Sweden in the eyes of Jordanians
Working with Social Media gives your brain more room and makes you more of a global citizen rather than limiting you to whatever your nationality is.
The Image of Sweden in the Arab mind is its monuments and beautiful landscape, and when you say “Sweden” to an Arabic person they instantly think of IKEA, Swedish wood, Wayne’s Coffee, Ericsson and the beautiful country in general.
Sweden is one of the top-ranking countries for a perfect life. It’s getting more recognized in the Arab world through Twitter, where once a tweet is posted, Arabs use it as an excuse to compare between Sweden and the Arabic world sarcastically.
Sweden is a country that is mainly taken over by winter; with its beautiful lakes, it’s a place where you can open your home door which is similar to beautiful wooden hut and stroll through the beautiful nature. The variety in its choosing of colors for their homes, from yellow to red to all sorts of colors, reminds you of cartoons! The warm colors are what gives it a cozy feel in the midst of the coldest temperatures that Sweden witnesses.
Sweden has the most well-mannered people, who more often need to find something to compensate all the dark clouds and cold times most of the year, and a concept I recently fell in love with, is Fika; which means a short coffee break, small snack and a lovely chat between friends and family.
Fika is word that combines social events and Swedish traditions which makes up a big part of their social identity. All Swedes, young and old, know the word and concept of Fika. A small muffin with dark roasted coffee, a cinnamon bun cake and homemade pasta from fresh ingredients and juices made in the Swedish kitchen each time with the same elegance.
Some of the moments that my Swedish friends have shared with me from over there is that Swedish people know what they consume. They always lean more towards foods that aren’t unhealthy and quickly prepared; making them well aware of how to take care of their health and to enjoy their country, one of the most beautiful in the world.
For example, WhatsApp is not very common in Sweden. And one of their most common traits is respecting privacy in a holy manner. You can communicate through short messages; and discussions regarding politics and dismantling politicians isn’t part of their interest, where they live their lives as if they’re always on vacation.
The people that aren’t surprised to hear you want to do yoga on a daily basis because it’s part of a lot of people’s daily routine there. Everything is so well organized for the Swedish person’s life, far more than Arabs; as we are more controlled by our emotions and lack of planning.
Friday dinner is very much appreciated in Sweden; where they begin their weekends earlier to enjoy a warm night indoors with family and friends. Taking care of their elderly is a way of life; where they dedicate a big part of their weekends with their parents and grandparents.
The Swedish person is a proud user of Spotify for instance; and music is a vital part of their lives. Using only Swedish in their day to day life; from writing to chats to conversations; but that doesn’t mean that they can’t speak English better than most neighbouring countries.
Coffee is the lady of the hour in Sweden as Sweden is up in Top three of coffee consumption in the worild. For example, the presence of a cup of a coffee and small Swedish muffin is essential when signing a big business deal. On the other hand, larger meals which have meats and rices and big portions are considered to be waste of time and resources.
The Swedish citizen is global, travel a lot and is more open to learning about other cultures and his respect for them comes from him believing that the world and its resources is for everyone’s grabs; and the biggest proof of that is all the migrants they have taken in.
Giving a Swedish child a pat on the back is usually gestured with candy and dessert, and dinner parties and simple and is done in cozy home gathering friends and family over lovely meals and warm atmospheres.
Sweden is truly gorgeous but the most prominent part of it is that cold weather doesn’t equal to cold hearts!
