I'm finnish and work with a lot of international people, many of whom have lived here for decades. None of them speak Finnish, and I, and all the other Finns I know, would never expect them to speak it. It's not that big of a deal.
That's great, but you also wouldn't expect them to write a relevant critique of society and culture since they can't even read the local news paper much less understand the living mindset of people.
Everyone here keeps anectoding about their trip to other places when the issue is not daily living but writing an opinion piece about a society they don't understand enough to live in.
Yeah, I get your point. Of course their point of view about the culture and society is unique and important and absolutely worth listening to, but it is true they will certainly miss a lot of the cultural nyances for exactly the reasons you described.
