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Feb 14, 2003 Everyone knows that there are cultural shocks when you move to another land. When I moved from Australia to Sweden it was no exception. Now after a year in Sweden I can look back and reflect on some of those shocks. Sure there are big differences, but most of these I can cope with - it’s the little things that get me everytime. Like the way front doors open outwards in Sweden, rather than inwards as in Australia. That’s probably why Sweden has such a good health system, to care for the sprained wrists of all the Aussies who push rather than pull to open a door. I lived on a remote property in Australia and posting a letter involved a round trip of around 70 kilometres (45 miles) over unsealed roads to the nearest post office. Once at the post office I could be guaranteed a cup of coffee and a half hour chat with Pat the postie. Now I go into a post office in Sweden (if I can find one that hasn’t been relocated inside a local supermarket) and the first thing to do is take a numbered ticket. Then wait for my number to come up over one of the counters. It’s the same at the bank. At the labour exchange. In fact, any official or government establishment. All very efficient, I’m sure. But I do miss those chats and coffees with Pat. During those 70 kilometres of unsealed roads in Australia I would see warning signs to watch out for kangaroos or wombats. Now I have to be careful of a moose stepping out from the forest. A kangaroo can have a bad effect on a car, for sure, but running into a full size moose has been compared to hitting a small elephant. So I am particularly careful driving in Sweden. I grew tired of watching programs on commercial television in Australia, because of the constant intrusions of advertising breaks. The government television stations in Sweden have succeeded in confusing me more. There are two non-commercial stations available here where I live. Midway through a program on SVT2 the screen will suddenly fade out. “This program will now continue on SVT1...” says the caption. Perhaps a half hour later, it’s time to change back to SVT2 for the last segment..... Friends here in Sweden wondered why I was worried when they told me that there could be snakes in the forest. Until I explained that a snake back on the farm in Australia could be a 6 foot long red-bellied black snake, a brown snake or any one of several other potentially fatal species. Now those are snakes. For breakfast in Australia I would maybe have porridge. With milk and maybe a little sugar. Here we eat porridge and ham. Or with lingonberry jam (which comes in a plastic tube, like a sausage). So once I’ve got used to these little things, maybe I can remember to drive on the right side of the road, learn the language and acclimatise to the 20 degrees below zero Christmas weather.... About the author: I am an Englishman by birth, but migrated to Australia back in '72. Married and divorced there. Spent the last 3 years living by myself on a remote farm in rural New South Wales with no mains electricity, water etc. All power, heating was from natural resources (solar, wind, wood). "Met" a Swedish girl on the internet, came to Sweden for a holiday, loved the place (and the girl), moved to Sweden permanently Christmas 2001 and married the girl in Easter 2002. Living happily ever after... Email Robin Alan Bell: sosoft@ozemail.com.au ------------ Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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