As a foreigner in Finland, I don’t talk fluently Finnish, so I appreciate a lot every time I can grab some news and information in English about Finland.
Let’s explore some options:
One of the best ways to know what’s happening in Finland it was the English online version of Helsingin Sanomat (the main newspaper in Finland). But, as you can read in their website they just closed it this year 2012:
Helsingin Sanomat’s English-language digest, the International Edition, launched in 1999, closed down in its present form on Friday October 26th
Other option is Helsinki Times, a weekly newspaper. I’ve bought it some times and currently I’ve subscribed 3 months for 20€ (online version)
Helsinki Times is an independent weekly newspaper covering news and events in Finland. Available on annual subscription, and on sale at R-kioskis
The last option is a free monthly magazine called SixDegrees. You can find it in piles normally in crowded streets in Helsinki or inside the train station or shopping malls. Their style is much more focused on multicultural issues / entertainment.
You can read 6Degrees online from http://www.lehtiluukku.fi/pub?id=24329 (click the button Lue lehteä ilmaiseksi )
They have a section Finnish after Dark: Learning the Finnish they don’t teach in school.
I found it normally quite funny, I will end this blog post with it:
Finnish: Tuparit
English: Housewarming
While Finns may not always invite people to their homes very often, the housewarming party is a notable exception. The best ones are loud, wild … and include free drinks and cake. It’s a great opportunity to praise the hosts taste in decor, marvel over the low rent, and then spend the rest of the evening spilling red wine on their carpets and infuriating their neighbors by playing the White Stripes at full volume.
* Jarilla on tuparit siellä poikamiesboksissa lauantaina. Oot sä menossa?
* Ehkä. Mä en oo keksiny mitään hyvää tuparilahjaa.
* No, hei! Vie kilo suolaa, jälkiuunileipä ja kossupullo. Kyllä ne sinkkumiehelle kelpaa.
* Jari has having his housewarming at his bachelor pad Saturday. Are you going?
* Maybe. I don’t know what to bring, though.
* Bring the usual bread an salt - and koskenkorva. These are sure to be lot of single men there!
— UPDATE
By Twitter, Jani recommended also:
@dcorbacho YLE yle.fi/uutiset/news/. Also thelocal.se was supposed to land in Finland years ago (circa 2008), but no sign of it yet
— Jani Tarvainen (@velmu) December 9, 2012
and Therese:
@dcorbacho hey! checkout newshub.fi
— Therese Bogan (@tbogan) December 10, 2012