My Swedish experience

anto9

sportloto86 wrote: »

Are you sure these are women? ;-)

If they have big tits and a beautiful face who cares .lol

cloudatlas

anto9 wrote: »

The Irish are just too in your face .Give me a reserved race any day .I am now in Thailand ,a race also in your face but the women are drop dead beautiful for the most part ;-)
The race of people i like the most would be the Germans .They are direct ,and you know where you stand with them .The Thais smile all the time but it hides their true feelings in many cases .

That's exactly what I was trying to get at. My German pal gave unsolicited advice to someone, it was harshly helpful and honest but I wouldn't have said it because I was worried about offending. There is a fine balance between the two approaches. The Irish aren't without their faults, the two faced janus, the thin sheet between the practiced friendliness and the honest appraisal. Our media likes to pour scorn on Italian corruption and laugh at Berlesconi but our own politicians are just as corrupt and excel at deception. Our populace are practiced at solipsistic denial, we don't want revolution we want to be left alone 'Sure it'll be grand'.

biko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8_7yPocGPg

mark renton

Swedes are miles ahead of Irish in evolution, no frills, no nonsense. If an Irish man gets up off a seat on a bus or holds the door open for a Swedish woman then she takes it, but really she knows what he's after, and it isn't a "thank you". Then an Irish man complains that his good will was not recognized!!

The underlying motives of the Irish, and other nationalities are not hidden from the Swedes - we will all be like them one day - evolution my friends, evolution.

dissed doc

grenache wrote: »

Wait a second, you're calling me a snob for expecting other people to display everyday basic common courtesy?! :eek: Are you for real???!!!!!'

Common courtesy in Sweden is obviously based around a much bigger social space and not being on top of people or close to people. And it is also completely reasonable to discuss salaries and money, but that might be a big no-no in Ireland.

maninasia

It's interesting they generally don't have a problem discussing money openly even though it is nominally a socialist state. Other peoples who are very open about discussing money would be Chinese and Korean.

In Ireland it's not done to discuss money or your personal sex life to all and sundry, but it's not so taboo to discuss politics or religion openly , which would be a big no-no in other places.

Culture differences are just things we grow up with and they become internalised to a large degree, and it takes quite a strong will to battle against that and most people NEVER become aware of these internalised cultural concepts, they simply assume everybody thinks like that.

One could compared it to growing up in a family with a given religion I guess.

constance tench

mark renton wrote: »

Swedes are miles ahead of Irish in evolution, no frills, no nonsense. If an Irish man gets up off a seat on a bus or holds the door open for a Swedish woman then she takes it, but really she knows what he's after, and it isn't a "thank you". Then an Irish man complains that his good will was not recognized!!

The underlying motives of the Irish, and other nationalities are not hidden from the Swedes - we will all be like them one day - evolution my friends, evolution.

...seriously?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-24650912

losthorizon

yizorselves wrote: »

One Finnish persons description of the Irish:

"They promise you the world and then do nothing"

ha fairly accurate for most of us.



Finns can be pretty boring though



Ah its all relative innit!

Nah they arent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MlsMVzrp2o

Tough people who say what they think. Was in Finland for two weeks and found them all right. Not the most friendly and you had to talk to them first.

Got the Ferry from the Aland Islands to Sweden and found the Swedes less friendly although I was only in Stockholm. The second time I was there it was for a football match (Cork City V Djurgardens). People actually spoke to me on the metro which was odd.

BTW Djurgarden fans are a nasty lot and we had to be escorted out of the ground 20 minutes after the game had finished as they were waiting for us. We were just there for the game and a good time. Nasty lot.

Ive been to all the (independent) Nordic nations and the friendliest is Iceland. Its also the most awe inspiring. Although in fairness I didn't go out of Stockholm in Sweden and just visited Turku, Tampere, Helsinki and the Aland Islands in Finland.

I notice some posters on here have also been to Finland and Sweden. How do they compare the Swedish speakers of Finland with the Swedes? Are they different?

mark renton

constance tench wrote: »

...seriously?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-24650912

thanks, this backs up my point, such evolution creates a more equal society

constance tench

mark renton wrote: »

thanks, this backs up my point, such evolution creates a more equal society

I don't think it does mark...

constance tench

Big Steves experience :pac:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBWjXItObGI

biko

Aye, Big Steve is brilliant!

feargale

losthorizon wrote: »

How do they compare the Swedish speakers of Finland with the Swedes? Are they different?

I don't know, but I once met a Swedish-speaking Finn in Ireland and asked him if the Finland Swedes were an ethnic group. He scratched his head and eventually gave up. I had a Swedo-Finnish guide in Helsinki. I asked her who the Aland Islanders supported when Finland played Sweden in football. Without hesitation she answered Sweden. I then asked her who the Swedish speakers of Helsinki would support. " Finland," she replied, " and they find the question offensive." So the Swedish-speaking Finns would appear to be a disparate lot

crockholm

feargale wrote: »

I don't know, but I once met a Swedish-speaking Finn in Ireland and asked him if the Finland Swedes were an ethnic group. He scratched his head and eventually gave up. I had a Swedo-Finnish guide in Helsinki. I asked her who the Aland Islanders supported when Finland played Sweden in football. Without hesitation she answered Sweden. I then asked her who the Swedish speakers of Helsinki would support. " Finland," she replied, " and they find the question offensive." So the Swedish-speaking Finns would appear to be a disparate lot

AFAIK the reason that Åland is a Finnish territory was to do with a Peace treaty between the Russians and the Swedes, whereby the ruskies used the islands as a sort of bitch-slap on the defeated Swedes,the islands are ethnically Swedish.

I'm sure that some people in northern ireland would root for the republic because they feel closer to the South,despite their political situation

And the Swedish speakers in Finland are kinda like the descendents of planters/protestants who self identify as Irish,though no doubt some would ask them where their alliegence lay in an IRE vs ENG match.

grenache

mark renton wrote: »

Swedes are miles ahead of Irish in evolution, no frills, no nonsense. If an Irish man gets up off a seat on a bus or holds the door open for a Swedish woman then she takes it, but really she knows what he's after, and it isn't a "thank you". Then an Irish man complains that his good will was not recognized!!

The underlying motives of the Irish, and other nationalities are not hidden from the Swedes - we will all be like them one day - evolution my friends, evolution.

Fcuk me, if that's "evolution", I think I'd rather stay a monkey

CrabRevolution

mark renton wrote: »

thanks, this backs up my point, such evolution creates a more equal society

Did you even look at what the poster linked? Ireland and Sweden are separated by 1 spot in a ranking in terms of gender issues. In the context of 133 countries in the survey thats basicaly on par.

If you look at the specific categories aswell, Sweden and Ireland are in the same grade in all but one, and in the one that they differ, Ireland actually scores better.....

Not sure where you get this notion that Sweden are vastly ahead of us (on an evolutionary scale of some sort) in terms of gender equality.

mark renton

CrabRevolution wrote: »

Did you even look at what the poster linked? .

Yes, I read the article. My primary post was not based on the sole condition of gender equality, the article merely adds to my point that gender equality can be a component of such evolution.

mark renton

grenache wrote: »

Fcuk me, if that's "evolution", I think I'd rather stay a monkey

A common perspective - can be usually seen late nights in the city centers around Ireland - people behave like monkeys, then attempt common courtesy at other times. My point is that the Swedes do neither - they seem much more evolved than the monkey, and find it unnecessary to have underlying motives, they speak openly about such things as sex and money - possibly religion has prevented some nationalities such as ours from evolving - all I'm saying is that some day we Irish will be the same - more developed to speak openly and not have underlying motives - this to me is evolution of the human species.

josip

mark renton wrote: »

A common perspective - can be usually seen late nights in the city centers around Ireland - people behave like monkeys, then attempt common courtesy at other times. My point is that the Swedes do neither - they seem much more evolved than the monkey, and find it unnecessary to have underlying motives, they speak openly about such things as sex and money - possibly religion has prevented some nationalities such as ours from evolving - all I'm saying is that some day we Irish will be the same - more developed to speak openly and not have underlying motives - this to me is evolution of the human species.

I never saw a big difference in how young Swedes and young Irish approached alcohol. The most significant difference to me was due to how exepnsive alcohol was in Sweden.

The Swedish equivalent of a Coppers patron was more likely to drink a stomach full of cheap hem brann before they headed out and try to coast the rest of the night on 2 or 3 drinks in the bars and clubs. I saw a lot of really hammered Swedes in clubs/bars quite early on in the night. Pro rata, I have had to put more comatose Swedes in taxis at the end of the night than Irish.

"Coppers" Irish tend to be more sober at the start of the night but then consume most of their alcohol in the pubs/clubs. Some of the Swedes would have sobered up a bit by the end of the night and that might have contributed to a less messy city centre than here in Ireland, but I would be surprised if someone went out regularly in various parts of Stockholm/Sweden and not seen messiness late at night.

The non-Coppers set in both countries would have little difference in terms of their approach to alcohol and would be equally "refined" and "dignified". Topics of conversation differ of course. Irish people, perhaps more aware of sensitivities and more aware of history avoid some topics of conversation that may cause friction in the group, eg, religion and politics due to our recent history. A lot Irish people I know would be reluctanct to discuss money if they felt there was a member of the group in a poorer financial situation than them in case they caused upset.

Finally, in terms of guile and subterfuge, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that in the animal kingdown those traits would have indicated higher intelligence and be associated with animals further up the food chain. Not that being further up the food chain equates to being more evolved. Come to think of it, wouldn't all instances of an animal at a given point in time be equally "evolved"? Only if we were to time travel/cryopreserve a bit, would more/less evolved instances co-exist.

Once again, these are my social experiences. I probably had greater participation across the various spectra in Sweden than here in Ireland where in my youth I would have been more often than not in the Coppers-set. I'm not in any way suggesting that my experiences are representitive.

nacho libre

I asked a Swedish girl i know about your experience. Here is what she said:

Lol if you want civilisation you should go to Tokyo, it's cleaner too. It's a bit horrid going from London to Stockholm, people are bumping into each other all the time here. As to the individual points:

1) I have no experience with asking for directions in sweden in english, so I can't really say anything about this. People have been very helpful to me in swedish though.

2) Please is not a word in swedish, however the swedish equivalent of "thank you" is used extensively. However the situations in where it is used is a bit different from the british. For instance when buying something both the customer and the salesperson might say "thank you" several times each. Holding a door or similar there is a social imperative, not to talk to strangers that will keep many people from saying "thank you", this I think is the cultural bit where we might seem rude to others. Because to us it is also a bit rude to speak to strangers "for no reason". See point 1), approaching strangers should be done with cultural sensitivity, if you come on too hard people will think you're a pickpocket or trying to scam them somehow.

3) This point is ridiculous. He stayed with assholes, this is not a cultural thing.

4) I don't recognize people going nuts over a bus being 1 minute late, hyperbole probably. It varies a lot with which station you're on and the time of day, but it's correct that sometimes people will try to get in or stand in the way of the people trying to get out. It's super annoying, ineffective and it makes me angry. In other contexts however we're quite good at queuing.

Sleevoo

I've been to sweden a few times. Its a great place for pulling women as the women are beautiful and the men over their have no balls so the women love you if you act like a man.

crockholm

Tbh, I don't know where the train being 1 minute late story comes from, trains are regularly late in Sthlm.And as the Winter is now closing in,many trains,especially the commuter trains will be cancelled/delayed and bus journeys to at next functioning station commonplace.Swedes cast a jealous Eye towards the Norwegian train system

keithclancy

On the flip side a person coming from another country can find the following things rude/annoying in Ireland.

• Driving in the overtaking lane with nobody else on the road.
• Junkies hassling you at the Luas Ticket machines.
• People being shocked/offended when you say "No" and walk off.
• Taxi drivers having some mad opinion on everything.
• People not saying what they mean i.e. "Ah no thats no problem" really meaning "No I want money off you for the lift" and then being told you should have left money in the back seat of the car and ran away.
• Lads in pubs fighting over someone looking at them funny.
• Hobos sitting next to ATM machines and when you tell them to go away someone coming up to you and tell you they are a person with feelings and down on their luck.
• Being constantly told that everything is cheaper 'on the continent'
• There's 10 minute limit before a German will get a Nazi joke, or some comment on the economic crisis.
• There's a 30 second limit before a Dutch person gets some comment on "AH SHURE WHY DID YOU COME OVER HERE BUD.... DE WEED IS GREAT OVER DAYRE'
• People who crowd up the escalator making it impossible to get past if you fancy walking'
• Strange people who walk around supermarkets in Pyjamas.'

Just saying .... :pac::pac::pac::pac:

Or that all could be a generalisation.

Legs.Eleven

Now we're arguing who's more evolved between the Irish and Swedish. Good jaysus.

kupus

keithclancy wrote: »

On the flip side a person coming from another country can find the following things rude/annoying in Ireland.

• Driving in the overtaking lane with nobody else on the road.
• Junkies hassling you at the Luas Ticket machines.
• People being shocked/offended when you say "No" and walk off.
• Taxi drivers having some mad opinion on everything.
• People not saying what they mean i.e. "Ah no thats no problem" really meaning "No I want money off you for the lift" and then being told you should have left money in the back seat of the car and ran away.
• Lads in pubs fighting over someone looking at them funny.
• Hobos sitting next to ATM machines and when you tell them to go away someone coming up to you and tell you they are a person with feelings and down on their luck.
• Being constantly told that everything is cheaper 'on the continent'
• There's 10 minute limit before a German will get a Nazi joke, or some comment on the economic crisis.
• There's a 30 second limit before a Dutch person gets some comment on "AH SHURE WHY DID YOU COME OVER HERE BUD.... DE WEED IS GREAT OVER DAYRE'
• People who crowd up the escalator making it impossible to get past if you fancy walking'
• Strange people who walk around supermarkets in Pyjamas.'

Just saying .... :pac::pac::pac::pac:

Or that all could be a generalisation.

Well as generalisations go its pretty much on the ball.:pac:

Legs.Eleven

kupus wrote: »

Well as generalisations go its pretty much on the ball.:pac:

Yep. Can't really argue with any of them.

grizzly

iDave wrote: »

I wonder how long a 'My Nigerian Experience' thread would last before the OP would get hounded by lefties and mods saying hes racist.

It's health and safely gone mad.

crockholm

keithclancy wrote: »

On the flip side a person coming from another country can find the following things rude/annoying in Ireland.

• Driving in the overtaking lane with nobody else on the road.
• Junkies hassling you at the Luas Ticket machines.
• People being shocked/offended when you say "No" and walk off.
• Taxi drivers having some mad opinion on everything.
• People not saying what they mean i.e. "Ah no thats no problem" really meaning "No I want money off you for the lift" and then being told you should have left money in the back seat of the car and ran away.
• Lads in pubs fighting over someone looking at them funny.
• Hobos sitting next to ATM machines and when you tell them to go away someone coming up to you and tell you they are a person with feelings and down on their luck.
• Being constantly told that everything is cheaper 'on the continent'
• There's 10 minute limit before a German will get a Nazi joke, or some comment on the economic crisis.
• There's a 30 second limit before a Dutch person gets some comment on "AH SHURE WHY DID YOU COME OVER HERE BUD.... DE WEED IS GREAT OVER DAYRE'
• People who crowd up the escalator making it impossible to get past if you fancy walking'
• Strange people who walk around supermarkets in Pyjamas.'

Just saying .... :pac::pac::pac::pac:

Or that all could be a generalisation.

In fairness 5 or 6 of those are dublin specific,so really I just advise Swedes going over to use dublin for landing and take off purposes only.

Augmerson

Sleevoo wrote: »

I've been to sweden a few times. Its a great place for pulling women as the women are beautiful and the men over their have no balls so the women love you if you act like a man.

Suuuuuure...

biko

Top ten expat complaints to their Swedish partners
http://www.thelocal.se/gallery/lifestyle/3642/

steel_balls

Sleevoo wrote: »

I've been to sweden a few times. Its a great place for pulling women as the women are beautiful and the men over their have no balls so the women love you if you act like a man.

that's the stereotype but sweedish women have no sense of humour either and as such just see ugly irish guys as literally that

their not a people who place value on charm , let alone the irish kind , humourless Lutherans though their plumbers arrive when they say they will

constance tench

biko wrote: »

Top ten expat complaints to their Swedish partners
http://www.thelocal.se/gallery/lifestyle/3642/

And being made sing this at Christmas...:(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAcuzwP8vv4

grenache

nacho libre wrote: »

I asked a Swedish girl i know about your experience. Here is what she said:

Lol if you want civilisation you should go to Tokyo, it's cleaner too. It's a bit horrid going from London to Stockholm, people are bumping into each other all the time here. As to the individual points:

1) I have no experience with asking for directions in sweden in english, so I can't really say anything about this. People have been very helpful to me in swedish though.

2) Please is not a word in swedish, however the swedish equivalent of "thank you" is used extensively. However the situations in where it is used is a bit different from the british. For instance when buying something both the customer and the salesperson might say "thank you" several times each. Holding a door or similar there is a social imperative, not to talk to strangers that will keep many people from saying "thank you", this I think is the cultural bit where we might seem rude to others. Because to us it is also a bit rude to speak to strangers "for no reason". See point 1), approaching strangers should be done with cultural sensitivity, if you come on too hard people will think you're a pickpocket or trying to scam them somehow.

3) This point is ridiculous. He stayed with assholes, this is not a cultural thing.

4) I don't recognize people going nuts over a bus being 1 minute late, hyperbole probably. It varies a lot with which station you're on and the time of day, but it's correct that sometimes people will try to get in or stand in the way of the people trying to get out. It's super annoying, ineffective and it makes me angry. In other contexts however we're quite good at queuing.

Does your friend know I'm not British

Quazzie

grenache wrote: »

I asked them first in broken Swedish "Ursäkta, du pratar engelska?" Excuse me, you speak English? No response, then I ask them in English. Still no response!

So you asked them do the speak English and when they didn't reply you started talking to them in English, and then you're confused why they seemed distant?

nacho libre

Quazzie wrote: »

So you asked them do the speak English and when they didn't reply you started talking to them in English, and then you're confused why they seemed distant?

he seemed to be under the impression that they could speak English, but chose not to. of course they are under no compulsion to speak English to him, but given he is not fluent in Swedish, it would have been polite to do so, if in fact they did speak English. It's possible they don't, but according to my friend a lot of Swedes do, particularly those who deal with the public.

nacho libre

grenache wrote: »

Does your friend know I'm not British

Yes, i explained that to her after she replied to me. It seemed to be a way of deflecting criticism of your experience, by relating her own negative experience in London.

crockholm

All of them under 80 speak it to some degree, it is impossible to go a day and not hear English being spoken, whether on television,where many anglo and american shows are watched to Music stations with more of the same.Even in conversational Swedish it is common to hear English phrases thrown into sentences, "nurdie wurdie wurdie durdie "deal with it" durdie nurdie"

Daisy78

Gongoozler wrote: »

What were your bad experiences in Morocco?

As a westerner I found that I was a walking target for scam artists and money hungry locals. I expected that this would be the case in the souks and markets but even day to day encounters with local people in parks or on public transport became an opportunity for asking for money. Tipping is a part of Moroccan culture but its a bit disheartening when a pleasant conversation with a local is actually a shakedown for dollars. They also dont take no for an answer.It made me weary and suspicious and at the end of my trip I avoided interaction with anyone as a result. I've travelled in other parts of the world, in many areas that would not be as developed or as well off as Morocco and I experienced none of this. It made me appreciate how much we take for granted here (Gabriel might have a point about the Gathering but for the most part I think we are a hospitable, generous people without any expectation from tourists in return).

anto9

^ >> I experienced none of this<<

You have never been to Kuta Bali Indonesia then .( in fairness its only a small part of Bali which is beautiful and spiritual ) .

SpaceTime

In my experience absolutely every country's a bit weird - including this one!
They all have their quirks that will drive you slowly insane if you live there.

Johro

maninasia wrote: »

And now it's time to post a Swedish bus stop queue pic, be careful in case you may actually acknowledge somebody's presence or gasp, brush into them.

http://i.imgur.com/CoXO5dr.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/VQiUTgs.jpg
http://pics.nattstad.se/3/800000/790000/782456/pics/201232023599879782456_sbig.jpg

:pac: Loving the pics, especially the middle one. Those two on the left could get arrested for having sex in public.

I am pie

anto9 wrote: »

^ >> I experienced none of this<<

You have never been to Kuta Bali Indonesia then .( in fairness its only a small part of Bali which is beautiful and spiritual ) .

Kuta beach is heaving mass of drunken aussies, it is truly horrible. Lots of Bali is beautiful and peaceful, but Kuta is benidorm with noodles. Rotten.

long range shooter

theholyghost wrote: »

Ive found Swedes to be fine. Norwegians odd and rude! Very rude.

You havent met many then I take it:rolleyes:

grenache

constance tench wrote: »

And being made sing this at Christmas...:(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAcuzwP8vv4

"Swedish folk in close proximity shocker!"

Looks like line dancing gone badly wrong!

Mountainlad

Guyanachronism wrote: »

Reading this thread, I was thinking the OP could have experienced capital city syndrome more so than insights into Swedish attitudes.

Syndrome is an automatic choice as a word used to describe an experience in Stockholm:P

mark renton wrote: »

Swedes are miles ahead of Irish in evolution, no frills, no nonsense. If an Irish man gets up off a seat on a bus or holds the door open for a Swedish woman then she takes it, but really she knows what he's after, and it isn't a "thank you". Then an Irish man complains that his good will was not recognized!!

The underlying motives of the Irish, and other nationalities are not hidden from the Swedes - we will all be like them one day - evolution my friends, evolution.

What in the name of jesus are you shi*ein' on about? Motives? Are you trying to suggest that every time an Irish person gets up for a woman they're looking for their bit?

dissed doc wrote: »

Common courtesy in Sweden is obviously based around a much bigger social space and not being on top of people or close to people. And it is also completely reasonable to discuss salaries and money, but that might be a big no-no in Ireland.

To be honest, while discussing jobs and maybe money to some extent might be more a done thing than it is here, would find it hard to credit that people openly castigating others for not having better salaries is a societal norm anywhere...and I'd be surprised if it wasn't exclusive to the particular people the OP met while in Sweden rather than a trait of the Swedish people.

constance tench

grenache wrote: »

"Swedish folk in close proximity shocker!"

Looks like line dancing gone badly wrong!

That's not funny grenache..this is serious stuff!

grenache

constance tench wrote: »

That's not funny grenache..this is serious stuff!

Serious stuff for a very serious people

Augmerson

Anyone basing their experience of how life or people are in Sweden on just being in Stockholm is going to have a real bad time. Stockholmers (or dirty 08ers) are notoriously cold on the outside or at first appearances. I found people in the north (Jamtland) more welcoming, though again, at first appearances, most Swedes will seem reserved (though not all) and a little guarded. That's just all their Lagom stuff (Everything in Moderation).

sea_monkey

I went to Sweden on a whim once. Had no idea how I was going to get to my destination and had nowhere booked to stay.

Ended up having to get a bus and 3 connecting trains, all of which were announced in Swedish.
I would have been completely lost if it wasn't for the people there. When I got on the bus or train I asked somebody if they could let me know when to get off and where to get on. They helped me each and every time and did it with a smile.

Then to find a place to stay the first person I asked, and this was near midnight, went through all the different types of places I could stay from hostel to hotel then even showed me where to go. Met some great people there that I still keep in touch with and I'd love to go back.

That's my experience of the place anyway, the other side of the coin I guess.

Red Pepper

sea_monkey wrote: »

I went to Sweden on a whim once. Had no idea how I was going to get to my destination and had nowhere booked to stay.

Ended up having to get a bus and 3 connecting trains, all of which were announced in Swedish.
I would have been completely lost if it wasn't for the people there. When I got on the bus or train I asked somebody if they could let me know when to get off and where to get on. They helped me each and every time and did it with a smile.

Then to find a place to stay the first person I asked, and this was near midnight, went through all the different types of places I could stay from hostel to hotel then even showed me where to go. Met some great people there that I still keep in touch with and I'd love to go back.

That's my experience of the place anyway, the other side of the coin I guess.

Admit it, you made the whole thing up.