NationStates Jolt Archive

I live in Finland and just wanted to know how many here has ever even heard of it.

of course we have....hello

and

urgen gurgen ?

Unlike what some foreigners would have you believe, all Americans have heard of Finland; and can easily spot it on a map. Quick question: Are flurgan and durgan real Finnish words?

Yes! Go Finland.. yes here in America, we all wish we could live in a cooler country, so Finland is always there :D ...Halge!

yes I believe it means, cheers, or down the hatch or lets get drunk and stick our dicks in the fire !

Why do they call it Suomi in the local language and Finland in Western European countries?

Every one can see it in map. I mean that what do you know of it? Urgen & plurgen aren't really Finnish words.

Why do they call it Suomi in the local language and Finland in Western European countries?

Dunno.

Yes, as a matter of fact I once did a study of the Russo-Finnish War. You guys kick ass! :D

noes i dontt no about teh finland lolololol

ARG! i accidently put yes, i've never heard of a place called Finlad!.....although i have heard of a country called finlaNd!

:p

i'd like to see you try to post in Finnish, Volvonce !

I'm the only one who's never heard of Finlad? Weird.

No, Finnish does not have words which even sound remotely like "flurgan", "durgan", "urgen" or "burgen". The letters "f", "d", "g" and "b" appear almost exclusively in imported words, not in older Finnish words. Finnish sounds like this: "Perkele, tämä sisu-salmiakki ruisleivän päällä koskenkorvan kera on reilua meininkiä."

It might sound like Finnish has "soft" (voiced) consonants to an English-speaking listener, because Finnish does not use aspiration. The consonants still aren't voided, though -- the main reason we don't have aspiration is probably that there was never need to make a clear distinction between, say, "b" and "p", because we only really had the latter until very lately.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I want to be,
Pony trekking or camping,
Or just watching TV.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
It's the country for me.

You're so near to Russia,
So far from Japan,
Quite a long way from Cairo,
Lots of miles from Vietnam.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I want to be,
Eating breakfast or dinner,
Or snack lunch in the hall.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
Finland has it all.

You're so sadly neglected
And often ignored,
A poor second to Belgium,
When going abroad.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
Finland has it all.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
Finland has it all.

Finland has it all.

--Michael Palin

Why do they call it Suomi in the local language and Finland in Western European countries?It's Finland (or something derived from that) in just about every language other than Finnish. I'm not exactly sure what Finns called this land before, but "Suomi" is a relatively recent name for it, considering how long this land has been inhabited.

It's not clear where the word "Suomi" came from, but one version is that it comes from the pre-baltic word "zeme", which means land, and was slowly transformed into Suomi over 4,000 years. Another theories include the use of fish skins (scale = "suomu") by early South-West Finns, which would explain why in the 14th century "Suomi" only really referred to the S-W Finland. Or it could have come from "suo" (swamp) + "maa" (land), because, well, we've got a lot of swamps.

A decent site providing etymology for the word "Finland" is really damn hard to find. I have to admit I haven't got the slightest clue where it might come from. Obviously from combining a word that sounds like "fin" with "land", but nobody seems to know for certain what "fin", "fen", etc. originally meant.

Finland.. Finland.. isn't that where father christmasses and nokia's roam free ;-) ?

Seriously: yes, I've heard of it. I'm even planning on visiting Helsinki on my way to St. Petersburg this spring.

I've heard of Finland. Their language is not really related to most of Europe's but shares ties with Hungarian and related languages. It also has a lot of cases.

Yeah, America has heard of Finland. Question what has it been doing lately? You helping war in Iraq or anything?

There's a Fin-land now? :confused:

I wonder why this thread reminds me of this old joke:

A Finn, a Russian, and an American go to the zoo, and see a huge elephant. The American thinks, 'I could sell this elephant for a lot of money.' The Russian thinks, 'This elephant could feed a lot of people.' But the Finn wonders, 'What does the elephant think about me?'

We need you to appreciate us. Thank You. :)

A friend of mine in high school was learning Finnish because she was going to be an exchange student there and I remember it being harder to learn than English. Crazy ass language, but seeing as how Monty Python wrote a song about it, it's got to be a groovy place.

You helping war in Iraq or anything?Not any war fought with weapons, that's for sure. Thank goodness.

Yes, I've heard of Finland, even though I am an American.

The language is rooted in Finno-Ugric, which is, by happenstance, remotely related to Korean.

Go figure.

It's Finland (or something derived from that) in just about every language other than Finnish. I'm not exactly sure what Finns called this land before, but "Suomi" is a relatively recent name for it, considering how long this land has been inhabited.

It's not clear where the word "Suomi" came from, but one version is that it comes from the pre-baltic word "zeme", which means land, and was slowly transformed into Suomi over 4,000 years. Another theories include the use of fish skins (scale = "suomu") by early South-West Finns, which would explain why in the 14th century "Suomi" only really referred to the S-W Finland. Or it could have come from "suo" (swamp) + "maa" (land), because, well, we've got a lot of swamps.

A decent site providing etymology for the word "Finland" is really damn hard to find. I have to admit I haven't got the slightest clue where it might come from. Obviously from combining a word that sounds like "fin" with "land", but nobody seems to know for certain what "fin", "fen", etc. originally meant.


It comes from old Norse, I think. The people who lived in northern Scandinavia were usually referred to as "finner" or "lapper," whence geographical names like Finnmark, Lappland and Finland which are still used today. No idea what exactly "finne" means, though.

As for Suomi, I always thought it was related with the word Sami, another group of indigenous people in northern Scandinavia.
-Who also were referred to as "finner".

It comes from old Norse, I think. The people who lived in northern Scandinavia were usually referred to as "finner" or "lapper," whence geographical names like Finnmark, Lappland and Finland which are still used today. No idea what exactly "finne" means, though.That's certainly one version. That theory was listed somewhere. Others mentioned that there was a word "finn" which meant something similar in Celtic before that.

As for Suomi, I always thought it was related with the word Sami, another group of indigenous people in northern Scandinavia.It's possible the words are related. If the origin of the word "Suomi" is indeed in the pre-baltic word "zeme", then it's most likely Suomi, Saame/Sami (and Häme, and other similar Finnish region names) are related. But it seems like we shouldn't assume too much about these things -- this version of the origins of the words isn't exactly supported by the fact that the word "Suomi" came into common usage only in the 14th century, and meant only the South-Western Finland.

uhm. even though I would be very ...surprised to find an american who hasn't ever heard of finland, I'm quite convinced (or just hoping) that person would not publicly display her ignorance. :)

and can easily spot it on a map.

People here can barely find their home state on a map...

I have some coins from Finland. They have the symbol thats on a Mac.

Unlike what some foreigners would have you believe, all Americans have heard of Finland; and can easily spot it on a map. Quick question: Are flurgan and durgan real Finnish words?
I'm not so sure about that. About 86% of just-graduated American high school students couldn't find Iraq on a world map, and 41% couldn't name a single country in Asia.

yeah i've heard of it! I'm half finnish lol...and I've been there a few times ;)

Finland has the best damn water in the world, surpassing every other nation in its quality

Finland. What exactly does Finland do anyway?

No, I haven't heard of Finlad, but Finland on the otherhand, I know of. Though not as much as I probably should. Given that it is in northern Europe and should get its fair share of snow along with having plenty of Sea side, it should be an interesting country geographically speaking at least. Don't know what they have interms of mountains, but if it clears the timberline that's another plus.

Capital is Helsinki. Neigbors Russia and Sweden. Main language is Finnish. Scandinavian social democratic government. Sorry, I won my school geography bee in the eigth grade.

Capital is Helsinki. Neigbors Russia and Sweden. Main language is Finnish. Scandinavian social democratic government. Sorry, I won my school geography bee in the eigth grade.

Well, other than the socialistic nature of the Gov. it sounds alright to me.

Well...

I know that Great Britain declared war on you in the Second World War because we allied with the Soviets who you were fighting a war against at the time.

Gotta love Scandinavian metal! In Flames & Dimmu Borgir!

Who cares where it is. All i know is we canucks kick your ASS in hockey bahahhahahah.

no, but really, i bet most americans dont know where it is...

Of course I've heard of Finland. I'm myself in one of the northern countries, Iceland to be exact.

We don't have any real mountains. The last ice age ground them down quite effectively, leaving us with just a bunch of hills in the 500-800 meter range and a few that barely break 1km.

Neigbors Russia and Sweden.True enough, though we in fact have a longer land border with Norway than with Sweden (736km vs 614km).

Well, other than the socialistic nature of the Gov. it sounds alright to me.Good thing you don't live here, then. We're quite happy with our social democratic government, which is why we keep voting for them.

I know that Great Britain declared war on you in the Second World War because we allied with the Soviets who you were fighting a war against at the time.Yeah. Boy did you whoop our asses. ;)

Gotta love Scandinavian metal! In Flames & Dimmu Borgir!Well, we aren't really Scandinavian, and those two are Swedish and Norwegian, respectively.

What exactly does Finland do anyway?What do countries in general do? It exists.

Thanks, Erehwon for telling me where Suomi comes from, even if it's just theories.

Alomogordo: You forgot Norway as neighbor of Finland!

They make vodka and lose at hockey if i am not mistaken...

I've heard of Finland. In fact, there are several IRC regulars from Finland.

They [...] lose at hockey if i am not mistaken...As I'm sure you realize, you get that impression because we usually get far enough in the cups and series to get into the games that are televised and seen as important, but don't always get to the finals nor win medals. With maybe 3-6 countries better at ice hockey in the world, that still means there's well over 200 that are worse, which I'm sure brings some comfort to Finnish hockey fans (which I am not).

Goobergunchia: Then you probably knew that IRC was invented by a Finn?

Thanks, Erehwon for telling me where Suomi comes from, even if it's just theories.

Alomogordo: You forgot Norway as neighbor of Finland!
Sorry kind Norwegians.
More interesting facts:
Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and resist invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, the Finns made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is now on par with Western Europe. As a member of the European Union, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999.

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Montana

Climate: cold temperate; potentially subarctic but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes

Natural resources: timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone

The bits he didn't quote can be found here (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/fi.html).

Goobergunchia: Then you probably knew that IRC was invented by a Finn?

Yup, Jarkko Oikarinen.

Yup, Jarkko Oikarinen.


Hmm well thumbs up! lol

Natural resources: timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone

You forgot to mention water...Finland produces the cleanest , purest water in the world...it comes from lakes that wear created by glaciers that were formed during the Ice Age, these water sources were not touched by human civilization for thousands of year and therefore have very little pollutants. The UN World Water Survey (Kyoto 2003) ranked Finnish water the best in the world.

You forgot to mention water...Finland produces the cleanest , purest water in the world...it comes from lakes that wear created by glaciers that were formed during the Ice Age, these water sources were not touched by human civilization for thousands of year and therefore have very little pollutants. The UN World Water Survey (Kyoto 2003) ranked Finnish water the best in the world.
GAHHH! What I say is never good enough for you people!!!! :mad:

Finland. The land of the thousand lakes. (Yeah, yeah. I know it's more then a thousand. But thats how my geography teacher back in high school called it.)
Oh. And Nightwish.

Of course I've heard of Finland. It's a great little country. And in the twentieth century it has some standout moments as well. For example, the Finns were the only ones who paid back their entire WWI debt. And they put up one hell of a defense against the Soviets when the USSR just kind of randomly invaded shortly before WWII. Finland rocks.

I had to put maybe cause I answered the question before reading your first post. Your question has Finland misspelled as Finlad.

I am American and I know of Finland. You guys make Finlandia Swiss Cheese :)

I had to put maybe cause I answered the question before reading your first post. Your question has Finland misspelled as Finlad.

I am American and I know of Finland. You guys make Finlandia Swiss Cheese :)
Spoken like a true Yankee :D

Why do they call it Suomi in the local language and Finland in Western European countries?


The funny thing is that there is no F in the Finnish alphabet so Finns have a real hard time pronouncing the word Finn

I was born in Finland and speak the language.

I live in Finland and just wanted to know how many here has ever even heard of it.

As a product of 4 years Bush education, I must say that Finland is a country in the belt of Africa. Perhaps the democrats will say that I am the typical product of republicanism but like our Dumsvillegazette and my führer in command says: they lie! Don't believe those darn anti US Darwin lovers, believe in our book and what I say you.

Perhaps my new bible that replaces Darwin and Geography is a bit wrong and thus it is not in Africa but in the Himallayas, because Saint George told me that there is a snow. Those anti truth EU infidells have another opinion about where we can find Finland, but of course they must be wrong. :p .

They even believe sience instead of the howly book. Damn snobs!

I'm Irish, I use a Soumi Nokia phone, and I'm planning to go to Finland this summer.

The funny thing is that there is no F in the Finnish alphabet so Finns have a real hard time pronouncing the word Finn

I was born in Finland and speak the language.There did not use to be. There certainly is now... You're absolutely right about the difficult pronouncing it, though, which stems from the lack of words with the "f" sound in it. As a character says in a classic Finnish comedy series from the 60s-70s, (paraphrased) "Suomenkielessä esiintyy äffä vaan yhdessä sanassa, ja se on pesuffati." [Cannot be translated reasonably.]

I've heard of Finland. Their language is not really related to most of Europe's but shares ties with Hungarian and related languages. It also has a lot of cases.

Estonian is one of those related languages.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finno-Ugric_language

There did not use to be. There certainly is now... You're absolutely right about the difficult pronouncing it, though, which stems from the lack of words with the "f" sound in it. As a character says in a classic Finnish comedy series from the 60s-70s, (paraphrased) "Suomenkielessä esiintyy äffä vaan yhdessä sanassa, ja se on pesuffati." [Cannot be translated reasonably.]

Something like :" In Finnish the letter F exists in only one word and that word is washing-something-or-other" (the word is not a finnish word at least the whole word..)

Hehehe I like that! it is quite funny! Thank you!

Something like :" In Finnish the letter F exists in only one word and that word is washing-something-or-other" (the word is not a finnish word at least the whole word..)"In Finnish, the F-sound appears in only one word, and that word is washing-bowl." gets the meaning accross better, IMNSHO. I fail to see how that's funny in English, though...

As a product of 4 years Bush education, I must say that Finland is a country in the belt of Africa. Perhaps the democrats will say that I am the typical product of republicanism but like our Dumsvillegazette and my führer in command says: they lie! Don't believe those darn anti US Darwin lovers, believe in our book and what I say you.

Perhaps my new bible that replaces Darwin and Geography is a bit wrong and thus it is not in Africa but in the Himallayas, because Saint George told me that there is a snow. Those anti truth EU infidells have another opinion about where we can find Finland, but of course they must be wrong. :p .

They even believe sience instead of the howly book. Damn snobs!

Isn't Finland the country of Coca Cola Santa? Here in Dallas we say that it is somewhere North to NYC and a province of Alberta. But ya know we are not that smart anymore here after 8 years cuts in the education budget in Texas.

But like Adolf said long ago, if we believe in it it lust be so. So if we believe that Finland is in North America, it must be because we say it.

... So if we believe that Finland is in North America, it must be because we say it.

Well there is a Finland in Northern Minnisota

Of course I've heard of Finland. It's a great little country.


Sorry to add this small corection to our favorite ignorant. The distance in Finland between the South and the North is about the same as the one in Texas. Texas is indeed small compared to the intelligence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland

BTW I appreciate that you say "Finland rocks" and hope you said it because of their history, specially the Mannerheim resistance towards the Soviet invasion. (But they where a true allie of Nazi Germany later, the US was not).

Been there, lived there.

Isn't Finland the country of Coca Cola Santa?Nope, the C-C Santa lives in the North Pole, for whatever reason. The Santa that lives in Finland is far more modest, although admittely he too does wear the Official C-C Santa Red-And-White.

Nope, the C-C Santa lives in the North Pole, for whatever reason. The Santa that lives in Finland is far more modest, although admittely he too does wear the Official C-C Santa Red-And-White.

Thank's, they said to me that he lives in "Rovaniemie" (sorry for the spelling, don't speak Ughrur=Finnish /Hungarian stam). 100km's above the artic circle.


Wow, Santa on the N.Pole? That is ice, Atarctica is still a continent bild on earth, but the North Pole. Wow, I'am even a bigger fan of him now, alltough I don't lik ethe commercial Santa and prefer the Nordic one like my uncle told me 20 years ago.

Sorry to add this small corection to our favorite ignorant. The distance in Finland between the South and the North is about the same as the one in Texas. Texas is indeed small compared to the intelligence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland



Finlands total area is 337,030 and Texas total area is 696,241, according to that link. So it does in fact seem small in comparison. That is in Kilometers Squared so, being American, I don't know how big that is in "real" size ;)

Up till this point though I only knew about the cheese.

Thanks for the link it Rocks!!!

Thank's, they said to me that he lives in "Rovaniemie"http://www.santaclaus.fi/?deptid=8044

Up till this point though I only knew about the cheese.

Thanks for the link it Rocks!!!

You guys have Finnish cheese at the shop? I know that "Finlandia" is selling worldwide and can be found "at your nearest supermarket" or do you really have other cheese from this great, wild nature country.

WOW, lucky you!!!!!!!!!

Thank's, they said to me that he lives in "Rovaniemie" (sorry for the spelling, don't speak Ughrur=Finnish /Hungarian stam). 100km's above the artic circle.


Wow, Santa on the N.Pole? That is ice, Atarctica is still a continent bild on earth, but the North Pole. Wow, I'am even a bigger fan of him now, alltough I don't lik ethe commercial Santa and prefer the Nordic one like my uncle told me 20 years ago.

Korvatunturi or Ear Mountain

FIN-96930 Arctic Circle

Rovaniemi

Finland

http://www.nettiradio.fi/santa/eng/engearmountain.html

You guys have Finnish cheese at the shop? I know that "Finlandia" is selling worldwide and can be found "at your nearest supermarket" or do you really have other cheese from this great, wild nature country.

WOW, lucky you!!!!!!!!!

Yep, I see commercials for Finlandia Swish Cheese alot :) I think we get it all but I've only ever seen the Swiss Triangles cheese.

You guys have Finnish cheese at the shop? I know that "Finlandia" is selling worldwide and can be found "at your nearest supermarket" or do you really have other cheese from this great, wild nature country.

WOW, lucky you!!!!!!!!!

Finlandia is also quite a nice Vodka

Finlandia is also quite a nice VodkaIn fact, before this, I had never heard of Finlandia cheeses. I would assume that for 99% of Finns, Finlandia stands only for vodka.

Korvatunturi or Ear Mountain

FIN-96930 Arctic Circle

Rovaniemi

Finland

http://www.nettiradio.fi/santa/eng/engearmountain.html

Thank's, nice link!!!!

BTW the wikipedia link is informative, just read it.

Long live Saudi FinAysia
heh... Model UN bloc last year...
a friend of mine did an exchange program in finland...
as a democratic socialist and a nordic skier, i love all the nordic countires

Long live Saudi FinAysia
heh... Model UN bloc last year...
a friend of mine did an exchange program in finland...
as a democratic socialist and a nordic skier, i love all the nordic countires

You are a "Telemark skier" or a "Langlaufer" (German term) ?Do you use skins? My style is "ski mountaineering" (English term), so I go up with skins and a Fritshi binding on my ski's. I like to meet people that love nature and don't use the ski industry but go up by their own means.

Hat of Sir, keep on practising our great, non polluting sport. It is so beautifull, far away of the slopes. (and in the huts after a day of pure air).
:fluffle:

You are a "Telemark skier" or a "Langlaufer" (German term) ?Do you use skins? My style is "ski mountaineering" (English term), so I go up with skins and a Fritshi binding on my ski's. I like to meet people that love nature and don't use the ski industry but go up by their own means.

Hat of Sir, keep on practising our great, non polluting sport. It is so beautifull, far away of the slopes. (and in the huts after a day of pure air).
:fluffle:
I was on my High School Ski Team for 3 years so i mostly do racing styles... although i dearly love sneaking up the back sides of ski mountains (with my fishscales), and then blitlhly ignoring their attempts to profit off of nature (it's a lift ticket after all, so all your paying for is the right to use that sketchy metal contraption)

Guess it would be quite hard to have not being heard of the country when I live in Helsinki :D (the capital of Finland, if there's anyone who doesn't know yet)

My nation's name is in Finnish, too (though my friend made it to me and just gave me the address and told me to run it from then on, I hadn't even asked him to do it or said that I wanted a nation, but nothing to whine about, I like it anyway), and translated it would be something like Mallard pond.

Of course I've heard of Finland. It's a great little country.

Sorry to break you image, but Finland is about as big as Great Britain, so.. as you want to think it.


Hey, and because anyone hasn't already mentioned, besides Nightwish we have H.I.M. and The Rasmus, though I'm not sure if The Rasmus has gained that much popularity, don't really have any reasons to look for information about those bands, just that I've heard that they're popular in abroad, too.

It was meant to say Finland not one of those trick questions where no-one's really heard of "Finlad" right?

I can't understand how there could be any answers of no to this question!

I used to be infatuated with an exchange student in our school named Janica, who was from Helsinki. So hot it burned my eyes to look at her - and that accent - ohhhhhhh the accent!!

One day Im going to find a beautiful european girl - they're just better, Ive settled on that much!

Yow! :D

Who the Hell voted no?

I was on my High School Ski Team for 3 years so i mostly do racing styles... although i dearly love sneaking up the back sides of ski mountains (with my fishscales), and then blitlhly ignoring their attempts to profit off of nature (it's a lift ticket after all, so all your paying for is the right to use that sketchy metal contraption)

Highschool ski team? Wha??? lol.

And i live near banff and we sure as hell dont have a highschool ski team, although thats because its very expensive. Does the government pay for that type of crap in your country?

Guess it would be quite hard to have not being heard of the country when I live in Helsinki :D (the capital of Finland, if there's anyone who doesn't know yet)

My nation's name is in Finnish, too (though my friend made it to me and just gave me the address and told me to run it from then on, I hadn't even asked him to do it or said that I wanted a nation, but nothing to whine about, I like it anyway), and translated it would be something like Mallard pond.



Sorry to break you image, but Finland is about as big as Great Britain, so.. as you want to think it.


Hey, and because anyone hasn't already mentioned, besides Nightwish we have H.I.M. and The Rasmus, though I'm not sure if The Rasmus has gained that much popularity, don't really have any reasons to look for information about those bands, just that I've heard that they're popular in abroad, too.

Ah which is about the size of alberta lol, your country IS SMALL!!

Highschool ski team? Wha??? lol.

And i live near banff and we sure as hell dont have a highschool ski team, although thats because its very expensive. Does the government pay for that type of crap in your country?

Well i had to buy my own equpment, but the school (public school in Maine,US) payed for races and wax (and lift tickets for the alpine team) How is it any more crap then say a football team? besides we were the only team the school had that could actualy win anything.

Who the Hell voted no?
People who can't find their atlases?


My mother's family is entirely Finnish so yeah I've heard of it. My grandfather was supposed to represent Finland in the Olympics way-back-when but he emigrated instead.

High School Ski Team - we had both x-country and alpine here in Toronto - had to provide your own equipment though.

I have heard about Finland many a time. One of my favorite bands happens to be from Finland, Children of Bodom.

Every one can see it in map. I mean that what do you know of it? Urgen & plurgen aren't really Finnish words.

Hey I'm from the US, but you'll probably get different responses from different USers. But anyway, yeah I know some about Finland, and what I know makes it an awesome country!

First of all, Finland is the only country to pay back its war loans to the United States! Thats important to me because sometimes I worry that too many of our tax dollars are going out too freely to other nations, but Finland is a perfect counter-example.

Second, I've heard Finland is a beautiful country.

Third, Finnish Viking history = awesome.

Forth, and this comes from a fairly outdated encyclopedia so correct me if I'm wrong, but fishing is a major industry?

I like hearing about other nations from people actually from that nation though, so if there's anything you'd like to tell, tell away.

Highschool ski team? Wha??? lol.

And i live near banff and we sure as hell dont have a highschool ski team, although thats because its very expensive. Does the government pay for that type of crap in your country?

I can't get over an Albertan making a quip about Maine paying for "that type of crap."

Also, Lubuckstan- what part of Maine are you in? I raced for Hebron (20 mins out of Lewiston) up until last year.

And of course I've heard of Finland, seeing as about half of my town's population is Finnish. (Nissu is good, I appreciate Finland.)

In my readings of WWII History I have found out a lot about the Finns, I truly Respect them as a nation and as an army.

I kinda like rootin for the little guy and I have more respect for Poland in WWII than France.


But back to Finland, sounds like a nice place, wouldn't mind visiting Helsinki(sp? and i deeply apologize for butchering that spelling)

And I understand that a lot of Cold war spy stuff took place in that city as well.

In my readings of WWII History I have found out a lot about the Finns, I truly Respect them as a nation and as an army.

I kinda like rootin for the little guy and I have more respect for Poland in WWII than France.


But back to Finland, sounds like a nice place, wouldn't mind visiting Helsinki(sp? and i deeply apologize for butchering that spelling)

And I understand that a lot of Cold war spy stuff took place in that city as well.


Cold war spy stuff Do tell..

And I understand that a lot of Cold war spy stuff took place in that city as well.
Not nearly as much as in Berlin. Which was spy central during the time.

I can't get over an Albertan making a quip about Maine paying for "that type of crap."

Also, Lubuckstan- what part of Maine are you in? I raced for Hebron (20 mins out of Lewiston) up until last year.

And of course I've heard of Finland, seeing as about half of my town's population is Finnish. (Nissu is good, I appreciate Finland.)

Durham, about 10 mins out of Lewiston, raced for Freeport

"In Finnish, the F-sound appears in only one word, and that word is washing-bowl." gets the meaning accross better, IMNSHO. I fail to see how that's funny in English, though...

The word pesuvati is washing bowl

pessuffanti is not a Finnish word

The joke is akin to saying

"The only word in the English language that rhymes with orange is Cheveaux"