Would it be surprising to learn that one of the wackiest student traditions I've ever heard of was started by engineering students? After attending SDSMT for two and a half years and participating in the crazy traditions of whitewashing and beanie hats, I am honestly not surprised.
Student overalls are basically heavy canvas jumpsuits similar to what mechanics wear. Owned by almost every Finnish university student and worn at countless parties and events, they are a major symbol of student life. Each department in each university has a different color, so you can immediately tell what someone is studying when you see them in their overalls. Students cover their overalls in patches collected at different events and parties, so essentially they become a chronicle of your college memories.
They were said to have begun in Sweden in the 1970s when engineering students needed to wear them to protect their street clothes during site visits. But now, ask a student at my university how the overalls started, and they will probably shrug like it's the most pointless question to entertain.
Maybe it's because of what I do at Mines, but I love this tradition. The international student representative for Novium, the student union at my school, equipped us with these marvelous outfits right away in February. Who knew that a mint green jumpsuit could help me feel like so much a part of the student life at my new school?
There are some rules associated with the overalls that I think are too entertaining not to share. Of course, no one knows how they originated or why they are pretty universal throughout all Finnish universities.
1. You cannot wash your overalls. The only time it is even close to permissible is if you go swimming in the Gulf on May Day wearing your overalls.
2. Patches must be sewn on by hand by the owner.
3. If you go home with someone at an overall party, you're supposed to swap part of one of the legs. Then if you see someone with stripes of different colored overalls going down the leg then you can suspect what they have done. That rule isn't really followed though; instead couples often exchange legs.
4. Never wear your overalls all the way up unless it's really cold outside (and even then you probably won't). There's surprisingly an art to folding the sleeves around your waist to sit just right.
5. And finally, have fun! Overalls are truly an excuse to do whatever you want in Finland.
If the other tradition I'm about to talk about was started by engineers also that would be awesome, but I have no reason to believe that.
Sitz or sitsit parties are another huge part of student life here. International students are told that they have to attend at least one of these in order to fully experience living in Finland. In a nutshell they are table parties where you sit, eat, sing, and drink. They remind me of the Finnish equivalent of beanie raids at Mines.
The sitz I went to last weekend was in Finnish, so I had a laugh trying to understand what was going on. Luckily Americans are a bit of a novelty here, so a Finnish girl volunteered to keep me in the loop.
At every sitz there are toastmasters who lead the event. They lead the attendees through silly games like mini scavenger hunts and also lead songs. Surprise surprise, this tradition also has rules. If you break a rule or if someone decides are acting obnoxious then you get a punishment, which from what I saw involves getting in front of everyone and singing something. Lots of singing happens at these parties in general though. I couldn't tell you what the songs meant since they were in Finnish and Swedish, but something tells me that they are very humorous not very clean songs. There are rules for requesting songs, toasting, and getting out of your seat. All you can do is do you best to keep up with them and laugh the whole time. And sing.
Student overalls are basically heavy canvas jumpsuits similar to what mechanics wear. Owned by almost every Finnish university student and worn at countless parties and events, they are a major symbol of student life. Each department in each university has a different color, so you can immediately tell what someone is studying when you see them in their overalls. Students cover their overalls in patches collected at different events and parties, so essentially they become a chronicle of your college memories.
They were said to have begun in Sweden in the 1970s when engineering students needed to wear them to protect their street clothes during site visits. But now, ask a student at my university how the overalls started, and they will probably shrug like it's the most pointless question to entertain.
Maybe it's because of what I do at Mines, but I love this tradition. The international student representative for Novium, the student union at my school, equipped us with these marvelous outfits right away in February. Who knew that a mint green jumpsuit could help me feel like so much a part of the student life at my new school?
 |
| My overalls |
1. You cannot wash your overalls. The only time it is even close to permissible is if you go swimming in the Gulf on May Day wearing your overalls.
2. Patches must be sewn on by hand by the owner.
3. If you go home with someone at an overall party, you're supposed to swap part of one of the legs. Then if you see someone with stripes of different colored overalls going down the leg then you can suspect what they have done. That rule isn't really followed though; instead couples often exchange legs.
4. Never wear your overalls all the way up unless it's really cold outside (and even then you probably won't). There's surprisingly an art to folding the sleeves around your waist to sit just right.
5. And finally, have fun! Overalls are truly an excuse to do whatever you want in Finland.
 |
| Overall party at Fontana |
Sitz or sitsit parties are another huge part of student life here. International students are told that they have to attend at least one of these in order to fully experience living in Finland. In a nutshell they are table parties where you sit, eat, sing, and drink. They remind me of the Finnish equivalent of beanie raids at Mines.
The sitz I went to last weekend was in Finnish, so I had a laugh trying to understand what was going on. Luckily Americans are a bit of a novelty here, so a Finnish girl volunteered to keep me in the loop.
At every sitz there are toastmasters who lead the event. They lead the attendees through silly games like mini scavenger hunts and also lead songs. Surprise surprise, this tradition also has rules. If you break a rule or if someone decides are acting obnoxious then you get a punishment, which from what I saw involves getting in front of everyone and singing something. Lots of singing happens at these parties in general though. I couldn't tell you what the songs meant since they were in Finnish and Swedish, but something tells me that they are very humorous not very clean songs. There are rules for requesting songs, toasting, and getting out of your seat. All you can do is do you best to keep up with them and laugh the whole time. And sing.
 |
| The venue ready for the St. Patrick's Day Sitsit |
No comments:
Post a Comment