#often we get what is called takatalvi

[canisalbus]

It's unexpectedly cold in coastal Canada right now (it's raining and snowing very hard and fast, and before the sun set it was also very sunny) and the floors are cold, so I find myself concerned for your warmth. Are you doing alright?

Aw, that's very sweet of you to ask, I'm fine! Here in Northern Finland it's slowly getting warmer, the temperatures seem to stay at around 0°C during the day so the snow has started to melt. Then it gets a little colder at night and those wet slushy roads freeze, and when it warms up again the next day there's a layer of water on top of the melting ice and as you can imagine it gets extremely slippery. I cycle everywhere throughout the year and even with winter tires it's kind of precarious. Other than that I'm enjoying the increasing amount of natural light and the birds have started to sing again.

[fangirlprincess09]

Hello, for the “hi, I’m not from the US” ask set

1,5,10 and 16

Hi, thanks for asking!

1 - my favorite place in my country

My favorite place in Germany is definitely my hometown. It's quite big, so it has everything I need and most of my closest family also lives here.

My favorite place in Finland is Suomenlinna, which is a sea fortress on islands close to Helsinki.

5 - my favorite song in my native language

I have to admit, I listen almost exclusively to English music. But one of my favorite songs in German is definitely "Chöre" by Mark Forster.

My favorite song in Finnish is a lullaby called "Lennä, lennä, leppäkerttu", which my mom sang to me when I was. little and which I have been recently singing to my little niece.

10 - most enjoyable swear word

One of the best swear words has to be "Arschgeige" ("ass-violin"). It's used to describe another person and I seriously want to know who even came up with it because it is a bit ridiculous.

A great Finnish swear word profanity is "Vittujen kevät ja kyrpien takatalvi", which means something like "springtime of cunts and winter of the cocks. My grandma is scandalized whenever someone says it.

16 - A stereotype I hate and one I somewhat agree with

I hate the stereotype that German is a really aggressive/harsh/ugly language. We talk like normal people. We don't scream and over-enunciate each word. And don't get me started on "German" being spoke in a movie or tv series. The pronunciation of most actors is so horrible that I, as a native speaker, can often not even understand what they're trying to say.

A stereotype I somewhat agree with is that Germans are not nice. We don't smile at strangers and we don't usually talk to strangers we meet. And almost everyone here has a resting bitch face.

(Since I don't live in Finland, I don't really know much about Finnish stereotypes.)