So...today autumn has "finally" arrived in Lund, after approximately 3.5 weeks of what the Swedes call admiringly their "magic Swedish summer". Looking at Wikipedia, summer is defined as "one of the four temperate seasons, marked by the warmest time of year with the longest days, and lies between spring and autumn". Let's see: Yes, the Swedish summer actually lies between spring and autumn and yes, it is the warmest time of the year. Although "warmest" is to be regarded relative here: If the other months of the year you mainly have crappy weather with either rain, storm, snow and (felt) temperature around or above zero degrees (or, also very likely, all of that), then the modest 26.5 degrees reached in Sweden really do feel like Caribbean temperatures. Anyway, I am not going to complain about the summer here, cause the few days that there is summer here it is really nice. Plus I do not want to make the summer angry so that it thinks "fuck it, I won't come back next year at all then".
No, what I want to talk (read:complain) about this time is the Swedish behaviour connected to the arrival of autumn. During summertime, they cannot be outside enough. All the free time available they are fishing, swimming, sailing, sunbathing and sitting outside. Even if it is 10 degrees and thunderstorm this does not keep Swedes from enjoying hardcore-overpriced beverages outdoors. As long as the calendar says it is summer. But as soon as it is autumn, kawum, all Swedes run inside and hide in their houses. They only come out to either work or get food. And this lasts at least until April, until they have been persuaded by permanent sunshine to come out again. I mean, of course it is very nice to be inside in a cozy warm apartment, drinking some hot chocolate and reading books when it is autumn weather outside. But if you do that for almost 6 months in a row, that cannot be healthy.
For foreigners, this "homeyness" is actually quite sickening. Cause no matter what cool activity you have to offer, it is very likely to be declined by a simple remark that "why should I leave the house, I have everything I want here". Yawn, how exciting. Anyway, although I might not agree (AT ALL) with this kind of autumn/winter behaviour, it definitely helps me to understand 2 other Swedish phenomena: IKEA and pick'n mix (Swedish: godis, a huge variety candy from which you can select yourself). With that much time being spent at their home like probably nowhere else in the world, it is clear that Swedes pay special attention to their furnishing. Moreover, the rather complicated assembling of IKEA furniture can be seen as a kind of entertainment that brings joy into the Swedish homes during the cold season. I mean, assembling a MALM bed or a BILLY shelf can easily take up 1 to 3 weeks. It is only tricky if there are parts missing, cause that would mean the Swedes have to leave their houses to get them. But maybe they make an exception for Ingvar Kamprad. Pick'n mix has the advantage of supplying them with loads of sugar so they might be able to weaken the severe depressions you definitely get here in autumn and winter time. Otherwise half of them would probably already have tried to kill themselves by mid december, for example by jumping from a Billy shelf. Although that of course wouldn't work as the shelf, true to IKEA quality, would already break down by the sight of a Swede trying to climb it.
PS: Of course I still like Sweden. And I am sure that not all Swedes are like I described them. But God, stereotyping is sooo much more fun!
No, what I want to talk (read:complain) about this time is the Swedish behaviour connected to the arrival of autumn. During summertime, they cannot be outside enough. All the free time available they are fishing, swimming, sailing, sunbathing and sitting outside. Even if it is 10 degrees and thunderstorm this does not keep Swedes from enjoying hardcore-overpriced beverages outdoors. As long as the calendar says it is summer. But as soon as it is autumn, kawum, all Swedes run inside and hide in their houses. They only come out to either work or get food. And this lasts at least until April, until they have been persuaded by permanent sunshine to come out again. I mean, of course it is very nice to be inside in a cozy warm apartment, drinking some hot chocolate and reading books when it is autumn weather outside. But if you do that for almost 6 months in a row, that cannot be healthy.
For foreigners, this "homeyness" is actually quite sickening. Cause no matter what cool activity you have to offer, it is very likely to be declined by a simple remark that "why should I leave the house, I have everything I want here". Yawn, how exciting. Anyway, although I might not agree (AT ALL) with this kind of autumn/winter behaviour, it definitely helps me to understand 2 other Swedish phenomena: IKEA and pick'n mix (Swedish: godis, a huge variety candy from which you can select yourself). With that much time being spent at their home like probably nowhere else in the world, it is clear that Swedes pay special attention to their furnishing. Moreover, the rather complicated assembling of IKEA furniture can be seen as a kind of entertainment that brings joy into the Swedish homes during the cold season. I mean, assembling a MALM bed or a BILLY shelf can easily take up 1 to 3 weeks. It is only tricky if there are parts missing, cause that would mean the Swedes have to leave their houses to get them. But maybe they make an exception for Ingvar Kamprad. Pick'n mix has the advantage of supplying them with loads of sugar so they might be able to weaken the severe depressions you definitely get here in autumn and winter time. Otherwise half of them would probably already have tried to kill themselves by mid december, for example by jumping from a Billy shelf. Although that of course wouldn't work as the shelf, true to IKEA quality, would already break down by the sight of a Swede trying to climb it.
Ahhhhhh, I want summer again!
PS: Of course I still like Sweden. And I am sure that not all Swedes are like I described them. But God, stereotyping is sooo much more fun!
1 reacties:
Good old Britta style! I like it:)
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