IMPORTANT NOTICE!
WELCOME, You are in the old website section up to 2011, please click HOME to view the website in the new 2012 design and system. THANK YOU!
MARC HARDING in Stockholm, Sweden
Published Date
06 May 2009
Home Town in SA
Cape Town
Occupation
Teacher
Best Thing About the Country?
Well what can I say about living here…well the living is easy. It’s easy because things are well organized here. High taxes are justified by generous welfare benefits, for example free education. Some might criticize the idea of a welfare state, but Sweden is an example of that it can work and work well. It’s really quick and easy to get away of the hustle and bustle of the inner city and into the peace and quiet of the forests, even living in suburb in the city can actually feel like you’re living on the countryside. Once you get to them, Swedes are generally very open minded and considerate people.
Biggest Cultural Difference?
Swedish social life is nearly as organized as everything else here. Turning up at a Swede’s door uninvited can make a Swede feel uncomfortable. These things need to be booked in advanced as Swedes like to be prepared to entertain guest. Swedes are very safety conscious, drink one beer here and even mention you’re going to drive home and those in your company will stop you. However, there is a extremity to this safety consciousness, the average Swedish family throws away 100kg of food per year partly due to Swedes sticking rigidly to expiration dates on food produces without checking to see if the food has really gone off. Swedes are in general very modest people almost too modest sometimes so much so that bragging is almost seen as taboo, unless there is some irony involved.
Top Things to Do or See?
The country has a rich and interesting history and culture, from the Vikings to the Noble prize, so there are plenty museums to visit. Attend a midsummer party – Frog hoping and songs around the Maypole may seem very weird at first, but once the "snaps"(aquavit) starts to flow it becomes great fun. Get out into the countryside! This is truly one of Europe's last wildernesses. Endless forests, thousands of lakes and the mountains up north provide the perfect environment for any adventurer or anyone just seeking peace and quite.
Article Image
Aah… The Kingdom of Sweden, neatly tucked among its Nordic cousins, Denmark, Norway and Finland and straddling the Arctic Circle is not one of the places on earth I imagined myself living in, but here I am. There is a lot more to this country than Volvo, ABBA and Bjorn Borg. It has a fascinating history and many unique traditions (and no not everyone here is blond haired, blue eyed and promiscuous…myth busted, I hope). Living here as a foreigner has never been a problem for me as Swedes are pretty good at speaking English and are interested in South Africa too. But if you really want to understand the Swedish culture and mindset you need to learn Swedish. It is not a difficult language for us South Africans to learn as it’s related to English and to Afrikaans. As a South African the hardest thing to adjust to is the darkness during winter. Knee deep snow and minus 15 degrees is no problem, but only 2 to 3 hours of sunlight (if it’s not overcast) is not so lekker. But, summer days are long from 18 hours in the south to the midnight sun in the north, surreal the first time you experience it. Harmonious, but not lacking excitement would be the best way to describe living in Sweden.
Images (1)
Prev
Next
