Scandinavia is a region composed by: Sweden, Norway and Denmark. I have been in all 3, visiting 2 of them and living in Sweden where I worked for the Colombian Embassy in Human Rights.

As a Latin American, you tend to think that all northern countries are similar. I stayed a couple of months living in Germany and I thought Scandinavia was going to be something similar, very cold weather and non very talkative people that eat mostly frozen food, everything is organized and everyone is very disciplined.

The truth is that even thought those statements are not totally wrong, Scandinavia is a very unique region completely different from the rest of Europe and the other nordic states such as Finland and Iceland.

The first month I was fascinated with the architecture and all the things that I started hearing about the society. I hanged out only with Swedes while living in Stockholm and I started noticing things that I found very different from any other place I lived before. Things that I thought only existed in a perfect world.

Why do I call Scandinavia a perfect society?

Trust: People trust each other, there is no such a thing as taking advantage of the other like in other societies. In Scandinavia thats very bad seen. For this reason there is more social cohesion that make the living in a community more pleasant and enjoyable. Since the economy was not based on corporate owned farms but based on family-driven agriculture, the division of classes in the Scandinavian society is not as dramatic as other capitalist societies in Europe and far beyond. And for the same reason people do not see each other as rivals but they are driven by the common good.

Let me share a short story…

It was December and the day was very grey and snowy, I was on my way to the Embassy when all of a sudden the train stopped, and they announced that there was a snow storm, I froze because I had exactly the time to be on time at work.

After 15 minutes I started getting desperate but I saw people around me very calm reading the newspaper and I was thinking, whats wrong with these people, don't they work? they are also gonna be late! but none was stressed out. I called the Embassy telling them what was happening and offering pictures as a proof that it was actually happening, but everyone in that train were listening to the conversation and looked at me as if I was insane…

I was explained afterwards that they were not stressed out because they trusted that the train company was doing its best to solve the problem and that they will be believed when they will get to work because everyone trust each other…

The metro in Stockholm is called Tunnelbana, the stations are very artistic

Honesty: People do not lie or cheat, it is not socially accepted, It is a big deal, and once people catch you lying or doing something dishonest, it's really hard to get their trust back.
My boyfriend at that time was with his friends and they started talking about one of them cheating on his girlfriend recently. They were all angry at him explaining him how disrespectful and unacceptable this behavior was since the girl was part of the group too. I realized that day that they were a more civilized society. As someone coming from Colombia that has lived in USA for a long time, that was very surprising and comforting as a woman to be honest.
In Colombia they would even ask a picture of the affair, celebrate it and help him to hide it.

Equality: Scandinavia is known for its low levels of income inequality, for this reason there is a high social mobility and everyone can succeeded regardless of their socioeconomic status at birth, or the family wealth.
Once I was invited to a house party. I wanted to have some milk (they drink milk with everything, even with pasta eww) but there was very little in the bottle and there was someone else before than me ready to serve his glass. He asked me if I was gonna have some and I said yeah but thats ok, so he served half for him and half for me, so we basically had each one a zip but I found that very respectful and kind. Being selfish, or putting urself first is something they try to avoid.

Fairness: Equality creates a perception of fairness and a sense of security for people. For this reason there is more life satisfaction. Scandinavias do care a lot about being fair with the others, not taking advantage, give everyone an opportunity, and help others succeed. Living in a fair society makes it also safe. In many cities I visited, people leave the house without locking the door and women leave the purse at the cafes while ordering at the cash… The crime rates are very low because none needs to steal.

They do not talk about money: I have to say this is my favorite one! None shows off or brags about titles, power or material things, that is found very cheap, tacky and nouveau riche.
I remember being in a house party I was invited to a house party from the Embassy of Denmark in Stockholm. My colleague started bragging about his family business in Colombia as they were business partners of one of the biggest private company of transportation in Bogota and while he was talking not only none cared but everyone was annoyed and I was asked not to bring him anymore to the house parties.
I felt so bad for him, he was just using a flirting tool to make himself interesting at the eyes of a beautiful Swedish girl present in the part, it did not work, bummer…

Quality of Public Services and their Institutions: Scandinavia has a very democratic culture and they government is more transparent and less corrupted than other societies.
Scandinavian countries are among the top on any scale and ranking of government efficiency. As a matter of fact, in the case of Sweden, I realized that swedes are not constantly complaining or criticizing the government, they do believe that whenever something happens they government got them and it's being proactive and doing its best to solve it.
One of the things that blew my mind up was the fact that in 2000 the Swedish government decided to control a strict budget surplus of 1% during each economic cycle so it could grant its citizens of additional rights and privileges and none complained or mistrusted this move.

Babies outside cafes while the parents are having brunch

“Free” education: I know what you are going to say… its not free, you are right, Scandinavians pay a lot of taxes but every single penny is worth paying there because you have absolutely nothing to worry about your future for the rest of your life! But if you do math, it is totally worth it if you stop thinking about money all the time and think about something money cant buy which is peace and happiness.
In America if you are lucky, your parents pay for your education. If it’s a good university this means that they have been saving since you were a kid. If you are not lucky and you were not born in a privilege family, you will have to work your ass off, have 2 jobs and go to school.
Some of the Americans I met at University were unable to read the lectures the professor was giving, they did not have time at all, they were all dealing with anxiety figuring out how to live their lives going to school and managing 2 jobs to be able to survive, I am sorry but that is not life... In America it feels unfair to be poor. I even went to a party where a friend was celebrating that she paid the whole university debt…crazy….

I was part of a Program for business leaders at the University of Lehigh in 2013 in the U.S., there were 52 countries represented.

There were 2 swedes, both females and one of them was my roommate. I got a scholarship to be able to go there but I still had to pay 50% of the program.

One day we were hanging out after lunch with other friends and we started sharing how much we paid for the program and she was shocked and then she said something I would never forget: "Do you guys pay for education? thats so weird”, her government paid all the program for her… in Sweden none pays for education.

Even the government helps with the resources needed to be able to have an equal access for everyone. There are people in Sweden in their 50's coming back to school, and people with 3 degrees.

“Free” Healthcare: People also go to the doctor for free, same case like education. I was told by a friend that doctors call you to check on you if you were sick and you have not been back for some time. And some of you, if you are American you might be thinking yeah but people pay almost 50% of their taxes, but again, what's the price of living a life where you know that you wont go on a debt because your expensive insurance can not cover the surgery for you broken leg?
Living in the Bay Area in California, was one of the things that shocked me the most. I met a person that every time he had to go to ER he was giving fake names and addresses, because he could not afford to pay it… crazy…. I also met people that went on bankruptcy for a rare illness they had and they had to sell everything and gone on a debt….

There are so many other things I would like to address but this is getting too long, so I will stop here and do another blog about Scandinavia. Thank you for reading!, hope u enjoyed it!

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