The Rejuvenated Funny Pics Thread - NO VIDEOS (YouTube Included) (39 Viewers)
- Thread starter Sheik Yerbouti
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A tidbit from a blog by an american in Sweden to explain it a tinsy bit hehe:
20. Start a conversation with a stranger.
There seems to be something distinctly un-European about starting up a conversation with someone you don’t know. I first encountered this when I lived in Italy, so it’s not that I’m calling Sweden cold or unfriendly in any way. It is very different from the United States, however, where it’s almost a necessary social skill. My mom, for example, is somehow completely incapable of standing in line (at the grocery store, at the Secretary of State’s office, etc.) without making three new best friends.
It’s a little different here in Sweden. Not that people are unfriendly… it’s just not something you do unless you have a specific reason, like asking for directions or help or something like that. I don’t think it’s unwelcome, either.
As my friend Steve said: “I remember being in Växjö when I first got here. I would say hello to people who walked past, especially if no one else was around—like a good midwesterner would do—and people would look at me like I was a serial killer.”
http://blogs.sweden.se/expat/2012/01/29/20-ways-to-annoy-a-swede-part-ii-11-20/
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You are also seen as a total weirdo if you know the names of all your neighbours, let alone acknowledge they exist
20. Start a conversation with a stranger.
There seems to be something distinctly un-European about starting up a conversation with someone you don’t know. I first encountered this when I lived in Italy, so it’s not that I’m calling Sweden cold or unfriendly in any way. It is very different from the United States, however, where it’s almost a necessary social skill. My mom, for example, is somehow completely incapable of standing in line (at the grocery store, at the Secretary of State’s office, etc.) without making three new best friends.
It’s a little different here in Sweden. Not that people are unfriendly… it’s just not something you do unless you have a specific reason, like asking for directions or help or something like that. I don’t think it’s unwelcome, either.
As my friend Steve said: “I remember being in Växjö when I first got here. I would say hello to people who walked past, especially if no one else was around—like a good midwesterner would do—and people would look at me like I was a serial killer.”
http://blogs.sweden.se/expat/2012/01/29/20-ways-to-annoy-a-swede-part-ii-11-20/
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You are also seen as a total weirdo if you know the names of all your neighbours, let alone acknowledge they exist
