You Know You Are in Sweden When....

1.  You see groups of men EVERYWHERE with strollers having lunch, at the park or at the mall

 while 

on their government subsidized parental leave.

2.  You see women driving bulldozers, working on road crews or landscaping.

3.  People are only standing on the RIGHT side of the escalator. The left side is for those in a hurry. 

If you do stand on the left side, people get pissed and will likely ask you to move.

4.  Everyone you see looks to be at least middle class. Class differences are almost non-existent

 at first glance.

5. You are unsure of people's ages because many people look so young.

5.  Pre-teen girls dress like grown women. (It is quite alarming actually. Most people I know

 wouldn't let their daughters leave the house looking this way)

6. If it is Friday after work, almost everyone will be carrying a purple Systembolaget bag on 

the way home.  (Because the weekends are for drinking, of course)

7.  Baby girls don't usually wear pink. Gender neutral colors for babies are more preferred here

 and are even debated in terms of equality of the sexes.

8.  The majority of people are agnostic or atheist.

9.  Wherever you came from seems dirty in comparison. Streets, water, parks, you name it - all

 perfectly  clean even though this is a city of 2 million people. Pretty amazing.

10. Caesar salad comes with bacon.

11. There are no fans. Anywhere. Get used to it.

12. There are American t.v. shows on that you didn't even know existed until now.

13. Toilets have buttons, not handles to flush.

14. People on bikes are everywhere. Many of these people have stylish outfits on and maybe

 even a suit.

15. Many Swedes that you meet will apologize to you for their English, in advance. And in perfect

 English. So perfect that you are not sure if they are even Swedish.

16. You wonder if there is a big funeral going on that no one told you about because everyone 

is wearing all black.

17. People will be swimming in water that a Floridian would need a wetsuit for.

 And they will tell you it is warm.

18. Baby strollers face the opposite direction & are parallel to the ground.

19. You can buy sex toys at the pharmacy.

20.  You see or meet men and their mouths look funny. Specifically, their upper lip. 

Then you realize that they use Snus (smokeless tobacco in a pouch that is put under 

the upper lip, no spitting required). Their hotness goes down slightly in your estimation.

 You wonder if you can put aside your rule of not dating tobacco users since snus is a 

cultural thing here and a SHOCKING number of people use it. Even some women.

21. You go buy lunch, and an immigrant takes your order. Their English is good, but not 

great, since they likely arrived here later in life and were not privy to the English education

 of most Swedes. You realize not only do they speak at least their Native language, Swedish 

and good English but that now you feel stupid because you only speak 1 language. You wonder

 why a 2nd language is not mandated to be taught at American public schools

Posted by: girl in stockholm.