h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

How do I do it? My email is: [email protected]

just check out homepages with search engines or go to IRC or other worldwide chat. i think there is also some places in the Net who have this penpal stuff.

actually all you need is a little bit of time and good luck

Try visiting Strasbourg, France.
I know it sounds strange, but I'd never met a single Finn 'til I went there, then suddenly I seemed to know about twenty!
It was hard to believe there were any Finns left in Finland! It's a very international city anyway and is much recommended for meeting people from most European countries, as well as Americans and Canadians. Not only are they there, but you also spot each other more easily and relate to each other straight away, wherever you're from.

Hi,

I didn't need to visit Strasbourg.
In my Hometown Bremen/Germany I met the woman of my life.
I can only say: You Finn-Girls rule!!!

Hey, they do don't they!

I met the Finnish woman of my life in Strasbourg (hence the recommendation), and an American friend of mine also met the Finn of his dreams there.

Kinda odd, that Strasbourg thing. I live in Bonn/Germany and there are hardly any Finns at all.

Nevertheless I didn't have to go to Strasbourg to get to all the Finns I know. I got to know them in another place, where you find really many Finns - even more than in Strasbourg. That place is really beautiful and interesting, not only - bot of course mostly - because of the people living there.

That place is called Finland. It's worth going there. And there are more Finns then anywhere else, and they are more original Finnish than in any other place...

also kinda odd, isn't it?

I hope my phraseguide was useful for you - I made it for people like you, who are interested in the Finnish way of life (at least I hope you are). The Finns have their own way of communication that is only possible in their own language.

Greetings
magrathea

It will be very useful next year when I may well be living in Turku.
I've already been to Turku and the Finnish archipelago and I loved the place. The phrase guide will be a great help!

Sounds really groovy! Turku must be a wonderful town, probably the most beautiful in Finland. Unfortunately I've never beeen there, I actually wanted to go there when I was in Finland this summer, but somehow things didn't work out. I have a friend in Turku and I'm quite sure that I will go there next summer. How come you'll live there?

Do you already speak some Finnish? Finnish as a language is a great challenge, nevertheless I am mastering it really fast...Some months ago I could only speak slowly and with lots of mistakes, now I can communicate almost without problems... It's really worth learning and if you don't speak Finnish yet, I'm sure it won't take long until you do when you are in Turku...

I'll be moving over to live with my girlfriend who is a Swedish-Finn.

I can only say "Kiva", "Kittos", "Antexxi", "Moi" (+ variations), "Moi-moi" and "Kippis" so far. The last one is very useful!

Turku (I prefer to call it Åbo) really is very beautiful. Go to the Peer Review page, dig out the forum for the Turku entry, read the entry and contribute to the discussion- I'm currently trying to get that entry edited for the guide as it is very well written (by a Finnish guy called Hane) and at present your phrase book is the only entry under Finland in the entire edited guide.

So are you actually Finnish or German or English or what?

Wow! You have a really good reason to move to Finland...I'm damn sure you'll have a nice time there in Turku...

Well the words/phrases you know are of crucial importance...They will already get you quite far Maybe you should add "Pohjanmaan kautta", a very common saying if you drink the contents of a glass at once...

They speak quite a strange language in Åbo (I prefer to call it Turku). I think in no other town the dialect is so different from the "official" Finnish (whatever that is...), though it isn't as distinct as in some regions, like e.g. Karjala. But you will find out soon, if you don't already know.

I am German, but I speak English and Finnish more or less fluently. To be exact my father is from Hungary, and some friends already supposed this must have been a reason why I was able to learn Finnish so fast.

Yep, my phraseguide is the only edited thing about Finland and Finnish, though I am not really satisfied with it anymore... But once it is edited, it ain't easy to change anything...

I did know about the reputation of the Turku accent (Hey, whatd'yaknow- 'Turku' is easier to type than 'Åbo' on an English keyboard). It's kinda funny, 'cos she's from the second city of Finland where the accent is reputedly strange, and I'm from the second city of the UK where the accent is also reputedly strange.

So what does Pohjanmaan kautta mean? "I can still stand"?

"Pohjanmaan Kautta" means something like "Bottoms up"
I happen to live in a hell-hole called Nurmes, Finland
Temperature has risen from 40- to 20- C first time in a week. hooray

and if u want to hear funky pronounciation come to the Savo area and talk to the older people.
Remelistä olokapiälle vempauttakkee

"mitä nää kähiset,lähettään kylille" (it could poorly be translated as "what are you croakin about,let's hit the town")

:D hiya all!
i live in a small town called Kajaani,Finland.
i read the phrase guide and i thought it was very useful =) i'd just like to add one correction if a grownup means "yes" he/she will say "kyllä" but when a teenager means yes he/she will say "vittu,joo"

oh,i've been to Turku a couple of times and it was quite nice =) but i like Tampere better though =)

if you'd like to contact finnish people,why you should try browsing trough msn profiles ( on www.hotmail.com) for example..

later,
Virve