So Sweden, huh

I had my last class in Karlstad University yesterday, and I learned a new thing that made me think over the experiences of the previous year in Sweden. I had heard about this in regards to gender and racial equality, but had been kinda ignorant about the cultural side of it (which, according to Bennet is called intercultural sensitivity). According to this sensitivity there are different stages of ethnocentrism or ethnorelativism ranging from denial to integration. 

Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity
©Dr. Milton J. Bennett, 1986 & 1993

I have always perceived myself as an accepting and tolerant person, therefore I was kinda surprised to find myself in the stage 3 (still in the ethnocentric side) in regards to intercultural differences. It's called minimization, and if I still remember it right, it means that you try to minimize the differences between your own culture and others, seeing only the similar things and ignoring the depths of differences that lye under the Coca-Cola signs and tall buildings that tend to be similar in lots of places.

Filling the classroom with her energetic timbre while explaining intercultural sensitivity, our professor Annika Malmsten made me realize  finally that seeing the differences is crucial to being tolerant and integrate in different environments as well as help others to integrate. You can't fully accept something you don't really see. 

So Imma talk a bit about my impressions of Sweden and Swedes - the differences, similarities and other stuff I noticed as a Latvian here.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE.

• Rules. This a little bit stereotypical and trivial example, but it definitely has a grain of truth in it. To make it even more trivial, Imma put you in a bus in Karlstad and in Riga. In Karlstad's buses people would sometimes find ways to cheat  and not pay for the ride, but generally, it doesn't seem like a hot trend for Swedes to go around paying. You say "hej" to the bus driver, beep your expensive bus card and sit down without a care in a very comfy seat. It is not common to check tickets (literally never happened to me in 10 months time I have been here) and the fine for not having a ticket you'd pay if you did get caught is not that bad if you cheat regularly. The thing is (and I might be wrong assuming this, so correct me if you're Swedish or know better), there seem to be no real need for harsh controlling mechanism cause Swedes are generally more prone to accept and trust the rules that are established in this country, therefore also kinda strengthening the system that seems to be working well in here. There is no anarchy to be suppressed. 
  Now if you step in a Latvian bus, tram or trolley, in 10 months time of public transportation you're gonna see ticket collectors A LOT. In fact, that might be the least you see, especially in Rīga. You might see people running away, negotiating or even having fights with ticket collectors, endless and fruitless arguments, and even come across some apps meant to bring people together to avoid buying the increasingly expensive tickets.
  It seems like "the rules are made to be broken" is sometimes more fitting my country than Sweden, not only in the little bit unsuccessful example of the public transport, but in other fields and ways too. I have a feeling that in Latvia people try to find ways around rules more often, because they might not work for everyone or might be somewhat connected to the general distrust for politicians and "the system".
• Diversity and equality. Sweden feels like a more diverse place than Latvia, which seems to be connected to Swedes being more tolerant and equal overall. It is common to see ethnically, racially and creatively different people even in such a relatively small town as Karlstad, and racism and other excluding narratives seem to be much less normalized. You'd see men with kids and doggies on the streets as often as you'll see women doing the same. You'd see 50/50 gender representation in The Swedish Government. You'd be able to marry legally if you're gay here. However, there have been some serious controversy and changing opinions regarding immigration in Sweden the last few years, so it's not all smooth sailing either.  
• Swedish times of the day. This is quite similar in Latvia, but more distinct perhaps. In the worst of wintertime, I would literally see no sun for days because of the cloudiness, or because if I'd wake up really late like I sometimes do, the sun would already be set. On the other hand, if it's nearly summer and you suck at going to bed before 5 AM, you'd fall asleep while the sun is burning a hole in your window and it would seem to get dark only for a few hours (have heard that in some regions it's not more than 3 hours or so). So more contrast I guess, and less really dark starry nights that I miss so much about home. "The darkness" is also the first thing you get warned about when you arrive here, suggesting to buy lamps and seek for UNI student counseling services if it gets too depressing.
• The visuals - the cute little Swedish houses, bigger clouds (I have a back up on this one, so don't take out your cray cray stamp just yet!), really beautiful people (the tall blond Swede is an exaggeration though, but Swedes do seem to take care of their looks and be kinda put together). Also, everything is automatized and the trains are way faster rushing past the rocky forests and natural landscapes.
• Different flavors of artsiness - I really have to take pics of all the weird statues to illustrate this in my Swedish home town. There's a "Nobody puts baby in the corner" sign just near the main entrance, the thing I call the "elephant-butt statue", "the big ear" and other signs of letting the freak flag of free artistic expression fly over here. 

  

  Me jumping from one elephant to another. Photo by Claudio Yurdadön

• The mentality. I feel like I noticed this even less than Swedes themselves, because as a Latvian I feel kinda used to always taking the single free spot in the bus, being shy and needing quite a lot of personal space, but I feel like this is receiving too much hard feelings and not being fully understood. Maybe cause I met so many creative, interesting Swedes I didn't get to know the "hiding in a cave" side of Swedish people, but for some reason I feel like although they might be a little distanced (just as Latvians seem to be), they have been very warm, positive, friendly and even openly curious about me as an Erasmus student. However, it is also kinda true and funny that using just a few words and putting my adorable, shy but friendly face on I can blend in well enough for Swedish people not to figure out I'm not one of them for quite a while. :D
  
    
• English goes a long way, but seeing you try speaking Swedish will make Swedes ecstatic! Every Swedish person I have told I am (slowly! :D) learning their language have that "sun just came out of the clouds" brightness in their face and start speaking Swedish to me really fast right away. It is quite fun, and makes me blush every single time. 

Overall I think that I found myself in the Erasmus community more than in the natural everyday life Swedes' environment, so the things I have noticed are probably as precise as your reflection in the bathroom mirror after having a really long, hot shower. However it might be, Erasmus+ was a really valuable year in my life that I am gonna compare the upcoming years to.