all the things I didn’t know

I’m sitting in one of my favourite cafes as I write this. The walls are covered in blue and white striped wallpaper, and when you order a piece of cake they always ask if you want ice cream on the side. My kind of place.

I didn’t expect this when I moved to Sweden just over two months ago. I didn’t know about the country’s obsession with coffee or how meeting at a cafe (aka going for fika) is a national institution. I had no idea how to order in a restaurant, and to be honest I’m still too afraid to try, but I’m getting there. I didn’t expect to find a cafe right next to the river in my home-away-from-home where I can sit and work for hours, and feel like I belong.

I had never been to Sweden before I moved here for an exchange (although I go to IKEA on a regular basis, so there’s that). Despite all my research and devouring every Swedish detective series on Netflix, there are still so many things I didn’t even realize that I didn’t know before I got here.

“You never know until you try,” has been ringing in my ears since I got here. Or, in my case, “you never know until you pack a suitcase full of woefully weather inappropriate clothes and hop on a plane.” So here are a couple things I’ve learned. Maybe you can tell me some of yours, too.

(Some of) The Things I Didn’t Know:

• Tote bags and purses will hit your wheels while you bike and make steering a nightmare – use a backpack instead
• Swedes say “Hej!” but Norwegians prefer “Hei!” (both conveniently English-sounding so it’s easy to fake)
• Everyone has a black wool coat and everyone looks amazing even when it’s -10 degrees outside
• It will be -10 degrees outside at times. Pack more sweaters
• Every window you pass has plants and flowers in it. It makes the long, dark winter a little more cheerful. Also, people leave their living room curtains open a lot – stop looking in, it’s weird
• There are vegan, soy, and laktosfri options for everything here (including yogurt and feta cheese. I mean everything)
• Sweden has great secondhand shops, even if half the clothes inside are from H&M (it’s still Swedish though, right?)
• Spring in Sweden goes from 20 degrees and sunny one day to grey and snowing the next. Dress in layers and try not to be too disappointed
• Fika is everything. It basically means going for coffee, taking time out from your day, by yourself or with friends, and it will become your new way of life
• Swedish is similar enough to English and German that sometimes you can catch what people are saying. Okay, maybe “sometimes” is too strong a word
• Riding your bike home on the first warm (ish) day of spring is the best feeling in the entire world

It took me a long time before I even knew why I had come to Sweden in the first place. But two months in and I think I finally have something close to an answer: I want to be the type of person who, when presented with crazy, amazing, outlandish opportunities, is brave enough to say yes.

So here’s to three more months and a lot more learning, with love from Uppsala, Sweden.

Author: erika

Hi! I'm Erika, a 21-year-old university student on the west coast of Canada. I love red lipstick, banana pancakes, and heart-to-hearts in bustling coffee shops. Talk to me about international relations or cute cat videos whenever you want. View all posts by erika