Dear Friend,

Nice to hear you are going to Sweden! I haven’t heard from you some time now. That’s why I’m writing you a letter. I heard you will also come to Karlstad University and I wanted to give you some information and advice on how to survive in Sweden.

First of all, don’t worry about the stereotypes they aren’t all true! Not all of the Swedes are blond but a good number of them is. But here are some things you should pay attention too.

Sweden is a natural country, there are a lot of forests filled with wildlife such as ducks and deer. It is very quiet in the forest and the cities are very calm during winter (except Stockholm). The air is very fresh and the sky is very clear, so a lot of sunshine. Still there is a lot of snow during winter, you can see snow mountains at the side of the road! The temperature during winter is rarely above 0°C and usually -15°C. In winter you only have 6 hours of daylight, but in summer you get 18 hours of daylight. The moods of Swedish people can vary according to the weather and the hours of sunlight. They can be happier if there is sun, as are we all! So I suggest that you bring warm clothes, gloves, scarf, sunglasses and a hat during winter.

Swedes love nature, you need to respect that when you come here, sort your garbage (Hard plastic, soft plastic, paper…). There are no private forests and you can walk everywhere as long as you don’t harm the animals and don’t cut down trees, you can pick berries and flowers. If you want to camp in a forest, you can but need to clean up after yourself. A paradox is that while they want to protect the nature they don’t turn of the light when they go out or go to bed.

Swedes seem cold and look like they think only of themselves but they are helpful when you ask but they won’t come to you out of their own initiative. Swedes won’t start a conversation with someone they don’t know so you will need to take initiative. You don’t need to be scared to start at conversation as most Swedes have a good command of English. Maintaining a conversation however can be difficult you need to make an effort. Take care when you are in a group of people, Swedes only speak to one person at a time and will ignore others. If other Swedes are present they will address them in Swedish and disregard the fact that you do not understand Swedish. Swedes greet each other saying ‘Hej’ and if they are more excited they say ‘Hejhej’. However Swedes don’t greet you very often because they don’t want to disturb your silence. This is another reason why they can seem cold, but to them it is polite. Hejda is goodbye and tack or tacka is thank you. If you want a Swedish friend you should ask him/her for fycka. When Swedes cook they do not offer you to taste what they are cooking as they do not want to pressure you to saying ‘it tastes great!’ so if you would offer something to them they will not dare to refuse because they don’t want to offend your feelings. Probably for this reason they have a word between yes and no: it’s nja! (mix between Jah and Nej) When they say this they will probably mean ‘no’.

The value equality and moderation you find these values back in their lagom. Lagom is the rule for all situations of their life. They want to be in the middle, they don’t want to be the best or the worst. They strive for the middle. There is a strong equality between men and women. Sweden is a feminine counter, men take as much care of the children as women and they often cook and do the groceries. Girls will be more outgoing then men and they both are very independent.

As a student in Sweden you should know about some things concerning life at the University! The Swedish educational system is quite different from most European and Asian systems.

For example they only have 3 grades (Fail, Pass and pass with distinction) This is confusing for the first time but you can always ask for feedback from the teachers and look at your corrected paper! When you are going to talk to your professor you need to know that they are very informal in Sweden! You can address them in their first name. This is probably connected to their value of equality, they want you to treat them as equals. Another thing that is surprising is that you only have 1 or 2 courses at the same time for 3 months. You also don’t have a set time for exams, you have an exam after the course is finished and that can be any time. And then you can start another course! You may not have many classes at the university but you are expected to study in your free time and prepare for the classes. You will also get group assignments and individual assignments. Classes can take place at different places and time each week, so you need to keep an eye on your schedule. You need to be come on time to the university as finding the room can be difficult as the university is a labyrinth! Also! To communicate the teachers use the course homepage and email, they don’t use monitors in the university.

The bathrooms at the university are mixed both men and women, quite surprising! Chinese students find it very strange that the toilet paper is available for everybody at the toilet and you don’t need to bring ant with you. Speaking about bathrooms, the Spanish students find it strange that you have to pay for them at some places like Mc Donalds. The University library in Sweden is also different. You are allowed to talk in some places and you can book a room for private study. You can also get a key card which allows you to enter the university at any time of the day. About cards,… you will need a lot of them! Make space in your wallet! You will have a student card, an ISAK card, Print card, university library card, city library card, Buss card, cards from the student pubs and clubs, … by the way Swedes like to pay by card you don’t need a lot of cash. Another thing that you will need the T-number that the university will give you. It is your ID here you often need it when filling in an attendance form and such. The most annoying thing is that you don’t have a Swedish identification number. You will be asked for one a lot! This will give you some problems, for example when you want to get internet you can only get a mobile version and not one by cable.

The transport system in Sweden is very good. The trains are nice, fast and there are a lot of them. There are different buss companies, one for every city and one that goes to other cities. In weekends and evenings there are few busses so you always need to take your timetable book with you and plan your day. Some of the buss stops have electronic time tables which are very handy, they show the busses next to arrive. Taxi’s are expensive, few and there are some in ‘black’ (unofficial). Talking about prices, everything is expensive. Usually it’s best not to keep comparing prices to your home country as it will keep you in a constant shock! Shops usually close at 18:00 and in weekends 16:00 so plan your shopping. All the information on the articles is in Swedish so you need to look at the pictures and maybe have a dictionary at hand. In the supermarket you won’t find ‘normal’ water in bottles only water with gas or with a flavor. The tap water is drinkable everywhere so they don’t sell water. There is one special shop, it’s called systembolaget, this is where you need to go to get alcoholic drinks. This is because they have a strict alcohol policy, alcohol is very expensive and you cannot drink alcohol in public. If you want to party in Sweden, you should know: there is a pre-party, party and sometimes after-party. Pre-party always starts early 19:00 and the party ends usually at 02:00. Pubs and clubs are only open until two and clubs have tables to play poker! Students usually go to bars to talk to others and have fun. If you are going to a party with Swedes you should know that although they are very calm during the day they go crazy at parties they use their elbows while dancing and it hurts! But don’t start a fight over it as it can get you in jail!

One last paragraph about general Swedish habits! The ideal vacation of a Swede is staying at one on their traditional red stuga (holiday house) this is ideally located in the middle of nowhere you will see some of those driving through Sweden. In the evening when it’s dark they do not close their curtains and everybody can just look inside although it’s polite not to do it! Swedes appreciate it when you come on time, so you should do so. Sunday is often cleaning day it’s best if you comply to it. When you first come here you will notice that Swedes usually wear black, brown and blue but if you don’t wear these colors they will not think it is strange it still is normal. If however you are uncomfortable with it you can buy new clothes. Don’t worry when you need to cross a  street, the drivers are very polite and will stop even if you aren’t at a crossing point with the stripes on the road. To make roads and pavement less slippery the Swedes don’t use salt but small rocks to throw on the ice. It is much better for your shoes but be careful it is still slippery. If you visit a Swedish person at home please announce that you will be coming and be on time. They will greet you with a hug, don’t try to kiss them! If invited for a meal don’t bring food as a gift its rude.

02-03-2011 om 00:00 geschreven door Karolien