some swedish oddities

though this is in no sense a complete list, here are a few funny things i have noticed in the weeks since my arrival:

1. the computer keyboards here are different... they have å ö and ä (well, duh. they have three more letters in the alphabet).
http://www.starr.net/is/type/keyboard-charts.html

2. locks turn to the left

3. i have a single key that opens: my bedroom door, the kitchen door, my mailbox, and my kitchen cabinet. my corridor mates have their own personal key that opens all of the common areas as well, but also opens their own personal spaces. extremely convenient, but weird....

4. there are hanging cabinets that function as dryers for delicates!

5. all the public t.v. channels show decent movies every night (in their original languages)

6. unfortunately, they are still showing fresh prince re-runs here.

7. there is no swedish equivalent of f'***. they use "helvete" which means "hell" (i find it funny that this is the worst curse word in swedish, and the majority of swedes are non-religious!!)

8. the escalators have a longer entrance and exit flat-part (like 3.5 horizontal stairs before it starts the incline!)

9. the toilet paper is recycled and reprinted in rectangles, not squares.

10. just about every food item is available in a tube.

11. milk is sold in that waxed-cardboard reminiscent of little school-milk-pints, except these are liters.

12. the average swede consumes 16.2 kg of ice cream per year ("sweden is the largest ice-cream consuming country, second only to the u.s." --words verbatim from bus tour guide).

13. swedes use "hej hej" for goodbye and hello.

14. you have to pay for grocery bags at the market (about 1.5 kr. a piece).

15. the smallest coin is 50 öre. so, say a box of cereal costs 36, 60. they just round up and you pay 37 kr.

16. i have to buy the tokens for my laundry at the gas station/secondary post office/convenience store.

17. dryers are free

18. i have to sign up for a laundry time.

19. most swedes use these scrub brushed on sticks to do the dishes (not scrubber sponges... they are dirty).

20. most homes have linoleum floors... carpets are dirty and create allergies.