Archive for 'Living in Sweden'
Just enough Swedish fika – the Swedish word lagom Posted by Stephen Maconi on Feb 20, 2018
The Swedish fika is a well-known phenomenon among Sweden-enthusiasts. Just as important is the word lagom. How are these severely Swedish concepts related? By this point, the art of the Swedish coffee break has reached far beyond the vast stretches of the oblong Scandinavian paradise that is Sweden. Its concept serves as a symbol for…
Language examinations in Sweden Posted by Tibor on Jul 3, 2017
Most of you are familiar with international language examinations like the English IELTS, Cambridge Certificate, or for example the Spanish DELE. In Sweden we have two internationally recognized language examinations with two different purposes: -TISUS stands for Test in Swedish for Universities and it is available few times a year both in Sweden and some…
Talking about the weather in Swedish Posted by Stephen Maconi on Jun 7, 2017
It’s raining! Picture it: You’re on vacation in Stockholm during the autumn, and suddenly, rain starts to fall. You’re getting soaked! What do you do? Maybe you want to buy ett paraply, an umbrella. Or maybe you just want to talk about the weather. Swedes love small-talk, so you’ll fit right in! And have we…
99% of all Swedish waste is recycled Posted by Stephen Maconi on May 24, 2017
Did you know that 99% of Sweden’s waste is recycled in some way? Sweden is well-known around the world for being a country that puts a big emphasis on protecting the environment (miljön). Recently, when the threat of the President Trump leading the United States out of its international climate treaties arose, Sweden politicians were…
Study.EU ranks Sweden as 5th Posted by Tibor on Apr 3, 2017
Study.EU is the gateway to universities in Europe. The prominent website ranks Sweden as the fifth most suitable country in Europe for students both from and outside the EU. You will find much detailed information on cost of living, study programs and courses on all levels, housing and other essential information before moving to Sweden…
Talking about money in Swedish, part 2 Posted by Stephen Maconi on Mar 29, 2017
Money is a standard topic of conversation in any language. After all, wherever you are, you have to be able to buy groceries, fika, and that bottle of wine from Systembolaget for dinner at your friends’. (If you don’t know, Systembolaget is the (only) liquor store in Sweden.) Review. In the last post, Talking about…
The currency of Sweden is “spänn”?! Posted by Stephen Maconi on Aug 3, 2016
The Swedish “crown”, as some English-speakers refer to it, is called den svenska kronan in Swedish. The international currency code for the Swedish krona is SEK. When you start spending a lot of time with Swedes, you’ll notice that they don’t always call their currency by its proper name (krona/kronor [plural]). In the Western…