OK, as much as I love Sweden, I must finally admit that I am starting to miss some of the conveniences of home. There are many advantages to living in this country, and many things I will miss very much when we leave. But Kristy has been sick the last week or so, and it's really made me realize how much I miss the conveniences of home. Now, if we had lived here all of our lives, we probably wouldn't know any better, and it wouldn't be a convenience. But we have lived in the U.S. our entire life, so we get spoiled with the convenience.
I miss Super Target. There is nothing like it here. Not even close. Here, you go to the grocery store for groceries, and that's it. If you need medicine of any kind, even something as simple as aspirin, you have to go to the Apoteket (Pharmacy), which are always in a separate location. And along the same lines, I miss stores that are open later than 6:00. Most places close around 5:00 or 6:00, which is great for the employees here, but suck if you are a consumer and you need anything desperately. And I'm not talking about a frozen pizza. I'm talking medicine, food, and needs that might arise at any moment, like adult diapers. I don't think anything in this country is open 24 hours.
The System Bologet (Liquor Store) is another source of frustration. It's open from about 10:00 AM until 5 or 6:00 PM most days. But on Saturday, it's open from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM. SATURDAY! And of course, it's closed on Sunday, which we're used to. But, say for instance you get invited to a party, and want to bring a bottle of wine for the host, and maybe some wine or beer for yourself. If the System Bologet is closed, you're screwed.
The other thing we've noticed is that, just because you plan ahead and look online to make sure that your destination will be open, doesn't make it so. Kristy verified online that the Post Office all the way across town would be open when we went to pick up a package that was waiting for us, only to get there and see that they were closed. The hours on the door said they should be open, but the locked door and lights turned out said something else. Again, must be nice if you're an employee, but if you're a consumer? We've had that happen to us on a couple of occasions.
And back to the Apoteket, you can't just go in and buy Nyquil, slug some down, and wake up 22 hours later wondering what happened. You can't buy anything that will treat multiple symptoms. So if you have the flu, and are suffering from body aches, fever, sore throat, headache, and congestion, you have to buy a different medicine for each symptom. There is no Tylenol Cold & Flu on the shelves here. You have to buy Ibuprofen for the aches, you have to buy a nasal spray if your head is congested, you have to buy cough medicine if you have a cough. And when you go in the store, everything is generic, and nothing seems to be in English on the boxes. This is by no means the fault of the Swedish. I could have put more of an effort into learning the language before I came, but, I'm a lazy American! It's also not there fault that they don't understand the word "congestion", it's just frustrating. In an "if I knew then what I know now" scenario, I would have brought more meds. I want chewable Tums, not some crap that I have to dissolve in water!!
And not that I've done a lot of shopping for clothes here, but one thing I have noticed is that the sizes (S, M, L, XL) are smaller here....HEY! WHO JUST SAID "lose some weight"??!! A lot of the dudes here are as big or bigger than me, so I'm not sure where they shop. I bought an XXL hooded sweatshirt here, and it fits like a Large would back home. I've tried on shirts when we've been out that are an XL or XXL, and they fit me like a Large. You know, super tight through the chest, shoulders, and biceps, but really really loose around the waist.
We love Sweden, and love the people here. But at the same time, Kristy and I have both talked about how nice it will be to get back to the states, see our family and friends, and enjoy some of the comforts of home again. We've lived pretty simply here, and neither of us has a problem with that. We've also had no problem using public transportation, and walking more places. Unfortunately, it's just not the same back home. But we really miss things like the doggie door for Reese (so we don't have to get up 2-3 times a night), a real bed to sleep in (and not three thin cushions pushed together, and held in place by bed sheets wrapped around them that get separated every night so that I'm half on the bed, half on the hard floor), Chipotle of course, and the aforementioned Super Target.
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