There are some additional issues to be discussed which came up in the course of qualitative analyses. As could already be noticed in the dimensions concerning adaptation, the multicultural environment has an effect on adaptation in many ways. The multicultural nature of Brussels environment was mostly seen by Finnish expatriates as a facilitating factor in the
M o tiva tio n
Not adapted Ambiguously adapting Positively
adapting
Ideally adapted
Skills and competencies
107
adaptation process. In a multicultural environment there are numerous
“cultural lenses”, and as one is in constant contact with other cultures, sometimes even without closer communication, one learns to see things from others’ point of view. Yet these expatriates could not be called biculturals.
Could they be called multiculturals? At least one can say that many of them had gained the ability to cultural frame shifting. This was obvious when they explained their thoughts and experiences.
“This is kind of a path that you travel and learn the customs of the country I mean continuously, you learn that all right, this is not the way to behave here. It is also unconscious I believe, this travelling and proceeding, and it is constant. … I mean of course I know the basics since I have been here quite a long time, but still constantly there are new issues, especially since there are so many nationalities here, and now these new member states, now you start learning from them, there are many Kosovars and other nationalities, again a new territory, once you start communicating with them. And in the playground there are lots of Russians and Polish and all, it’s so nice to start learning totally new things.”
Woman, 10 years abroad
“I have learned to appreciate how well things are in Finland, the social security and everything works fine, it is almost free, as well. On the other hand, here I have got to know different kinds of people from different cultures and maybe I have learned to respect more different kinds of people, since when you live in Finland you just see Finns.”
Woman, 7 years abroad
Ethnic identity was not a topic in this study at hand, but it came up so often in the interviews that it is worth mentioning. Following Ashmore, Deaux, and McLauhlin-Volpe’s (2004) conceptualization of collective identity, several of the nine elements the authors discussed could be found in the texts describing ethnic identity. Such elements as self-categorization (including both comments categorizing oneself as a Finn and an assessment of being a prototypical Finn); both positive and negative evaluations about the characteristics of Finns; the importance of ethnic identity to oneself; and behavioural involvement (one’s own actions implicating Finnish identity) could be abundantly retrieved from the texts. Ethnic identity was connected in the interviews also to the ability to see issues from new perspectives. Most respondents pondered, some quite extensively, about their perception of their own cultural background, and how it has changed. With the exception of a few
108
respondents who did not bring up their thoughts about their own nationality, practically all the rest discussed the topic at length. Quite a few explained that as they had acquired distance between their own country and their own people, and had experiences in a new milieu, they could make comparisons between nationalities and could see their own culture in a new light. Even though none of the questions concerned ethnic identity, it nevertheless came up in the answers. The questions about cultural behaviour patterns in fact led respondents to think about their own culture, not just behavioural patterns, but how they thought about their own origins and their place in the world, a topic which is also part of cultural frame shifting.
“We Finns, we are a pretty good nationality, generally speaking, I mean Finns have nothing to be ashamed of compared to other nationalities, meaning that if Finns have some problems with self-confidence, they really should not have any.”
Man, 7 years abroad
“It is always polite to try to adapt and (laughs) even learn the languages, as well as live respecting local traditions as much as possible, and of course, with open eyes and an open mind, but still I am a Finn and will remain a Finn almost hundred percent, but still respecting others, not just Belgians but everybody who is present here.
And to be aware that I can be proud of being a Finn but being humbly proud, we are rather rare, we are some five and a half million in the whole world – and when you look at it, here in Belgium where there is such a mix of nationalities, we really are quite strangers here, a rare species.”
Man, 5 years abroad
“I respect Finland more than before, but I also criticize it more. In a way, you see, you can have a view from outside, you get a kind of broader perspective on many things because you do not live there…in a small country…I mean in its reality I mean you can see from a distance both the issues of Finland and the issues of the country of residence, meaning you are always a kind of observer.”
Woman, 10 years abroad
Another finding worth mentioning is also connected to cultural frame shifting.
About half of the respondents brought up at some point of the interview the opinion that it felt easiest to socialize with other individuals who had also lived abroad. They were not only talking about other Finns, but several
109
interviewees brought up the fact that if a person came from any country and had not lived abroad before, their perspective seemed narrower. Quite a few actually explained this with the word “perspective”. Some included into this wider perspective category also friends and acquaintances who had simply travelled a lot. This is in line with the presumption of Benet-Martinez et al.
(2006) that extensive travelling may help to gain greater understanding “of one’s own cultural makeup” (p. 401). I will return to the concept of cultural frame shifting in the discussion section.
110