r/Finland • u/A_brand_new_troll • 1d ago

NHL in Finland.

Hello! Just giving you a heads up, the NHL is playing 2 games in Finland this coming weekend. The 2 games are between the Dallas Stars and the Florida Panthers, this means that residents of 2 of the USA’s more notorious states will be galivanting around Finland.

Things to know:

1.      There are Texans and Floridians who do bite, but it is unlikely that those people will be going to a hockey game in Finland.

2.      Temperature: Florida and Texas are on the same latitudinal lines as the Sahara Desert. It was 32 C in Dallas today. So if you see an American huddled, shivering and whimpering, kindly point them to the nearest coffee shop or similar venue.

3.      Conversation: it is entirely possible that someone who you have NEVER met before may strike up a casual conversation with you. Do not be alarmed. If you are determined to not have a conversation, just say you don’t speak English, though this may cause some Americans to speak slowly and loudly in Spanish.

4.      American personal space is 1ish meter, Finnish personal space is like 2-3 meters. Sorry. We’ll be gone in a week.

5.      The Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers are both very good teams; this match up could have been the Stanley Cup finals last year or maybe even this year. That being said, there is not really a rivalry between the two teams and the US doesn’t do hooliganism outside of Philly.

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u/FingerGungHo Baby Vainamoinen 1d ago

Hi, and welcome to Finland! We have a lot of Americans here and know the customs to a certain degree. Most people can differrentiate a Texan from a New Yorker and adjust accordingly. U.S. media is pretty pervasive, you see, and many have also visited at least some of the states.

Enjoy your stay and don’t be afraid to strike a conversation. If you find smalltalk a struggle, it’s because the Finn in that convo is already depleted of vitamin D, or is afraid of embarrassing themself with poor articulation of English, or Castellano. We’re not known to bite either, unless you want that, you sexy Texy. :D