A little bird told me spring flowers are the best.
Read about Swedes craze for tulips here. Not to be mixed with a tulip craze.
Tag Archives: expat / expatriate
#2 Embrace the cold! #blogg100
A visual reminder to embrace living in a different climate – it´s a lot easier if you dress accordingly! “There´s no bad weather, only bad clothing” is one of the proverbs we grow up with in Sweden. I know expats who hate this saying, but truth is I guess we need it to survive! 🙂 Swedes are usually outdoorsy people; we need good and proper clothes for snowy, cold, rainy, windy, wet days. The first winter I spent back in Sweden after several years abroad I was constantly freezing. I had a winter jacket, right? The following winter I bought a new winter jacket – a Swedish one! Thick, fluffy and a fake fur lined hood. What a difference it made! I had failed to see the climate from the right cultural perspective.
One of the ladies in my expat network told me it is so easy to spot Swedish people in the alps – it´s the ones with the most appropriate winter wear! And not only in the slopes.
100 challenges #blogg100
#1 Saturday Jan 26
What have I done?! 😉
#1 Decided to join the challenge #blogg100
#2 Decided to go to an outlet center on a Saturday. An outdoor mall mind you. Freezing cold and a strong icy wind.
Well, the second decision of the day – check! Safely returned home in time for a late lunch. I like the concept of outdoor malls. Just not in combination with the Swedish west coast winter wind. There was a small outdoor mall where I lived in the US when I was an expat in Michigan. Loved it. Starbucks, GAP and Bodyworks. A grocery store and some restaurants. A small green area with a tiny playground and a fountain with a bench next to it to enjoy an occasional ice cream. Perhaps 20 stores all in all. The outdoor concept with a “main street” gave it a European feeling. I believe it was called The Village. Only missed one of my favorite stores; Target. Come to think of it it wouldn´t really have been a “village” with a Target in it.
Decision No.1 I´ll have to live with for the next 100 days. Good for me! Love the idea! Found the challenge only this morning, so starting 3 days late. Just need to finish 3 days later. Since we´re on twitter, my business and I, and Facebook, Instagram as well as on Google+ and Youtube, the project should be perfect for providing my different media channels with content. And vice versa. Want to join?
Let´s go!
Tulips – very Swedish
Tulips are my favorite flowers. The first sign of spring during our long dark winters; the first pastel colors after the intense reds and greens of Christmas. I love them! But I´m not alone – tulips are popular in Sweden. Swedes buy most tulips per person in the world, adding up to one million per day. US is still the largest market but the buying pattern of the Swedes- often a bunch per week – is far from matched. So even buying flowers can be culturally different, as well as the value of the flower. We happily buy them for ourselves when we do our weekly grocery shopping, whereas in other countries they might be considered more exclusive. Today– Jan 15 – is the Day of the Tulip in Sweden – “Tulpanens dag”. And yes, I bought some today! In spite of my admiration for tulips I haven’t grown many of them in my garden over the years. You see, it is not only Swedish people that can’t resist them; they seem to be favorite food for part of our wildlife. Last fall though I planted quite a few which I will guard vigorously when the time comes. Actually, due to the mild winter, one or two are peaking up already. As an expat I was lucky to enjoy smaller, botanical tulips in one of my rented gardens.
Updated 2018
Read more about tulips here, Tulpanguiden in Swedish, or just enjoy the pictures!
Small Swedish lesson:
en tulpan – a tulip
tulpaner – tulips
en blomma – a flower
blommor – flowers
en bukett – a bouquet
att slå ut – to bloom/to enter the flowering state
en utslagen tulpan – a blooming tulip
att sloka – to wilt, to flag
vissna – to wither, to shrivel
vissen – shrivelled
en rabatt – a flower bed
en dag – a day
Tulpanens dag – the Day of the Tulip
The headaches of an expat
The headaches of an expat can be surprisingly heavy
My head felt heavy as I woke up. For once it wasn´t the tck baby but a throbbing headache that was calling for my attention. Bright light found its way through the a bit uneven blinds in our American apartment, giving away that it was already morning. I felt as if I hadn´t slept at all.
It was really something else that had forced me out of my sleep. The smell. A heavy odor that shouldn´t have been there. It was all over our new expat home. Like sulfur; gas; a bit like rubber. For an instant I was tossed back to Swedish high school where the boys constantly opened the gas taps in chemistry class to upset the girls. Or should I say to impress them, speaking boys’ language.
The apartment was on ground level and raising the blinds I was welcomed by the sight of the lush green foliage outside our master bedroom, and – immediately to the left – the natural gas cabinet. It didn´t take long to make the connection smell and gas leak. Impressively fast, considering the condition my head was in.
I called the natural gas company and explained – a little bit cautious as Swedes tend to, not wanting to be such a hassle in case there was nothing to it. Apparently the smell was not good at all. Someone was to be sent over immediately. “Gas leaks are not to be taken lightly. Right, and that´s why I made the call in the first place.
Before long there was a service minded maintenance worker on the patio. He wore sturdy shoes and had a dark blue overall on, as well as a concerned look. It didn´t take long though before he burst out into laughter.
“Seriously??” he said. ”Have you never ever smelled a skunk before??”
What? No, I hadn´t. His reaction left me feeling relieved yet a bit wronged. There are no skunks in Sweden.
I thanked the highly amused man and made a mental note. My list of new experiences, ever growing from living in another country and being exposed to cultural differences, had been added to. Again.
Share your story! I know there are many situations out there that deserve to be shared! We all have problems and headaches as an expat. Surviving expatriate life is a lot easier if we´re able to laugh at ourselves. And believe me; it´s not as if there’s a lack of situations where things can be misunderstood …
This post has also been published in Swedish, go here if you´d like to read that version and the comments!
Fredagsmys for non-Swedes
Say the word Fredagsmys and every Swede knows what you are talking about. An easy Friday evening get-together, to mark the end of the work/school week and the beginning of the weekend. Family or friends, easy cooking, snack and a TV-screen are ususally involved. Tacos is a classic, as well as chips/crisps and dip; at least that´s what the commercials want us to believe. Fredagsmys is part of our modern culture, probably substituting the Sunday dinner family gathering.
The reality TV-show “Allt för Sverige”, brings “Swedish” Americans to Sweden for a chance to discover their roots. One of the episodes exposed the group to Fredagsmys. http://bit.ly/YizCDAI
Midsummer & its important ingredients
Midsummer!
Midsummer is important to Swedish people, of all ages. There are lots of links to articles and YouTube clips on social media explaining the tradition. The other day I asked a group of people what is important to them on Midsummer. The group consisted of expats in Sweden (having been here for a long time), Swedes that have been living abroad and … just Swedes. There was no difference between the answers of the Swedes and the expats, but as expected the now repatriated Swedes seemed to have celebrated more when abroad, and especially if they had children at the time.
Flower wreaths (for hair), may pole, dancing, sunny weather, picking flowers for decoration, food
White dresses, floral prints dresses, rain gear
Spending time with friends, going to a traditional may pole celebration, lottery, outdoor games (i.e. spoonrace with egg or potatoes)
Strawberries, egg, herring, barbecue, new potatoes, gräddfil (sourcream), fika
These things were also important when living outside Sweden: brännvinsost (type of cheese), prinskorv (small sausages), dillchips, estrella dip sauces, meatballs, arranging a bigger get together with other Swedish people.
No one mentioned schnapps or beer, or singing at the table, but this of course, is part of it too! As is setting the table up outside, having to carry it inside when the rain showers appear, and then outside again …
What else is important?
I shall ask @Sweden for help with input.
Har du nånsin luktat skunk eller?
Jag vaknade med en tyngande huvudvärk. Persiennerna framför fönstren i vår amerikanska lägenhet släppte in ljus och avslöjade att det redan var morgon. Huvudet kändes som att jag inte sovit alls. Men det var något annat som egentligen väckt mig. Stanken. En tung lukt som inte borde vara där. Lite svavel, lite gas, nästan gummi. Som när killarna i 8:an öppnade gaskranarna på kemilektionerna. Lägenheten låg i bottenplanet och när jag drog upp persiennerna möttes jag av buskaget i rabatten utanför, och – i kanten av det gröna – en gasbehållare. Det tog inte många sekunder att göra kopplingen till gasläcka. Imponerande snabbt med tanke på tyngden i skallen.
Jag ringde gasbolaget och förklarade. Och undrade försiktigt, som svenskar gör. Det lät inte alls bra tyckte man, och lovade skicka över någon omgående. Gasläckor var inte att leka med.
Det dröjde inte länge förrän jag hade en serviceminded amerikansk maintenance guy på terassen. Men det dröjde inte heller länge förrän han skrattade hjärtligt.
“Seriously??” sa han. “Have you never ever smelled a skunk before??”
Nej, tänkte jag lättat men aningen förorättat. Vi har inga skunkar i Sverige.
Jag tackade mannen och fyllde på listan med nya erfarenheter man skaffar sig som boende i ett annat land.
Du som utlandsvensk har säkerligen varit med om något oväntat – på grund av olika kulturer, referensramar och normer. Berätta!! Lämna en kommentar! Minst lika kul om du som är inflyttad till Sverige berättar din historia om tokiga svenskheter.
What do expat people miss from Sweden?
You don´t know what you´ve got until it is gone. Sometimes things are not even important to you until you can´t actually get it anymore. This happens when you relocate. All of a sudden those salty liquorice fish are to die for. You celebrate holidays like never before and order lucia-gowns in adult sizes. Frozen liver pâté and long johns from Polarn O. Pyret fill up the suitcases. And even though you hate queuing, you know it´s a rather blissful invention.
If you live abroad; besides family and friends – what do you miss from Sweden? Leave a comment! Click the bubble on the top right of the blog post to see what fellow expats – or “guest-Swedes” – miss!
If you are an expat living in Sweden; find out what people miss from Sweden – believe it or not? Will you miss the same? Not likely. Not all of it.
I have yet to miss the winter weather of Gothenburg though.
trailing spouse and identity – coaching workshop
This week´s workshop covered the trailing spouse and identity loss.We focused on identity GAINS, and created our own personal mood improvers! Just working on it made us all smile, and even LOL!