Swedish Friends!

Everyone told me how difficult it would be, that Swedish people are “shy” and “reserved,” but I am proud to report that I have made two Swedish friends, and they’re both flippin amazing.

I think probably the reason many of my friends back home found it difficult to befriend Swedes, is because we sort of forget that life was happening before we got here…and will continue long after we leave. There is literally no incentive for people older than us, with established lives, jobs, and families, to suspend their lives for us. I can thus understand why the Swedes may come off a bit cold. They might be a reserved people, but they probably also just don’t want to be bothered.

Acknowledging that, I’m even more grateful for the friends I’ve managed to make here. The are silly and brilliant and fantastic at english (they don’t believe me, but it’s true) and also very genuine in a way that I’m not accustomed to. When they accepted us they accepted us completely, and when they say something I know they mean it. They have struggles and hardships but they endure and they live and they overcome. I am in awe of both of them.

One of them told me that it can be difficult to make a good Swedish friend, but once you do, you’re stuck with them forever. I really hope that’s true.