Mini-Post: Happiness Finnish Style

Apparently, a common way of congratulating someone in Finnish is:

Onnea, onnea, onnea vaan!

Punainen tupa ja perunamaa!

Contratulations (x3)!

Red cottage and potato patch!

So forget the diamonds, forget the Ferraris, forget first class travel around the world, nothing can make a Finn happier than having a little red house and some spuds.

Joke - How the Finns Came to Finland

Lovely as Finland can be at times, I have always wondered why the Finns chose to settle in that inhospitable northern corner of Europe – back in the days before central heating, double-glazing, cars, snowmobiles, GORE-TEX®, winter holidays in Thailand and other such things.

Doctor, Doctor, My Car Needs Fixing!

When your knowledge of a language is fairly basic, understanding what people say is largely guess-work. It relies on trying to link logically together the words you recognise, and the gestures that accompany the narrative.

Sometimes though, some sentences seem to defy logic.

Mini-Post: Autumn is Here

Back in late March, as I stood in 50cm (20 inches) of snow in the Finnish countryside, I was told that spring was in in the air.

This week, while staying at the same location on the river Kokemäenjoki, I have been walking around in shorts and T-shirts, enjoying the sunny weather and the temperatures in the mid-20sC (mid-70sF). Yet, I have heard from a couple of people and read in a blog that apparently it's beginning to feel autumnal.

Go fathom.

Never Trust a Dictionary!

At a recent event, I wanted to say a few nice words in Finnish about someone dear to me. As there is no way I could ad-lib something like that with my limited command of the language, I decided to prepare my mini-speech beforehand, in writing.

A good thing I did too, because I came close to making a bit of a faux-pas.