How Finland Can Expand Its Small Market

the vast sky that sparked hope from my old office at dinner break

With a population of 5.6 million, Finland has a tiny market compared to my origin country Vietnam, which hosts over 100 million residents. If Finnish companies only aim to serve domestic consumers, they definitely will have a hard time finding enough clients, generating enough profits to sustain. Few companies survive, few people hired.

I thought about this since I'm moving to Finland and of course I'm aware of its high and persistent unemployment rate... Yes, I used to think this move is suicide.

But hey, unemployment is caused by many factors. Some people on Reddit said "lack of jobs" is a misinterpretation, low-skilled jobs are plenty, it's just that very few immigrants meet the language requirements. More hope for a language grad like me.

However, I believe the competition for high-skilled jobs, such as in IT, is truly fierce. Even Finns struggle to land one, as the news report. Perhaps it's because outsourcing to Asia is much cheaper. I'm not sure. En ole varmasti.

Luckily, this post is not written to investigate causes of high unemployment rate in Finland but to discuss some existing foreign income sources I notice in Finland, as pumping more from them may bring more jobs:

How Long Can You Keep A Dream?

Linh and I just booked our tickets to Finland.

One-way tickets.

Each cost over 2 months of my office salary.

I thanked myself for years of frugal living.

I remember seeing classmates snack joyfully afterschool, trying to ignore my craving and hunger. Like all the girls, I also want to be pretty, but I don't dare to spend 1-2 mil vnd on hairstyling or nearly a day wage on a lipstick. I've been saving anything I could, so today I have the funds for my dream.

I cried. Not sure if it's because of financial stress, self-pity, or last night staying up late, messing up my brain chemicals. Maybe all of them. How long have I dreamed of moving away? Since a walk to dump trash at around age 13. I wished I wouldn't have to return to my house. I was sick of that old path, of that damp dark alley, of my parents' suffocating marriage. But I had to endure it til this day. Twelve years.

Everything is my fault

Came another mental breakdown as expected.

Derek's words saved me again.

"Everything is my fault." - Hell Yeah or No (2020)

I also had this thinking few days ago but I wasn't as articulate as him.

Responsibility brings power.

You feel helpless when you blame others.

You feel powerful when you blame yourself.

Try it.

It doesn't matter the truth. Only matters how you feel.

Your mind can make anything sound reasonable. Make a wise choice. Think in a way that empowers you.

Sometimes finding an explanation to convince yourself is hard. But it's always possible. Here are my 3 unhealthy deep-rooted beliefs and how I tried to fix them:

Lyrics Explained S1E3: Matkalaulu - Best Finnish Children's Songs by Petter Ohls

In this series, we find out dictionary form and meaning of words using Verbix and Sanakirja.org, as well as examine why they were transformed. The why will be in pink and the meaning in purple. 

Note that word order in songs may be different from the conventional order for rhetorical effect. As my translation at the end aims for easy comprehension, words could be rearranged.

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Matkalaulu - Jennika Vikman & Sohvi

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Matkustan ympäri maailmaa, laukussa leipää ja piimää vaan.

• matkustaa (v.) travel "minä"
• ympäri around
• maailmaa world
• laukku + -ssa in the bag
• leipä bread unspecified amount
• ja and 
• piimä butter milk unspecified amount 
• vaan but/only  

Jos mua hiukkasen onnistaa niin uuden ystävän saan.

• jos if
• minua me spoken lang. 
• hiukkanen a bit specified amount (?)
• onnistaa (v.) grant luck/bless "hän"
• niin so
• uusi new (?)
• ystävä friend (?)
• saada (v.) get/receive "minä"