Sixteen

Hey!

Below are 20 things that I have experienced, some differences that I have noticed being a little Swedish lady living in the biggest apple in Europe.

Be prepared, dear reader, for some breathtaking generalizations. Sweden versus London.

1. People in London love strange things such as steak and ale pie, sausage rolls and chips without dipping them in anything.
2. London peeps also love to consume alcoholic beverages and they do not give a flying fuck what day of the week it is. 
3. Over here, even people with shitty jobs wear suits to work.
4. The taps here are generally divided into one with only cold water and one with only hot water. This is extremely stupid.. of such obvious reasons that I am not.. I am not even sure.. I do not know what to say. Because in order to achieve somewhat of a pleasant temperature you have to, swiftly, move your hands back and forth between the icing cold and the burning hot and.. it is as unpleasant and unnecessary as it sounds.
5. In London there are five thousand different coins because.. well, for no reason at all. Some of them are worth so little that you might as well just throw them in the bin.
6. Food is a lot cheaper in London then in Sweden, but to rent a flat here is a lot more expensive.
7. People seem to have a more relaxed attitude towards money over here. Basically, if you happen to have some cash - you spend it. And if you lend someone 50 pence, you would never ask for it back.
8. Cigarettes are more expensive here, but alcohol a lot cheaper.
9. In London, you can actually find those mythical creatures called gentlemen. In Sweden no one would tell you if they saw you walking around with your left but cheek showing by mistake, or lend you a tissue if you are upset.
10. The tap water here tastes like the water in your local Swedish swimming-pool.
11. In London you can find a corner shop in literary every corner. In corner shops you can by a can of beer for £1, shitloads of onions, Turkish delights and old milk from a brand no one ever heard of.
12. People call each other babe, honey and love over here - everywhere and all the time. When ordering a McChicken Junior in McDonald's or.. when talking to your boss.
13. It very is important to say “morning!” to everyone.. in the morning.
14. The air is crazy thick here, at home it is crazy thin.
15. It is not raining much at all here. Rain is something that all Swedes automatically think about when thinking about London.
16. People here say "sorry" or "excuse me" all the time, often for absolutely no reason at all. If you, by accident, hit someone in the face with your handbag and you apologize - the person getting punched should say sorry too.
17. Going on the tube during rush-our in the afternoon equals a whole lot of unintentional bum-touching and.. rubbing your nose against some smelly, sweaty and random armpits. Going on the tube early in the morning on a Saturday or Sunday equals the same thing as above - but now you can be certain that the armpit in question belongs to some drunken bastard just about to receive a well deserved hangover.
18. Generally people are more open-minded here and if you want to drink wine, alone in a bar on a Tuesday morning you are very much allowed to do so. In Sweden people would look at you as if you were a full-blown alcoholic.
19. Over here, the word cheers can be used in the same way as the word thank you. I mean.. what the fuck? How did that happen?
20. In London, when you meet someone you say: "Hey, how are you?" and the quick response should be: "Good, thanks, how are you?" and then you say: "Good, thank you". This, folks, is just like in America and it is weird. Basically, even though people ask you how you are they do not really want to know. You are supposed to say that it is good, even if your kitten-baby died the same morning. I suppose it is like a longer version of a normal Swedish "hello". I do not understand this behavior, and probably never will.