So what is an unwritten rule, something that is legal according to the state laws but not okay in the society or at least something that you shouldn´t do, something that no one expects you to do. Like for example when people are standing in line and someone goes a head in line and doesn´t respect them who actually has waited for their turn. That is unacceptable for Swedes. To stand in line is a typical Swedish behavior.

Another exemplary unwritten rule is the fact that we never chooses to sit close to someone on the bus. People have their bags on the site next to them so that no one will sit there. If there is an empty double bus site, you are expected to choose that one before sitting close to someone. In other countries it is considered rued not to choose the sit next to a person but that isn´t the case here. There is exceptions of coures.

A bus


Young people have their own rule or at least girls, they can´t buy the same clothes as there friend have. That is both embarrassing and like almost forbidden to them. I remember when it was extra hard to buy clothes, it was the time when everyone including you, started to care about your own look and style. I guess it was the time when boys became more interesting than just being friends.

Not going out when it is sunny outside and lovely weather is more like a shame. The sun times are precious and can´t go to waste.

Love Malin

We won’t have to wait anymore the winner of Eurovision song contest is named, Anna Bergendahl won with the song, This is my life. I was cheering for Anna and Salem al fakir who sang the song Keep on walking.






I just got to mention another person that is worth mentioning, the hardcore Dolph Lundgren my new idol, talk about Man! The way he talks and just acts is fascinating.



/Malin <3

I just got to tell you about a Swedish design, fjällräven is its name. They are most famous for their making of jackets and backpack. I will show you some pictures. It would be fun to hear what you think about them.

The jacket



The back-pack




Have a great day Malin

I have talked to my fellows at home about what different Swedish words can´t be translated in to English. We didn´t come up with that much. There was one word that kept returning and it was the word “lagom” but I will try anyway to do my best so that you will understand approximately what it denotes. It stands for just enough, middling, sufficiently or something like that.

Another funny word that Englishman has borrowed from us is the word smorgasbord. Smorgasbord is a traditional Swedish buffet that consist whit warm and cold courses.



See ya later dude ;) kiss M

I was thinking to share some few lines information about the Swedish animals or at least four or five of them. I will start with the “king of the forest” the moose. The moose is a ruminant which means that he eats for example blueberry springs and heath. It´s a very noble deer animal that often is seen alone except for mating season. 

The king of the forest = the moose



Another animal that keeps growing in Sweden is the wild boar. It is a kind of pig animal that lives free in the forest. A problem is that they are moving closer to the community now days. They move as a group and are omnivore (the eats “everything” meaning for example potato, mushroom, mice and snakes)

A wild boar



Brown bear is one of all the animals that have made some of my childhood days hard, since I was wildly afraid of them when I was in my family’s summerhouse. I couldn´t sleep, I was so afraid that I felt sick even though I never have seen one free in real life only on the zoo. Brown bear is active during the nights and they are omnivores. Sweden has a lot to offer when it comes to animals but it´s getting late so I have to take the other another day.

Brown bear



Sleep well Malin

For how long will it last, this winter is the coldest for a long time. The earth has been covered with white shiny snow since the middle of December. I bet all the children think it´s amazing. It has been amazing, a lovely winter but please it´s enough. I long for the summer, warm summer nights with lots of barbecue and wellbeing. Being with friends doing all sort of things like for example going to Stockholm and see the show Allsång på skansen that also is sent on TV. That gives me summer feelings.

A summer picture of my sister a warm summer night 2009





I will be driving a folkrace car this summer and I don´t know how it happened but in some surprisingly weird way, I decide to give it a go. My father was driving in his youth and wanted to do it again but not alone so I joined him. I see this opportunity as a adventure, a memory to share with my father and a thing that we have in common.

Folkrace



This summer is something extra ordinary happening in Sweden, Stockholm. The royal family will expend with one member. Crown princess Victoria is going to get married with Daniel Westling, Saturday the nineteenth of June. It is going to be exciting and fun to watch I will definitely be there when they get married.

The royal family



Daniel Westling and Crown princess Victoria



Love Malin

Alcohol is something that concerns everybody. It can be social and it can be NOT so social when it goes out of hand. You have to be twenty years old to buy Alcohol (that outreach 3,5 percentage by volume) on the public utility “Systembolaget”. Beer and cider that has less then 3,5 percentage by volume can be bought in a assorted grocery but you have to be eighteen years old.

The Swedish climate doesn´t adapt to wine cultivation, on our degree of latitude does seed adapt better. Typical Swedish Alcohol is schnapps, vodka but also beer and wine.



The only “drug” that I can say something about is Tobacco. Cigarettes are quite usual here in Sweden. I know a lot of young people but also adult that smokes. Snuff “snus” is very common and legal here. Snuff is like thick black grain that you but under your lip. A person that tries to stop smoking often starts with Snuff instead, as if that would be better. It´s better when it comes to tobacco smoke pollution, snuff harms only the snuffer.



Over and out nilaM

Two weeks of constant TV watching is now over, the finally OS competition where launched yesterday. It was intense and entertaining when the Swedish men’s did a wonderful ski race and took bronze.  But we can´t forget the other talented people that also took medals for Sweden in OS 2010! 5 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 4 bronze medals which makes a total of 11 medals. Thanks for that Sweden!

love M

I just got to tell you now in OS times, there is this knitted OS cap that everyone wants to have. It´s easy to make and the design exists on the internet, search on Google for OS mössan 2010. There is just one problem, the yarn and the crochet hook nr 8 is out in every yarn store in the whole Swedish country because everyone wants to make it. It´s a real success, a new trend garment has been born. It is almost bigger then Os itself. For them who doesn´t have the energy to make it by hand can buy the cap on Blocket.se



I know I want it!
Love MALIN <3

 “Innebandy” floorball is THE ideal Swedish sport in my family. I don´t think my parent have missed a match that my sister have played. They are true supporters, sometimes I can feel that it´s a bit embarrassing that the whole family always is on every game. Just because we being the only whole family supporting. It feels like I should have better things to do. But I like seeing them play and on top of that it has become a family thing that we have in common which is a beautiful thing. Today for example were we in Uppsala, Allianshallen and saw my cousin play. It was a very tuff match but the team (Alunda) that I was cheering for won.

My sister in blue when she plays floorball



Carro(my sister) in the left corner



Floorball is a team sport. A match is played between two teams and the team that makes the most goal wins.

The ball
 


Otherwise Bandy is pretty big sport in Sweden. It´s like Hockey but bigger goal and a much harder ball (more often orange). I don´t know about the rules but it looks like Hockey. See http://svt.se/bandy and find out more. You can see a match there.

Bandy



The thing that we are most happy about today is that Sweden woman took OS gold yesterday in curling!

Sweden woman, curling!



Love Malin

What´s a typical Swede, a quite calm person who can be shy and reserved. Some may say that most people are having a hard time making bond, meeting new people and taking contact with people but I wouldn´t say that, I think it´s up to everyone of us. I think it has to do with shyness to take the first step. Something that I’ve learned for the past few years, it comes with the self esteem.

We are hard working and very punctual. I must say that people can be a bit self-absorbed when it comes to, for example getting on the bus first or finding a seat on the bus. We are tremendous good at meeting friend and go for a “quick” coffee lasting for a few hours. 

Some may say that a typical Swede is someone with a Volvo, husband or wife, baby, a dog and a big house. I know I don´t want that, I want to see the world and experience something, be someone. It´s good to have the desire to believe in yourself and actually work for your dreams. My problem is decision-agony and not knowing what I want with my life. I guess that will come with time.

VOLVO


I founded a funny picture that defines a woman and a man, how they look at them self in a mirror. I don´t know if it´s only me or only Sweden or the whole world that can see themselves in it.



Love Malin <3

I like Swedish music in contrast with people that are surrounding me say, it has something special about it. It´s hard to define my music stile, actually I hardly know myself, what I listens to, I have a mixed stile. Normally it´s my sister that gives my knowledge about music, she has a good ear for music or people around me. Caroline (my sister) introduced me to Melissa Horn, who is a great singer.

ABBA was/is a classic Swedish band with lots of good songs. They makes you happy where ever you are and in every condition. The musical that I was talking about in an earlier contribution “Mamma Mia” is based on the music of ABBA. Sadly ABBA has shattered or it was a while ago more exactly in 1983.



A traditional competition called Melodifestivalen is arranged every year here in Sweden.  The contest was about schlager, it is a music genre, now it´s a bit more modern. The contest is goes on now. You can listen to every performance on http://svt.se/melodifestivalen

Lars Winnerbäck and Håkan Hellström are two brilliant but different artists. They remind me and make me longing for the summer.
 


Mando Diao is the last band that I will be talking about, they are the Swedish comparison with The beatles. Make your own opinion about the band by listening to this song.

 

Love Malin aka Maleno

This contribution will be all about the Swedish education system is a bit complicated. You start kindergarten when you´re 6 years old. At the age of 7 it is time for school. The system is graduated in three scales.

Lower school (Lågstadiet) where you go your first three years, year one, two and three.

Neatly it is intermediary school (mellanstadiet) were you go your third, fifth and sixth year.

Upper school (högstadiet) is the last graduate in the scale. The seventh, eighth and ninth year. It is these three years that all students wants to be cool and heard. People grow as persons. They can be a bit immature, annoying and girly girl but that is a part of the process of becoming an adult I guess.

After the ninth grade most people goes to high school (gymnasium) were it´s a bit more concentrated things you learn depending on what you have chosen for orientation. Gymnasium is also in three years.

Then it´s time for University (Högskola) and it´s like an advanced course of gymnasium. It´s also a chance for you who have second though about your previous education to change completely. Some people studies for all their life and so is longing to start work. It is different from people to people.

That was all i had to say for now, Love Molly <3

Hello again!

It has been a while since last time and it has happened a lot such as I’ve been in Åre. I had a wonderful time, meeting new friends, eating pleasant food and best of all skiing all day long. I was a bit worried at first because of me being the only girl in our house, but that turned out great, I got to know three new nice people. Everything was truly lovely and fantastic, I wouldn´t doubt a second if I had the chance to go there again.

Me and my friends in Åre 

Me in Åre

During the time that I was in Åre the whole country celebrated all hearts day, 14 February. A day filled with love. A day when you are supposed to think good about people and show people in your surrounding that they are special in one way or another.

A beautiful love song according to me Bryan Adams with Everything I do

 

Yesterday was another special day, it was the cream buns day. It is like sweet bread flavored with cardamom. The top of the bun has been cut off as a cover and powdered with icing sugar.  The bun is filled with almond icing and cream. 


 

Love Malin

Today is a new wonderful day filled with joy. I will be continuing on my “travelling in Sweden team”. We are going to visit a special hotel and it is situated in Jukkasjärvi, 12 km from Kriuna airport. The hotel is made out of ice and snow. You will be sleeping in a cool environment surrounding with ice sculptures. When the spring arrives, the beautiful hotel melts into water that goes back in the river. Next year there´s a new cultivated hotel created by the sculptures.  




Love Malin