NORMAL LIFE: Different Aspiration, Same Future?

I got home at 5am this morning, after partying with my friend, Zach, and his girlfriend, Jenny. Both Finns, they have now been in a relationship for about a year and a half. He's tall, nearly 100 kilos yet still looking good while she is petit and stunning. In Finnish terms, Zach is special; at 27 years of age, with three years experience of working in the UK and having recently complete his National [Army] Service, he exhibits considerable maturity.

We are very like actually, except for the fact that Zach returned to Finland and has felt somewhat and 'suffocated' bored by its homogeneity. While I understand his frustration, I urged him not to be impatient. When Jenny finishes her studies in the summer, perhaps they could go abroad together for a spell of time? "But she's so different", he said. I pointed out that, compared to him, most ladies will be different because he really has pushed the boundaries and 'broken the mould', compared to the vast majority of Finns. What saddened me was he said that he felt no emotional attachment nor sense of pride to be Finnish.

I realised that, in front of me, was sitting a young man not even thirty years of age, who was just confused and wanting more. His girlfriend listened on intently, hanging onto his every word the way someone who loves you does. My fear was that his impatience would alienate his girlfriend, somehow create an uneccessary divide between them. This is something they have cleardly discussed in depth and I realised that, for young Finns, life is hard; there's a necessity to get that international experience, especially if you desire all the benefits a career can bring.

I explained how ironic it was, in contrast, that when I had returned to the UK in September, 2005, nobody would employ me. While the international work experience of a Finn is highly regarded and returnees are snapped up, I was basically dumped, given the impression that my work experience in Helsinki wasn't exactly Tokyo or New York or for that matter, the City of London. Short-term international work experience can have very long term-term effects in their own country. But who is to say that, while on that contract abroad, they actually did something of value, that they really learnt something useful, that they developed skills that would help to drive Finnish industry? Such is the superficiality - or rather, naivety - of modern day Finland.