As many of you know, last Tuesday, November 1st, David and I attended our Swedish Culture Course. The course was 6 hours and had quite a lot of interesting information in it. We reported to class at 9:00 am and the first thing was to participate in fika and come back to the room to watch a movie. What is fika you ask? Fika is a Swedish break where they provide "sandwiches". When I say "sandwich", it really is half a roll, usually a whole grain roll, with a bit of butter and a piece of cheese. Then they provide either sliced cucumbers or sliced peppers (paprika in Swedish), depending on the day. The fika we had at the Swedish Culture course had many more selections, they had fruit, yogurt, cheeses and "sandwiches". Ikea provides fika twice a day at their offices, usually a sandwich in the morning and fresh fruit in the afternoons.
Anyhow, while everyone ate we watched a 10 year old movie on why living in Sweden is so great! They interviewed people from different countries, including a couple from the U.S. on why they liked living in Sweden. The movie was interesting, but very dated!
Our instructor was from Britian and has lived in Sweden for 11 years. She married a Swedish man that she met abroad and subsequently moved here. She understands the frustrations of dealing with the Swedish ways and helped us feel more comfortable with our surroundings.
She then explained some of the history and interesting facts on Sweden. I will try and share them here with you and help you understand more about Sweden and their people.
Even though Sweden looks like a very large country, it is bigger than the State of California, only about 20% is really inhabited. 20% of Sweden lies about the Artic Circle and 60% of it is located north of Stockholm. Sweden only has about 8% of their land that is available for farming. 56% of the country is made up of trees and forest along with 36% reindeer! Yes, there is such a thing as reindeer, but I am not sure if they fly! With so much of the country made up of trees, no wonder timber is their largest industry. Water and steel (iron ore) makes up the rest of their natural resources. Sweden is also very large in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals (Astra Zeneca).
Roughly, 9 million people live in Sweden, the majority of them live below Stockholm. Stockholm is the largest city at 1.4 million, with Gotenberg coming in second at 700,000 and Malmo with 360,000. In 1900, 90% of the population lived in the country and today 80% of the populations lived in towns. Quite a difference! Yes, it is where the jobs and life are really located, which brings people to the city.
79% of the men work along with 74% of the women. The 74% of women working is the highest percentage in Europe. The ecomony here is based on a two-income household. They have a very generous maternity/paternity leave up to 16 months with your normal pay. You will be guaranteed a job when you come back to work, not necessarily the job that you had when you left. Another interesting fact is that it is very hard to get fired in Sweden. The employer has much documentation to do and the things you can get fired for in the U.S., like drinking on the job, you cannot get fired for here. They will send you to rehab, before they fire you! Employers are required to pay 3x your salary in payroll taxes, so they take all of this very seriously.
I was amazed to know that Sweden is the most honest country, they always try to do the right thing. They complete their taxes on time, many with no errors and they have a very high voter turn out rate! I find it very interesting that the Lutheran Church (A Calvinistic form of it) here is the State Church, but no one really goes to church, but 80% of the people belong to the church.
The affluence of Sweden has really happened in the last 100 years, mostly due to the exporting of cars (Volvo and Saab). Swedish society is very tolerant. Since they are a hardy people, they do not complain, even about work! They feel if you complain you are weak and spoiled. Up until about 20 years ago, Sweden was a very homgenous society. Now, they are seeing an influx of immigrants from the Middle East, among other places. Swedish people believe in jantelagen - average, not standing out. They think everyone is equal and has a fair chance. I guess that is why they all dress very similarly and keep up with fashion among each other. Currently, the big fad here is where Converse sneakers and skinny jeans. No, I do not have a pair of Converse, I do not think it is me.
In the 1930s a gentleman named Per Albin Hansson, helped turn around the Swedish society and basically changed the country to a socialist country. He wanted to build a society to be like a family (folkhemmet) based on equality, caring, cooperation and helpfulness.
We have found out that many times the people of Sweden appear tolerant and open on the outside, but inside they still have those Calvinistic characteristics. So far we think that living in Sweden has been an educational experience. Attending this class also made us more aware of the action and attributes that we encounter when we are out experiencing Swedish life.
I think this is a lot of information for now, if you would like to have more information or would like me to explain something else, please let me know and I would be happy to.
Take care and I do have more to write soon!
Love,
Bridgette
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