Becoming Swedish Again

Moving back to Sweden after spending 12 years abroad has presented a few challenges. As someone rightfully pointed out years ago, I kind of became an adult living in the US, and also in Australia for a little bit. It was in the US I paid my first rent, bills, bought my first and second car, paid taxes without the help of my dad, attended higher education and dealt with numerous immigration procedures. Back in Sweden, there are a lot of things that a person my age, who has lived their whole life in this Northern Kingdom, knows how to do. And then there is me. The following is an account of some stuff that has befuddled me over the past few months:

Sweden boosts an impressive healthcare system for all its citizens. I have always felt very safe to know I can get help if need be. But now I have had to figure out to get registered at a doctor’s office etc. I have surprised many nurses working the front desks with my questions. Again, someone my age should know how the process goes. Thank goodness I am not actually sick, but just trying to get everything set up just in case. And if you wanted a real laugh, I should tell you about the time I actually was very ill a few years ago. I flew across the Atlantic with a serious respiratory problem – only reason I boarded the plane was that my sister told me the aircraft would carry oxygen. I was too poor to change or cancel my ticket, and I really wanted to go home, so off I went. Right after landing I was whisked off to see a doctor. Afterwards, when I was going to pay the bill at the pharmacy, a bill I thought would be very low or basically free, I was surprised when it was pretty steep and I loudly declared: “This much!?! Don’t we have socialized medicine?!? What a rip off!”…to my credit, I was pretty doped up with meds already. My dad sighed and generously took out his wallet and paid for the 5 medicines required to make my lungs function properly again. Medicine and hospital visits are not free, but very affordable. I had just not reached the annual amount required to get a "free card." And on the topic of health – dental care. The Sweden I left gave free dental care to its youth. Now I have to pay. So unfair, have they changed the system you may ask? Nope, I just got old(er). I leaned on my older sister and got registered with her dental office. She claims the staff there is super sweet, but does not really speak Swedish and you have to use English. Brilliant! Sounds like the place for me!

English and Swedish. I read my native tongue perfectly, but my written Swedish is a bit off sometimes. And my spoken Swedish is solid…most of the time. I still at times have to use English words instead of Swedish ones because I can’t think of the correct one fast enough. This makes me sound like one of those Swedish movie stars who stayed in Hollywood for 6 months and “forgot” their Swedish while there to seem cool. However, I don’t sound cool. I keep on translating certain words/expressions in English into Swedish and it does not work: I keep saying I “took” a class…meaning I “attended” a class. But if you say I “took a class” in Swedish it sounds like I physically manhandled a class and well, that does not work.

On a lighter note, I am very out of the loop when it comes to TV shows. I don’t watch a whole lot of TV anyway and now I have basically missed 12 years of Swedish television. When during the recent finale of the Swedish version of Idol (a contest for singers) the previous participants were included in various clips and I kept asking: Who is that guy? Mom: “That’s Darin.” And that one? “Amanda Jenssen." Oh I know who that is – Måns Zelmerlöw! Probably the two reasons I know of him is that he is born in the area where I live now and is a very attractive man…but still, I got excited. Speaking of attractive people, there are loads of them in Sweden. I am definitely not saying Swedes are more attractive than other people, absolutely not. But Swedes are generally well groomed and VERY fashionable. I have at times walked in central Malmö, the city I live in now, in sweatpants and a hoodie, feeling rather embarrassed. I mean, I was out walking for the purpose of exercise, but on my hour long walk, I was most definitely the worst dressed person out there. Swedes like fashion to a core. I like this about them/us but I would love to see some more individuality. Everyone looks great…but the same.

They even look great when they ride their bikes. Because oh my, Swedes ride their bikes everywhere and in all kinds of weather. I am so impressed of how they fearlessly zig zag in between cars and buses. Girls dressed in skirts and high heels on bikes are a common sight in Malmö. I need to get on that. Because riding the public transport system has proven to be a challenge. This is also something people in Sweden seem to learn naturally. I skipped that part. Growing up in the small city of Laholm I walked or rode my bike everywhere. Wait…that must mean I have been good at riding bikes once upon a time! Anyway, after I moved to the US, a personal car has always been my means of transportation. I have never had to use trains and buses on a regular basis. It’s sad, but the honest truth is that my parents worry more about me catching a train from Malmö to Laholm than when I am flying from Bangkok to London. I have however improved my train catching skill over the past few months. I seem to be better at catching them when I am a bit late to the station. That means no time to second guess which train to take or which platform it leaves from. I run with my suitcase in one hand and laptop bag in the other and by using my travel card Jojo (the equivalent of the Oyster card in London or the Octopus card in Hong Kong) I quickly buy a ticket and run onboard the correct train. Never failed…yet.

As I for the moment don’t own a car and don’t really need one, it can go weeks without me being behind the wheel. Add to that my numerous trips abroad this past fall, and you can understand I am not the maverick I used to be when driving in the US. Driving in Sweden includes using a stick shift, which I rock at, and watch out for pedestrians and bicyclists. Here is where I find it a bit challenging. I am not used to sharing the road with others than cars. And what is up with not being able to turn right on red?!? In the US you can do that if no cars are approaching from the left and I think this makes total sense. Many times during my visits home I have almost lost my license (okay it was not so dramatic) because I implemented this rule. I miss driving in the US.

I also miss sweet potatoes. Swedes eat lots of potatoes and I am fine with that. Generally we don’t fry them, but eat them boiled or mashed up. Works for me. But I am used to consuming large quantities of sweet potatoes and in the US they are cheap. In Sweden they are a delicatessen and cost a fortune. Okay, they don’t really cost a fortune, but in comparison to the price in the US, yes a fortune. Having a sister who is a flight attendant is great and when I had a meltdown over the price of sweet potatoes she declared she can buy some in the US and bring back. Thanks sis!

At times I feel like a stranger in my own home country and reversed culture shock has made an appearance in my life once or twice...or five times. A few times I have been in stores and accidentally pulled out American coins, thinking they were Swedish, to pay with. I even feel a bit weird using many of my appliances such as my computer and hair-straightener. Did I lose you? Why I feel this way is because I need to use adaptors because my charging cord to my laptop is American and so is my straightener. I feel like an alien (the word the American Department of Homeland Security uses for anyone not a citizen or national of the US) once again …That said, I am excited to becoming Swedish again. My aim is to try to establish a few routines and make Sweden my home. It does not hurt that I now live in a Tower in central Malmö. A Viking Princess’ rightful place is in a Tower. The city of Malmö will be great for me, I think. Because there are lots of people like me, who enjoy the Swedish way of living, but with an international flare to it. I love what Sweden stands for, but I will always view myself as a global citizen and my traveling ways will never go away. If only I could master the Swedish public transport system…