Our links are aging grandparents or memories of grandparents and people who represent our Finnish cultural past. Our links are those of a fragmented Finnish culture which we desperately seek to reacquire. The process of assimilation into the American mainstream is a very normal thing. It is not at all unusual that we have been temporarily disconnected from the language and culture of our emigrant ancestors. It is not too late for any of us to rediscover our ties to our Finnish forebears.
Language is perhaps the most precious and defining attribute of any culture.
Learning or re-learning the Finnish language is not a simple undertaking. But if we truly are Finns, then our sisu will help us overcome the obstacles standing between ourselves and the language of our ancestors. I encourage everyone to give it a try.