Two weeks ago I submitted a post about a visit to Finland– to Santa Claus Village on the edge of the Arctic Circle. I have actually made four visits to the beautiful and amazing nation of Finland. The people are warm and friendly, and Finnish culture is so rich.

Finland is unique among the other Nordic countries of Northern Europe. It borders Russia in the east and Sweden in the west, but its language and history is entirely separate from both the Slavic Russians and the Scandinavian Swedes. The Finnish people call their nation, “Suomi.” Their complicated language is more akin to Estonian and Hungarian than any other– containing lots of double vowels, and double consonants, and spelling rules that are quite challenging to the English speaker. Still, most of the Finnish youth are bi- and tri-lingual– usually Finnish, English, plus a third (Swedish, Russian, or German, etc). They are a well educated people; not backward at all. Finland is the home of Nokia Telecom and other advanced technology companies. While in Finland, I was NOT the most educated person around– for sure. Other than “kiitos” (“thank-you,”) I did not try to speak any Finnish. I was just happy to let the Finns practice their English on me!

On my very first visit to Finland, my friend Israel and I stayed in the home of a wonderful couple named Tuulikki and Kalevi, who remain my friends today. Tuulikki understood and spoke good English, but her husband Kalevi did not. One cold Finnish morning we were treated to an incredible homemade breakfast prepared by Kalevi after his wife had left for work. There was no need for a common language between us. Kalevi did all his speaking through his culinary skills! He provided an array of all kinds of sweets, meats, cheeses, pancakes, fruits, and breads. Delicious!! And the coffee was from heaven!

There was only ONE item at the breakfast feast that we ate sparingly. It was a bread that was dark, dry, and packed with FIBER: Finnish Rye Bread (Ruisleipä)  One small piece gave us all the fiber we would need for a month or more! Kalevi handed me a second piece, but I hid it in my jacket pocket. Israel did the same when he was handed his second one. Each time we hid one, kind Kalevi just offered us another, thinking we loved it.

Not knowing Finnish, I looked for another way to politely refuse his offers. Then is dawned on me– NO means NO in most every language. But of course I didn’t stop at a simple, “No, kiitos.” Instead I motioned “no” with my hand and said, “No, kiitos, we can’t handle any more styrofoam.” It seemed to be a safe thing to say since Kalevi didn’t understand English. Besides, my comment got a little chuckle from Israel. Our host nodded his head signaling that he saw that we were stuffed already. Our happy faces showed our gratitude for the delicious mega-breakfast.

In the evening we returned to our host’s home for a relaxing end to the day. Tuulikki offered us use of the hot sauna that was located in the home. We had been instructed by our Finnish leaders that going to sauna at the close of the day is the very definition of hospitality in Finland, so we knew to not refuse the offer. Finnish saunas are unlike anything in American gyms. They are much hotter, and provide eucalyptus water to throw on the hot coals every few minutes. It is quite therapeutic for the skin, the lungs, and the circulation.

Handing us two towels, Tuulikki intended to politely ask if we knew what to do in the sauna, but used the wrong English word in the process. She meant to say, “Do you know how to be in the sauna?” But instead said, “Do you know how to pee in the sauna?” Izzy quickly whispered to me, “Do we have to do that?” I simply nodded to Tuulikki in the affirmative. At the moment, ignorance seemed better than inquiring about using the sauna as a bathroom.

The sauna was nice, and (of course) we did NOT relieve ourselves there. Later, we returned to the family room and thanked them kindly for the wonderful sauna experience. With a broad smile Tuulikki was eager to say, “I’m sorry. I think I said the wrong word to you earlier. I should have used a B instead of a P.“ Together we laughed about the language mixup. Izzy and I were just glad that we didn’t follow her original instruction!

Then, Tuulikki added, “My husband is also very sorry that he offered you styrofoam for breakfast this morning.”

Izzy and I froze in embarrassment, but Tuulikki and Kalevi continued smiling. I was absolutely mortified at what I had said. How could I have been so rude and stupid?

“I’m so sorry,” I finally said. “Please forgive me. I thought Kalevi didn’t understand English, and I was just trying to be funny with Israel.”

“We’re so sorry,” Israel pleaded alongside me. “The breakfast was wonderful.”

“Oh, no worries,” Tuulikki answered. “It is true that Kalevi does not speak any English. But the Finnish word for styrofoam happens to be, ‘styrofoam.'” Unfortunately, I spoke more Finnish than I thought.

“Fools multiply words. No one knows what is coming….” Ecclesiastes 10:14