Host Family Guide - Academic Year In America: Fill & Download for Free

Simply put, you must SPEAK. I know this sounds cliché, but having been a second language learner myself (I was told I needed to Speak!) I understand how difficult it is to continue to practice by speaking. I majored in Spanish at University. Graduated summa cum laude. Big deal, I still couldn't speak fluently. I read, I listened and watched TV programs in my target language. Aka, News, comedy, soap operas, documentaries, science programs, and every other medium you could think of that was broadcast on or off television including radio and the cinema. I also did six weeks of immersion student teaching in Cuernavaca, Nuevo León, México. I was then contacted by my university to take College age students for submersion programs in Mexico. I did that for 3+ years. I was their guide, translator, teacher, and social worker. I made travel arrangements, secured local transportation and arranged housing via host families. Each trip was 10 to 14 days in length. I was one full year out of University, I was 47, and began the study of my target language at 37. (I was a late bloomer. )I can honestly tell you I was no where near speaking fluently . Yeah, right! Several of my students spoke better than I did. However, with each trip I gained a little more fluency. But, to stand or sit in front of native Spanish speakers in the United States was incredibly intimidating. Chew on that for a while. I know whereof I speak. It is damn scary, especially for adults. This is what you must make yourself do and what I tell my ESL college students to do. The last skill to develop in your target language will be speaking. Regular run-of-the-mill every day speaking. The following is my list of must do's.Take a conversational course in target language at your local community college or anywhere for that matter.Employ the use of native English speakers to correct your grammar as you speak. Someone you feel comfortable with.Read out loud to yourself to your family to whoever will listen. Once again, preferably with people that can correct pronunciation.Speak in the target language as much as possible. You may start slowly, for instance, one or two hours a day every day different times is OK. Build on your fluency by adding time until you are speaking half a day in your language and half a day in The target language. Of course, continue until you can speak a full days target language.Speak on the phone. You will train your brain to search for the target language in your memory bank without physical gestures.I think the aforementioned will keep you rather busy. Remember you quite possibly know a language that English speakers do not and most realize that. Some will be flattered that you even want to learn to speak English. You will hear them say I always wanted to learn a second language but it was just too hard or I was too busy or any number of viable excuses.Those, if any, English only speakers that appear to find your attempts amusing or are harshly critical are your plane old stupid, biased, IDIOTS!!!!Fortunately, there are many more of us in America than them. No matter what you see or what you hear we really are a welcoming people.Use it or lose it, honey. Actually I hate that term. However, it is most applicable in this context.

What has the democratic party accomplished. There is so much more but I didn’t want to research this all night. Everything the Democratic Party does benefits the middle class, not the rich. The Democratic Party works for the citizens of the USA. This opened my eyes to the extent the democratic party goes to help people, more than I realized.1913-1921 - Woodrow Wilson - DemocratOne of the nation’s greatest presidents because of his advocacy for democracy and world peaceCreator & leading advocate for the League of Nations - an organization for international cooperation established on January 10, 1920, at the initiative of the victorious Allied powers at the end of World War I, He was awarded the Nobel Prize for PeaceNineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving women the right to vote, was passed and ratified.Creation of the Labor Department in the CabinetWorkers’ Compensation Program.Clayton Anti-Trust ActFarm Loan Bank ActEstablishment of the Federal Reserve Bank1932 - 1944 Franklin Roosevelt - DemocratCame into office during the Great depressionFDR led the United States from isolationism to victory over Nazi Germany and its allies in World War IIThe New Deal - Ended the Depression, put people back to work, stabilized the economyOne of the principal parties in the establishment of the United Nations after World War IIEstablished the Fulbright-Hughes Scholarship programSigned the Rural Telephone Act, ensuring that Americans all across the country had access to the telephone.Rural Electrification Administration - Presidential Executive Order 7037 created the Rural Electrification Administration, or R.E.A., on May 11, 1935. With passage of the Norris-Rayburn Act the following year, Congress authorized $410 million in appropriations for a ten-year program to electrify American farms. The rural cooperative model, which had been successfully employed by Giant Power in Pennsylvania, was adopted by the R.E.A., with Congressional Representatives serving as the administrative liaisons for the formation of cooperatives within their districts (Brown, 1980, p. 68). Cooperatives were not-for-profit consumer-owned firms organized to provide electric service to member-customers. Each cooperative was typically governed by a board of directors elected from the ranks of its residential customers. The board established rates and policies for the cooperative, and hired a general manager to conduct the ordinary business of providing electricity to customers within the service region. Only two restrictions were placed on the formation of cooperatives: they could not compete directly with utility companies, and coop members could not live in areas served by utilities or within a municipality with a population of 1500 or more (Brown, 1980, p. 69).Social Security was established - an income that provides assistance to retirees, the unemployed, widows, and orphans. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to advocate for federal assistance for the elderly. It was largely opposed by Republican legislators.Set up the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration (TERA), which aimed at finding jobs for the unemployed, and by 1932 TERA was helping nearly one out of every 10 families in New York.Passage of the Emergency Banking Relief ActAgricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA),Public Works Administration (PWA)Civilian Conservations Corps (CCC)Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)Initiated a slate of reforms of the financial system, notably the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to protect depositors’ accountsSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the stock market and prevent abuses of the kind that led to the 1929 crashEnacted the “Soak the Rich Tax” - the Democratic-led Congress raised taxes on large corporations and wealthy individuals - something Republicans fought againstWagner Act (officially the National Labor Relations Act)1945 - 1953 - Harry TrumanGI Bill - provided benefits for soldiers returning from World War II, including low-cost mortgages, loans to start a business, and tuition and living expenses for those seeking higher education.Helped rebuild Europe after World War II with the Marshall Plan and oversaw the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. By integrating the military, President Truman helped to bring down barriers of race and gender and pave the way the way for civil rights advancements in the years that followedAfter the onset of the Cold War Truman oversaw the Berlin Airlift and Marshall Plan in 1948. When North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, he gained United Nations approval to intervene in what became known as the Korean WarOn domestic issues, bills endorsed by Truman faced opposition from a conservative Congress, but his administration successfully guided the U.S. economy through the post-war economic challenges.In 1948, he submitted the first comprehensive civil rights legislation and issued Executive Order 9981 to start racial integration in the military and federal agencies.His contribution to victory in the cold war without a devastating nuclear conflict elevated him to the stature of a great or near-great president1961 - 1963 - John F Kennedy - DemocratContinuation of the Apollo space programTook the U.S. economy out of recession through his reformsHe established the Peace Corps in 1961-The mission was to combat communism by bringing young adults from America to developing nations to engage in tasks ranging from teaching English to building homes and wellsVISTA (Volunteers In Service to America) program was “the domestic Peace Corps,” working toward educational equality and resource availability for underserved urban and rural communities.JFK averted nuclear war through his negotiations with Soviet leader Khrushchev.Supported the civil rights movementSomewhat successful in passing his New Frontier domestic policiesThe economy turned around and prospered during Kennedy's years as presidentThe GDP expanded by an average of 5.5% from early-1961 to late-1963,[268] while inflation remained steady at around 1% and unemployment eased.[269]Industrial production rose by 15% and motor vehicle sales increased by 40%.This rate of growth in GDP and industry continued until 1969, and has yet to be repeated for such a sustained period of time.Kennedy signed into law HR5143 (PL87-423), which abolished the mandatory death penalty for first degree murder suspects in the District of Columbia, the only remaining jurisdiction in the United States with such a penalty.[280] The death penalty has not been applied in the District of Columbia since 1957Signed Executive Order 10925 which required government contractors to take affirmative action to ensure all employees are treated equally irrespective of their race, creed, color, or national originHis Executive Order 11063 of November 1962 banned segregation in federally funded housing. On June 11, 1963, JFK gave his famous civil rights address calling Americans to recognize civil rights as a moral cause. His proposal to provide equal access to public schools and other facilitiesGreater protection of “voting rights” became part of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964The turbulent end of state-sanctioned racial discrimination was one of the most pressing domestic issues of the 1960s. Jim Crow segregation was the established law in the Deep South.[282] The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Many schools, especially those in southern states, did not obey the Supreme Court's decision. The Court also prohibited segregation at other public facilities (such as buses, restaurants, theaters, courtrooms, bathrooms, and beaches) but it continued nonethelessJFK averted nuclear war through his negotiations with Soviet Leader KhrushchevContributed in the formation of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban TreatyUnemployment benefits were expandedAid was provided to cities to improve housing and transportationA water pollution control act was passed to protect rivers and streamsSignificant anti-poverty legislation was passed including increase in social security benefits and minimum wageMost comprehensive legislation to assist farmers was carried out since 1938 which included expansion in rural electrification, soil conservation, crop insurance and farm creditSigned into law the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to abolish wage disparity based on sex. It amended the existing Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. EPA was a major step towards closing the wage gap in women’s pay. Although EPA’s equal pay for equal work goals have not been completely achieved, women’s salaries via-à-vis men’s have risen dramatically since its enactmentProposed an overhaul of American immigration policy that would later lead to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 that abolished the quota system based on national origins with a preference system that focused on the immigrant’s skills and family relationships with US citizens1963-1969 - Lyndon B Johnson - DemocratNew vision of a Great SocietyCivil Rights Acts of 1964 &1968 that outlawed racial segregation, laws also ensured equal housing opportunities for all regardless of creed, religion, race and national origin. enforced voting rights to eliminate all kinds of discrimination in voting through the Voting Rights Act of 1965Appointed the first ”African American judge; Thurgood Marshall, in the Supreme Court”Brought in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and Higher Education Act, The law allowed the improvement of schools with special funding. He particularly focused on the schools in the poorer districts across the countryEstablished the Head Start program - a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families.Set up the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts which provided optimum support to artists and humanistsMedicare, Medicaid - programs to ensure that the elderly and the poor could receive adequate medical careHe did manage to make an impact on poverty during his six years in officeImmigration Act of 1965, which allowed non Europeans an easier route to immigrate to the United States, the immigration system was largely biased or focused on Europeans. Other nationalities were not benefited but the liberalization of the system changed that reality1977 - 1981 - Jimmy Carter- DemocratEstablished the Federal Emergency Management AgencyCreated the Department of EducationCreated the Department of EnergyNegotiated the Camp David Accords, ended the state of war that had existed between the two countries since Israel’s founding in 1948 which led to the signing of a peace treaty between Egypt and IsraelCarter was also responsible for renegotiating the Panama Canal treaty in ways that were favorable for America.Championed international human rightsClimate Change, directing the Environmental Protection Agency to instate new rules calling for power plants to significantly reduce their carbon emissions by 20301993-2001- Bill Clinton - DemocratNominated the notorious RBGUnder President Clinton's leadership, almost 6 million new jobs were created in the first two years of his Administration -- an average of 250,000 new jobs every month.In 1994, the economy had the lowest combination of unemployment and inflation in 25 years.As part of the 1993 Economic Plan, President Clinton cut taxes on 15 million low-income families and made tax cuts available to 90 percent of small businesses, while raising taxes on just 1.2 percent of the wealthiest taxpayers.President Clinton signed into law the largest deficit reduction plan in history, resulting in over $600 billion in deficit reduction. The deficit is going down for 3 years in a row for the first time since Harry Truman was president.The President signed into law the Brady Bill, which imposes a five-day waiting period on handgun purchases so that background checks can be done to help keep handguns away from criminals.The President's Crime Bill will put 100,000 new police officers on the street. More than 1,200 communities have already received grants to hire 27,000 additional officers.The Crime Bill also punishes criminals by expanding the number of offenses eligible for the death penalty and implementing the "three-strikes-and-you're-out" provision.And, the Bill banned the manufacture of 19 specific types of deadly assault weapons, while simultaneously protecting hunters' rights by exempting over 650 hunting rifles.President Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act. The law, which covers over 42 million Americans, offers workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-guaranteed leave for child birth, adoption, or personal or family illness.President Clinton expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit to cut the taxes of 15 million working families with incomes of $27,000 or less.President Clinton granted waivers to 25 states -- half the nation -- providing for comprehensive welfare reform demonstrations.President Clinton ordered the U.S. Justice Department to conduct the first-ever crackdown on deadbeat parents who refuse to accept financial responsibility for their own children.Signed an Executive Order cracking down on federal employees who owe child support.President Clinton has already cut the federal bureaucracy by more than 100,000 positions. Under the recommendations of the National Performance Review, the federal bureaucracy will be reduced by 272,000 -- its lowest level since the Kennedy Administration.And, he reduced the White House staff by 25 percent.Under the President's Direct Student Loan program, students can borrow money directly from the government at a lower interest rate and with many flexible repayment options, including the option to repay with a percentage of their after-graduation salary. Taxpayers will save at least $4.3 billion over five years.In 1994, over 20,000 AmeriCorps members tutored students, immunized children, reclaimed urban parks, and patrolled neighborhoods. In return, they earned $4,725 per year of service towards college tuition or job training.President Clinton signed into law Goals 2000, a national standard of excellence for our public schools. Already, 41 states and territories have received federal grants to raise academic standards and improve schools.President Clinton's Safe and Drug Free Schools and Community Act and the Safe Schools Act provide funding to schools to fight violence and drug abuse. Schools can use up to 25 percent of their funds to purchase metal detectors, develop safe zones, and hire school security personnel.The President's School-to-Work program provides venture capital to spark a nationwide system for moving America's young people from high school to a job with a future. In 1994, all states received planning funds for their school-to-work program.Charter School legislation signed by President Clinton encourages states and localities to set up public school choice.The Clinton Administration forged a bipartisan coalition to pass NAFTA, after concluding tough negotiations on side agreements covering workers' rights, the environment, and import surges. Exports to Mexico rose 23 percent in the first 11 months of 1994.President Clinton led the fight to pass GATT, which lowers tariffs worldwide by $744 billion over ten years -- the largest international tax cut in history. GATT cuts tariffs on manufactured goods by more than one-third overall and eliminates tariffs in major markets in a number of sectors in which the U.S. is particularly competitive.Under President Clinton, the EPA launched its "Common Sense Initiative" to make health protection cheaper and smarter by focusing on results rather than one-size-fits-all regulations.The President's Northwest Forest Plan is putting communities in the Northwest back to work, while conserving ancient forests.After decades of conflict, the Clinton Administration negotiated a consensus plan to protect California's most valuable natural resource -- its water. The San Francisco and Delta estuary supplies drinking water to two-thirds of the state's people, provides irrigation for 45 percent of the nation's fruits and vegetables, and sustains 300 aquatic species.President Clinton hosted the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles in September, 1993, and the signing of the Israeli-Jordan Washington Principles in July, 1994 -- historic agreements between the leaders of Israel and her Arab neighbors to settle differences by peaceful means.To enhance European security and stability, the Clinton Administration proposed the Partnership for Peace program, offering former Soviet republics and Central/East European states closer ties with NATO. Already, 22 nations have signed on, since NATO's adoption of the program in January, 1994.As of May, 1994, nuclear missiles in Russia and the United States are no longer targeted against any country. And, as a result of other Clinton Administration efforts, the Ukraine is ahead of schedule in reaching the goal of transferring 1,500 nuclear warheads to Russia for dismantlement.President Clinton peacefully restored democracy to Haiti, curbing the violence that threatened tens of thousands of Haitians, securing our borders, and upholding our commitments and the commitments made to us in the process.2009 - 2017 - Barack ObamaRepublicans, had become the “Party of No,” seeking to obstruct Democratic legislative initiatives without offering real alternative proposalsRescued the country from the Great Recession, cutting the unemployment rate from 10% to 4.7% over six yearsSigned the Affordable Care Act which provided health insurance to over 20 million uninsured AmericansEnded the war in IraqOrdered for the capture and killing of Osama Bin LadenPassed the $787 billion America Recovery and Reinvestment Act to spur economic growth during the Great RecessionSupported the LGBT community's fight for marriage equalityCommuted the sentences of nearly 1200 drug offenders to reverse “unjust and outdated prison sentences"Saved the U.S. auto industryHelped put the U.S. ontrack for energy independence by 2020Began the drawdown of troops in AfghanistanSigned the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals allowing as many as 5 million people living in the U.S. illegally to avoid deportation and receive work permitsSigned the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to re-regulate the financial sectorDropped the veteran homeless rate by 50 percentReversed Bush-era torture policiesBegan the process of normalizing relations with CubaIncreased Department of Veteran Affairs fundingSigned the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure ActBoosted fuel efficiency standards for carsImproved school nutrition with the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids ActRepealed the military's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policySigned the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, making it a federal crime to assault anyone based on sexual or gender identificationHelped negotiate the landmark Iran Nuclear DealHe signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to combat pay discrimination against womenNominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, making her the first Hispanic ever to serve as a justiceSupported veterans through a $78 billion tuition assistance GI billWon the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples"Launched My Brother's Keeper, a White House initiative designed to help young minorities achieve their full potentialExpanded embryonic stem cell research leading to groundbreaking work in areas including spinal injury treatment and cancerEbola Outbreak - Zero deaths in the USThese are beneficial sites showing the economy is better under Democratic PresidentsThe Economy Under Democratic vs. Republican PresidentsUseful siteProtecting Our Environment and Public Health

We Swedes are paradoxical, and in ways not even our dear brothers and sisters and unspecified in Norway, Denmark, Finland or Iceland can fathom.And of course all this is true only in the same sense as the earth is blue as seen from the moon.Paradox no 1. (Extremely individualistic for the common good)Swedes act for the common good and try to minimize collateral damage to a unique extent. So it might be hard to notice that Swedes are actually extremely individualistic. Like americans, but you would never guess it. This is because where americans are competitive-minded, swedes are cooperative-minded. This is why swedish companies often outperform similar companies from other countries - individual brilliance worked into the cooperative mesh to a common good. (If only we were as astute businessmen as the danish!) See also paradox 10 for another angle into this cooperation thing!One reason swedes want to be alone so much is to get back some of what you give up when cooperating and forming consensuses all day long; to exercise that individuality.Paradox no 2. (To break rules or not to break rules - that’s the question)One trait that not even all swedes understand about themselves and a point where the danish sorely misunderstands us (and jokes about us) is this: We have lots of rules and regulations, yes (but the danes actually have more), and we follow them slavishly (yes) but only as long as we in a mix of individuality and unspoken consensus deem that they make sense, are for the common good or common efficiency, and they are fair. Else we ignore or circumvent them - in silence and when we can get away with it. This is often misunderstood by foreigners as we seem to respect rules and laws in general only as long as we are watched (twofaced bastards!). The truth is that it is only the bad rules that get broken or the rules that don’t fit circumstances: a stop sign where there is no traffic will not be respected. Where there is traffic it will be respected - for the common good. Well knowing this , the traffic authorities will not place stop signs where they are not needed, and so people assume they are there for a reason and almost always respect them(!) A foreigner (or swede) breaking rules for selfish reasons will be frowned upon. Authorities implementing bad or useless rules will also be frowned upon. Thus: a high level of efficiency, and very little corruption - one of many differences to germans whom I have heard are sticklers for rules no matter the circumstances(?)The reason is that we think “why” instead of “whom” all the time. And facts instead of social position. It is ingrained since childhood. When a child splashes around in a puddle of water it doesn’t get an authoritarian “stop that, come here!” as I have witnessed in other countries, but instead gets a reasoned argument: “Stop doing that: If you do that your clothes will get wet and dirty, you will get cold and you will not look your best on the birthday party we are heading for and we have no extra clothing with us. But on the way home you can jump as much as you want and even sit in the puddle!”. Thus we also pay attention to facts and logic more than other nations.Paradox no 3 (Spineless but always bouncing back).As a consequence Swedes abroad being met with a “come here, do that!” or “Stop, don’t do that!” from the boss, the military or some official, is likely to ask “Why?” and start arguing if he or she doesn’t get an answer or thinks it is a stupid answer. I have done it myself. We might at first get intimidated by an authoritarian display (or any really strong display really - be it emotional or contrarian or whatever), especially if it is the first one we ever saw in our grown up life. The swede is likely to back off (“show no spine”), but equally likely to regroup and try to get his or her way anyway; after all - truth and practicality must prevail and there must be some way to reason with them or circumvent them.Swedes can be perceived as a bit missionary in those circumstances; trying to improve “How Things Are Done” since this foreigner or even entire foreign country is obviously a little retarded and need to be reformed.Occupation of a country changes a people fundamentally, is what I have heard from someone whose opinion I sometimes trust. Sweden has been invaded but never conquered. Our mindset reflects this, and reflects over 200 years of peace since our last war. Sometimes we just don’t know how or when to give up and assume victory is a given. At other times we value peace too highly.Paradox no 4 (Hitlers not welcome in this town!)Actually authoritarian people (thinking “whom” instead of “why”) are viewed as more or less insane in sweden, and prone to weird illogical actions to the detriment of all and therefore to be treated with caution and gotten rid of if possible. (No wonder the dynamic duo Don T and Vladdy P scares us.) The swede is likely to vote with his boots and disappear from environments where such insanity prevails. When we do conform to authoritarian or patriarchal structures we do it with a humorous and ironic twist (“do you really take this stuff seriously”). Just watch swedish airplane stewardesses! Not even our king always gets addressed “your majesty” any more. The swedish monarchy can survive only by playing dumb and cute (and useful).The strong personality doesn’t work in Sweden either, even if the press nowadays tries to dumb organizations and parties down to individual leaders (Do young swedes of today really fall for that moronic personality-cult reporting? I think not.). Charismatic leadership doesn’t impress Swedes for similar reasons authoritarian ways does not: we ask “what” instead of “whom”. And if the “what”, is wrong, the “whom” does not matter. Another reason might be the language. Almost anything in english, french or spanish sounds cool, beautiful or well spoken. But translate it into Swedish and it is like puncturing a balloon. Only the real substance remains - and it often does not look impressive. Politicians (and now some Swedish youtubers as well) trying to copy american ways and rhetoric formulas in Swedish are actually quite funny to watch. (The same quality makes Swedish ideal for lyrical and poetic descriptions of nature, by the way - calling forth the true substance of things as it does.)Authority and charisma does exist in Sweden and in swedish companies. Power and money, and to some extent personality can’t be denied of course, but you have to be nice and humble about it and try to reach consensus and explain yourself - explain the “why” and “what” of it - or you won’t get anywhere near the level of cooperation you want. People will quit on you as a last resort unless (and often in spite of if) you pay them really, really well to stand your borish ways.The best company I ever worked for did not have the usual “adult → child” relation between boss and employee that is common even in Sweden, but instead used the “adult→ adult” interaction taught by Tuff | Leadership training. (Actually all of us employees had to go their 2-day course, so I am not affiliated. “Tuff” in swedish means “Tough” and is pronounced similarly.) This probably means I am spoiled for life ;-)Paradox no 5 (The major role of religion in a non-religious country).Swedes are very friendly but hard to get to really know. True, and it is partly the lutheran church’s fault. Not many Swedes will agree with me there because there are many Swedes today that have not even thought about whether there might exist one or more gods or or a life after death, and get embarrassed if someone starts to talk about it- so little place is there for illogical and antiquated religious beliefs nowadays. We die happier because of it: no angst over whether we make it to heaven or not (been there, witnessed that). But cultural traits will survive hundreds of years (even after being transplanted to another continent as have been proven (see Malcolm Gladwell’s books). So fact remains: Luther stole our confidence in ourselves in a storm of fault-finding. This insecurity in combination with long distances between people in this sparsely populated country also led to a greater habit of privacy and a deplorable lack of skill in small talk. The combination breeds distance: insecurity in ourselves as persons (what will he/she think of me instead of what do I think of him/her), lack of conversational skill, and being afraid that the foreigner will either expose our uncertainty or force him- or herself into our company at inopportune times regardless of all the small clues we put out that we don’t want that right now. Thus prolonged contact with other people exhaust many of us.This all might explain the weekend alcoholic intake among young people. Courage and grace in a bottle.Show humility, pretend not to notice awkwardness, don’t push, watch the signs and have patience and you just might get friends in Sweden too!Paradox no 6 (The ice-cold and sensitive people of the far north).Cold, emotionless? No. As part of our lutheran/viking/far between neighbors heritage of self-reliance and work-ethics, we usually don’t put out obvious clues as to how we feel inside. But learn to read the subtle signs and we are as open books. They called tennis pro Björn Borg for ice-Borg in his time, but Swedes watching his games saw the passion and emotion in every line in his face and stance. Google “micro-expressions” and “subtle body-language”! (Besides, we are basically gregarious compared to the Finns.)Paradox no 7. (Rational, and completely illogical)“We swedes have no culture as you do”. Yes, we are truly blind to our uniqueness in the world since we believe it is rationality and common sense, not culture, and that sooner or later all countries will want to progress to our level. We also have as many steps in the cultural dance as the Japanese but so ingrained and sometimes subtle that we are mostly not aware of them. (Like e.g. the 2–4 hour rule of rarely recurring visits to people who are not close friends or close relatives: Don’t overstay in case the hosts get tired (of you), and don’t leave too early since that implies you did not enjoy the visit.)Exactly how unique can be seen in this chart (more on that in the 10th paradox).(Inglehart Welzel graph at www.worldvaluessurvey.org)The cultural dance and our blindness to our culture makes us even more unique and paradoxical. Subconsciously patriotic but not overtly flag waving.Paradox no 8. (Free as a bird - lonely as hell)Since the state (edit: rather the county, since most of our tax payments goes to the local community, in contrast to e.g. the USA) is rather efficient and trustworthy, gives monetary help if absolutely needed to not get poor and homeless, and even takes care of our old and sick relatives (a good thing since research shows that family taking care of the oldest and sickest works to the dissatisfaction of both parties when the old and sick relatives get too old and sick), we don’t have as many dependencies, or need to keep in touch with relatives we don’t have much in common with, don’t have the energy for, or even don’t much like. Individual freedom is maximized. The dark side of the coin is more and more broken social networks over time and loneliness. Many Swedes are lonely.Paradox no 9. (Boring but with a great sense of humour).Directly inspired by a commentConversations and interaction may be a bit guarded (boring) until you get to know and trust each other quite a bit, then magic might happen. Humor might sometimes be used as an icebreaker. The Swedish humor (at its best - let’s not talk about the worst, please) is reminiscent of the best British humor but maybe a bit less infantile and a bit more considerate, since many Swedes are somehow unconsciously sensitive to the risk of collective laughter turning nasty and leading to ostracism or abandonment.Can you joke about anything? Be cautious around people answering “yes”.Late additions (paradoxes 10 to 12 - an even dozen)The paradoxes were valid a couple of decades ago and are still more or less valid. The social democratic party got half of all votes then (53% their best result), since they stood for the most reforms for the common good of all political parties. Since the 80′s, an america-influenced (or perhaps just international upper-class) neo-liberal wave of unimaginable size and duration in combination with conservative cultural influences from abroad has tried to take the Swedish traits out of the Swede and make him or her into an egoistical self serving bastard, with a marked increase in both confusion (e.g. some people pushing their way into buses and subways while others wait their turn) and corruption as a result (although corruption is still relatively low).For those believing Sweden is even marginally socialist, watch “Sweden: lessons for America” on amazon prime (primevideo,com in Sweden) by a seeminly neo-liberal journalist.The last three (more critical in tone) paradoxes, were written 2019 and 2020, and rewritten multiple times which implies they are not as good. Most comments and up-votes until late 2020 pertain to the above material. The last part I should probably mostly kill off (but they are my darlings, so they get to live a little longer!).Paradox no. 10. (Easily embarrassed, but not by a long silence).A gem that I missed, never having lived abroad, so never noticed. It is from a post by mr, Chris Ebbert anwering a question of “weird aura” that Swedes apparently have in some eyes. So:Because we are a society where to be introverted is the norm, and extroverts are the exception. That might be why we e.g. walk away from a restaurant with bad food or service, never to come back, instead of complaining loudly. We might write a bad review on the internet though, if we are thoroughly pissed off! On buses and trains we sit as far apart as possible - a perfect natural defense against the Covid19 virus, except in rush hour!But lately we seem to have imported the extroverted ideal from USA and seen the rise of the Extroverts and of Team/Group work (which Swedes don’t need at all if you have read this far - cooperation is a whole other and voluntary thing than team work). Especially in Sweden there are inherent dangers in this trend: Individualism is threatened.Real productivity, deep learning, intense focus and profound norm breaking creativity and innovation craves a good dose of solitude and freedom to follow your nose! We risk loosing the individuality that sparks profound reform and innovation if we are locked into “teams” and do enforced “group” work while following average practices (sometimes inaccurately called “best practices”) from the cradle to the grave.Group work: Extroverts do the “group” part, introverts do the “work” part, leaders do the “stay conventional” part.The introverted culture is a big reason Sweden has stayed ahead I would say. Extroverts now earn more than introverts, and school is increasingly adapted to the stimulation cravings of extroverts to the point extreme introverts sometimes must take medicine to secure good grades. Herein lies a slippery slope since our innovators and deep thinkers are mostly introverts. Earlier generations premiered intense focus and solitary competitive achievement (which the extroverted benefited from as well, even if somewhat reluctantly at times). To keep up the statistics we have, like many other counties, had to lower criteria for grading.N.B. both extroverted and introverted are of course needed, even attracted to each other, and their strengths complementary and needed. Most species of animals are subdivided into introverted and extroverted individuals, even fruit flies, so it must be important for species survival.For a dose of introversion facts: see Susan Cains TED talk or even better: read the book.Paradox no. 11 (Ultra-conservative ultra-progressives)The next to last paradox - and one of the most puzzling mysteries of Sweden - hereby solved!In Talebs “Skin in the game” we learn that according to renormalization theory (or “most intolerant wins”) roughly a 2–5% evenly spread, vocal and intolerant few will eventually convert everyone else to their intolerance. This is because the majority is more willing to adapt and less willing to fight people in their close vicinity. Thus it is the same in other countries (e.g. compare USA and abortion, Islam and the rise of intolerant sects) only intolerance has another and progressive face in Sweden.Re-normalization works in stages: intolerant individuals convert small groups; intolerant small groups convert larger groups; intolerant larger groups convert individuals, small and large groups etc.The usual consensus in Sweden is based not on tradition and common sense but on modern facts and science put forward by special interest groups and a commission of experts, and often publicly debated. We can appear obsessive (ultra conservative) about always taking an ultra-progressive stance, since why not use the best and most modern, progressive and rational sounding of what the experts put forward (and whom we trust - for the common good, remember). We put our trust in logic, not feelings. Therefore Sweden is often among the first countries to introduce new social concepts and technological ideas on a societal level - to a point where it amounts to obsessive self experimentation on the entire nation. This has been vastly beneficial historically but is dangerous if the experts and politicians are ivory tower theoreticians with no appreciation of systemic effects and tail risks, and no skin in the game - i.e. risk of loosing anything personally (again Taleb - his other books are now on my reading list). Our unconscious nationalism and individualist mindset furthermore makes us look too little outwards and too much inwards. An example:The Covid19 crisis where Sweden went its own arrogant way without caring much about what others do. Remains to be seen if our experts are better than the whole world, which we of course believe.(It also demonstrates the increased neo-liberalism/economism that made the inhabitants of homes for the elderly die first in the pandemic. Probably due to reduced workforces; employees that could not afford to stay at home when sick; and privatized homes of the elderly, having no economic margin or incentive to procure face masks or react quickly.)So Sweden is a cult of the logical, modern, progressive This means in some cases highly vocal, intolerant, special interest groups get to inform our decisions in spite of not being backed up by either tradition, experience, wisdom, common sense or good independent science, and so the pressure of reaching group consensus goes wrong. (I wonder if not the intolerance that drives re-normalization is exacerbated by social media? It certainly seems that the subjects you dare discuss without being cut off at the knees get fewer and fewer! If you are a sensitive and easily aggrieved Swede, maybe you should stop reading here?)This obsessive progressive trait (did I just coin a new psychological disorder - OPD?) whether for good or for bad helps explain our extreme position in the Inglehart-Welzel graph in paradox seven.I think maybe the next such intolerant, on the surface progressive, moral and scientifically backed up, group on the move to gain influence could be the vegans/animal rightist league, supported by a few international fake documentaries, cherry picked vegan produced science and the (vegetable growing) food industry. You may laugh but if there are 4% of them we may be in trouble! If we are not careful we will all be paying a punishing meat tax, munch spinach and soy and feel our health deteriorate (since our species is predominately adapted to meat eating) in a couple of years! Am I overreacting? Here is just one of many examples (the largest group consisted of Swedes):Majority of EAT-Lancet Authors (>80%) Favored Vegan/Vegetarian Diets | Nina TeicholzVast majority (>80%) of EAT-Lancet authors found to favor vegan/vegetarian diets before joining EAT group. Result: a one-sided report cannot be considered balanced science.https://ninateicholz.com/majority-of-eat-authors-vegan-vegetarian/#more-5180Some examples of progressive changes of the bad OPD kind:The complete acceptance, and inclusion in the highest circles of power, of the bullshit “gender theory” as unassailable science (while in reality it has been proven totally wrong and completely unscientific to boot, with academic support retracted e.g. in Norway. (Gender journals accepting as articles excerpts from Hi**er’s M**n K**pf” with the word j*ws exchanged to “men” does not inspire confidence.), has resulted in a matriarchal society where men loose out. Swedes: if you doubt, read the book “Det stora könsexperimentet” (The big gender experiment) by David Eberhard. Simply feeling strongly that we live in a male dominated society does not make it so. A multitude of statistical facts must be looked at, and matched to various normal distribution curve differences that may explain them! (More of extremely stress tolerant men could maybe explain fewer female CEO:s for instance.) And look at the distribution of school grades! Boys loose out nowadays since schools are ultra-adapted to girls (and extroverts …) who cannot uphold grades all by themselves, so of course school results plummet (until criteria is lowered at least).To make it clear: I am absolutely for an equal society - or rather an equal value society since men and women are not alike in the shape and mean of the normal distribution curves (many times independently proven). but their value or importance, and right to fair treatment are.immigration and racism. It was so extremely politically correct and ultra progressive that it gave rise to a new and still growing anti-immigration right-wing party “Sverigedemokraterna” (Sweden democrats). I do not think Sweden is alone in this, but maybe more extreme. You get policed and attacked as if you were in the other camp as soon as you try to question dogma or discuss opinion as if they were not unassailable, with either side! In average Sweden is less hostile to immigrants yet than most Europeans.Here is a decades old humorous (well some of us think so) act in English that would be impossible to do today. Some Swedish comments denounced this as racist when it was put on youtube. What do you think?(I used google translate on his fake Japanese and he hit real words sometimes, and it became even funnier! And with some cultural knowledge you can start to wonder which culture is actually made fun of, deliberate or not.)New extreme neo-liberal economic theories first introduced by Thatcher and Reagan in the 80:s got tried out in Sweden even by the left wing social democratic party. These changes targeted the trust- and duty-driven, and damage-minimizing culture of Sweden. Just take privatization, one of the pillars of neo-liberal economy: massive privatization of common property to bargain prices. Such a move of course has the obvious effect of corrupting the politicians and experts we depend upon: They know they can get their share of the bounty if they manage to push through the deal. That these changes did not devastate Sweden is a testament to the residue of honesty, duty and cooperative spirit remaining in our culture.I believe I read somewhere that such “neo-economic experts”, maybe one was even Swedish, got similarly involved in the then (from the Soviet union) newly liberated Russia, with catastrophic results regarding wealth distribution and corruption, as we know from news and movies.Paradox no 12. (Nature loving rapists of forests)I left this for last since city-damaged citizens of the world may not think much about nature at all. But Swedes do - still!Sweden was a land covered in forests (mountains and arctic tundra not discussed here). Now it is a land covered in desert-like clear-cuts and lifeless wood plantations with ditches leading off all surface water, that the latest generations mistakenly believe are forests., while in reality we rate number 99 after Brazil and Malaysia in how we take care of our real forests. This in spite of closing in on the limit where there is not enough natural forest left to support the original rich ecosystem. Here our consensus-driven culture works to our disadvantage since nobody dares step roughshod over shortsighted economical interests whether a little local forest owner, or a big national company.All this may come as a shock to many a nature loving Swede that believe the propaganda the big forest companies feed the schools and papers in the guise of education, “science” backed “objective” discourse and children’s books. These companies have had a few hundred years to hone their skill in lobbying and swaying peoples minds, in the same way e.g. fishing or whaling industries have in other countries. Deep roots.I have been and remain completely and utterly baffled by the perverse use of clear-cutting. Why not at least consequently take only the oldest trees until you have taken what grows back in a year? In that way you get the best quality wood, the plantation renews itself and keeps a more “foresty” character with different generations of trees at the same time, keeping more micro and macro fauna and flora relatively intact. Robotics and quad-copters will make such selective forestry more feasible in the future but will also make it feasible to rape hitherto unreachable forests on e.g. mountainsides: I know where I will put my bet, on which of the two scenarios will be implemented.Most Swedes enjoy walking in the forest, picking berries and mushrooms, fishing, and maybe sitting by an open fire in the evening once or twice a year. Most families have farming ancestors at least in living memory. And close to the cities and suburbs where most kids play, the nature is usually woody and varied. But very few has visited an actual real forest with lots of fallen trees, marshes, woods and lakes echoing with the drumming of woodpeckers and birdsong, and filled with life and vitality.Another cultural explanation for this state of affairs is that we revere the logical. So we do not acknowledge the illogical need for, or effects of, wilderness and outdoor beauty on our bodily health, souls, minds and development (the scientific proof or its importance is not old and not widely known in Sweden, e.g. that visible nature outside a hospital window increases recuperation significantly or that hugging a tree strengthens our immune defense). We do not acknowledge the peace of mind gained from just the knowledge - the simple knowledge - that pristine wilderness still exists, even if nobody should ever visit. Few visits indeed becomes an excellent logical reason to cut down a forest (been there - heard exactly that argument).Unfortunately we grow more and more distant from nature by each generation. This is acerbated by the increasing risk aversion in raising children, and computers sucking kids indoors. Being outdoors, more and more equals aimless activities on boring asphalt or organized activities on or close to boring asphalt. More and more people unknowingly suffer from Nature Deficit Disorder (Nature deficit disorder - Wikipedia), and would not defend the Swedish forests even if they knew about the state they are in.Many living in big cities around the world have it worse. They are almost as deprived of natural beauty as a drug junkie living in a concrete tunnel, and do not realize what they miss, or the effects on e.g health or brain or character development. They become soulless and sub-human in a sense. Taking an animal away from its natural environment induces stress behavior, development problems and sickness (and humans are just another kind of animal). Everybody should spend 10 days and 10 nights outdoors (living in a tent) in the wilderness (need I say without smart devices?), which is the time period required for body and mind to adapt; to overcome revulsion and reluctance and discomfort, and regain a visceral sense of nature as our true home, and of how unadulterated wilderness subtly but profoundly abates the civilized uniformity of stimulation of our senses. To experience the developing roots that transform “nature” to “home”.Tourist wilderness guides in Sweden sometimes has to explicitly point out stones and tree limbs for European city-bred tourists or the tourists will hurt themselves. European guests taken into the woods think it is boring unless old houses or cultural relics are found and their history and cultural significance explained, Sweden luckily still has a long way to go until we reach such a poor state of nature awareness and lack of appreciation.Hope this view from a lay-person - albeit a widely read one - has been of some interest. Would love comments!Why the Swedish “lagom” is best, for Swedes at leastNeo-liberalism is so antagonistic and toxic to Swedish cultural traits that it deserves it’s own section.Unlike communism in the east, the influence damaging the west is not widely known by name: neo-liberalism.Neo-liberal forces have since Thatcher and Reagan in the 80.s tried to convince us that our 1st cultural trait (individuality while cooperating for the common good and limiting collateral damage) is not culture but a suspect, probably socialist, maybe even communist, undesirable choice that must be consciously set aside, and rooted out of our institutions like tax financed independent media. Now we have many 2nd, 3d and 4th generation Swedes indoctrinated up to their eyebrows, and drowning, in this way of thinking since birth.Maybe this cooperative cultural trait is really why “right-wingers” in the USA misunderstand and despise Sweden so? Even while implementing an extreme right wing ideology we seem half communist.Neo-liberal theory is beneficial only to the rich (and not even to them long term), but has fooled everyone to such a degree that even swedes suffering its consequences (including the egocentric wannabees) parrot its mantras, just like communists did about communism. Luckily it is easy to refute neo-liberalism, by some simple down to earth reasoning. You don’t need a degree in economy to do that (it is mostly just sub college level math, rules of thumb, and lots and lots of abbreviations anyway).The cornerstones of neo-liberalism are these (loosely from a recent Medium article by a Glen Hendrix):1) Raising wages kills jobs. Finishing the sentence: “… is the lie I tell you to further my bank account.”Independently conducted studies, and live examples, in contrast to industry financed studies curiously enough, find that increased wages have little to no effect on jobs.2) Raising taxes kills economic growth. Finishing the sentence: “… of the wealthy’s Swiss bank accounts.”The best decades financially - especially for low and middle class - were those when marginal income tax was the highest (in America. Assume it it similar for Sweden.)!See the book “Utopia for Realists: And How We Can Get There” by Rutger Bregman to see (among lots of interesting, heartening facts and theories) that everyone is happier in a more equal society - including the top 1% richest! See also Ray Dalio’s writings about how civilizations that get too unequal always die in violence. USA, you are testing the waters now!3) Government regulations reduce business efficiency. Finishing the sentence: “… in sucking the wealth out of people and the planet as cheaply as possible.”This one is obvious: Who protects the little guy (or little company), and the fragile earth we are polluting to death? Not companies (even though they may pay a pittance to charitable causes). Neo-liberal economic theory and law-making is based on a sociopath called homo economicus, and 21% of corporate CEO.s are sociopaths.I would add a fourth cornerstone:4) “Privatize, since the state sucks at doing anything efficiently and threatens freedom of choice!” Do you spot the two self inconsistencies in that statement?If private companies really are more efficient they should not fear being out-competed by a state driven alternative. We had such an alternative in house mortgage loaning once, without private banks suffering. The neo-liberals privatized it later, of course, costing us citizens untold millions in raised interest.The second inconsistency - did you spot it? “Freedom of choice”, actually increases if you have a state driven alternative as well.I believe the key word here is balance: state only or private only sucks equally much. And a “lagom” amount of regulations to keep the balance.As we Swedes would say: “Lagom är bäst! I.e. “An optimal balance is best” (interpreted within the context of our first cultural trait of individuals cooperating for the common good). Needless to say: neo-liberals despise the word lagom. Look up the law of Jante - a caricature used to discredit “lagom” throughout the Nordic countries. Try to take the opposite of the Jante laws and imagine someone fitting the description (horrible right?) - and then imagine a balance in between. Then you get lagom.).The word “competition” itself is maybe the greatest neo-liberal newspeak of all. Given half an opportunity corporations will of course instead “cooperate” if in that way they can influence lawmakers, destroy smaller competition and increase the suction on the money stream. Why else do we have laws against it? A state alternative may actually increase true competition, by using the right state regulations; supporting fledgling startups for instance, until they have flown out of the nest.And since we (7th trait) don’t even recognize that we have a culture of our own, we are left open to neo-liberal as well as other damaging influences. Differences in income between those having the least and those having the most is on the rise in Sweden. But cultural inertia being what it is, I am convinced that the true Swedish traits will survive a couple of decades more at least!This is still a view from far, far off - and by a non-expert (I read a book about Swedish culture long, long ago which influenced me somewhat in trying to see Sweden from other points of view).