I have seen some similarities between Swedes and Japanese people - both of them are shy, stiff, humble and taciturn. The mentality of "a nail sticks up gets hummered down (to be average is to be safe)" exists here as well. I would emphasize, however, "A nail sticks up too much doesn't get hammered down" in Japan while "every nail sticks up -no matter how much it sticks up- gets hammered down" in Sweden. This might be the reason why there're so few Rolls-Royces to be seen (they can be too obvious a sign of success) and why even rich people don't have 'flamboyant' life styles in Sweden. To be average is to be safe.
One thing I should add after referring to "Swedish average life" is I have lived in several countries and I find Sweden's life-standard is proudly high.
By the way, winter has arrived in Lund. We'd had the 1st snow today for this coming winter.
Everyone, keep yourself warm and look forward to Christmas!
( advent candlestick - pictured on the top )
1 comment:
面白いねえ、今日のブログ！｢出る杭は打たれる｣っていうことでしょ？違う？ごめん、英語力低くて。辞書引いてない。へえええ、とにかくスウェーデンの人々の考えって、一般にそうなんだー。興味深いねー。スペインとはまた違ってるね。スペインは、もちろん一般論ですが、とにかく自己アピールがすごいよね。どれだけ自分が素晴らしいかを、実際よりもうんと下駄を履かせて見せようとするじゃない？自己顕示欲が強いっていうの？北欧、住んでみたいなあ。まずはドイツ語を勉強しなくちゃあ（すみません、日本に来てからまだ一回も教科書開いてません）。
裕子
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