A piece of Sweden everywhere? Posted by jennie on Apr 13, 2010 in Culture
Warning: This post contains some obsessive Swedish behaviour (beteende).
Nothing makes me more Swedish than living abroad. And this is the story of my life, whenever I have left Sweden for a longer period, I have cherished anything slightly blue and yellow (blått och gult) to the max. It’s almost a bit…silly, really. Nowadays, our house gets a proper Swedish decoration every Christmas and Easter. I – who can’t bake or cook – have all of a sudden become an expert on Lussebullar, gravadlax and herring. All year around, our dining table is decorated with a tiny Swedish flag and if Sweden is competing in any sport what so ever, I paint my face and scream my lungs out.
But another weird behaviour I have discovered recently is how I almost (not really but almost…) keep count on how many times a day I randomly stumble upon anything Swedish. Today, for example, I discovered that the toilet paper holder in a client’s office was made of the Swedish company Mölnlycke, there were Singoalla cookies from Göteborgs Kex (who is actually located about one minute from my parents house) at the meeting, “the Swedish school system” was mentioned at the news this morning and about a minute ago, I noticed for the first time that the water machine at my office was Made in Sweden. Not to mention the fact that this morning, I had to walk over the bridge from where I can actually see TWO Swedish flags – one hanging from a restaurant owned by a Swede and the other one a sailing boat moored in the harbour. In other words, a good day for blue and yellow,
Anyway, apart from the fact that the majority of us are decorating our houses with flat pack furniture called things like Längtan and Tydlig and are walking around in clothes from H&M, there seems to be tiny pieces of Sweden all around me. Is this just me and my Swedish obsession or do you – who live in other parts of the world – see or hear Sweden as often as I do? Please share your pieces of Sweden with us, anything slightly Swedish is welcome, the more odd the better!
And – for any other Swedish obsessed people out there, I must share this lovely webpage, Alla Talar Svenska. They have gathered every possible movie or TV-series (foreign) where Sweden or a Swedish person appears. I bet you a tjuga (a Swedish 20 kronor note) that you can’t come up with one single movie or TV-episode that they haven’t thought of. Believe me, I have tried.
Photo: Bo Lind/Sweden Image Bank
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Comments:
Julie-Ann Neywick:
I live in Lindsborg KS whose nickname is Little Sweden USA. I am always surrounded by Swedish things. See here: http://www.lindsborgcity.org
Joanne:
The same has also happened to me ever since I became interested in Sweden and started studying Swedish! The other day the Swedish school system was also brought up in one of my classes, out of nowhere; I’ll go to a thrift store and find a small pile of old Swedish grammar books and dictionaries hidden behind all the Spanish and French ones, or pick up something I think is cute and find that it’s made in Sweden. Then, the other day I walked to my bus stop and hanging mysteriously on the bus stop sign were a bunch of blue and yellow balloons. Hmmm.
inga.johansson:
a very good way to learn a language is to listen to a song and follow the text
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzkbU1Cei0I
Michael:
I am wondering why blått och gult are in the neuter form? (as opposed to blå och gul).
Tack.
BM:
Tetrapak is, of course, ubiquitous.
Kenia:
Oh yes, it has happened to me as well, and everytime i see something swedish i smile and think that it’s fate =), but silly thoughts aside, i think that it’s just that i’m so into Sweden and swedish culture and stuff that anything related to it catches my attention immediately. It’s like you become unconsciously sort of obsessed by having it on your mind all the time. It always makes me happy when these things happen.
John Anderson:
I have already found one they missed on “Alla Talar Svenska”. There was an episode of “The Beverly Hillbillies” TV show where Julie Newmar plays the role of a Swedish starlet named Ulla Bergstom.
John Anderson
David:
I’ve lived in the UK off and on for 2.5 years now, and I know exactly how you feel! One thing I was amazed to notice is how prevalent Kopparberg cider is in pubs. (And Absolut vodka, but that’s perhaps less surprising.) My British friends are always surprised when I tell them that Kopparberg’s what 15-year olds who can’t get into bars drink in Sweden…
jennie:
@Julie-Anne: Wow, that’s amazing! Thanks for sharing.
@Joanne & Kenia: Glad you know what I’m talking about! : )
@BM: A piece of Sweden for breakfast every morning… And I haven’t even thought about it!
jennie:
@John: I owe you 20 kr! : )
You should email them and let them know!
@David: I know, this Kopparberg thing is a bit wierd! And it’s so frickin expensive (and pretty nasty…) as well, I don’t know who’s bying it. Apart from Swedish 15 year olds haha.
Are you still living in UK off&on?
jennie:
@Michael: Good Q! I have now spent 15 minutes trying to come up with an explaination that makes sense, but failing big time. I might have to phone a friend, our grammar expert Tibor, and ask him for an easy explaination. Bare with me and I’ll get back to you a s a p!
Kenia:
mm..i’ve wondered myself the same often, and the only explanation i’ve come up with (judging by the rules i infer while reading) is that by default you treat swedish nouns as neuter form, it means when they are not explicitly a common gender. In this case “anything” is acting as the noun in the sentence and since it’s not a noun itself but a pronoun acting as one, then it’s treated as a “det”, that’s why you say “blått och gult” instead of “blå och gul”.
I look forward to hear the “expert” explanation, because this above is my very own theory =).
Lara:
I am part-swedish (Del-svenska) and I count the swedish stuff all the time. I have a massive swedish flag hanging in my house. its bigger than my Australian (where I live) flag. its very funny. and I love anything remotely swedish.