A fantastic way to get a peek into a local community’s worries, values, history and orientation in Finland, is a visit to the public sauna. I recently sat in a public sauna in provincial town Mikkeli, ran by volunteers of the congregation in a modest wooden stub by the local Pitkäjärvi (meaning “Long Lake”, it’s probably the most generic lake name around here, I bet one in five Finnish lakes is a Long Lake). It’s not a very diverse group of men - most of them are old, round and tough-looking. True Finns, yeah, but definitely not shy. I find myself to be the most quiet of the pack, hearing everyone’s opinion on subjects ranging from the road works to the lake water quality and all those foreigners moving in (a very amusing topic for me). The subject suddenly switches to old memories, and one of the most influential guys of the sweaty pack recounts how he, as a teenager in the 70's, got a school visit from an actor who read poems of the classic poet Eino Leino. Everyone in his class turned silent and listened in awe, he remembered. It seemed to have left a deep impression on him.
I wonder if this kind of experience could still be happening today. Somehow I don’t see teenagers in 2022 with their short attention span being too impressed by a classic poetry recital. Or am I being too cynical now?
On the other hand, some fifteen years ago actor-director Jussi Lehtonen did something similar for his PhD. He went to visit prisons - I imagine they’re also full of old, round and tough-looking men - and performed Shakespeare’s sonnets as a monologue, dressed in quite feminine clothing. From what I’ve heard, the initial mockery when he rose to stage quickly turned to silence during his performance. Afterwards, the deeply moved inmates came over to shake his hand: “Sä oot kova jätkä” (“You’re a tough guy”).
Those are the moments, right? I would love to hear about your best experiences, please share them with us in the comments ⬇️
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