Advertisement
Published: March 1st 2006
This deserves an entry on its own. It's a running joke, but also has been an experience to discover, but it is the truth. Swedish people are, by nature, more reserved. To explain what I mean, I'll use an example. I know a teacher that walks to work everyday. She sees the same people everyday. Yet, she never says hello to them. Usually, Swedish people do not meet your eye or smile if you're a stranger to them. They definitely won't say hello. They go on about their business. Now, if you introduce yourself and keep talking to them in little bits at the time to make them comfortable, they will get better. They'll never be very talkative though, unless in special cases. Northern Swedes are worse about this than Southern Swedes. For the record, though, if you ask them a question, they will try to be as helpful as they can be for you.
Again, most of them speak English. I would suggest learning enough Swedish to watch TV commercials, read signs, and figure out what food you want, though. Ja is yes and Nej is no. Northern Swedes are very used to cold and isolation. The children here are pulled on sleds by their parents. Babies are in strollers that have bike wheels. They usually are covered up in a fleece zipped thing so you can't see them. Not many Swedes get married. They have an open homosexual population in the South. They have what is called cohabitation. This means living together but not married. It happens often. They also have people that are married that live in different places. All of this is on the national census so I am not making it up. What else to say about Swedes...
No, they are not all blonde. I've seen blonde, brunette, black, and red, among other things. On the average, though, they are more stylish. They take very good care of their appearance and work out often. They also dress well. Girls are known for the amounts of time spent on makeup and hair. Guys are what we could call metrosexual, though there are the few like Johan who prefer hoodies and jeans. Even he stands out with his belt buckle, though. So try to dress nice while here or you will immediately be seen for the American you are.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.11s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 7; qc: 22; dbt: 0.0925s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb
Lorelei
non-member comment
wrong impression
I have lived in Lulea afor 9 months after a 10 month stint in Copenhagen. THERE's where you want to go to experience rude, cold distance between people. I have found every interaction here to be pleasant, friendly, talkative and interesting. Try saying hello in a sincere and confident manner, and you will find everyone very interested in making your acquaintance.