Hej,
David and I were all set to go to Växjo yesterday, but unfortunately a very bad rain and wind storm came through and our plans had to be scrapped. So instead, we stayed home and organized the garage a bit. When the owner of our house left, he left quite a bit of stuff in the garage and it was/is a big mess! I have never met anyone who has so much junk! He has brand new things in sacks that he never removed from the sack. He is not organized and it makes a mess just trying to find simple things. For example, he had some shelves here that needed to be put together. David and I searched and searched for the shelf pegs and could not find them, so we went over to IKEA and bought 60 pegs, costing about $20. Wouldn't you know, when we got back home, we found them in a cup sitting on a shelf. Neither one of us looked in the cup, who would of thought they would be there. We looked at everything else on the shelf! Oh well, lesson learned.
Since yesterday was 1st Advent (the first Sunday of Advent) the stores were opened from 3:00 - 7:00 pm. The residents of Älmhult also put all their lights and Advent candles in their windows. It does look pretty, but to me it is kind of funny, because it seems that if they don't have their lights up they might be punished. One of our neighbors was gone for the weekend, they were not home 5 minutes before they had all their lights hung and turned on. Sometimes it seems that there is some idea here that they must comply with society or else they be deemed an outcast. One of the ideals that made us like living in the States was the differences between people, religions and how we could celebrate those differences. I think people are afraid here to be different, which is really sad.
So as many of you know, we are experiencing less and less daylight as the days get shorter. The sun is coming up closer to 8:00 am and setting around 3:15 now. By 4:00 pm it is very dark. It certainly is a change from what we were used to. I did not understand the abundance of reflective clothing here in Sweden or the need for it, now I understand. You will see runners, walkers, cyclists wearing reflective vests. You see men wearing big, reflective green winter coats. Since it gets dark so early and so dark, you have to make certain that people can see you.
Another interesting thing we have found living here in Sweden, many of the ideals and such remind us of living in the States during the 1970s. For example, they have a law here that you have to put snow tires on your car before December 1st. So everyone has two sets of wheels and tires. I am not sure if they have heard of All Season Radials. Where we live in Sweden does not get feet and feet of snow, it is probably comparable to Chicago in the amount of snow fall and coldness. We are towards the southern part where it remains warmer. So, I do not see the point in getting another set of tires, because if it is that bad, I will not be driving. Additionally, it seems like a waste of resources to have two sets of tires. We do not really drive anywhere during the week at all. David rides his bike to work and if it is too bad, he will just walk. We do not have our tires yet and I am certain we won't have them until after December 1st since David is going out of town for the rest of this week.
Another example of living in the 70s is the fact that we do not have garbage disposals here. I cannot tell you how much I miss that little feature. As I have stated here before, the store hours are also reminiscent of the 70s. Malls are new here just like they were new in the States in the 70s. I cannot believe that they have just started opening malls probably within the last 5 years. There are other examples, but many times David and I feel like we have definitely stepped back into our childhoods. Sweden is modern as far as technology is concerned, but as far as day-to-day living it reminds us of the 70s.
I have some more to tell you about, but I will save it for later this week! Also on Wednesday, Älmhult is having a Christmas market, so I will try to get over there and take pictures and let you know about it.
Take care,
Bridgette
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