Thread: The Right Way to Act Around a finnish foreign exchange student

We have a foreign exchange student at my school and we talk frequently. She seems to be......nervous around me. I tend to make small talk which I read was bad but other than that.....what am I doing wrong?

Hello Sammyb,

I was in a similar position when there was a Finnish man on my course. I think the best thing to do is to carry on normal and accept that your Finnish friend is different, try to involve them in the social scene but don't try too hard. They wont like being treated like a weirdo! Afterall your Finnish friend did come to your country not only to study but to learn about your culture too. So once you are honest and respectful I don't see a problem. The fact you are asking here is that your Finn friend is in good company

Oh I almost forgot to say that generally 'silent Finns are happy Finns'