A couple months after we bought a
car the steering became difficult and we noticed the power steering fluid was
leaking. The car kind of squeaked
too. We were hoping for a cheap fix, that
it was just a leaky tube and bad connection to the power steering fluid pump. I dropped the car off at an auto repair shop
after making an appointment. I stood at
the counter around 10:00 in the morning for a little while. Someone finally emerged from the fika room to
help me and take the car keys.
So what is fika? I’m surprised we
haven’t written about it yet. It’s a
very important part of Swedish society.
It’s a relaxed time to sit down, have a cup of coffee and a sweet treat
and talk among coworkers, friends, and/or family. Fika time is typically at 10:00 and
3:00. The word fika has been
incorporated into my and Amelia’s vocabulary as we’ve enjoyed it at playgroups
and home. Chris’s response is, “How do
people get any work done when they take so many long breaks – fika, lunch, then
fika again.”
After a few days and several fika
breaks the car was ready to be picked up.
(They had to order some tubing.) They
made the obvious fix by replacing the tubing; although it wasn’t exactly
cheap. Nothing is cheap in Sweden. We also got the oil changed while the car was
there and that cost about $100 (that might be a bit of an exaggeration). Are oil changes subsidized in the US? Why the price difference?
We drove off for the weekend to
camp at a cabin with some friends. The
steering became difficult again and we left behind a puddle of power steering
fluid. We looked under the hood and the
fluid was all over just like before and there was a lot of pressure released
when we opened the fluid cap to see that the reservoir was low. Unfortunately, it seemed like the pump wasn’t
working.
The car went
back to the car shop. When I called I
mention that I’d drop it off in the afternoon.
They said to come after 1:00. I
made sure to get there no earlier than 1:30 to give them plenty of time for
lunch break. (I appreciate the fika and
lunch breaks.) I invited the auto repair
guy to come out and witness the pressure release from when I opened the power
steering fluid reservoir and asked him if he thought that perhaps the pump
wasn’t working. He decided that was the
problem. Back in the shop he gave me
quotes on prices. After telling him that
I was hoping not to spend so much money on this car that we just bought he told
me about a website that sells used car parts.
We’ve noticed that typically Swedish people don’t reveal much
information. We have to ask lots of
questions or hope that conversations will reveal some useful information. I found countless used power steering pumps on
the website for a third of the price and realized that I should ask him to
order the part for me since he knows about these better than I do – isn’t that
his job? I called up again and he agreed
to do the order for me. A week later the
car was fixed.
I write about this experience as an
example of how we perceive socialism (social democracy is more politically
correct) is infused into Swedish society.
When I picked up the car the final time I asked if he noticed if there
was anything else that might be wrong with the car. He didn’t notice anything else. Anytime I’ve taken my car to a place in the US they seem to
tell me that there is something else I could fix. Are those American capitalists trying to sell
me something? When the US car guy says
my oil filter is a little dirty I wonder if it’s really a problem or they just
want my money. When I ask the Swedish
car guy if there is anything else wrong and he says no, I wonder if he just
didn’t look since after all I didn’t ask him to look.
It might not be fair to say that cultural
differences we find are a result of political differences but it seems to fit
in some cases. In general Swedish people
and businesses seem less competitive.
People are more laid back to the point where they could possibly be
described as having less motivational drive.
Chris has done several orders to set up the microbiology lab he’s
working in. He gets the impression that
the person on the other telephone line may say that something is not possible
even if it indeed is. Rather than
impossible he believes it may just be *difficult* to ship or order. He’s on the phone because the business people
don’t email him back. He is of the opinion
that people don’t actually want to sell him anything because that would make
more work for them. His supervisor, the
PI on the grant, will rearrange the data collection schedule so that she
doesn’t have to work on the weekend. I
recently had a conversation with a Swedish couple (who have family in the US) and they worry
that the overall Swedish society may be getting… in so many words…lazy, because
people are taken care of so well by the government. Those were their words (summarized), not
mine, and I don’t know their politics. So
far I’ve painted a picture that Swedish people have a poor work ethic. Perhaps it’s more efficient to take a break
and chat with co-workers during a fika break and then really get work done
otherwise. I do believe a balanced life
can actually make for a happier person and family and result in a more
“productive” person. The other extreme
is the Japanese culture where they work all the time because it gives the
impression that they are always working, but I wonder what quality work they
can get done if they are always *working*.
For the most part, I like Sweden’s system. Too bad for me Chris hasn’t adopted the
Swedish work ethic. He is such an
American or maybe he’d even fit into the Japanese work force.
Another thing we’ve noticed here in
Sweden
is that there are fewer choices. Social
democracy tends to create more equal conditions throughout society but perhaps results
in fewer choices. The competitive
capitalistic market has a wide range of products to offer the diverse desires
of American consumers. There is a range
here in Sweden
as well but not as far reaching as Fruity Pebbles to something like sprouted
grain gluten free vegan Manna bread.
Fortunately, the range here is on the healthier end but it can be
difficult to find some fruits, vegetables, and meat grown and raised
organically. Health care is fairly
streamlined here as well. People are
appointed to a designated health center somewhere in town and then receive
appointments for their routine care. For
some reason we were appointed to a health center across town. I, being an American, made the proper
arrangements and filled out the forms to move us over to the health center by
the university, an easier bike ride from our house. When I call to get an appointment, they
usually offer a day and time and I respond with, “Well, do you have Friday at
10:00 open? That would be better for
us.” I have heard that Sweden is starting
to have more choices in health care with privatization (for better or worse??). Interestingly, there IS a diversity of
political parties represented in the Parliament of Sweden and the European
Parliament (thanks Wikipedia!): Swedish Social Democratic Party, Moderate
Party, Green Party, Liberal People’s Party, Centre Party, Sweden Democrats,
Pirate Party, Christian Democrats, and Left Party. There are also dozens of other minor and
local parties. I’m impressed by these
diverse choices. Perhaps all the
commercial choices in the US
are a distraction. Capitalism has not
only infiltrated American society but created a two party political system, in
which the parties aren’t that different as they are both heavily influenced by
corporations.
We’ve also speculated that
capitalism creates a society where many people prioritize looking out for
themselves and their own interests.
We’ve noticed more structure here and that systems in Sweden are
created to provide (more) equal opportunities among people. Taxes are high but there are no or little
health care costs and school (including university) is free. We have yet to see any really poor parts of
town or people on the streets. We do
laugh at all the queue machines. The
machine where you take a number to wait in line for help can be found just
about everywhere you go: government offices, the bank, the pharmacy, the
library, some stores… It seems to be the
perfect symbol for this orderly and fair society.
An American friend of mine told me
a funny story. They have been living
here for a couple of years now. One day
when they were out grocery shopping they noticed that there was a cart not
attached to the chained up cart assembly; they used it. Typically the carts are chained
together. In order to use a cart you
have to insert a 5 or 10 kroner coin to remove the cart. This way there is an incentive for people to
place their carts back into the orderly fashion. Husband Rich was feeling rebellious and was
going to leave the cart in the parking lot after unloading their groceries since
he didn’t have a 5 or 10 kroner invested into the cart, but his two oldest sons
(9 and 11) who have been going to school in Sweden for a couple of years
straightened their dad out and demanded that he put the cart back where it
belonged. The boys are already Swedish!
This blog all started with the
car experience. It is
presumptuous to make conclusions based on one example. Unfortunately, our car is providing us
another opportunity to experience the auto repair scene. The coolant light is on but the thermometer
isn’t indicating that the engine is hot; so it's kind of complicated.
The car still makes some squeaky noises so I guess I should directly ask
them to look at the brake pads too. The
car is getting checked out next week.
Cross our fingers we don’t have to sink too much more money into this
car. Perhaps we can find cheaper ways to
explore the social differences here.
So like everything in life, nothing
is perfect. Each system has its pros and
cons. There are lots of choices in the US and a strong
work ethic can help a person succeed in life.
That strong work ethic in the US may also amount to billionaire
CEOs who get bailed out while your retirement money vanishes and if you get
seriously sick the insurance companies may take away your insurance leaving you
in major debt. There are fewer choices
in Sweden
in many aspects of life and you pay high taxes here. However, no need to worry about your finances
in terms of education and health care.
Just go relax with fika and hang out with your kids during your
föräldrapenning (paid parental leave). Use
the parental leave money and barnbidrag (child support) to pay for the sweet
treats.
