I was lucky enough to live and study in Finland for a while. It is and will always be my “second home”, even now that I have already lived in Canada and America as well. It is where I forged relationships that have been instrumental in my life ever since and where I grew up significantly as a person.
Finland isn’t a country rich in natural resources. Its population is just 5.5 million people. Yet, it’s one of the most advanced and happiest countries in the world. A key reason is its world-class education. There is no shortage of coverage on the greatness of Finnish education, so I am just going to tell you a few personal stories I had while living there.
In our Bachelor’s program, there was one math course. We Vietnamese grow up learning complex math problems so the kind of math we had in that course was pretty easy. My classmates struggled at first. Yet, I saw first hand that they spent only 2-3 hours a day after class on math problems and achieved progress that I knew myself I wouldn’t have had. It’s incredible and a bit shameful for me to witness. I had years of a head start, but deep down I knew that without it, I wouldn’t have been able to grow as much in a short amount of time as my Finnish friends.
The first ever class in our program was with our Dean in an auditorium of 80 students. We often had debates and presentations. Most Vietnamese students were very shy and quiet, yet my Finnish peers were confident, persuasive and critical, to the point that the Dean, who is a Swedish American, said this about one guy: “he is terrifyingly persuasive”. The same ability to communicate with confidence and substance was consistent throughout the time I was there, either in or outside of the classroom.
One time, I was sitting next to a guy in class. He was gluing his eyes to a book. I asked him what he was reading and his response was “An Arabic dictionary”. It turned out the guy could speak 6-7 languages already and was trying to learn a new one. In addition to that guy, I was friends with another guy who could speak 7 languages and play piano well. In Finland, the official languages are Swedish and Finnish. English is so popular that many Finns speak the language like native speakers. Plus, a lot of Finns learn a language or two in high school and spend time abroad. So it’s very common to meet Finns who can speak multiple languages.
Moreover, Finns are very modest. They tend to display a healthy level of shyness and play down their abilities. I rarely detected a sense of ostentation from my Finnish friends or folks I met over there. If you meet a Finn salesman to ask about a service or product, don’t be surprised to hear something along the line of “it works!”. In my experience, Finns are like that. Down-to-earth, direct, modest, honest and genuine.
I came across a clip that explained quite well the modesty and why Finnish education is so good. Have a listen.
Minh Quang Duong 