Pride in Helsinki

A little over a day after settling into Jyväskylä, I took the train back to Helsinki. The main purpose was to attend Pride (my first abroad), but I also had ample time to explore the city.

Upon realizing I’d be in Finland for Helsinki Pride at the beginning of June, I searched for and booked an apartment via Airbnb. It was a nice, bright apartment within a 10 to 20 minute walk of most places I wanted to go.

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Quickly, though, I recalled my previous reservations about traveling alone in a foreign city. After leaving the apartment I circled the city center for way too long, despite my growing hunger and headache, because I was too nervous to order anything or attempt pronouncing Finnish. Finally I settled on a Chinese buffet because I didn’t have to say anything. Me ordering from the picture menu became a recurring theme.

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After a day of wandering and feeling out of place and lonely, I- overwhelmed and near tears- resigned to go back to the apartment and wallow in solitude. But then in the distance I noticed Linnanmäki, the city’s amusement park. On a whim I decided to go. Since I didn’t know how to use the public transit and had some time before the reduced evening fare began, I decided to walk the 30 minutes to the park. I hadn’t been to an amusement park in a good 5 years and had a great time! Linnanmäki is no Six Flags but was half the price and granted me fabulous views of the city. It was a little sad not sharing the laughs of thrill with another, but I had fun nonetheless.

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That was the turning point of the trip, and after that I fully enjoyed myself.

Observations:

• There are more brown and black folks, though me being African-American and not African made me stand out still.
• Most of the homeless / panhandlers are of Roma decent. I saw a lot of them collecting cans to presumably turn in for money. Surely there’s some bias, but the racial factor in the U.S. isn’t as obvious.
• Tons of people were out walking, biking, and scootering.
• More people smoke and have less regard for those around them (i.e. will light up in your face).
• Most things are in Finnish and Swedish like train announcements, street signs, and movie subtitles. English will especially be included at museums and sometimes even Russian.
• Everyone takes public transit. It doesn’t seem to be about class.
• Saw many white folks with extensions, dreads, and cornrows- oh my.
• People aren’t as inclined to say excuse me when passing close enough to bump into you.
• Water fountain, what’s a water fountain?

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Though I went to a few smaller activities and lectures earlier in the week, the main Pride events were the parade and park party on Saturday. Well before the start of the parade, I took a long walk along the coast to get to the parade route. I love how walkable the city is!

Some differences from the Pride parades I’ve attended (St. Louis, Indianapolis):

• Lack of attendees at my chosen location (big rock in an adjacent park near the end of the route)- perhaps more were near the start?
• Relatively quiet crowd (mostly the participants were cheering)
• Both participants and attendees drinking alcohol / smoking
• Participants prohibited from throwing / distributing anything into the crowd such as candy, beads, or flyers
• All parade vehicles were identical, dumpster-type trucks with people standing / dancing inside

Apart from these differences, the actual parade was pretty similar, with people dressed up in rainbow and various costumes, signs and chanting (though most in Finnish), and music blasting from the trucks. The parade itself was much bigger than in St. Louis and Indianapolis, combined probably. I watched the processional for an hour and that was only half of it! One source estimated 100,000 people were there, though I don’t know if that includes both participants and attendees. The park party also seemed much bigger. There was a stage with performances, booths, and people picnicking in what seemed like every inch of Kaivopuisto Park, where the parade ended. Overall it was a great experience and definitely one I’ll remember! Hopefully I’ll get to attend Pride in other big cities like Chicago or New York so I can compare.

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What I learned:

• Most people want to sell me stuff and speak enough English to do so, so it’s fine and I shouldn’t be afraid to order food.
• In order to gain the full experience of living in Finland, I need to be willing to step outside of my comfort zone.

After not having a real, face-to-face conversation for 4 days, I’m eager to start the language / culture program today! More on that later.

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