El brunch con las amigas

En la mesa hay mucha comida y las amigas están muy alegres pero tienen hambre. La comida está encima de la mesa. En la mesa hay croissants, frutas, una empanada, una tarta de chocolate y bebidas, por ejemplo zumo de naranja. Al lado del mango está la piña. La piña está entre el mango y las fresas. La empanada está al lado del zumo de naranja. Los platos, los tenedores, los cuchillos, los vasos y las tazas de café están detrás de la mesa. La comida es buena. Especialmente las fresas son muy deliciosas. Después del brunch las amigas están muy contentas.  

Text: Heidi Marjoranta, a student in Basic Course in Spanish 2

Mi sala de estar

En la foto hay mi sala de estar. En mi sala de estar hay un sofá. El sofá es roja, es bastante nueva porque mi amigo y yo lo compramos hace dos días. La sala está bastante limpia, pero enfrente del sofá está la alfombra que está un poco sucia. Enfrente del sofá también está la mesa de tele. La mesa es negra y es muy vieja, pero es barata porque la compramos de nuestro amigo. Sobre la mesa hay una tele y un estéreo. La sala está bastante vacía, no hay  cortinas tampoco. Detrás del sofá está la puerta de balcón, la puerta está cerrada. Entre el sofá y la puerta está la cama por los invitados. La cama es bastante baja.

Text: a student in Basic Course in Spanish 2

Finnish style and how it’s affected by Finnish culture

It’s been said that there really is no Finnish culture since everything is brought to us from somewhere else. Our national hymn was composed by Friedrich Pacius, who is from Germany. Coffee was invented by the Arabs in and drunk in Yemen since 1200. Sauna is also not a Finnish invention. The American Mayan Indians went to a steaming room 900 years BCE. Finnish have however adopted these creations as their own. The Finnish are often described as shy and quiet. Small talk is not a Finnish strength. People talk when talk is needed and mean what they say.

What about Finnish style in dressing up and does our culture affect it? Does a Finnish person want to dress as unnoticeably as possible to avoid attention from others to minimize possible discussions? One thing that does affect Finnish style and not always in a good way is our ever changing weather. Finland has four seasons and the degree changes vary from winters -30 temperature to summers + 25 degrees. This adds a challenge to looking smart every now and then.

There is one Finnish shoe designer who has made a name for herself outside Finland. Her shoes have been presented in Vogue, Elle and Glamour magazines and they are worn by Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga.  Her products can be called many things but one thing they are not is shy.

Bunny shoes by Minna Parikka. (Picture from: http://myfashionblogpost.blogspot.fi/2015/04/chic-shoes-minna-parikka-bunny-ears.html)

Lady Gaga wearing Minna Parikka shoes. (Picture from: http://www.iltasanomat.fi/viihde/art-2000000920667.html)

Do women in Finland wear these shoes? Yes, they do. I’ve seen many Finnish women wearing them and they are always noticed. I think that Finnish women are constantly more daring in the way they dress.  Finnish style is still considered somewhat awkward when compared to our neighboring countries. There are many prejudices about Finnish style. Firstly we try to copy everything the Swedes do but they always dress better. Secondly our women are not as feminine as Russians are, since we don’t always care to wear heels. Thirdly we are not as tanned and blond like the Norwegians who are by these perceptions basically the same as Swedish women.

These are opinions that depend on who you’re asking. I think Finnish women are more daring and unique that the women in our neighboring countries. Style has not maybe mattered to us so much in the past and what we say has mattered more than how we look. This is now changing since Finns have understood that when you’re trying to make a good impression the whole baggage matters. I think Finnish women can dress up well when they want to. They can definitely make a statement when they want to. They can also choose to dress so that they won’t be noticed because Finnish women dress to impress themselves. Not others.

Resources:

https://tuomastahti.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/mita-on-suomalainen-kulttuuri/

https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahvi

http://www.iltasanomat.fi/kotimaa/art-2000000144833.html

http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Finland.html

https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minna_Parikka

Text: Tiina Laukas, a student in Independent Study in English course

Open one's mouth

The idiom of saying open your mouth is to say something, especially that which is indiscreet, boorish, or meant to be a secret a according to the idioms of Free Dictionary. Why did you have to open your mouth about my crush on Tommy? Why couldn't you just keep it between us? You've got to make sure that he never opens his mouth about what went on here today. If you have a big mouth, you talk too much, especially things that should be secret. Helen's got such a big mouth - the news'll be all over the town by tonight. I knew I shouldn't have mentioned the letter. Oh dear, me and my big mouth!

Opening your mouth means that you have something to say. You have ideas and something to tell others. If it sounds mean, evil or unconventional, it means that your emotions are negative or they don’t fit to that certain circumstance. Emotions come usually first, afterwards comes the reason. I think that people who open their mouth in front of a public are courageous, even if they say something funny! At least they say something and express themselves. It is refreshing! They must feel trusted and vice versa trust people around them.

Maintaining trust is very important in our everywhere life. Trust enables us to take risks: where there is trust there is a feeling that others don’t take advantage of me even if I open my big mouth and say something irrelevant. We choose to whom we will trust and we base the choice we are making on cognition-based good reasons. Affective founds of trust consist of the emotional bonds between people and we invest on trust in our relationships. We express care and concern for the people near us and believe that these feelings are virtues and reciprocated. Until I test the trust opening my big mouth,again….

Text by Tea Raatikainen, a student in Independent Study in English course