As our interview progressed, I noticed that Epling’s tone changed the more she spoke of Finland. At first, I thought that she didn’t have a very good time, but I realized that she was more appreciative, rather than critical, of Finland’s peculiarity.
Finnish people defy the stereotypes of most Northern Europeans. They don’t even consider themselves European, preferring to say that their country is ‘Nordic’ or ‘Finno-Scandinavian.’ According to Leslie, the Finns require a lot of personal space (two meters, she claims), and do not touch each other very often out of affection. They follow the rules to a ‘T’. For Finns, being on time is being five minutes early.
Of course, Finns are not always so serious. “Finns never take their work home with them,” Epling said. We talked about the general drunkenness of Finns almost as much as we talked about nudity. “Finns drink at any time of day; there isn’t a stigma against it. Professors would even pass out liquor on the last day of classes. For example, one of my professors passed around six bottles of champagne, plus dessert,” she said. Student parties, pub nights, and picnics are the norm, with advertised drink specials.
Her classmates were generally very welcoming and wanted to help exchange students. However, for an American, the pervasiveness of our TV shows caused a certain reputation to precede Leslie. Some Finns expected her to act as the women do on “Desperate Housewives”. Her tutor in the Finnish language was a very nice person who was disappointed that Leslie’s proportions did not reach “The Biggest Loser” standards.
As we discussed Tarja Halonen, Conan O’Brien doppelganger/Finland’s first female president, we talked about the other notable feature of Finnish politics: not only does Finland boast a socialized democratic system, but 28 percent of members of parliament are official members of Finland’s Communist Party. “I really didn’t think there would be so many. However, it’s not hard to see with the Russian and Swedish influences.”
It seems that no one can afford to go without shelter or food in the extremely cold climate. Leslie arrived in Finland on Dec. 29, 2005, but the height of the winter was not until February. “The temperature reached down to 35 degrees Celsius below zero. Those were hard times.” She had to make decisions unheard of to those accustomed to mild southern winters. “I had to decide whether or not to wear my scarf over my face. If I did, I would risk having my scarf frozen to my face. If I didn’t, I would have really severe windburn. Either way, I would end up with a bloody face.”
Despite the bitter cold, Epling’s adjustment period was only about eight weeks. “I adjusted pretty quickly with school things, but not everyday things – public transportation, shopping, not getting stuck in a pay toilet.” Finnish food was one of the hardest things for Epling to digest. She says, “I really love fish, and I ate a lot of it there. And dark bread they had there was excellent. Otherwise, all I can say is that I don’t like reindeer meat.”
Had she the opportunity to do it all over again, Epling said she would have gone to the sauna even more than her three to four times a week? “I would also have been braver about swimming in the Baltic Sea in the dead of winter. It’s supposed to be a very disorienting experience.” She loved traveling to the small, ‘authentic’ Finnish towns, where preserving nature is a priority. And she visited many of the 23,000 beautiful islands off of Turku’s coast.
Besides traveling throughout Finland, Leslie took the opportunity to travel to Stockholm, Sweden, “a gorgeous and fun city,” twice riding the overnight ferry, an old Carnival cruise ship. She took the MCAT in Frankfurt, Germany, toured Zurich and Salzburg, and watched aerial ski jumping and women’s hockey at the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.
She misses Finland intensely. To keep her hand in the game, upon her return to the States, Leslie signed on to be an ISEP Ambassador at ETSU. She helps incoming exchange students, showing them around and helping them overcome culture shock. She also gives advice to those going to Turku or other places in Finland, as well as promoting international exchanges in general.
“No one in my family understood why I wanted to go to Finland,” she said. “In the time after my return in May, I have become more private about my experiences, which has been sometimes difficult. I have also become more independent.” She wants to go back to Finland, but doesn’t have any specific plans as of yet. “Turku, as Finland’s old capital, is a mix of the old history and the newest technology. It’s a great place.

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