My Special Sweden Appreciation Day

Today is no special day for Sweden but it is my special Sweden appreciation day.

Yesterday, I was walking back to home from Idun’s nursery. (I was cleaning the place. You might wonder why is she cleaning the nursery, especially if you are not from Sweden. 🙂 I must write another post and tell you more about it. But for now I will leave it out of this post.) On my way back from the school, I looked at the pedestrian walks and realized that today will be my Sweden appreciation day. Let me tell you the story.

I moved to Stockholm from Cyprus on the twenty-first of August in 2014. And I love the place from the first day. But when it was November, one morning after feeling puzzled for the whole morning, my afternoon turned to a big enlightenment. And that was the day that I decided I am not leaving this country, like ever!

I remember that morning in November vividly. I stepped outside my Södermalm apartment, ready to take the bus to my office at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. But as I walked down the street, I noticed something unusual under my feet – rough little pebbles and gravel lining the sidewalks and pedestrian walkways. Now, people who know me well know that I am quite particular about my clothes and shoes. I clean my shoes, put them to their exact place, take care of them and so on. I did not want the gravel to be caught in the treads of my boots and scratch the ground. I knew that it would disturb my whole day if I had one. So I tried to avoid these small stones while I walked to the bus and just assumed that something bad happened yesterday probably. Then, I arrived at the KTH campus and start to walk for my office.

Shock! These small stones are there also, like everywhere. Why?

I had zero idea about the reason behind this mystery. I grumbled to my colleagues over coffee about the nuisance, but no one else had even noticed the gravel.

Then comes the afternoon and the snowflakes began to drift lazily from the steel-gray sky. I was and am still amazed by the snow. (I even have a snow dance that I do when it snows 🙂 My wife loves it!) It did not hit me right away but when I stepped out to walk back to the station I suddenly understood why.

They knew that it was going to snow, and it was probably like today much colder than the day before and there was a risk of ice. The gravel was there to prevent slipping on winter ice, it was there so we do not hurt ourselves. (This gravel comes to the walkways all around Sweden around this time of the year and they clean it when the “proper” spring arrives. I said proper and I am sure people who live in Sweden laughed when they read it because spring does not arrive to Sweden easily, it comes as waves. You see the first flowers and then a snow storm hits, then you see the grass and another one hits again. So it takes some time. 🙂 )

This is one little example of Sweden and the Swedish mentality – care, long-term thinking and planning. This was something magical for me. (Where I come from we do not do planning, we do not even know when it will rain. And safe walkways are the last thing the state cares to give to its citizens.) Every year on this day, I remember that day – the day in 2014 that I felt cared for. I clearly remember the feeling I had when I was heading back home. I looked around me and started to discover every little thing that was done for me to feel safe, to go to places, to do my job well, to get enough space and time. The buses were coming for me, to take me to places, the metro was working to help me to get home, my workplace was giving me a budget to spend for my wellbeing, there was a fruit box in our kitchen so I had my healthy snacks during work hours, there was always some people having coffee when it was fika time, people were leaving early to get their kids from school, and yes some people was working all night for putting gravel on the sidewalks for me so I can walk without hurting myself! Simple acts of conscientiousness and care marked this society at every level.

This was the day nine years ago when I decided that this is the place I want to live, this is the society I want to be a part of. This is the country I want to contribute to, to make a better place. And as my clever wife always says, “There is always space for improvement,” but I will never take for granted the everyday thoughtfulness that makes this country such a remarkable place for people to live and thrive. Now every year when this day comes around, I think back to that realization which so powerfully shaped my path. I know very well that there are so many people in this world who will never have the feeling that I had that evening. So, heja Sverige!