When I was back in the US visiting the Swede’s former roommates (also Swedes), they have some distinctive Swedish traits. Now these guys are not the average Swedes because they neither have great fashion sense nor have funny hair. We call this genre of Swedes, the programmers and dorks. They dress like normal Americans many times. Shocking, no?
But alas, a few observations.
The underwear walk. Porbjörn and his roommates have a tendency of walking around the house early in the morning (or late night) in a t-shirt and boxer briefs. Having girls around don’t matter; it’s our problem if we get embarrassed. He explained once, “don’t look,” then added, “silly Americans, scared of boys in underwear.” Now I don’t mind but the first I saw this, I was a bit embarrassed and shy. Where am I supposed to look??
Settling the bills. They keep immaculate records of who pays what, where, when, how much and then divvy up the receipts accordingly. Good for me then, because I can be a be slack on keeping track.
Keep the house tidy. They are four boys, and dammit they will keep it clean. Dishes done after dinner, table cleaned. Shoes are neatly piled at the doorway entrance (they may live in the US but no shoes in the house). Counter tops always clean. Not so much after my initial presence in the house was to impress more than maintain as standard. Bathrooms are washed down every week or so. No need to worry about smelly, dirty bachelor pad in this house. So true so true.
Discussing things to death. Swedes love to discuss. Swedes also love to ponder decisions. Put the two together and sometimes it can take awhile before anything happens. I have to admit though, they do their research before making a serious decision. I found the American Swedes to be more changing and quick to decisions than the Swedish Swedes.
