My whole International Year: a strong contrast The U.S/Sweden

2008-04-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

Sweden/USA:

first impressions,

first comparisons

First of all, one point I would like to highlight is the difference of culture between these two countries which seemed to me a strong gap when moving from the US to Sweden. The US account for a huge country whose country size reflects into every American symbol: population size is enormous (around 300 millions inhabitants), culture is as various as the number of nationalities represented which forms a real melting pot, mythical American roads we saw in movies are large, food and drink packages are huge size compared to the European ones. The US by themselves are a great symbol of open country, a mix of cultures, symbolized by the flag, the famous dollar and all that the American Dream endorses such as freedom, opportunity to make your business, your life, the New World with its specific contrasting architecture from High skycrapers to the old wooden barns and ranches in the countryside…

Whereas, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Sweden is a very small Scandinavian country, still a kingdom with its own royal currency called “crown” with 9 millions inhabitants. Sweden reminds the arrival of Vikings and still keeps this image of strong and smart scandinavians, in their shipment moving around European countries. The country is seen as very modern, also known as the country of design and advanced technologies.

Cultures...

After having a glance at a Scandinavian tourist guide before moving to Stockholm, I realized that the Culture of Sweden is typically perceived as egalitarian, simple, and open to international influences. Back to history, Sweden never had serfdom and peasant smallholders and traditionally had a greater say in the nation's affairs than in virtually any other Western country. Protestant work ethic and trade unionism are other factors often said to have shaped Swedish mentality. The greatest sources on influence on Swedish culture have been the Catholic Church and Germany during the Middle Ages, France during the 18th century (mainly through king Gustav III), Germany again during the 19th century and the English-speaking world after World War II. But, nowadays, I think that Sweden is very Americanized with a strongly adapted western culture. My first impressions were looking at the Swedes in the street, always on the phone from morning to evening, exactly as Americans. For this, Americans go further and even stay on the phone while driving, while ordering at the fast food restaurant. I even remember my roommate staying over the phone with her boyfriend, almost all the night, just in order to hear each other falling asleep.Swedes are extremely fond of fashion and always create their own style to be the trendiest person in the street to notice. One another common point I noticed through these two cultures is the fact they have “no limit for expenses”. During summer, in the US, airconditioner was in every room at a very high level which can make us very sick as it became cold. During winter time, both in the US and Sweden, central heater is put on a high level insomuch we could work in shirts in both classrooms in the US and offices in Sweden.

Expenses...

Paradoxically, Americans and Swedes, even if they do not set themselves limits for expenses, the cost of living in both countries was an extremely harsh contrast I faced, especially in this way. During the first part of my year abroad, I went to the middle of the countryside in Missouri, USA, where the cost of living is extremely low. In addition to this, the dollar had a very low value (30% less) compared to euro during my American Semester (1 euro = 0.70 dollar). Indeed, Missouri has the 5^th lowest cost of living in the United States whereas my internship occurred in Stockholm, one of the most expensive cities in the world. To go further into details, it was really hard for me to arrive in a very expensive country with a very low salary: Just to give an idea, I was earning one seventh of the average salary in Stockholm. Contrary to my budget in the US, I had to be careful with my expenses and manage my budget in harmony with the Swedish cost of living. Unfortunately, staying tight with your purse keeps you from enjoying the country on a daily basis contrary to my American´s life I had, enjoying going out and traveling through the US.

Attitudes...

Swedes have an egalitarian outlook. The concept of Jante Law is in many areas and fields still today strong in Sweden, and any form of elitism is likely to meet strong criticism. This attitude goes in hand with the Swedish lagomhet, the appraisal of modesty and humbleness. Notably, there is a very strong support for tolerance towards same-sex relationships compared to most European countries, and Sweden is often thought of (and most Swedes think of their country) as a country with little xenophobia. I have seen quite numerous couples of homosexual holding their hands in the streets whereas in the US, it is extremely rare, especially as I was staying in the countryside of Missouri where this is not really tolerated as well as racism is quite strong.

Swedes generally express themselves in very modest terms, especially when it comes to compliments and praises - when they say something is “totally okay” that means it is very good indeed. In the same way they are not likely to be harsh in criticizing others. On the other side, Americans make a lot of promises like inviting you at home, giving you a ride, bring you to go shopping and others and they are always extremely positive with great smiles and great words such as “this is great” or “fantastic, awesome”. From my experience I had, I remember that we do not have to rely too much on what you could hear as most of the promises were not fulfiled.

Food...

Swedish food is traditionally simple; a typical meal consists of boiled potatoes, some kind of meat or fish, a simple sauce and some vegetables. Fish has historically been very important. Today Swedes eat roughly the same as other Westerners; they have their own chocolate brand, very tasty, though they have little food with chocolate taste. They drink a lot of brewed coffees and after work, specially on week ends. Swedes are fond of going out to nightclubs and bars. They drink a lot of strong alcohol till being out of mind. By night, you can see people standing in line for more than an hour just in order to get in.

Audry ...on trips

My whole International Year: a strong contrast The U.S/Sweden