Välkommen till Stockholm!

Hej!

Sorry for not posting anything for a while, I was just so sucked up in my new life in Stockholm that I barely had a chance to go to the computer for long. 

One day, just after my arrival, I went to the wonderful Café String in Södermalm and picked up some random magazine to read a bit. It turned out to be Stockholm's gay magazine, unfortunately in Swedish, but there was one article right in the middle, titled 'Welcome to Stockholm', which was in English. Reading it, I nearly peed my pants laughing! It was written in such a funny way, Swedes do seem to have a great sense of humour, even or especially if the joke is on them. 

So I thought I would definitely have to share some of the tidbits of this article with you.

By the way, I got to watch some Swedish comedy the other day, and it was hilarious! Here in Sweden, TV is peppered with comedic references to Sweden and its people, probably because they have such a clearly defined international image: 'They're clever! They're beautiful! They watch dull films!' ;) This makes them perfect for jokes (like in ''Will and Grace'' when Will relates to a group of unruly children: 'You guys want to watch four hours of Swedish cinema? Then behave yourselves!') :D

So coming back to the article, it says about Swedish perception in an international context:

'The ancient Norse mythology about hammer-wielding gods has been replaced by a modern naughty mythology about Absolut-drinking Swedes who love to throw off their clothes and have sex in meadows before going home to watch Bergman films and commit suicide.' 

Haha, there is something to it, since Swedes love what they call 'summering': as soon as the first rays of sunshine come out, people get their kits off and suck up the sun as much as possible, it comes close to a collective sunshine-worshipping-which is understandable, considering the fact that it almost never gets light during the winter, apart from a good four hours of daylight during the cold season. :)

Swedish men in particular seems to have a pretty distinct feminine side to them: they know about food, wine-and hair gel. Characteristics that might be taken as links to homosexuality-sensitivity, gentleness, creativity, a fondness for euro-pop-are considered normal masculine behaviour here. At least in Stockholm, straight men dye their hair, wear Gucci sunglasses, and regularly drop by the fragrance department at NK (a large department store here).

What I find most amazing is the absence of attitude. It goes against the national character to think that you're better than anyone else. They are just so-nice! To quote the paper again: 'The Swedish family is, on the whole, a happy one.' No one is excluded, everybody is treated equally-at least that is how it is meant to be.

As the article closes, a big praise on Sweden cannot be missed-naturally:

'Sometimes being in Sweden feels like being caught in the latest X-Men movie. Could Swedes represent the next stage of human evolution? They're that bit taller, that bit handsomer, that bit less concerned with traditional ideas of gay and straight. They even have a secret way of communicating with each other (its called Swedish ;). And in the summer months, when the light sparkles on the water and the sun comes up before 4am, they do what all good superheroes do: They tear off their outer clothing and race to where they're needed.'

I can only totally agree with that! So come on guys, get your kits off and come to the land of eternal sunshine on the spotless (Swedish) mind ;).