Apartheid

Two parallel systems have evolved for the nearly equal division of passengers: one for the Anglophones, and one for the Finns. Dining halls are separate, Zodiacs are typically separate, lectures are mostly separate (some Finns attend English language lectures). In the bar, the starboard side is typically Finnish, and the port side English. Natural enough, I suppose. But some bad feelings have developed. Rumored and semi-reported minor incidents between Finns and Anglophones (I won’t go into them here) have turned into semi-open Anglophone “dissing” and some Anglophones make jokes at the expense of the Finns. As an experiment, I sit in the Finnish side of the bar more often. It’s accepted, but sometime I get Finn-looks when it gets crowded and people are trying to find room at the tables. Once, I walk into the Finn dining room for breakfast. Their stares back me slowly into the other dining room.

Even good-intentioned, well-educated, well-off people out for a good time can slide into prejudice, misunderstanding and ethno-cultural tension.