Thursday, April 07, 2005
World Citizenship
Hi Everyone,
The Pope’s death has dominated the news here for the past week. Five of the 10 stations we get on TV are news channels (2 Finnish; 1 German which broadcasts several hours a day in English; EuroNews which broadcasts simultaneously in 7 languages; and the BBC). EuroNews especially has had almost non-stop coverage of the Pope’s illness and death since there are so many Catholics in the countries it serves. The languages it broadcasts in are English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Portuguese, although Finland only subscribes to the English broadcast. Some of the retrospectives EuroNews has done since John Paul’s death have been superb – showing the humble, charismatic man, always surrounded by people yet always alone.
One of the things we like best about traveling abroad is watching and reading the news since it reminds us every day that we are part of a world community – a concept easily forgotten in the States where even the national news is dominated by “local” events. Here, interconnections between nations are never taken for granted. Television stock market reports cover every country since so much trading is done between markets here. Financial markets are also reported since the Euro’s value against the U.S. Dollar, British Sterling, and the Yen are equally important. The sports broadcast always covers soccer - the international mania we’re just beginning to appreciate in the U.S. But sports news also includes auto racing in Bahrain, golf in South Africa, and sailboat racing in New Zealand. The sports bars we visited this winter had huge screens showing international ski jumping, hockey, and biathlons.
Weather forecasts sprawl across continents because of international travel. The BBC is especially fun to watch because of phrases like “The wind is freshening from the west in Borneo…” and “It’s a thundery forecast for Sumatra…”
But the very best news venue is the International Herald Tribune, the favorite of both Roy and me long before we met. In Oulu we can only get the Tribune once a week, so Thursdays we make a pilgrimage to the bookstore in city center, eager for the excellent writing, the indepth coverage of world events, and the cosmopolitan views on the editorial pages. Where else could you read about one woman’s experience waiting for rescue under the Indonesian earthquake’s rubble as she held her baby and heard her little girl dying just out of reach. Or learn about a crusades-era castle in Israel that has been restored and is being offered for sale as a single family home. Or join Dutch researchers learning about personality by studying birds and hyenas. Or read indepth analysis of the impossible situation facing Sudan in attempting to rebuild the country after 21 years of civil war. We literally read every article, luxuriating in the language and global perspective.
Our political conversations with Finns always reflect their recognition of Finland’s place within the world community. In large part, the Finns’ world view is affected by its history and its ideological contrast with its nearest neighbor. Here are some examples:
- When we visited Juha and Arya’s home, we complimented them on their antiques. Arja explained that all of the antiques were from Juha’s family. Her family is Karelian, a people displaced by the Soviet Union in a land grab. The many Karelian Finns in this area have almost no family heirlooms and in many cases not even family documents and pictures.
- During my lunch with Rauni, it was obvious that there was no love lost even today with Russia. Rauni’s husband showed me an atlas, pointing out the relative sizes of tiny Finland and the great expanse of the Soviet Union. Then in his only English statement of the afternoon, he said adamantly, “And we won!
- Juha told us that every Finnish man must serve in the armed forces. Their initial training only lasts 6 months, usually undertaken before entering college or starting a job after high school. For officer’s training, a year of service is required. But after that initial training, Finnish men are in the reserves, with periodic summer training sessions, until they are 60!
I suspect that if Canada were an aggressive, politically unstable presence, our world view would be different as well.
In thinking back, I saw why the Finns feel this way as early as 1985 when I went to the Soviet Union. After 3 weeks there, when we landed in Helsinki on my flight home from Moscow, all of the passengers started applauding. I asked a flight attendant if this was unusual. She replied, “It happens every time.” In a country that has been occupied for much of its history and that endured its own civil war in the 1920's, freedom and stability aren't taken for granted.
In establishing the Fulbright foundation, J. William Fulbright said, "International education exchange is … designed to continue the process of humanizing mankind to the point, we would hope, that nations can learn to live in peace."
Understanding another nation’s world view and our role as citizens of the world is probably the most valuable part of this experience.
We hope this finds you shedding your winter garb and enjoying the daffodils. Here we know that winter is on the run because we haven’t worn long underwear in nearly 3 weeks! The birds are announcing their nesting territorial claims, and the walking paths are nearly dry. No spring blooms yet, but with 18 hours of daylight, we hope to see crocuses soon. Last night, the “Blue Moment” didn’t occur until after 9 p.m. (When I arrived it was at 4:15 in the afternoon!) And the first fingers of light were in the east at 4:30 this morning. The temperature has been in the high 40’s for almost 2 weeks. The natives say this is unusual, but we’re enjoying it! To follow our weather here (or yours at home for that matter) a great Web site is Weather Underground at http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/02875.html.
More soon,
Sarah
