Do you take VISA?

Life in Finland is extremely online and connected. But then, you might expect as much from the country that brought the world Nokia phones and Angry Birds.

But it's not just mobile technology that is ubiquitous in the land of a thousand lakes (actually there's about 300 000 depending on who is counting), payment technology is also everywhere. You can pay for anything anywhere with a card, and, more and more, you can pay for stuff with your mobile phone.

In many cases this has resulted in a cash-free wallet. You simply don't need cash in most places, so why carry it around with you?

I have lived in Finland through this change toward a more cash-free society, and have become accustomed to it. The result is, my wallet is still very much cash free, although often for reasons related more to my three kids.

"But this is a blog about Cork", I hear the frustrated reader cry, so why am I telling you this stuff about Finland? Well, like any good narrative, I have to set the scene.

At the end of Paddy's Day, we decided to pop into the local pub for a couple of sneaky shandies. The village where we are renting the house consists of just a few houses and a pub, so basically an average Irish village. I had cash to buy a drink for myself and my wife, but not enough for a second round. "No worries", I thought, "I'll pay with my card".

"They do take cards here, don't they?", I asked the mother of my daughter's classmate.

After she had stopped laughing, she told me that they have probably never seen cards in this particular pub. My mind was taken back to the first day of looking for shops and footpaths, "No cash machines within 5 miles either", I remembered audibly.

"Oh well, we'll have to do without", I said to my wife, when another parent from my daughter's class handed over 50 euros, wished us a Happy St. Patrick's Day, and said, "Pay me back later."

I was a bit shocked, but did not want to appear rude in the face of such sobering generosity.

"Thank you, I will", I said, and I took the money.

"Thirty days' baby sitting", came the follow-up quip, and we laughed, enjoyed a few more drinks, and had a great night.

There have been very few times in my life that I have experienced such generosity and warmth. To the more cynical reader, the offer of money to a stranger so that their first St. Patrick's Day in Ireland is not spoiled may not seem quite as noble as I make out, but think again. My generous neighbour wanted to make sure that the two foreigners who had made the effort to travel to his country, and were obviously unfamiliar with the local way of doing things, would have a memorable St. Patrick's Day and enjoy it as long as they wanted to rather than have it cut short by a simple lack of understanding of how things work. In essence, he wanted to ensure that our first impressions of him, his village, and his country and culture were positive and would be remembered.

He succeeded in doing just that! We will never forget that night or him and his generosity.

Incidentally, he got his money back, yesterday over a cup of tea while our daughters played together at their house, and the adults swapped stories of Ireland, Finland, and England.

These are not fleeting friendships. This place gets under your skin.