Sari and I had a long talk today about why they decided to get an exchange student in the first place. It took a lot of persuading from Sari to get Jarno to do it. The main reason they did it was because they wanted the kids to get better at English. We also spoke about how in Finland they are raised in such a way that people often judge and scrutinize others for being different, more so than in other places. This especially takes place in the smaller towns. Sari told me that her old friends in the small town they used to live in would never have considered getting an exchange student, and they think it is odd that the Siitonen’s got one. They live in their houses with their spouse and their kids, with the same job and they never go outside their comfort zones or take any risks. I think living like this is sad.
