Posts tagged w/ Culture

Special Easter Mission for You

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Apr
11
2009

Easter day is almost upon us and pretty soon the church bells will go crazy and wake everybody up.
But before that happens, here are a few things to remember about Påsk in Sweden.
It’s a two day holiday. Easter Monday is known as Annandag Påsk.

What are some traditional Easter foods? This being Sweden, it has to be inlagd sill (pickled herring), lax (salmon), eggs, and even meatballs. And I’m hearing that Easter bunny, as in rabbit meat, is gaining popularity, too. The main meal is normally followed by dessert, for which most people would serve mandeltårta (almond cake). And what’s this assortment of foods called? Påskbord.

How about drinks? Here påskmust is a must. Similar to julmust, but the Easter version has a yellow label with Easter chicks on it, or something like that. Påskmust is slightly lighter in flavor than julmust, but just by a tiny bit. As far as soft drinks go, I am not fond of either one. To me they both taste like bad rootbeer with a hint of laundry detergent.

So, to those who celebrate – enjoy your holiday. And to those who don’t – enjoy your days off!

And while you’re sitting around and gorging on eggs and meatballs (or rabbit meat) I have a special mission for you, if you choose to accept it.

Let’s say, you live overseas (not in Sweden) and have a Swedish friend, or a family member coming to visit you. What kind of gifts from Sweden would you like to receive? I am at a total loss here and your suggestions will be much appreciated. Help me out here, please!

 
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Immigration to Sweden - A Few Thoughts

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Mar
28
2009

Last time we talked about Swedish emigration to the US, but what about foreign immigration to Sweden? This is a subject that everybody has an opinion about and when discussing those opinions, tempers can run high, even among normally very reserved Swedes.

I don’t know if as an immigrant myself, I should be even discussing this subject at all. After all, my take on the issue will be vastly different from what a true Svensson might say.

And some people won’t even consider me a “real” immigrant, because as much as I love this country, I do not plan on staying in Sweden for the rest of my life, or becoming en svensk medborgare (a Swedish citizen). Personally, I believe that acquiring foreign citizenship is one issue that should not be taken lightly. Because along with the privileges of a new citizenship also come serious responsibilities, and you can’t have one without the other.

So, what is it like to be an immigrant in Sweden? Impossible to describe it in just one word, so let’s use two: not bad. It’s not entirely good either, because it’s never easy to uproot oneself and settle in a different country.

But compared to many other developed nations, Sweden takes care of its immigrants. It’s a progressive, tolerant country with a live and let-live attitude. It provides services and support to new arrivals that are hard to find in other lands. The ubiquitous SFI (svenska för invandrare) program is but one example (and one that deserves a blog post of its own).

As much as the country has to offer, it is not the land of milk and honey, or cradle to grave welfare, that many misguided new (or potential) arrivals think it to be. You have to work for that welfare, and sometimes finding work can be problematic.

Here’s an interesting article on the subject from The Local. (Yes, I know, I know… but until a new English-speaking media outlet emerges in Sweden, we are stuck with The Local. At least that way I can be sure that even those of you who are not yet fluent in Swedish can understand what is being said.)

And here are a few useful words when talking about immigration:

  • medborgare (def. medborgaren, pl. medborgare, def.pl. medborgarna) - person som hör till ett land och har vissa rättigheter och skyldigheter där (en svensk medborgare) – citizen
  • medborgarskap (def. medborgarskapet, pl. medborgarskap, def.pl. medborgarskapen) - det att vara medborgare i ett land. (De har ansökt om svenskt medborgarskap.) – citizenship

Obs! Be careful! “Medborgare” is an “en” noun, but “medborgarskap” is an “ett” noun.

  • invandrare (def. invandraren, pl. invandrare, def.pl. invandrarna) – person som bor i ett annat land än det där hon/ han är född – immigrant
  • flykting (def. flyktingen, pl. flyktingar, def.pl. flyktingarna) - person som har flytt från t.ex. ett krig (till ett annat land) – refugee
 
Posted under Culture, Vocabulary
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When a Short, Sharp Intake of Breath Means “Yes”

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Mar
19
2009

My friend had to go to the doctor the other day, and afterwards, when we were having fika, he said: “wow, I guess I’m seriously sick. The doctor was making those scared little noises at pretty much everything I told her.”

As you can very easily guess, my friend is an expat and hasn’t been in Sweden all that long. And during his time here, it’s obvious that he’s been interacting mostly with fellow expats. The doctor’s visit was evidently the first time he got to talk to a real Swede. And judging from his description of their conversation, a real Swede it was indeed.

First I had to laugh (but just a tiny bit) and then crashed my friend’s expectations of being sjukskriven (being on sick leave) for a long time, because yeah, while he was sick, it wasn’t with anything really life threatening. Then proceeded to explain to him the meaning of those sharp intakes of breath – those scared little noises, as he called them.

Frankly, I got so used to those noises that I don’t even notice them anymore. And quite probably, you could even catch me producing them myself on a not-so-rare occasion.

My readers in Sweden know exactly what I’m talking about, and for the rest of you - I’ll do my best to explain.

At its simplest, I am talking about a sharp, sudden intake of breath. Some compare it to a “terrified” or surprised noise, or as my guy does – a choking attack in the middle of a conversation. Personally, the first time I heard it, I thought it was a sudden hiccup. Why? That’s exactly what it sounds like. Unfortunately, it signifies none of the above. At its simplest, it’s a sign that your speaker agrees with you, or acknowledges that he/ she heard and understood what you had to say.
(And here Anna draws a sharp breath.)

People (both Swedes and foreigners alike) say that in some regions of the country this custom is more prevalent than in others, but I’ve seen (or rather heard) it all over. Though maybe a bit more in the North than elsewhere. People also say that it’s a generational thing. Supposedly, older folks are more likely to start making that funny noise when you talk to them, but in my experience, plenty of younger ones do it just as frequently and with equal proficiency. One of my ex-coworkers, a woman in her twenties could even construct a whole vocabulary just out of sharp, sudden intakes of breath.

And yes, speaking of women, they tend to use this form of “yes” a bit more often than men. Frankly, I have very rarely had a guy go “hiccupping” on me like that.

And what about foreigners in Sweden? They either stubbornly resist, or after a few years, consciously or not, begin to do it themselves. So, when you also start adding this short, sharp intake of breath to you normal, every-day vocabulary, you know the time has finally come when you can honestly say that you have completely and utterly assimilated. Congratulations!

 
Posted under Culture, Swedish Language
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When Daddies Take Care of Kids - Gender Equality

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Jan
24
2009

I am back from my Caribbean adventure and it was indeed lovely. We didn’t meet any Swedes along the way. Instead, we ran into two Norwegians while driving to Half Moon Bay in Antigua. So that was our Scandinavian connection for the week.

It was an interesting trip, but the most interesting bit happened in Europe – at Heathrow in London.

We were somewhere in Terminal 3 deciding what should we get to eat when a couple with a baby appeared. Or rather, a woman holding a baby followed at a safe distance by a man. In addition to holding the baby, which was screaming quite loudly, the woman was also carrying a blanket, a bag, and a bigger bag with all the baby paraphernalia. The man was just fiddling with his cellphone.

The woman sat down next to us, and while rocking the baby in one arm, she reached with her free hand into the big bag, pulled out a small box of ready-made formula, opened it using her teeth, then fished out a baby bottle, unscrewed the top, poured the formula in, and screwed the top back on. Mind, you she was doing all this with only one free hand.

The baby was still screaming and the husband was suddenly very interested in his newspaper.

The woman fished out a thermos out of the baby bag. She opened it, poured some hot water into the cup and put the bottle into the cup to warm up the milk. She did all this while cradling a screaming infant. She eventually ran out of hands and since I was sitting right next to her I offered to hold the baby so she could look for a clean diaper. Her husband was busy reading the sports section.

The woman handed me her baby, put the cup in which the bottle was warming up on the floor and having finally the use of both her hands back, expertly located a pack of diapers in the giant baby bag.

The husband turned to the comics page, totally ignoring his wife.

That was at Heathrow in London.

At Arlanda in Stockholm we witnessed this:

A young dad with an infant strapped to his chest and a backpack strapped to his back is walking back and forth, amusing the baby while the wife is sitting down reading a book.

He unstraps the baby and the backpack, locates a jar of baby food and with precision suggesting he’s done it many times before begins to feed the infant. The mother gets up and goes to buy a candy bar, for herself. The dad seems quite content to take care of the little one.

This is one part of the Swedish culture that I love and whole-heartedly embrace. The men pitch in and share the work with the women. They cook, clean and take care of the kids. They can take “paternity” leave and stay home with a kid, if the mother chooses to return to work early after the birth of the child.

The term for the maternity leave for daddies is pappaledig, and for mommies – mammaledig.

I Sverige har mamman eller pappan rätt att vara helt ledig (från jobbet) från barnets födelse fram till det är 18 månader.

And just so you can see for yourself how common and normal it is for daddies to be on baby duty, compare these signs:


Restrooms at Arlanda airport, terminal 4, between gates 38 and 40.

 
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Sveriges ekonomi i kris

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Jan
16
2009

Recently people have been asking me how the global economic crisis is affecting Sweden. It seems to me that many foreigners are under the impression that a state with a cradle-to-grave welfare scheme should be immune from the worldwide tumble.
Well, that impression is very mistaken. Welfare benefits don’t grow on trees, as some people seem to think. They come from our tax money that has made a trip through the system and now is coming out at the other end.

The economic crisis is hitting Sweden just as it’s hitting all other countries. Every day you read in the papers about new layoffs and job reductions.
Volvo plans 1 200 layoffs, 900 jobs to be cut at Karolinska, Telia-Sonera announces job cuts, OKB on the verge of bankruptcy, 18 000 layoffs in December, Swedish jobs moving abroad… And so on. The outlook for 2009 is grimmer than grim.

Yet many people don’t seem to be worried at all. They believe that having a permanent contract and belonging to a union will protect them from being laid off. I certainly hope that things will not get to the point that this belief will be put to the test.

At least in my neck of the wood, people go about spending money as usual. Shops are full of customers (but I’m not sure if they’re just looking or actually buying). Everyone I asked today was still going on their annual winter vacation. Many people actually waited till the very last minute to take advantage of, yes, you guessed it, last-minute deals.

“It may be the last holiday we can afford for quite some time,” one lady purchasing a vacation package at the Ticket.se office said out loud to no one in particular. I was waiting right behind her and we started to talk. Her husband works at the local Volvo factory and there’s trouble brewing. People will be let go.

Are worried about your personal finances and would like to get some tips on how to manage in this economy?

På konsumentverket.se kan du ladda ner en broschyr kallad “Koll på pengarna”, om du på allvar vill gå igenom din ekonomi.

 
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