Post by Carolyn on Jun 15, 2004 2:40:53 GMT -5
Well, not you, per se, but Swedes! The number one complaint most people have when they move here (aside from money and jobs without being able to speak Swedish 
) is that nobody will talk to them, they can't make friends, Swedes are cold, nobody makes eye contact, etc. I have the ultimate solution.
A little drastic for some perhaps, but you want to meet people? You want to speak in Swedish and learn? Get a dog. Doesn't have to be a big dog. As a matter of fact, I think a small dog works better. We will have had Sophie in the house now for 3 weeks on Thursday, and I have NEVER talked to so many people in my entire life in Sweden. Old men come out of houses to talk to you, old ladies on bicycles stop to talk to you, people leave sitting in the sun for fika paus to come talk to you. Kids on the street talk to you. Other dog owners especially talk to you.
The other day, I was on my own and crossing a street and a car drives by and somebody waves. Who the hell was that? I think. I don't know anybody with a car in this town, at least in this neighborhood. Then it clicked. When it was pouring down rain last week and I took Sophie out at 6.30 a.m., I ran into a man walking two monsters disguised as dogs and trying to manage an umbrella (and losing), and I got his umbrella out of a bush for him and we smiled. Now he sees me crossing the street and he waves.
The old man living in the elderboende (assisted living) home across the street, came out, walked down this steep incline, me terrified he was going to fall, to talk to me about Sophie, how old, what kind, etc. Now when I walk her in the evenings and he's smoking his last pipe of the night, he always waves at me and if we're close enough, he greets Sophie and me.
Ladies came out from the bakery across the way to pet her and ask about her and now they wave to me. Total strangers smile at me on the streets when I walk by with Sophie.
Okay, maybe we're not sitting down for coffee yet and swapping life stories, but it sure makes for a friendly neighborhood and lovely walking conditions.
) is that nobody will talk to them, they can't make friends, Swedes are cold, nobody makes eye contact, etc. I have the ultimate solution.A little drastic for some perhaps, but you want to meet people? You want to speak in Swedish and learn? Get a dog. Doesn't have to be a big dog. As a matter of fact, I think a small dog works better. We will have had Sophie in the house now for 3 weeks on Thursday, and I have NEVER talked to so many people in my entire life in Sweden. Old men come out of houses to talk to you, old ladies on bicycles stop to talk to you, people leave sitting in the sun for fika paus to come talk to you. Kids on the street talk to you. Other dog owners especially talk to you.
The other day, I was on my own and crossing a street and a car drives by and somebody waves. Who the hell was that? I think. I don't know anybody with a car in this town, at least in this neighborhood. Then it clicked. When it was pouring down rain last week and I took Sophie out at 6.30 a.m., I ran into a man walking two monsters disguised as dogs and trying to manage an umbrella (and losing), and I got his umbrella out of a bush for him and we smiled. Now he sees me crossing the street and he waves.
The old man living in the elderboende (assisted living) home across the street, came out, walked down this steep incline, me terrified he was going to fall, to talk to me about Sophie, how old, what kind, etc. Now when I walk her in the evenings and he's smoking his last pipe of the night, he always waves at me and if we're close enough, he greets Sophie and me.
Ladies came out from the bakery across the way to pet her and ask about her and now they wave to me. Total strangers smile at me on the streets when I walk by with Sophie.
Okay, maybe we're not sitting down for coffee yet and swapping life stories, but it sure makes for a friendly neighborhood and lovely walking conditions.
