People have lived in Finland for over ten thousand years, despite the frequently difficult environment. While the summer weather is often beautiful with lots of daylight, the winters are long, cold and dark.
One cultural aspect of Finnish life is called Sisu (say it: Siss-soo), which is a Finnish word that means being brave and stubborn, even when the odds are against you. In addition to developing lots of ways to adapt to their environment, Finns are also very stoic, and accept what they cannot change.
In the last few months, I have come to see how Sisu is a really important part of how Finns interact with their environment.
I have been very suprised at how much the weather changes from season to season here. From long, bright, sunny days in the summer to the cooler, cloudy, rainy days of fall: there is a lot of variation in the Finnish weather.
It is only mid-November, and already the days are short, and very rainy. When I first came to Finland, I could not wait to see the winter. My Finnish friends made it sound so beautiful. So far, though, it has just been a cold, rainy fall!
