[rmlew]

I don't think that Americans understand Swedish culture. Rich Swedes don't like to be reminded that the people know who they are and that they stand out. Standing out is a very bad thing for ethnic Swedes. It is a breech of Lagom, appropriateness.

Not that I trust Wikipedia for this type of thing, but people should also look up jantelagen to understand the norms at play. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jante_Law

[WesternCulture]

“I don’t think that Americans understand Swedish culture”

- No, an average American probably does not.

But given a year or so in Sweden, the average American would no more find Sweden such a strange place.

People over here are like they are most other places on Earth (except Canada) and once you get to know how the culture works, you’ll have no problem blending in.