AMERICAN REACTS TO 5 Cultural Shocks about living in Sweden! 

An actual culture shock: It is so damn easy to vote in Sweden compared to how hard they go out of their way to make it in 'Murika. I got my "voting card" for voting in Sweden in the mail recently, in time for the coming election on Sep. 11th. I didn't have to "register" to get it, it just arrived. So there's no worries about if you're registered, or if some party in power has managed to mass unregister people without their knowledge... The card tells me exactly where I can go to vote, complete with address and open hours. It tells me several locations I can go to if I want to vote early, with a 2.5 week period to do so, which allows everyone to vote around their working hours. Living in a suburb of Gothenburg, I have 4 different places I can go to if I want to vote early. There are no limitations on who can vote early. The card gives information on how to vote if you aren't physically able to get to the voting place. It provides information on how to vote by mail if you're too far away during the election period to vote in person (such as out of the country). It tells me which elections I can vote on. As a permanent resident, not a citizen, I have the right to vote in local regional elections, but you have to be a citizen to vote in the national elections. Even with that limitation, I still got my card to vote. With the large window of early voting and multiple locations to do so, along with the streamlined voting process, there are no extreme lines at voting locations like in 'Murika (where in some places you're not even allowed to bring the people in line water or food because... I don't know the reasoning for that). You may end up in a line, but you're not going to spending hours or even the entire day in it. There are no hoops to jump through, the right to vote is not only guaranteed but everything is in place to make it as simple as possible to actually do so. And oh yeah, there's 8 major political parties and several minor parties to choose from, not 2. It's almost the exact opposite of 'Murika, where people will scream "freedom" and how they have the right to vote, but literally everything is done to try and prevent you from doing so. Almost every one of the above things is attempted to be stifled in the U.S. to reduce the number of voters.

To send in the paper to Transportstyrelsen is old School. Today you can use a app and bankid to transfer at vehicle to a another person.

The continuation of the birthday song is pretty wild. First you get pushed (which in swedish is skjutas, same word as for getting shot) in a wheelbarrow. Then hung from a horse. Then drowned in champagne. And it eventually ends with "and when you have lived for hundreds of years then you'll be celebrated with a super long song"

The independent thing is real 😁👍 I would never ask for help if I could do it myself or at least tried first a couple times. Love and peace from Sweden

Almost every country obviously have their own birthday song lol. I saw this video a while ago and I'm still confused. If you're not in an English speaking country the birthday song is not gonna be "Happy birthday to you" 😆

It's not just at the university. Hierarchy has been almost abolished in Sweden. "Servant Leadership" is a way of thinking (even without knowing that term) that is fairly ingrained in the Nordic way.

All, except the cake thing, are common in Denmark as well. So they are probably universal Scandinavian things.

Yep, you never take the last piece of a cake. It's considered a bad taste, because someone else might want it (yeah it's weird). At best, you may cut it in half. And that halving might continue to a ridiculous size of the cake. It's the same thing with buns. It's called "the last piece" or even "Swedish piece". Everyone knows of it and laughs at it, but it's still kept. Sometimes a person will actually say "I will make the sacrifice" and eat it. Some families have a dedicated family member who eats that last portion or the last piece. I've even seen the question "who will make the sacrifice?" being asked and then they all peer at the dedicated family member.... LoL I think this is connected to the Swedish culture of showing restraint and making sure there is enough for everyone to share.

I can't see anybody here in Sweden be offended by being offered help. Maybe we don't expect it all the time, but I always offer to help others because it's just being polite and friendly. And why would we sing in English at birthday parties? We already write most of your English pop hits. Can't we just have *this* little piece of the cake and not eating it because it's the last one?

We rarely ask for help, but when someone do you rarely get no.

When it comes to the last piece of cake the last bun or anything it is by curticy not to take the initiativet to take it, either you ask if someone wants to share it or of you can take it, it you wait untill someone "forces"you to take it just to get the empty tray to the dishwashing

Yes the thing with the University professor is absolutely true, even if it might vary from professor to professor or from department to department. If the professor is superbusy or "in the flow" of writing a paper they might ask you to come back at a later time but more often than not they will take time to help you. Maybe I have just been lucky or it's because of my field is more limited and so much fewer students in each grade (I can see why a Professor won't be as friendly with 250 as with 25). Part of it is because they want the Students to learn and if someone shows an interest to learn they find it more enjoyable to help, but it is also part of their contract with the University. According to their contract, about 25% of their time must be spent on teaching. That includes holding lectures, preparing exams, correcting exams, etc but they also have a chunk of extra time to spend with students. Another part is also that the department is only paid by the University (and the University get money from the state) when a student pass a course. So the more students that pass the course the more money the department gets, which is then used to pay the professor's salary, equipment and pay for research. So there is absolutely an incentive for professors to help students pass their courses.

It might depend on where in Sweden. It's normal here to ask for help when you move. Only when you have no help you do it yourself or just use a company. I've had help and have helped during moves. However, there is a thing in Sweden with people not wanting to owe anyone anything. And it shows in a lot of ways (including with the excessive saying of thank you). Secondly. It is normal to open doors for others here. At least if you aren't going too much out of your way to do it. Open a door and hold it open and let other pass - nothing weird about it. It might though be a touchy situation if you are a male and do it for females. Because that is considered an old tradition connected to "helplessness of women", and men being chivalrous by "helping the helpless women". Hence she said she could open the door herself. There's a lot of this traditions that are considered "old" that aren't in Sweden anymore. Another one that is weird to us is "giving away the bride". The bride is not a thing to be given away - passed from daddy to her husband. Here, the bride acts independently, and the couple shows that they are both making a decision of joining in marriage, by walking together towards the altar (so the groom isn't waiting by the altar).

Doesn't every country that celebrate birthdays have their own birthday songs? I'm ethnically Polish, and I know the Polish birthday song as well.

Been to Sweden many times, nice and relaxed country.

I never realized the thing about the cake until now, but it's so true. Never thought about it before.

There's even a special term for taking the last piece of something, especially in a buffet or smorgasbord. Taking "tabberas" on something. It *is* an old term going out of fashion, but it's still used in parts of the country.

I was abroad for a vacation many years ago, and as part of the travel-package we had purchased the group we travelled with would get to eat proper native foods cooked at home at some family. In their country if the plate is empty that means that you are still hungry and so they bring out more food, but as a Swede to leave food on the plate means I di dnot really ennjoy it. We are told since first grade of school that "if you put the food on your plate, you finish it!" to help keep kids from overloading their plates with food just to throw most of it away. So there was this "battle of cultures" between finishing the food to show that you enjoyed it and not finishing the food to show that you were indeed full.

the thing with insurance is like you say there are alot of different companies offering insurances so there are sites to compare or you can do it yourself. with cars or other vehicles the only thing they need is the plate number. i know in some places the person driving needs to be insured (UK i think) to drive but here (sweden) its the vehicle that has the insurance so it doesnt matter who drives it so all they need to know is if the person getting the insurance is the owner of the vehicle or if the insurance is payed by somebody else. all companies also record all calls so that if you call and argue you didnt get the insurance they got proof you did. but then on all services theres a trial period by law of either 14 or 30 days, i cant remember, where you can cancel the service immediately without any reason which is pretty neat.

I want to make it clear we love helping each other, but we don't love asking for help. But for sure one of the times people ask for help is when they're moving. I've been asked many times to help, back when I still had friends. You get a good workout, hang out with your friends and there's always pizza at the end as a thank you.

That thing with the birthday song. I thought most (more the rule than the exception) countries had their own song. Why would Sweden, for example, sing in English and not Swedish? Or does he mean that he thought that all birthday songs are based on the "Happy birthday" melody but with their own lyrics? I am confused now 😆✌️🇸🇪

You can take the last piece. But first you have to ask around everybody and if noone wants it or want to split you can take it. If it's homemade you can compliment the baker to ease it out your feelings of guilt to grab the last piece.

In italy you jusy pay for the insurance and the company send you an e-mail with the documents attached, that's all. Police control eventually your insurance in the data base if needed durino a control in the street.

No this seems weird to me, the opening the door, I'm English (in Sweden) so maybe it seems different from an Italian point of view, but It is almost instinctive for me to open doors, hold doors, give up my seat etc and I have never once been met with any form of "I can do this myself" maybe the woman was just a B-word

I dont know whats year he go away from Italy but here in Italy are few year that the insurance is telematic without paper, you serch and pay online, you can go in person yet but you dont need to show anyting to the police if eventualy they stop you cause they know with the plate number if your car/bike/wathsever is insured or not.

he just had the misfortune of opening the cab door on a snobby feminist.

Hey, hold on. That's not necessarily their song! We have Lang zal hij/zij leven in Dutch too. In de Gloria, in de Gloria!

Sweden invented the kanelbullar to evade the conflict of the last piece of cake..... probably

Min morbror blir 100 år och han bor med sin fru på Gotland…dom har vart gifta i övr 72 åp🎉

Många svesnskar har inte varit på Gotland 😢

Gotland

American Italian.

1:40 nahhh bruhh she was just being rude Also i wouldnt say its considered rude to take the last piece, its just we cant do it. What if someone else wants it more? So if you're in Sweden please take the last bit, because we wont.

depends on where you live in sweden..here up in the northern sweden we help eachother when we can..but in the southern part they become more egotistical and that's a fact