I arrived Dublin for the first time in August 2016, to work as an assistant photographer at Hot Press magazine.

While I lived in the capital city, many people asked me was there a specific reason that convinced me that I should choose Ireland? And I was sorry to say that there wasn’t really any. I was just going through different options, and when I found that Dublin was one possibility, my thoughts were pretty much the following: “Dublin? Why not? No one has ever said anything bad about Ireland”.

And now, five months later, I have a few critical things that I would like to say about what became my adopted home.

Not that I didn’t like Dublin. The truth is: I loved it!

But it was still a surprise to me how very different Irish and Finnish cultures can be, especially when it comes to… punctuality!

When I had to shoot my first gig for Hot Press, at the National Concert Hall, I ended up running there, because I was so afraid I’d arrive late. Irish people will probably roll the their eyes now, when I say that I made it a full twenty minutes before the gig. And Finnish people will roll their eyes, when I add that when the gig finally started, the hall was still half-empty: the rest of the people wandered in twenty minutes later. And they were talking to one another, as they went to their seats!

That said, a desire to talk is one of the things that I really liked about Irish people. When I came to Dublin, I couldn't help but admire the way strangers opened conversations in pubs, and their ability to make you feel welcome – despite the fact that you’d never have met before! That is a really lovely, inspiring quality that the Irish have.

I managed to confuse people many times when they greeted me with “How are you?” by actually starting to tell them how I am! We Finnish are are a little bit literal-minded! But I really wish we could have something similar to pubs in Finland, as they always have this wonderful, warm atmosphere. But then, in my experience, the whole of Ireland has it actually: the people themselves are very warm and friendly.

Having small talk is not part of our culture in Finland, as we prefer staying silent rather than talking about meaningless things. I’m not saying that Finnish people are rude (I honestly think we are pretty nice people), but we are definitely more shy and cautious than the Irish.

This wonderful, relaxed attitude that you find in Ireland doesn’t exist without a reason.

My colleagues had the awful experience of hearing me complaining about all the things I found not working: recycling, heating in the houses and public transportation spring to mind. But even as I was complaining, I became aware that working systems also have their faults.

In Finland, we are so used to things working in a certain way, that when something does go wrong we are not necessarily able to improvise – and everybody gets down and negative. In contrast, in Ireland, even when something ordinary goes wrong, the response tends to be sure, everything is grand. Almost inevitably, it is said with a smile! Irish people are very laid-back, which makes things far less pressuriesed.

As an example, there was that morning when I was running late for work. I intended to take a bus, but when it passed me by, I realised that I was standing on the right-hand side of the road (which I now, of course, know to be the wrong side)! So I arrived late anyway, embarrassed and apologising – but no one gave me hell about it.

It was grand.

Or there was the day I had my hair cut, before discovering that I had no cash to pay for it – and I had to go to find an ATM, while the hair dresser was waiting. That was grand too.

Alright, in Finland, nearly everything is paid with card, and such a thing as minimum payment doesn't exist. Those uniquely Irish conventions gave me a headache few times – but it is a small complaint indeed when there is so much about the place to celebrate!

As I said, I loved Ireland. Overall, living in Dublin was a great experience and one that I will never forget – and so I hope to travel back soon.

In the meantime, thank you to all the friends I made there – and thank you to Hot Press for having me!