If You’re An American Vacationing in Scandinavia, Know These 6 Things About Us and Our Culture
With love, from a native
Cultures can clash from time to time. Although the United States and the Scandinavian countries are all developed countries with many similar practices, they are also very different. If you find yourself being a tourist in Scandinavia, knowing these things about us and our way of living might give you a better understanding of our culture.
We don’t mean to be rude
We’re just shy and don’t like to speak English.
Our standoffishness might look like we don’t care or have better things to do than to talk with you, but it is actually because we are intimidated by you. Your English is perfect and ours is not.
We are also terrible at small talk.
We don’t know how to small-talk past “Nice weather today, eh?”
If you start the conversation, we will do our best to keep up but odds are it’ll be awkward and short. Unless you find someone who is an exception.
We don’t do 24/7
We close early and many shops are closed on Sundays. Few places are open 24/7. Perhaps a gas station, but even that is rare to see.
