Tag Archives: culture

Cultural parenting – of course! But which cultures?

Parenting styles can vary from family to family. But there are also differences between countries, or should I say cultures. We appreciate different values, which are likely to impact our upbringing of the children. Sometimes they are easily spotted, sometimes they are not. Concept of time for instance is a good example. Coming from a culture where being on time is considered important and a courtesy, I found it annoying at times as a foreign student working in groups with others that were happily an hour late for study meetings. No surprise that we soon found out that Germans and Swedes worked well together!

As always, awareness of the values and set of rules can lead to a better understanding, and less annoyance; tolerance. In the case of time, I simply learnt to agree on another time with the students I knew would be – in my world – an hour late.

Being a parent or not; moving into a new culture you will be exposed to the impact of cultural differences. As a parent a playground is a perfect location for observation and “study”. It´s fascinating that you often can tell from the parents’ responses to their children’s behavior from which country they are. I have encountered societies where one believes that adults should not interfere when children are “playing”. In the beginning I just assumed they did not care; now I hope they care but still want the kids to solve problems on their own. I have also experienced children being constantly corrected and taught. Swedes are normally somewhere in between these two parenting styles; of course, I would like to add with a touch of irony– after all we are the land of “lagom” (just enough) and “mellan” (in the middle).

There are also differences when it comes to physical punishment (illegal in Sweden) and scolding in public. Some people want other parents to know they are dealing with the matter, and some don´t.

Another, always hot, topic is whether it is considered acceptable for a parent to deal with someone else’s child.

I do believe that the culture you are currently living in influences your parenting. It is a way of fitting in, of accepting the hosting society but also grabbing the good stuff!

It is interesting once you start thinking in terms of cultural parenting. What are the cornerstones of your culture/-s when it comes to raising children? Which are the strengths? Have you added anything from your host culture?

Perhaps you are even a slightly different parent in another location! And by that I am not referring to the newly relocated, stressed and culture shocked parent …

Expatriate life in lyrics

Today I’ll provide a link to one of my favorite musical songs. It describes the life of an expat mother, but an expatriate life of past times and of much hardship. Expatriating today can be tough too, but hopefully not on all the levels Kristina experiences.

Listen to Kristina

From the musical “Kristina from Duvemåla” by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulveus (the Bs in ABBA).

Read (all about it)!

World Book Day again? Confusing? Well;

April 23 is World Book Day. It’s a UNESCO event to help promoting reading (and also publishing and copyright; therefore also called World Book and Copyright Day).

World Book Day is a global event, however in the UK and Ireland World Book Day is celebrated on March 7.

On the other hand, April 23 is World Book Night in the UK, Ireland and the US.

In Sweden we call it Världsbokdagen.

Now that we’ve got that sorted;

Do we need to promote reading? I think so. There are many distractions today, especially for kids; activities that per se might not be that bad but steal time away from disappearing into the magic world of the written word. Many of us find reading to be enriching, educating and relaxing. Being swept away, and array of emotions from fear and tension to joy and laughing out loud is what I remember from books when I grew up. It doesn’t happen as often today, but I have to admit I cried my heart out as I tried to read Astrid Lindgren’s “Brothers Lionheart” to my daughter.

Books are food for soul and mind.

Yet I find myself spending less time on reading fiction these days. There are always books scattered around my house though (mostly on the floor, even though I preach to my children never to put books in such vulnerable positions); books waiting for the next few minutes of attention that can be found during the week. These books are either related to my business or to writing, gardening or craft and art. We have a fantastic local library providing almost whatever I wish for to temporarily add to my own selection of books. I always have at least one fictional read waiting on the nightstand though (ok; on the floor). Tomorrow I’ll present a list of the books I’m currently reading/enjoying. I’m writing enjoying since not all books need to be “read” (hints: photo books, art journaling). Perhaps you’ll find some inspiration!

In honor of World Book Day and reading I have compiled a few quotes about books and reading. Which one is your favorite? Feel free to add quotes in the comments.

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#Worldcolors April

I’m on a mission to find yellow. Both here in Sweden and in my extensive collection of photos from my expat time and travels.

This month’s #worldcolors is all about the sunny, golden yellowish nuances. Suits well with the arrival of spring and longer sun hours. Daffodils however – don’t think they will actually be here in April due to the long winter and late arrival of spring.

I read about the “assignment” yesterday morning in Naomi’s blog (via twitter). My brain and eyes tuned in on yellow and focused on everything of that color I saw during the day – actually a bit annoying; either it wasn’t worth taking a picture of or it was something I drove by and couldn’t capture anyway.

If you would like to read more, see interesting photos from all over the world and perhaps participate you find the details over at Anne’s at part time traveler.

BTW. Yellow is gul in Swedish. Want to know how it is pronounced?

 

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Do you understand the news in Swedish?

Listening to the radio you probably can’t avoid the news. The news are usually read in a fast pace, and what I find after having returned to Sweden, contain a lot of slang words that didn’t use to belong there. Only the other day I heard them use the Swenglish word “hosta” as in “to host” talking about a major sports event on the news.

If you are learning Swedish you might want to try to listen to Klartext. Klartext is a news program by the Swedish Radio channel P4. The news is easier to follow than regular news since the pace is slower and the words used are easier to understand.

You can either listen to the radio (18-18.10 on weekdays), via the web page, as a podcast or via an app on your phone. The app is called SR Play. Listening to Klartext is a good way of practicing your understanding of spoken Swedish, perhaps in addition to your Swedish classes.

You can also read their news on the website.

Visit Klartext’s website to practice your Swedish! You will find links to the news, the app and pod casts here, as well as the written news.

For English info on Klartext go here.

Please leave a comment – have you tried it? Did you find it difficult?

Why I love my coffee cold.

This time of the year us Swedes grab our mugs,

sit outside on a bench,

wrapped in blankets,

faces turned to the sun like sunflowers,

enjoying the first warm rays of light.

We are all probably side by side in a row,

pressed against a house wall sheltering us from the wind.

The coffee is long cold.

It doesn’t matter,

as long as we can take our fika outside we are happy!

Soon the grill will be out too.

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Fika the Swedish way

Fika is the Swedish soul.

Fika is coffee/tea/juice/whatever-except-alcohol.

Fika is our daily excuse to savor cinnamon rolls/pastry/cake/cookies.

Fika is a daily routine at our work places. Twice a day actually.

Fika is when Swedes are not taciturn.

Fika is #fika on twitter.

Fika is at home. At the office, at a café.

Fika is at the playground, in a park and in our gardens.

Fika is for business and pleasure.

Fika can be just a cuppa.

Fika is always right.

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Expat hand-me-downs

Living a life where you meet people from different cultures and parts of the world equals living a life of constant discovery and learning. You taste new food, learn about other views of life and take part in  fascinating traditions. I have written about Cinco de Mayo and Cheese fondue, of Fredagsmys and Midsummer. I have also pointed out, to myself, that a lot of traditions are food related :). I love trying new dishes, and gladly collect recipes from friends called Martha, google and … well, closer friends too.

Naomi has also been thinking about food secrets and hand-me-downs. If you’re an expat you know that it’s not only easily stored artifacts like recipes that is left behind when nomadic people set off on their next adventure. You can read about Naomi’s thoughts here and learn what some people have shared on their expatriate journeys.

Do you have any treasured expat hand-me-downs? Did you leave something behind?

 

the Chubby Fat Tuesday Bun – semlor recipe

Today is Fettisdagen. Let me decode that into National Day of the Semla. Now it´s all clear, right?

Semla is a sweet chubby wheat bun, cardamom laden, filled with golden almond paste and whipped cream. Originally semla was only eaten on Shrove Tuesday, as a last blissful treat before Lent. Today we know better and eat semlor (we need to go into plural here) all winter long. Fettisdagen has gone from being the only day to enjoy our precious pastry to the day you must enjoy at least one of them. Because as you all know we have fika (coffee break) at work. That means you are likely to down your first semla already by ten in the morning.

Semlor can be bought in every bakery, grocery store or gas station in Sweden. Sometimes you make your own, and as a Swedish expat you simply have to make your own (unless your expatriate adventure has taken you to the Nordic or Baltic countries) if you want to join the club.

If you make it past the photos below, find out how I make my Swedish fika treats; semlor recipe to follow.

stages of baking a semla

 

This year I found ready made buns (albeit a bit flat) in the store, made just for semlor. Link if you don´t. 🙂

  • Cut off the tops, scoop out the center of 8 buns, and put it in a food processor.
  • Add 125g of almonds and 1 dl confectioners’ sugar and GO!
  • Pour 1 dl heated milk into the mixture making it that special heavenly paste.
  • Fill up the holes abundantly with the almond indulgence and top up with whipped cream.
  • Put the lid back on and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Voilà!

If you use Us cups, add some almonds and use half of a cup of confectioners’ sugar and milk.

Happy baking!