My Swede acquaintances say their system is better because they don't have any poor people. Yet they don't want to return home - expect for the pull of their families who remain in Sweden.
But, but, but they get free health care.....(cough)50% tax rate (cough).
They do have a smaller percentage of their population living in poverty.
Sweden: 6.5%
United States: 17%
They also enjoy a higher quality of life as measured by the Human Development Index, which uses life expectancy, school enrollment, literacy and income to rank 177 countries.
Human Development Indicator rank (1 = highest and 177 = lowest)
Sweden: #2
United States: #8
Monday, November 01, 2004 - 12:00 AM |
Swedish students experience Utah life
Elisabeth Nardi DAILY HERALD
Thousands of miles away from her Swedish homeland, 17-year-old Lena Lidmark is positive she could never live in America, and especially not in Utah.
She has enjoyed spending the last two weeks with 22 of her classmates in the Beehive State, but it could never be home for two reasons.
"It's too religious, and it's too Republican," she said.
The 23 teenage Swedish students have been in Orem for the past two weeks learning about America and American teenagers. Each is staying with a family where there is at least one teen who is around the Swedish student's age, attending school at Orem High School on the same class schedule as their American counterparts.
In preparation for the visit, some of the Swedish and American teens have been
e-mailing each other for six months and know one another quite well.
During the extended field trip, the Swedish students have experienced Costco and church for the first time, seen Las Vegas and attended a Halloween dance at the school.
The field trip is under the direction of Michael Cross, instructor of psychology and
international relations at the International
College of Stockholm, a high school that has been bringing students to the United States for six years.
Cross, who was born in America and has taught in both countries, said each time he brings Swedish students to America he is amazed at the myths and stereotypes the Swedish teens bring with them.
"They think all the Americans are fat," he said. "Their image is that Americans are overweight, then they show up and start looking around, and they realize it's really not that much different than Europe."
Utahns dispelled many of the stereotypes, but not all of them. Emma Wahlborg, 17, is living with a family who has six children -- very different from her home where she is an only child. But the biggest difference is how much religion is a part of the lives of family members. Wahlborg said she never goes to church.
Morning prayer
"The biggest difference is probably praying in the morning," she said. "They sit around and read from the Book of Mormon for a half hour every morning -- but I think it's quite nice."
Wahlborg is not the only Swedish student who does not attend church. Lidmark said she is an atheist, and 17-year-old Ylva Sandberg says she believes in God but rarely goes to church.
"I don't go to Swedish church because you will actually fall asleep," she said. "The only people that go there are 80 or 90 years old."
In fact, Cross said, Sweden is often ranked as the country with the lowest attendance in church or religious beliefs in the world.
"Even in Oregon they would feel it's highly religious compared to Sweden," he said.
The Orem High School teens don't mind that their Scandinavian friends aren't religious.
Eric Smith, 16, said it doesn't bother him at all.
"I don't think it's weird," he said. "I have lived in other states where there are very few Mormons or LDS people around. Personally I go to church, but everyone is entitled to what they believe or don't believe. They are entitled to do what they want to do."
Different lives
The Swedish students also see big differences in the way American teens in Utah live -- everything from how late they stay out to the food served at school.
In Sweden, the students eat pizza once a year for school lunch, but 17-year-old Anders Axberg said he was surprised to see kids could get pizza every day at Orem High School.
What Axberg said he really misses is beer. In his country the legal drinking age is 18, but many underage people buy and drink wine or beer as young as 15, he said.
"Nobody drinks here -- not even the adults," he said.
As for the food, Wahlborg said there was too much sugar in what Americans eat, and not enough salads.
Other differences included the amount of freedom Swedish students have. Sandberg said she would be able to stay out until 3 a.m. without her parents worrying, and in Utah there are curfews.
In general all the teenagers said they felt Utah parents seemed more strict, but Jessica Simpson, a 16-year-old Orem High student and Wahlborg's host, seemed to think things wouldn't be as strict outside of Utah.
"It's different in Utah. Everyone thinks the same things. I don't think it would be so bad in other states," Simpson said.
Friendlier folks
The Swedish students also thought school was easier in America. Wahlborg said she was doing experiments in Orem's science classes she had done in her classes two years ago.
But there were positive differences, too.
Swedish students liked how nice everyone was in America. Sandberg and Lidmark seemed surprised people would hold doors open for one another in Utah.
"People are friendlier here," Sandberg said. "In Sweden you can't look at someone on the subway. Here you can say hi to a perfect stranger in the streets, you can't do that in Sweden because they look at you like you are crazy."
There are similarities between the Americans and the Swedes. All the teens seemed to agree no matter what country they live in, teenagers are
always in a hurry to grow up.
For the Swedish students, one way that manifests itself is keeping up with current events -- especially those that deal with America.
Presidential politics
Before the class embarked on its adventure, the students learned about the culture and politics of America, including learning about the two presidential candidates. And the students are not shy about voicing their opinion on who should win the election.
"I haven't got anything against Bush; I don't hate him in any way," Wahlborg said. "But I do feel a country like America which is supposed to represent freedom, and with people who get so much knowledge, they should have a more democratic government."
Most of the students -- like most Swedes -- are socialists, Cross said. He was not
surprised that they would be against a conservative president.
"I kind of hate Bush," Lidmark said. "Everything he does reflects on us, every (American) election has a reaction in Sweden too because he's so powerful -- both America and Bush. We probably should be voting in American elections."
Some of Lidmark's feelings for Bush stem from the war in Iraq.
"I think it's good Sadam Hussein is gone, but if you look at a place like Rwanda a lot of terrible things happen there and the U.S. doesn't do anything about that," she said.
Not all of the students agree with Lidmark.
Axberg believes the war in Iraq is a good thing and has helped the rest of the world be safer.
"Terrorists can only be stopped one way," he said. "If Saddam was still in power it could hurt more people."
The war and political climate is an issue for the Orem students as well but they seemed to agree with Axberg's view more.
"Saddam needed to be gotten rid of," said 16-year-old Alex Blomquist -- Lidmark is staying with her. "Even if there weren't weapons, there still was that threat. The U.S. can't control everything."
Sex, marriage and homosexuality
On issues of sex before marriage most of the Swedish students seemed to believe it was OK to have sex and have children before being married.
Lidmark said she never plans on getting married because she doesn't believe in it, and Wahlborg said before marrying someone she would have to live with them first. But Axberg said he did believe two people should be married before having children.
As for homosexuality, Lidmark, Sandberg and Wahlborg all agreed they didn't care what people did in their personal lives.
Cross said the field trip was successful in helping teach the Swedish and the Orem students about each other's worlds. But some of Swedish students' stereotypes were more or less supported by their visit.
For example, Lidmark still
believes most Americans get their information from Fox News, and an Orem High School football game is a lot like the ones she sees in the movies.
"The football game, with the cheerleaders and everything -- it's just so weird," she said.
They can't even afford a Double Wide in France!
Pray for W and Our Troops
Have they visited Malmö lately?
What they have is genteel poverty. Like Britain had from 1945 until 1985.