Things I still do not understand

After five months, I have still yet to figure some things out about Finland. I often despair that I ever will.

• Getting through a Finnish door. Finnish doors that do not have Push or Pull in any language are my nemesis. Without a Push or Pull (I can read Finnish, Swedish, and others), I often fail to guess from any visual clues. It is embarrassing to fail at a door. Especially a door one uses often.
• Karelian pastries. They look so tasty! My American eyes tell me that these cute little things will be so sweet (uh, the word "pasty" conjures that image). But they are not sweet, and when you disappoint a sweet taste that your mind is anticipating, you suffer.
• Getting off the tram. I know I have seen people exit from the front door of the tram. But I also have seen scores of people who sit right by the front door of the tram -- and when they want to get off, they walk all the way back to the middle door to exit. Even if they are nearly lame, There must have been some rule not long ago about front-door tram exiting. Are front-door tram exiters rebels?
• My incomprehensible Finnish. I have worked hard at learning how to pronounce Finnish. But when I speak Finnish, very often native speakers will look at me for an uncomfortable moment as they seem to be translating in their heads the Finnish they have just heard into a language that makes sense to them. Then suddenly their eyes open wider, and they often repeat what I thought I said. Just improved. The margin for error in oral Finnish must be very small.
  
• Salmiakki. Salty liquorice is not a treat for me; it is an ordeal. But Finns seems to enjoy it, and all types of salmiakki-flavored treats are available wherever you think you should be able to buy something to eat or drink.  My recommendation for future visitors to Finland: start young, and acquire this taste. Your eating and drinking options will grow.

The list of things I do not yet understand is longer, but I will not include everything. I have a few more days in Finland, and I hope to mark a couple more of these items off that list -- and put them on the list of things I have figured out.