Vincent: But you know what the funniest thing about Europe is?
Jules: What?
Vincent: It’s the little differences. I mean, they got the same stuff over there that we got here, but it’s just… it’s just, there it’s a little different.
In case you aren’t familiar with Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, this memorable conversation continues with a brief discussion of the metric system and then shifts to the American Quarter Pounder and French Royale with cheese, which is named such due to the incompatibility in the units between Europe and the US.
I believe Tarantino meant for this conversation to be informal, humorous character development for Vincent and Jules, but countless ex-pats and international students have adopted this dialogue to express some of their feelings after moving to a new country. As my way of appropriating this discussion topic, I’ve compiled a short list of random observations that are perhaps mildly interesting but not necessarily newsworthy in their own right.
- A Swedish mile (mil) is a unit of distance equal to 10 kilometers, or 6.2 American miles. Summary: American mile = easy walking distance. Swedish mile ≠ easy walking distance.
- Cheese slicers (osthyvlar) and wooden butter knives seem kind of like gimmicky souvenirs to me, but a lot of people actually use them here on a daily basis. Just add some knäckebröd (Swedish cracker) to the equation and you’ll have enough for a small (and unexciting if I’m being honest) snack.
Cheese and butter essentials. Photo: B. Seward
- Complex kitchen appliances don’t seem to be too popular. In my experience, it’s not too common to have things like a blender, food processor, or slow cooker. Now I’m not sure if this is because I have lived in smaller city apartments with minimal storage and counter space, but I have found it a little limiting in some cases. I’ve done quite a bit of cooking since moving here and finally broke down and bought a used blender off of blocket. If you’re an incoming international student who needs a specialty appliance or piece of cookware to make some of your favorite foods, then it might be a good idea to bring it along with you instead of trying to buy a new one here.
- Like Europe’s general opinion of macaroni topped with fake powdered cheese, I am simply incapable of understanding how ketchup on pasta is something you would want to put in your mouth, chew and then swallow, yet it happens here on a daily basis and it never ceases to amaze me. In my very biased opinion, ketchup + pasta = bad, but peanut butter + jelly = good and macaroni + fake cheese = outstanding.
- You can find caviar, cheese spreads and many other unique flavor combinations in disconcerting toothpaste-like tubes. Don’t be intimidated by this method of packaging food, but don’t get your expectations up too high for the quality/taste either; there’s a reason a lot of this stuff is so cheap. Adventurous eaters will find this stuff intriguing though. Check out rökt renost.
- I’m not sure if Tetra Pak is entirely to blame for this next item, but I’m just going to assume they are so I have someone to direct my angst towards. Their carton design seemingly hasn’t changed much in the last 50+ years, and it’s still everywhere despite the fact that it’s frustratingly awful. I hope that their infamous paper cartons have some environmentally redeeming qualities because my dairy consumption is inconvenienced by way of hard-to-open/pour packaging. And dairy consumption is important to a lot of people here. You’ve got your milk and yogurt and then other staples like fil (sour milk??), kvarg (quark), and crème fraiche. I know I’m probably oversimplifying here, but they all seem like cousins from the same family with different flavors and fat contents housed in similar types of exasperating containers.
- Moving out of the kitchen… the bathroom is typically a wet room, and almost all towels have a loop to hang them up. Let it be known that I’m a big fan of both of these things, especially the towel loop which has to be in the running for “The Greatest Invention of the 20th Century Award”. It took me a while to come around on the design of the bathroom, but now I’m sold once I realized how easy it is to clean and maintain.
- Ingen reklam. The “no advertising” signs are everywhere. I curiously wonder if it actually works or if there is some reason that every single apartment door has this sign on it. I’m honestly not sure if this pertains solely to mail, but I can just imagine the mailman getting ready to shove a fistful of junk mail through the slot in the door when suddenly he retracts it all after the foreboding ingen reklam catches his attention. I must say that it seems pretty effective from my time with the sign on my door because I rarely get any junk mail.
Ingen reklam tack! In other words, don’t bother me! Photo: B. Seward
I also have a list of language related observations, but I’m going to save them for later since this post is already a little lengthy.
Here’s a Swedish hockey highlight video from Turin in 2006 to get you prepared for the upcoming Olympic hockey this week. It will give you a chance to practice your Swedish too.
