Answers Per Request Part 1

So this post is to answer some questions I have received and elaborate with new information I have obtained on certain topics. Here we goooo... (yes that was mentally said in Mario's voice) let's dive in!

 Post #1 10 Differences of a Swedish Christmas

Donald Duck

There are more then ten differences, maybe even 20. I am sure an eleventh according to my Swedish accomplices would be TV programing. There is the Julkalendern or Adventskalendern (Christmas Calender or Advent Calender) show for kids that broadcasts daily up until Christmas Eve Day. I was able to see the last episode which was very odd, it probably would have made more sense in English and had I watched the entire series, cavemen were involved with present day people. There is a Lucia special on December 13th which I think truly kicks off the holiday spirit with candle lit singing (it was beautiful). Also there are Christmas specials like Donald Duck and Sagan om Karl-Bertil Jonssons Julafton which is supposedly called Christopher's Christmas Mission in English. Donald Duck is a household comprehension, but Christopher's Christmas Mission is a Swedish animated short film about a boy who steals presents from the rich to give to the poor. Anton and I hung out alone with baby while everyone else watched them on Christmas. I will watch them on our next Swedish Christmas.
Nordic Quack Article on Donald Duck Tradition

Post #2 Hockey, Almost A Religion Here?

 I was really nervous and stunned to see how many people were at the hockey game. Outside there were crowds of fans, cars everywhere, and I was anxious about being around so many people. I am like that in the US sometimes in large crowds, but it was heightened here in Sweden. I think it had a lot to do with knowing I did not fit in, more like stick out like a sore thumb. The arena was packed, but I managed to calm down and enjoy myself. Two big differences about the hockey game I forgot to share in my original post was that the clock counted up to twenty minutes, instead of down from twenty minutes, also the rink was wider and appeared shorter.


Post #3 A Late Intro to Living American in Sweden

This post is my most read post with 127 views. I received a lot of good feedback and several people have told me they looked forward to reading my blog. That felt great to hear. The cool thing about my blog is that I get to see how many and from what countries my viewers are in. Of course my main readership is in the US and then Sweden, but thanks needs to also go to those few readers out there in Germany, Malaysia, Australia, Finland and a few other countries. I appreciate it! I made a statement that claimed that Americans and Swedes live very different lifestyles and I believe that's true. So I thought I would share one difference here. Americans work a lot more. I will not dispute who is more hard-working that's just dumb, but Americans definitely work more hours and have less vacation then Swedes. I feel sort of lazy that I will be a stay at home mom for at least a year before I can go to SFI (Swedish for Immigrants) classes. Anton does not work right now because he is in school full time. I feel like I need a job stat for a better income. I have had jobs since I was 10 years old. I started walking a neighbor's dog regularly for $2 a walk, by 12 I was dog grooming and babysitting. I did 10 years of post high school education and while doing so I have always had at least one job if not two or three. I know several friends had similar lifestyles. Many people in Sweden do not work while they are studying full time. Also Swedes get at least 4 to 5 weeks of vacation that they are expected to take. In the US many people have jobs that they do not get any vacation because they are not considered full time employees, they just have to request days of if they have something they want to do. Vacation time is probably 2 to 3 weeks depending on the company you work for if you work full time. There are a few crazy jobs who give even more time off than that, but historically that has to do with years you've put into the company. The mentality in the US is work hard, play hard, while here it seems to be work, enjoy, and relax and maybe relax some more? I am not used to not being on the go all the time. I really need to force myself to enjoy my year off, because I am very fortunate to have it.

Post #4 Swedish Fika vs American Coffee Break

The truth is that these pastimes can be quite similar. It's just that only those people who like coffee or tea in the US generally take coffee breaks, in Sweden everyone has fika and fika is a daily thing for a lot of people. My sister Erin and I love to go to Starbucks and get pumpkin bread and a mocha or latte and it's just like fika here. However most Americans don't have others over for fika like Swedes do. A friend asked about Swedes being carb-a-holics statement. I plan on writing a couple of related posts about bread and another about pastries, so I don't want to delve too deeply into the topic now. It's plain and simple, Swedes eat a lot of carbs. Fika is served with carbs. People love their bread, pasta, and flour-based sweets here. At baby cafe all fika is, is carbs, served with a side of liver pate and cucumber. Maybe my experience is a little jaded because I am around a vegetarian and pescatarians a lot, but at great grandma's and my soon to be brother-in-law's, who are carnivores, they have served carbs for snacks and fika. It is common to offer people bread and cheese with cucumbers or tomatoes with fika, people do it all the time. The bakery sells sandwiches, everywhere you go you can buy a sandwich. Hard-bread is a thing here and people actually eat it. Max (Swedish fast food) enormous buns are sold at the grocery store (they are yummy, but super carb-infested). Therefore my conclusion is that Swedes in general are carb-a-holics. There is nothing wrong with loving carbs, it is just an observation I have made.

Post #5 Macho-ism not masochism
(I believe some people misread the title (which I provided correctly) and that is why they've read this post. I dare say that Masochism Not Learned In Sweden sounds like a more exciting topic, but alas that was not my intention. Sometimes our eyes play tricks on us.)

I took some heat for this post, but the truth is, it's how I feel and what I know as an American woman in Sweden.Yes machoism exists everywhere, but I really wanted to stress how much more fathers are involved, how gender neutrality and equality is better here than in the US. A lot of men here are dads and a lot of them spend quality time with their children. Nowhere is perfect but I love seeing dads when I'm out everyday with strollers or baby-wearing. It's amazing and seldom seen in the US unless you are at places like the zoo. Anton and his father both went to baby cafe one Friday and no one looked sideways.
A cool page I found on fb is Swedish dads. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Swedish-Dad/206074569450097 
I mean how many countries do you know have a paternity leave, let alone one comparable to maternity leave?

Your normal Swedish dad.

Post #6 Tierp -Where the Birds Fly Upside Down

So Tierp is a strange place to many. It can seem dark and ugly.  There are the darkest crows that caw loudly and truly fly upside down, so I've witnessed. Anton heard the reason why Tierp has this special saying is because it is so boring here that the crows look up to the sky instead. We've also heard that it is so ugly here and that is why the birds look to the sky. At baby cafe there is a mobile on the ceiling that is an upside down crow. When we saw it, we laughed and laughed.
I'll share the picture again. At ICA (a grocery store) there is a picture of the Tierp crows in front next to the entrance, it makes me smile.


Well that's all until next time...