Trying to be on the same level

While being here in Finland there will always be the change that there will be an issue with the communication. Every culture and country has it on ways of behavior and understandings of what is polite and what isn't.

Especially when I was in my clinical practical I wanted to fit in with the Finnish people. But soon I realized that it was not that easy to let go of your behaviors.

The Lewis Model is based on behavior and divides humans into three categories.
The three categories are the linear-active group, the reactive group and the multi-active group.

1. The linear-active group is the English speaking world. - The Netherlands and Finland are also in this group.
2. In the reactive group you can find all of the major countries in Asia. 
3. The multi-active group is more scattered around the world. - Although they are widely spread, they follow the same pattern as behaviorally. 

As you can see in the picture above Finland and the Netherlands are not that far away from each other when it comes to the Lewis Model. We Dutch people are a little more linear active then the Finnish, who are a little more reactive.

When I read the list in the picture below, I can recognize the differences between Finland and the Netherlands. Mostly during my time in clinical practical, I got confronted with these differences in behavior. The Finnish people are less direct then the Dutch and really patient.
When I compare my own behavior to this Model, I can see that it looks a lot like the linear-active group. I can be direct, I don't always use much body language and I like to plan my stuff before I do things.
During my time here in Finland I never had the idea that there was a miscommunication between me and the Finnish people. What I did noticed was that Finnish people treated us differently then how they treated their Finnish friends.

Emma and I are living in a building full of exchange students, Spanish, Americans, Asians, Italians, and so on. When I look at the Spanish people I can see a huge difference in our behaviors. They are much more talkative, use their body language a lot and are oriented at people from their own country.

https://www.crossculture.com/the-lewis-model-dimensions-of-behaviour/

So as you can read, I've seen a lot of people from all over the world and they all bring their own kind of 'normal' behavior. It's funny to talk with people from different countries and talk about all of the differences between our lives and traditions.

I hope that in my last few weeks here in Finland I get the chance to talk to a lot more people and learn more about their culture.

Nähdään!

Aniek