All
Aboard! "It's Very
Swedish..." a
train on a cultural journey through Sweden, exploring the
differences big and small between American and Swedish culture.
***
If you were a true Swede, you wouldn't have a blog like mine. I'm not "Very Swedish..." when it comes to my online life. I don't have an online persona. Tina is my real name. Doesn't take much to figure out my last name. I've told you where I live. I've shown you pictures of my family. I've shared embarrassing stories, my faith, my struggles, my successes, MY LIFE.
I called The Swede and asked him to speak openly about the famous Swedish reserved personality. (We both got a chuckle out of that oxymoron.) Remember that we're talking generalities here, because I am not your average American, I am much more outgoing and let-it-all-hang-out than most people. There's also that spectrum of course when it comes to Swedes.
In general though, they tend to be more reserved, and keep their thoughts, problems, etc. private, maybe sharing with a best friend, but certainly not "with the world at large" or a casual friend.
This trait isn't just Swedish, it's more a northern European quality, as The Nutritionist likes to say. It's not that they're unfriendly - a clerk in a store is just as likely to engage you in a casual conversation as is an American clerk.
If you want a good example of reserved, there's this really wonderful, quirky movie called Kitchen Stories about Norwegian bachelor farmers being observed by researchers as to their cooking habits. The main character just stops using his kitchen, and cooks in a closet over the kitchen, cutting a hole in the floor to observe the lonely observer, who is sitting in the kitchen wondering what the farmer is eating, and where...I'd call that being private.
Since this is all about privacy, and being reserved, that's all you get today. OK, truthfully, it's not about me all of a sudden changing my personality. I'm just out of time!
Would you say you lean more toward the quiet, keep to yourself side, or are you more let it all hang out? Is that a cultural trait would you say, or just YOUR personality? It's just so fun to have such an international group of readers to learn from. I'm SO enjoying your comments.
~Tina, who will continue to just blab away about anything and everything, again tomorrow ;-)
©2014
All Rights Reserved
