Every nation is different as it has its own tradition, believes, and culture. Every nation has its own personality. And every nation also has its own quirks that only the people living there can relate to.
This post highlights Very Finish Problems. It’s an Internet project that shows funny things that people living in Finland can agree with. The project is dedicated to the cultural identity of these people.
If you want to take a closer look at what living in Finland looks like, scroll down.
Very Finnish Problems was started by Joel Williams. With the help of this Instagram page, he wanted to cover a variety of very Finnish things!
“I’m the Creative Director at a digital marketing agency, Ink Tank Media, and I bet one of my clients that I could create a Facebook page of 10K fans in a month without spending a penny,” explained Willans the origins of Very Finnish Problems. “The bet was made during Finnish winter, which was typically dark and very, very cold. The pavements were super slippery & it was taking me ages to walk to work. I remember thinking how winter is trying to kill me. What a very Finnish problem that is.”
“Then it struck me that it was one of the very many Finnish problems faced by an Englishman in the far north. That was how it all began. And it clearly resonated with lots of people because I won the bet and got nearly 20K fans in a month.”
“Just like most observational comedy, Very Finnish Problems are usually observations dramatized or exaggerated for comic effect. Normally, they come from things I’ve experienced or conversations I’ve had, which seem more strange to a foreigner than a native Finn. I’ve now written two best-selling Very Finnish Problems books. 101 Very Finnish Problems: The Foreigner’s Guide to Surviving Finland and More Very Finnish Problems: An Even More Essential Guide, and while doing research for these I got loads of new material for memes and videos. Once I come up with an idea, I either create it myself or if it’s more complicated, our Graphic Designer will work her magic or I’ll work with our filmmaker on a video,” explained Willans.
“We always try to craft everything as a “problem” with the copy. It’s because literally, everything can be a problem if you frame it in the right way. So, if it’s a really hot and sunny day. This most people would consider a blessing, we might write: ‘When your body is allergic to sunshine’ with a comparative meme. ‘What you think you’ll look like in summer/What you actually look like’. So, in short, even when it’s Finnish ‘things’, we try to make them into fun ‘problems’.”
“This is a really tough question. Probably my favorites are the ones that highlight the extremes of weather, national character, and language. Whether because it really is so beautifully weird and you don’t really appreciate it until you live it and national character because in many ways it’s so different to the British national character. Possibly the best example is how we deal with small talk. Brits love it. Finns typically avoid it at all costs. This can make for some very awkward social situations when they get together. As for language, it’s one of the most challenging in the world for an English speaker to learn, but it has some really happy words, which always put a smile on my face.”
