Family Pictures

« The last ride on the Linnanmäki ferris wheel. They are removing it this winter and replacing it with a newer, bigger model. I took pictures to help keep me from looking down. :) »

While chatting over dinner with a friend, we bumped into the somewhat odd absence of family photos (computer desktop backgrounds don't count) in cubes and offices in Finland. In the US it's reasonably common to see pictures of husbands, wives, kids and family pets proudly displayed in the workplace landscape but, after thinking about it for a while, I can't recall seeing any such photos in my workplace in Finland. The lack of photos is strange in the sense that Finns do seem to cherish their home and family life far more consistently than I remember Americans doing. Perhaps Americans spend more time in the office and need to be reminded what their family looks like or why they spend more time at work than at home? Is it that home is considered a far more private topic in Finland? It's a curious difference.