Week 14: Culture Clash

Hallå allesammans! Now then, seeing as last Saturday saw Uppsala celebrate its annual Culture Night, I thought I would do another little feature on culture. Not necessarily Swedish culture you understand, but just the little things that make Uppsala significantly different from Stroud, Falmouth, etc.

Firstly, fika. What is fika, I hear you cry? Is it a rival to IKEA? Well actually, it's the Swedish equivalent of coffee and cake, but it's also seen as a social activity, almost like going to the Vicarage for tea and scones. Fika is ridiculously popular, to the extent that one gets invited to have fika almost every day, which is a bit awkward if you don't like coffee (though tea is usually an option).

Secondly, health. The Swedes, as a whole, generally look rather healthy. Coming from a country where obesity is becoming a growing problem, it's refreshing to see most people either walking or cycling everywhere. Uppsala, like other towns in Europe, has cottoned onto the idea of giving cyclists a better deal, and thus the pavements are twice as wide and divided into two sections: one for pedestrians, one for cyclists. This is very sensible, but will probably not catch on in England, due to the fact that the streets and pavements are far too narrow, especially in London.

Thirdly, the Swedish psyche. If you say hello to a typical Swede, they will say hello back pleasantly enough, but that will be about as far as the conversation goes. They are not deliberately cold as such, but they are markedly reserved, and will not engage in long conversations until they "know what they are dealing with", as it were. Of course, after a few drinks, the average Swede will become an insane party animal, and will be more than happy to talk to you at length, even if you can't understand a word they're saying!

Finally, and this does make a difference, the Swedes start social things early, the best example being that they normally go out on the town at around six, and finish around eleven, which seems a bit odd to anyone who normally goes out on the town from about 10pm until 2am. But you get used to it after a while, and no-one minds if you turn up around 8!

But now, back to the interesting task of writing an essay comparing ginger tyrants: more on that story later. Until next time, this has been...

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Chris Stanley