*Weird European outlet plugs-- and if the different shaped outlet weren't pain enough, they run a different voltge, too (240V)
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*People walk, bike and take mass transit. Yes, they still have cars but they just don't seem to use them very much. There are bike racks everywhere and they are always full. (Which we think is why you don't see many overweight people in Sweden) It is fun to see all ages of people biking and they have great bike/walking paths that go everywhere so you don't feel like you are risking your life by riding a bike.
*Doors open the wrong way. We have felt stupid a number of times but its just so counterintuitive to have exterior doors open outwards!
*At most eating establishments (other than US chain burger joints), meals are served on real dishes with real silverware. Same with cafeteria at school. (G was amazed that he actually gets to use a real knife)
*You take off your shoes upon entering people's houses AND upon entering the elementary school. They go around in stocking feet all day.
*Garbage is complicated. Here's the garbage area at the local McDonald's. Huh?
At home we have two mid-sized garbage cans (that can only be emptied every other week and nothing put to the side either). One is only for "Food waste," The other is for "combustible waste." All paper packaging, newspaper, plastic, metal and glass must be taken to a recycling center. We are motivated to do this because otherwise there is no way we won't overwhelm the garbage can in those two weeks! (If you're curious, they use the food waste to make biogas to run the above mentioned mass transit busses and they burn the combustibles to make electricity and heat).
*Everything is smaller. Drinks at restaraunts come in kiddy cups :-), oreos come in little packages that only hold about 10 cookies. Biggest milk I've seen yet is a 2 liter. But I guess that is just as well because anything bigger wouldn't fit in my little refrigerator. Oven, washer and dryer are all much smaller than their American counterparts. (And laundry takes forever. 2+ hours to wash one load. And you clean out the lint and empty the water out of the dryer after each load. Interesting to see how much water was in those clothes). Parking spaces and roads are also narrower.
*Money is colorful and all different sizes. Higher denomination bills are physically bigger than smaller denominations. It is hard not to get sticker shock when buying things because the exchange rate is around 6.3 SEK (Swedish Kroner)/$. I know that but it still is shocking to order lunch and have the bill be 200:-
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| A donation box at a museum. It felt odd not to see it full of green. |
*Nothing gets done in Sweden in July/beginning of August. They all get at least 5 weeks of vacation and they take it in a great big chunk. Then Germany does the same in August/early September. Since T's work involves those two countries, he's concluded that if one more person he needs to talk to is "on vacation," he's going to scream.
*Nothing gets done in Sweden without the revered Personnummer. It is like the social security number in the US but they use it for EVERYTHING! You are supposed to have it to do serious things like open a bank account or get insurance but also for lots of day to day things like accessing your cell phone plan online (or getting any cellphone plan beyond a prepaid), accessing the school's online parent info, etc. You can apparently only get a personnummer if you will be a resident for at least a year. We applied to be here from Aug 1, 2011 to Aug 1, 2012. But our permits didn't get processed until August 8th and they didn't adjust the end date accordingly. So we are one week short of eligibility for a beloved Personnummer. (We have to think the relo company should have caught that one before it happened.) It has been a pain, but I have managed to talk people into giving us library cards and an insurance policy without one. Next goal, talk someone into giving me a bank account. No one uses checks here. Everything (even paying tithing) is done by Internet banking. But since US and Swedish banks don't talk to each other that well, it is problematic not having a local account.
* Food is different. Obviously. We are having to find new foods to eat. M is not liking that they don't sell a real American cheddar cheese and T doesn't like that the ice cream sandwiches taste different. Vanilla is a sugar not a liquid. And no chocolate chips!! Water is often fizzy.
*People aren't wimpy about weather. They continue to bike and walk in the rain (which it does a lot) and I imagine they will in the cold and snow, too. At school, they ALWAYS go out for recess. It downpoured yesterday during recess and the school yard soccer game went on.
*Kids are trusted to be responsible. They are allowed a lot more freedom. You frequently see young kids walking, biking or riding the bus on their own. Teens take busses and trains long distances on their own. At M's highschool, she has a college-like schedule. She doesn't have to show up until she has a scheduled class and she can leave when her classes for the day are over. They can come and go as they please during breaks. There are no such things as hall monitors. It probably helps that high school (gymnasium) is optional (still free, well actually if you are a citizen they PAY YOU to go to high school) so kids who don't want to be there don't have to be. Also, gymnasiums are specialized. You have to chose what type of program you want to complete: vocational schools, art schools, college prep, even a dedicated sports school-- so students are sorted by their interests. Cell phones and electronics can be used during breaks. She can log into the school wifi to access her e-mail, facebook, etc. Oh, and the school provides a laptop to each student to use for their school work!
*Clothes are more fashionable. They don't wear the US teen uniform of jeans, American Eagle t-shirt and hoodie every day.
*Showers are weird-- there is no tub around them. The whole floor is tile and you just have some glass doors around a drain and a shower head.
*The school people look at you like you've grown a second head when you ask how to send money for school lunch or whether you need to send school supplies. (They are appalled that someone would have to pay for such things themselves--all such things are provided by the school)
*Everyone goes by first names. I have never seen or heard anyone use terms like Mr. or Mrs. This includes school teachers. It really freaks my kids out to call their teachers by their first names.
*All the roofs are tile or occasionally metal or very rarely, straw. I have not seen an asphalt shingle roof. We wonder why that is?
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| Putting on a new tile roof |
*Swedes seem to love plants. The typical house has a fairly small yard (they would say garden) but they overflow with fruit trees and flowers. We have seen many amazingly beautiful front yards. Even in apartment buildings the windows have window boxes full of flowers and their decks are covered with flowers.
