Finland on Finns

Over the weekend there was a terrible bus wreck in the Spanish city of Malaga. The wreck killed nine Finnish tourists on their way to the airport to catch a return plane home. This news was probably little more than a blip during the ´world´news tonight in america, but over here it was a big event. What became apparent to me as a result of this tragedy is that the Finnish people genuinely care about one another. I got to hear the story told several times in various groups over the last couple of days (always in Finnish of course)....without knowing the specifiic words that were being used in discussion, I was able to observe their body language again and again as they told each other the story. There was always pause and a sense of sorrow from each Finn that discussed the story. It was like they each lost someone personally, someone close to them. Perhaps the reasoning behind this is that this is a country of only 5 million people so everyone counts a little more, perhaps it´s a by product of all the infighting and war periods that this country has seen that has torn families apart, perhaps it´s an attitude that each Finn is to be treated like your brother....whatever the reason may be it is safe to say that the Finns truly care about each other. Perhaps this would be the best lesson I could bring home with me.

Other Acknowledgements:
Abloy locks - www.abloy.com These things are so freaking stylish I had to share it with the world. Check them out.

Using glass as interior walls. The way the Finns do this is so advanced compared to what we see at home. The most impressive building I had seen to date was the Apple outlet in Soho where there is an impressive mix of glass and modern architecture. That type of childs play is found in schools (in the country side) in Finland. The home applications and ´modern´design uses that you find elsewhere in this country are even more impressive.