At 35, Kari Kivinen has already achieved excellence in marketing at three different high tech firms. Although people think of Finnish engineers as being taciturn, he is very outgoing and a natural salesman. Presently, Kari is the marketing director of a company specializing in scientific measuring devices. He often puts in long days, and if something needs to be taken care of, he won’t hesitate to work during the weekend.
His wife, Katariina, is an accountant. She has remained at the same bank since graduation, even though the bank has merged and changed names three times. Katariina has incredible powers of concentration, and is appreciated for her meticulous and thorough work. Last year she became department supervisor. Unlike Kari, she is quiet and reserved. She seems more confident around facts and figures than around people.
Kari and Katariina met while they were students. He studied electrical engineering at the University of Technology, and she studied accounting at the School of Economics. One evening Katariina went with her friends to the opera. After the performance, they decided to have a glass of wine at a bar. Five bars and five glasses of wine later, Katariina spotted a tall, blond, and self-confident man. The man of her dreams. Fortified with liquid courage, she struck up a conversation with him. In fact, they chatted for three hours before Katariina’s friends finally dragged her home.
The image of that petite, black-haired beauty he’d met really stayed in Kari's mind. When he called her several days later, she sounded different - timid and embarrassed. She seemed reluctant to get together at first, but finally agreed to meet him. They ended up hitting it off over a delightful meal of seafood dishes in a cozy restaurant. He did most of the talking and she was an enthusiastic listener. Soon they were seeing each other several times a week. Six months later they moved in together.
Nowadays, the Kivinens live in the city of Espoo in a modern and comfortable house. They like the neighborhood and are happy with the school their son, Kalle, is attending. There is even space for Kari to wash and wax his new BMW. He is really proud of that car, and can’t understand why Katariina hangs on to her ancient Saab. Kari likes to have fine things: name-brand clothes, designer furniture, vintage wines, state-of-the-art electronic devices, and gourmet food.
Katariina, on the other hand, has modest tastes and believes in simple pleasures. She is frugal with her money. But she understands her husband. He grew up in a poor family in Eastern Finland on plain food, hand-me-down clothes and very few toys. Now he has money to burn. The interesting thing is, Katariina finds that Kari’s parents are two of the happiest people she has ever met.
Kalle is 10 years old and a typical schoolboy. The way Kari plies his son with toys and gadgets, you’d think he would be spoiled. But neighbors and teachers all comment on how good natured and polite the boy is...although he does like pranks. Katariina worries about his latest hobby, though. Ever since Kari bought him a guitar, Kalle spends a great deal of his free time practicing. “I want to be in a famous band like The Rasmus and HIM. I’m going to have a hit record someday.” That reminds Katariina of the time she dreamed of playing the kantele in a Finnish folkdance group. She still plays it now and then. It reminds Kari of the time he wanted to be clarinet player in a jazz band. His clarinet has been gathering dust in the closet for years.
Education is important to the Kivinen Family. Both Kari and Katariina frequently attend job-related seminars and workshops. In addition to that, Kari takes a Chinese language course on Monday nights because China is an important market for his company. Katariina goes to an Italian cooking course on Tuesday nights because she doesn’t want to think about her job after working hours. Kalle attends a computer club on Wednesday afternoons because he wants to learn the tricks of the Internet.
During the last few years, Kari has noticed that the number on his bathroom scale has been rising. Maybe it’s because of all the business entertaining he does in restaurants. He has started doing Nordic pole walking three times a week, and plays soccer on Sundays. “You put on more calories in the after-match beer drinking than you burn off playing the game,” Katariina points out.
Her fitness program consists of an aerobics and weight training class three times a week. However, she doesn’t mention the rich pastries and double cappuccino she enjoys later. Kalle plays pesäpallo (Finnish baseball) in the summer, ice hockey during winter and basketball all year long.
Like many Finns the Kivinens go in for skiing in a big way. Kari skis downhill, using the most up-to-date equipment and the most fashionable attire, Katariina skis cross-country in the traditional way with traditional clothing, and Kalle does incredible tricks and maneuvers on his snowboard wearing the coolest outfit he can get away with.
One of the Kivinens’ great pleasures is going to their cottage during the holidays and on warm weekends. The wooden home-away-from-home overlooks a crystal-clear lake and is surrounded by unspoiled forest. They spend lots of quality time together there eating, swimming, discussing, and organizing, but each has their own special interest. Kalle swims, fishes, and bug-watches with a passion. To him this is pure paradise. Wouldn’t it be fantastic living in the countryside, he wonders. But he realizes that he’d miss the movies, the computer game arcades and the youth center too much.
Katariina picks berries, wild flowers, and mushrooms when in season. She adores puttering around her garden where she grows a variety of vegetables. What a terrific existence one would have in the countryside! I could survive by writing articles for magazines about country living, she dreams. But she understands that her facts and numbers at work are too important to her to leave behind for very long.
Kari treasures wandering alone through the forest with his camera. He only feels truly relaxed when he is encircled by high trees, wild plants and chirping birds. The fresh scents of the wilderness bring him back to simpler times. He temporarily forgets about deadlines, overtime, taxes, bank loans, and traffic jams. I could make a living here as a nature photographer, he contemplates. But how could I manage without the fine restaurants and rich culture of the city, or without the excitement of planning marketing strategies? Rural life will have to wait for the Kivinen Family.