Probably the best?

Humility and self-deprecation. Two qualities much admired in Finland, I was told before my arrival. And nothing I have seen here has contradicted that portrait. I have already admitted earlier that I come from an In-Your-Face culture; in the US, information comes to you, often blasted at you, in superlatives and hyperboles. You don't have to seek it out, as you do in Finland. Everything in the US is The.Best.Ever -- or it is hardly worth watching, eating, wearing, doing, etc. And you are reminded of the need to be #1 whether you are a brand of spaghetti sauce or an NFL team. After a few months in Helsinki you can actually relax a bit because you know your chances of being assaulted (either physically or mentally) are fewer. You may even let your guard down and not notice when your tram passes the Milliklubi bar & disco and you read the large posters near the entrance that proclaim, but not too ambitiously: "Probably Best In Town." No fancy fonts, no oversized letters. Not even an exclamation point! And then you say to yourself: "Probably? Not the best in town? Just probably?"

So that is how it plays out here. If located in the US, the Milliklubi bar & disco would have to tell you that it is the best in town. Period. No questions asked. But you would,of course, add in your mind: "Well, probably not the best, but we'll see." In Helsinki, you don't need to doubt anyone's claims.