Reflection

There are four different species of edibles in that basket, Amelia knows them all by their scientific name.

We grew lots of kale!

Skiing was a highlight of our time in Sweden.

Sweden is a great place to have a baby!

Local "wildlife"

Taken about 6 weeks ago when she first discovered her hands were her own.

In our final weeks of living in Sweden we have been reflecting on what we’ve enjoyed here:

Amelia says, “The snow is fun and pretty.”  She declares herself a snow princess along with the snow palace we have built.

We are grateful to be living where we can ski right from our house into a forest AND from our house we can walk downtown and Chris can walk to work. 

A forest full of Vaccinium! (blueberries and lingon berries) and mushrooms!

Living among a society where earthy natural people are the mainstream.  Mushroom baskets and berry picker rakes are sold in all the grocery stores.  We were out with the Swedes picking berries and mushrooms! 

Chris listed Västerbotten cheese.  It’s made only here in Västerbotten county, Sweden.

Living in a town with a strong bike culture where pedestrian trails and bike paths are the most direct route to get around town.  It seems like the trails and paths were created first and the roads go around them.  We knew how to walk and bike to the hospital before Madeline was born but had to do a practice *drive* there. 

There is also an extensive bus system in and out of town.

It’s nice to have similar environmental and social values with the mainstream.

We have never seen a poor part of town or an extremely wealthy part of town.  The distribution of wealth is more even here than in the US.

Several holidays and weeks of paid vacation throughout the year.

It is a relief to not have to worry about health care.  It is available and affordable (close to free) for all.  My total bill for prenatal care and time in the hospital for Madeline’s birth was about $12.

We appreciate how family friendly Sweden is.  Parents have approximately 500 days of paid “parental leave” to spend with their child.  This paid time off is flexible, split between parents and can be used until the child is 8 years old.  I especially enjoy seeing how engaged fathers are in caring for their little ones; its encouraged by the government as families get paid more if the time off is split 50-50 between parents.  Childcare is subsidized and private daycares (Waldorf and Montessori) cost the same as the public ones.  Additionally, monthly child support is directly deposited into the family’s bank account until children are 16 years old.  Raising children is truly valued and supported here.

Amelia also said, “I like all the red houses because I like the color red like red roses.”  Red is a common house color and has been since the beginning of painted houses in Sweden.  This leads me to another thing we appreciate about life in Sweden… tradition!  We’ve enjoyed the traditions associated with holidays, seasons and food.

We have also realized what we appreciate about the United States while living here in Sweden.  Not only do we miss speaking the native language but we find the style of communication difficult here in Sweden.  Swedish people are not forthcoming with information nor do they go out of their way to be helpful.  Figuring things out requires much time and lots of questions.  We also appreciate the larger spectrum of choices in the US.  I’m looking forward to grocery shopping at the Corvallis coop!