Coming home hasn't been about adjusting or culture shock, it's been about information shock. Living in Sweden nothing happens. There are no national crisis; there is nothing of remote significance to get excited about except their prize heptathalon queen, Carolina Kluft.

 

When the bombs went off in Great Britain they had to manufacture news by interviewing some lady in the airport who happened to travel through Heathrow on her way home to Sweden. She wasn't even there after the bombs, but before. Sweden is virtually unaffected by 90 percent of the things that happen in the world. Which is good for people who don't like confrontation. However, it leaves you with a false sense of complacency about the world.

 

I get home and I'm afraid to fill up my gas tank because prices are hovering over $3 a gallon. The news is horrific and the papers are filled with terrifying pictures of New Orleans. It's information overload I'm experiencing. People are angry with the President and the economy is weakening. Not every one lives in oblivion. Welcome home. 

 

"Thursday we did a passing drill. . .you would have sucked at it. Later we did another and you would have sucked at that too."

 

Thanks honey. I call you honey because you're always so sweet to me.

 

 

It's the differences people want to hear about: different people, different culture, different language. But oddly enough it's the similarities I noticed.

 

We were in a situation were we dealt with the people, not so much the country. Regardless of the language or the cultural barriers, people weren't that different. People can be materialistic, shy, competitive, funny, articulate, rude, obnoxious and understanding anywhere you go, as was the case in Sweden.

 

What differed was to be expected: the food, the language, the world view, the culture. After time these things fade in the background and become normative and not really differences at all.

 

America vs. Sweden. Big vs. Small. Conflict vs. Indifference. Home vs. a memory.

 

And there you go. ..

 

 

 

I'll add one last thing, because I don't want anyone to have any misconceptions about the next point: I loved my experience in Sweden. I met some wonderful people, learned a lot about myself, reclaimed a love for a sport I thought I had lost and traveled to some of the most beautiful places in the world. It was probably one of the best decisions of my life.

 

I have been told more often than not that I'm a hard person to read, so I'll spell it out for all those in question. Sweden came at a time when I needed change. The trip was a 4 1/2 month vacation, and one I will look back on with great fondness. And that's all I have to say about that.