Finnish Fashion Shows

During my first visit to Scandinavia in summer of 2008, one of the stops in Finland was a town called Jyväskylä, where my friend had gone to University. One evening we met up with some Finnish friends at a bar, had drinks and then ate dinner at a restaurant called the American Kitchen. Everyone knows the stereotype of American food portion sizes, which are mostly true at quite a few restaurants in the states. Well, one of the guys ordered a burrito. There were 2 very interesting things about this. One, the burrito was served on top of waffle fries. And, it was the biggest burrito I have ever seen in my life. Keep in mind I have eaten a lot of Mexican food. In a lot of different places. The guy that ordered this was tall but a very slender build. I wondered how he would even eat half of it. Shockingly he ate every single bit of it. Not because he was that hungry. Because people do not waste food in Scandinavian countries. They eat everything on their plate. It is considered rude and wasteful not to. Still, an impressive feat regardless of the cultural expectations.

So, at some point later in the night there were 3 of us left. We decide to go to a large nightclub with several floors and different rooms. One interesting thing about many European men compared to American ones is that if they drink enough, they will dance all night long. It is fantastic. And entertaining. As we sat in one of the dance rooms people watching, I quickly noticed a group of guys dancing. They were totally committed to their cause and nothing was going to stop them. Think Night at The Roxbury on SNL, but way funnier. I have never laughed so hard in my entire life than I did during this moment. I couldn't stop laughing. I usually worry about being to obvious and loud and obnoxious as an American abroad but I couldn't help myself. Soon, the bartenders all noticed me hysterically laughing at the dancers and actually started laughing with me. Which is something if you have ever met a sober Finnish man (I am partly kidding my lovely Finnish friends, but you get it).

We later moved to another floor where a "Fashion Show" would be starting shortly. I was thinking, cool! A fashion show! Turns out it was just 4 beautiful girls doing dance routines and then changing into less and less clothes between each song until they were down to swimwear. Interesting. Despite the cultural differences between Finland and the U.S., some things are universal. Like the men flocking around the stage with their tongues hanging out at even the hint of a naked woman. 

Here are some pictures from that Fashion Show, in order of appearance: