?  Kidding, parents! ;) )

2) Snow removal can be a wild wild business. 

I had to add this one because I see these guys every day and think of how unsafe it is.  In Finland, they have men up on the rooftops of buildings clearing the snow off almost every day.  It does aid in the safety of others- once it gets a little warmer and the snow melts, it can slide off the building and fall onto people (though, if you scroll down in the article, you will see that this has already happened this year...)  BUT- is it really safe to have these men up on the icy, snowy roofs all the time?  I sure as heck wouldn't do it for 15 euros an hour!

3) Parliament Slams Anti-Begging Law.

Finland has a great social security & health care system (that I can proudly say the hubs and I are now entitled to be a part of, thanks to our contract extension!)  that takes wondeful care of people who have lost their jobs, homes, etc.  They are given a place to live and recieve great unemployment benefits.  So why are there beggars on the streets, you ask?  Because apparently they come here from other countries to try and take advantage of the Finns' generocity.  They come, beg on the streets and outside of stores in Helsinki, and (supposedly) head back at the end of their 90 days.  Now, I fully understand that not everyone is as fortunate as we are, and there may be terrible things going on in their country, but I do see where the Finns are coming from also- they have worked hard to create a great system to keep people off of the streets.


strange stuff...

1) Crazy Russains drive with the top down 

This speaks for itself.  Top down in a sleet storm in January?  One things for sure- you can bet they weren't smiling! (but, how is this a news story?)




2) Man orders McDonalds naked  Sorry ladies (and gentlemen), there's no picture to go with this one.  I think what I find more amusing about this article is the way it is translated in Google.  "Wanted to Hamburger Naked" and "the sock man could not be reached".  Either this guy has some serious issues, or he lost a huge bet.

3) "Even the Russians Wouldn't Do This"....... or would they? 

Apparently this video has been circulating around the web and has created a huge stir over whether or not it is a real baby, and if it is, how ridiculously unsafe it is to be swinging it around like this!  What are these people, nuts?  Apparently it is some sort of "Russian Baby Yoga" that involves swinging 2 week old babies around like they're a rag doll.  I'm not sure what I think about it being real or not, but I'll just pray that it's not.  Get a clue, people!


Okay, that's all I've got for today.  I hope you enjoyed it (even if you're one to prefer hearing about a Lifetime movie about William & Kate or that Miley was voted "worst celebrity influence" 2 years in a row!)  despite it being fairly dry material.  Guess that speaks for itself!

Happy Friday!

it's official...

We're going to be in Finland for 2 more seasons!  It's been in the works for a little while, but J just signed his extension through the 2012-2013 season today.  I'm excited I can finally tell our family and friends now :) 

guess I better finally crack open my Finnish book and start studying!

It's really nice (and kind of crazy...) to know exactly where we'll be for the next 2 1/2 years.  That sounds silly to anyone outside of the hockey world... but in professional hockey, that's quite a long time.  Just like the rest of the job market, hockey jobs have become increasingly hard to come by in recent years.  We know many people who are playing in leagues lower than they should be just because there is nothing available.  Or who aren't playing at all this year.  There are just a lot of good hockey players out there. 

Now that's 2 more years we don't have to compete with all of the other talented players for a job.  Many players in North America don't know where they'll be playing that season until well into September & October.  They bounce around from NHL camps to AHL camps and go back and fourth until they (maybe) win a spot on a team.  And how many spend their time split between leagues, living out of suitcases in hotels?  I cannot tell you how fortunate we are feeling right now.  And how proud I am of my husband.  He works extremely hard, and has earned everything he has been given.  So, since I know he is going to read this and is sure to be embarassed about my "proud hockey wife" rant... I'll stop now. :)

Other than that, not a whole lot new around these parts.  We've been so busy lately, or at least it feels like it.  It seems like we always have somewhere we have to go in the afternoon when J gets home from practice.  The team has 3 games a week in the coming weeks also, so that will really add to the busyness of our lives.  Guess it's better than being bored all the time, right?

For New Years Eve, we went to one of the other guys and his wife's house for a small get-together.  There was lots of good food, wine, champagne, and company!  We had a great time.  There was also some action outside- some neighbor kids were outside setting off fireworks for a good part of the night (fireworks are a big tradtion on NYE here).  These ones were a little big for kids to be setting off (can you say illegal in the U.S.?) but they appeared to be having fun and we were enjoying watching them.  That is, until they hit the HOUSE next door and set it on FIRE!  Luckily, there was no one inside(!!) and no one living there at the present time, and we were a good 75 yards away from it.  I have never seen a house fire that close up.  It was blazing for a good couple hours as the firemen were trying to put it out.  Actually, when we left it was still going.

  poor house! thank GOD no one was in it!!

On New Years Day, we stayed up until 3 am to watch the Rose Bowl (it started at midnight our time!)  Too bad our Badgers lost :( 

Hope you all are having a fabulous start to 2011.  I've been trying to come up with some New Years Resolutions, but I am stumped this year.  I really can't come up with anything that is worth "resolving", or anything that I know I will actually stick to.  Maybe I'll come up with something in the next few days.  What are your New Years Resolutions?