When visiting someone you know in Sweden, whether it be for the first time or the tenth time, there are some things you should always remember as a guest at a Swedish household.<\/p>\n
First of all, never(!) forget to take off your shoes at the door<\/strong> upon entering the friend’s home. Forgetting this simple rule is considered extremely rude in Sweden and your host will not be happy. Always take your shoes off, regardless of how long you’re planning to stay. (The only exception to this rule is if you don’t leave the first meter’s radius of the door.) This rule is similar to how it is done in Japan, for example, the difference being that the Japanese put on slippers when entering a home while the Swedes do not. As such, you should generally always have socks on when visiting a Swedish home.<\/p>\n Another good tip is one that really shocked me, having grown up in the American culture. When you visit a friend’s place on short notice (or even not-so-short notice, depending on your relationship to the family in question), it is not uncommon that you will not be invited to eat dinner with them<\/strong>. Your friend will often be called to dinner while you are expected to occupy yourself separately in the friend’s bedroom or other room that isn’t a ‘family’ room. If you are hungry, you may be able to use the kitchen after the family is done eating. (Your friend will, of course, be with you at that time but not eat with you.) I have several experiences with this: once when I was visiting a friend in the city of Ume\u00e5 in nothern Sweden (farthest away from any other European cultural influences), another time when I visited a friend in a little town outside of Uppsala (close to Stockholm, in eastern mid-southern Sweden). The first time I didn’t really think about it all that much – I just thought it had something to do with the type of family I was visiting – but the second time, it really struck me as odd. I wonder if there are any other cultures out there like this?<\/p>\n If you do, however, have dinner with the family in question, do not(!) forget to thank the family for the food<\/strong> afterward when the meal is over. A simple Tack f\u00f6r maten!<\/em> will do. For conversation during the meal (and in general), even more ‘rules’ apply – some things that are okay to talk about in some cultures are generally not okay to talk about with Swedes. (This, of course, also depends on the relationship you have with the people.) Two of perhaps the most important examples are financial income and political views.<\/p>\n Good luck visiting your favorite Swedes! Hope these tips will help you in the future. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When visiting someone you know in Sweden, whether it be for the first time or the tenth time, there are some things you should always remember as a guest at a Swedish household. First of all, never(!) forget to take off your shoes at the door upon entering the friend’s home. Forgetting this simple rule…<\/p>\n