Over the course of the past few months we have had some great questions from friends and family. It's time to get you the answers.
I think it was Rachel who asked whether the Swedish IKEA has that simulation box demonstrating the poang chair's durability. We recently went back to IKEA to get a few things for the new apartment and did a proper investigation. We were pleased to see this:
We felt no shame at photographing this and being tourists at IKEA because we stopped at the cafeteria for lunch first and they serve wine. Our inhibitions properly lowered to purchase home goods and battle the crowds along the one way twists and turns of their store, we snapped the above photo. This was only after we snapped a few photos at lunch:
Which, naturally, leads to a question many of you have asked: Are Swedish meatballs just called meatballs in Sweden? Obnoxious answer is "no, they're köttbullar." The less obnoxious answer is "yes." How can the obnoxious rating change the answer? Köttbullar means meatballs. But, if you check out sweden.se you see that they start by translating it as Swedish meatballs.
Along the same lines Swedish fish are called fiskor (=fish) in the candy bins (though they don't quite taste the same).
Then we get to some of the more serious questions like:
- "Did Zeke have to be quarantined?"
- "What's the Swedish healthcare like?"
- "Is everyone tall and blonde?"
For those interested in moving to Sweden and bringing a dog, in 2004 Sweden changed their laws regarding importation of domestic pets. I don't know the rules regarding anything other than dogs, so check out the Swedish Board of Agriculture. Briefly our experience bringing Zeke from the US was that with between four and five months preparation, we could bring him on our flight (as cargo since he was too big to be in the cabin). The preparation ahead of time is simply to make sure that he is properly tagged (microchipped) and revaccinated against rabies. Then you have to wait a minimum of 120 days post vaccination to do a blood test that is only accepted from one place in the US. Other than that you have the relatively standard paperwork and pre-flight vet certification with the exception of getting the state vet to sign off as well (this meant a trip to Sacramento only a few days before we left). It gets a little stressful when so much is happening last minute, but worth the work and stress to avoid the quarantine.
Swedish healthcare should probably be reserved for a whole other series of posts but there are a few interesting things that we've learned that are worth sharing. Having a personnumber, which we've talked about before, makes you eligible for the same access to healthcare as the Swedes. There are health clinics throughout the city, urgent care centers, and emergency rooms. Simply having the ID number, which also means that you are registered with the tax office, is sufficient. You can make an appointment or pop in during open hours to get in a queue to be seen. You pay between roughly 150 and 300 SEK (between say 20 and 40 USD) for the visit depending on whether it is a specialist, emergency care (the ER), or a general practitioner. Here's the important thing to know: you get a card that have stamped when you pay. You keep the receipts and the stamped document that shows when you visited and how much you paid. When and if you total 900 SEK (around 115 USD) in one year, then you are eligible to get a card that entitles you to free care for the remainder of the year (not everywhere and for everything, but for most care). There's an equivalent with prescriptions but the amount that you have to reach is double what it is for just visits and care costs. Some folks have written about it here for those interested. This only gets to costs of care and not necessarily quality, but so far I have been pleased with the visits I have had. That's the healthcare teaser...much more to come, I am sure.
And...no, everyone is not tall and blonde. Seems like such a random statement after discussing health care expenses and how to get the frikort.
To finish up this post I will answer one of my more favorite recent question, which I got over some early morning IMing with Meghan: "What's the best Swedish phrase you've got?"
I have been thinking about this since she asked.
Here's what I love:
1. candy is godis (pronounced goodies)
2. meatballs is köttbullar is pronounced something between shut and shitbullers
3. married is gift, which also means poison
4. family names are much more descriptive and informative
mother is mor
father is far
maternal grandmother is mormor
maternal grandfather is morfar
paternal grandmother is farmor
paternal grandfather is farfar
maternal uncle is morbror
and so on
5. this gets its own number even though it is related to #4...stepfather is sometimes called bonus papa
