#swedish stuff

[icypiece]

The Swedish word for union is "fack", which this union has utilised beautifully.

(Do we know our wage statistics? Union yeah!")

(Union up on the first day of work.)

@svenskjavel

[tehri]

Meanwhile in Sweden - Tesla Strike Edition

So we all know about the strike action against Tesla in Sweden? Yes? Yes, good.

It was in the news in Sweden today that apparently, someone on Tesla tried contacting the Minister for Employment about the strike-situation, very literally asking for "an audience". Yes, that wording. He asked for an audience to discuss the situation.

Of course, that request was also rejected. Because the government is not supposed to get involved in these things - it's between the unions and the companies, the government doesn't really have a say.

IF Metall, the company that Tesla is beefing with, have made a statement on the matter saying that it's clear that the people at Tesla have no fucking idea about how things work in Sweden.

But let it just sink in for a moment that someone at Tesla thought this was a good idea. We don't know if they had directions from higher up (perhaps even from the Rat himself?) or if they just acted alone. But they acted. And they thought they could get the government involved. They thought they could get the government to intervene on Tesla's behalf.

Let it sink in just how willing they are to take underhanded actions and also just how UNwilling they are to accept that they're not going to get their way.

Oh and also apparently Norway is getting involved now too and are saying that they'll stop the import of Tesla cars into the country if Tesla does not agree to IF Metall's conditions at the latest on the 20th of December.

[langernameohnebedeutung]

"Tough news for the Gävlebocken: The birds will come back next Christmas" (On Prometheus Bound, Peter Paul Rubens)

[hanna-kin]

Some time ago I made a post with random Swedish facts based on some very common misunderstandings or misconceptions I've seen in this fandon. I was asked to make more of these.

Some points will be repeats because I see them in fics and discussions all the time.

Again this is just made to share swedish culture and some fact about swedish society. Not to point blame at people. Research can be tricky and it's easy to assume that things work as they do in your own country.

And at the end of the day it's not that deep. However if you have any questions or want to discuss my ask box is open and I'm always happy to help. You can also dm me if you prefer that.

⭐️ Swearing is no big deal at all. For a Royal and in public yes, in every day life, no teenager will scold another for swearing and alot of parents wouldn't bat an eye.

⭐️ Sex is also not a big deal. Teenagers have sex. Parents expect them to.

⭐️You don't adress eachother with Mr and miss/Mrs/Ms. Hillerska is a little different because the students formally adress their teachers but that is not how things work outside of school. The teachers call the students by their first name. Noone will day Mr Eriksson to Simon. Not Malin, not the Queen, not a teacher, noone.

⭐️ Legal age for drinking is 18 but you can only buy it at 18 at restaurants, bars and nightclubs. The legal age to buy alcohol elsewhere is 20.

⭐️You are allowed to get your drivers lisence at 18. Most people get one for stick shift and stick shift is very common. You can start practicing at 16 though.

⭐️Simon and Wilhelm are 16 or about to turn 16 the year they start Hillerska. So in season 1 they are either already 16 or about to turn 16. In season 2 they are going to turn 17 that same year. Unless they for some reason skipped a year or were held back. Which there's no reason to believe.

⭐️ Sara is a year older than Simon. They are not twins. She was held back. This is why she turns 18 amd becomes a legal adult in season 2.

⭐️ August is 2 years older than Simon and Wille so is about to turn 19 during the year that season 2 takes place.

⭐️ The age difference between August and Sara is not considered weird. Neither is the age difference between Marcus and Simon (2years) it doesn't really matter that Marcus is an adult and Simon is not. The legal age of consent is 15 and if people are close in age people won't think it's weird.

⭐️ School is free. There are laws that prohibit schools from charging anyhting. I don't even think the uniforms would cost anything. Getting them tailored would of course. I might be wrong about this but the first 9 years of school before Gymnasiet (High school) are not allowed to cost anything. Simon and Sara are not on scholarships. Sara is on one for boarding but not for attending.

⭐️ University is also free. Most people have the opportunity to go to uni since it's free and there are loans you can take to cover living expenses that you pay off once you've done with your studies. You also get a little amount every month that is not a loan. You get in based on grades. The police school also have physical tests and interviews to make sure you are fit enough and suitable to become a Police officer. Other than that it's basically grades for most educations. So everyone has the same chance. (Almost)

⭐️ Many students work extra but not everyone. I did but not all of my friends did.

⭐️ Both school and university are based on two terms. For school the autumn term starts in kid August and ends just before Christmas. Then the Spring term starts in the beginning of Janaury and ends in the beginning of June.

Uni is a little different. Autumn term starts at the end of August or at the beginning of September (typically) and ends in the beginning of january.

The new term starts around the 9th of January and ends at the beginning of June.

⭐️ Uni on really has a summer break but not all teachers and professors are dickheads but you can technically have both lectures and seminares only days after Christmas which means no Christmas break. You will most definitely have something to study for or write during Christmas because the beginning of January always almost mean a written exam or a deadline for an essay.

⭐️ Normal school has breaks. 10 weeks of summer break from beginning of June to middle of August.

Autumn break in late October/beginning of November. 7 days. Or like 5 weekdays.

Christmas break is around 3 weeks. From a few days before Christmas to beginning of January. A few days into the new year.

Then we have what we call Sports break. Typically in February but it warries and different regions have different weeks to not crowed skiing resorts etc. 7 days.

Then we have easter break which is also devided ao the break either begins with the easter weekend and Good Friday (almost wrote black Friday lmao) or ends with easter monday. In total it's 8 days.

⭐️ As a full time employee you typically get 25 paid days of leave which is 5 weeks. There is a law that states that your employer has to allow you three weeks of paid leave in a row during summer (June-August). You also get more days the older you get. In addition you also get a kind of vacation bonus that is added on to your salary when you take time off.

⭐️ Very typical working hours are 8 hours a day for a full time job. Some work a little less though. For my full time is 7.75 hours a day. Those who work shift sometimes have a little less than 8 hours or 40 hours a week.

I worked shift at my old job (Group home) one shift was from 07.00 am to 16.00 or 16m30 with 30 minutes break. One shift was from 13.30-21.30 if I remember correctly. Also with 30 minutes break. The night shift was from 21.00-7.00. If you worked late nights, the night shift or weekends and holidays you would get paid extra. So on weekends I got around 53 kr extra per hour, around 5 euros. During holidays such as christmas, new years eve, easter or midsummer you'd get around 100 kr extra per hour.

If you end up more than full time you also get paid extra or get more days you can take off. For me you get paid double or can take time off instead.

This varies though depending on where you work and your title etc.

⭐️ The hospital has similar working hours with three shifts. We know Linda is a nurse so she probably works as least both day shifts and evening shift. Maybe even night shifts. If she worked overtime she would be paid extra.

⭐️ Labour unions are also very common and very important. There are many unions depending on profession. The unions protect the workers rights and interests. They can help you should you get in some kind dispute with your employer. They also negotiate terms and conditions for workers as well as wages.

⭐️ Sweden has fairly strong laws around work and employment that also set duties and responsibilities of employers. You can't fire people based on nothing and are obliged to follow strict laws.

⭐️ Over all Sweden has a fairly strong welfare system. Not perfect by any means but fairly strong and not something to take for granted.

That includes free health care, free school, child protective services, etc. Of course its funded by taxes so it's not free but you get it.

⭐️ There's protection of you don't have a job, can't work because you are physically or mentally unable to and when you retire. (This could definitely be better though)

⭐️ There are also protection for children. There would not be shelters for Lgbtq+ teenagers that have been throwned out by homophobic parents etc. There is social service that would help and there is a foster care system though.

School also have very strict rules to follow and are obliged to report if they believe a child is in danger at home or that their parents are not fit to care for them.

Orphanages for children and teenagers are not a thing but there are group homes but for other reasons.

⭐️ There are shelters for homeless people and other socially vulnerable people like drug addicts. Many are funded by the Church.

⭐️ I used to work with people with mental illness and or drug addiction and they were also surrounded by a sort of support network. (I would say that too would need improvement but they got help and they had somewhere to live.)

This is what I can come up with right now. Thank you @darktwistedgenderplural for coming up with ideas.

If you have any questions feel free to ask and if there's something you want me to adress don't hesitate. And feel free to add points.

[l3o-lion]

Tumblr could love Swedish television advent calendars...

Don't get me wrong, most of them are terrible, but some of them are terrible in a fun way.

[raincitygirl76]

I just realized something. Hillerska must provide a fair bit of employment in Bjarstad. That bus stop can’t only be there for non-boarding students. There would be administrative staff, cooks, cleaners, groundskeepers, maintenance people. Plus occasional extra labour (from local catering companies, presumably) whenever Hillerska is having a special event like Parents Day or the jubilee.

And big regular orders to Bjarstad supermarkets, not to mention local tradespeople being called in whenever there’s a specialist problem the regular maintenance staff can’t fix. They’re old buildings. There would inevitably be plumbers, electricians, carpenters needed from time to time.

Adults Simon and Sara run into on campus would also be adults they’d run into in town. Which must have gotten seriously awkward for Simon after August leaked that fucking sex tape.

Also, while the housemasters and housemistresses would obviously have to live on campus, I doubt Hillerska would have room to house every teacher. Particularly the ones who have families of their own. And even if there was room, many teachers might prefer to have separation between work and the rest of their life. So they would live in Bjarstad.

Presumably teachers with families could send their own kids to Hillerska as non-boarders for free. That might even be a perk of teaching there. I wonder if the non-boarding kids of Hillerska teachers are treated with as much contempt as Simon and Sara.

Please note, I have discovered from helpful Swedish watchers of the show that none of the Hillerska students pay tuition to attend. It is illegal in Sweden to charge for schooling. Private boarding schools gets around this law by charging exorbitant amounts of money to the parents of boarders, theoretically for their room and board only. In practice, for the experience of upper class solidarity and an exclusive education. So non-boarders like Simon and Sara are seen as freeloaders by many of the boarders.

Please note, though, that Hillerska would receive revenue from the state for educating each and every student. I highly doubt those payments would cover all the fancy extras Hillerska offers. But Linda Eriksson is a taxpayer, and her taxes are helping to cover the expense of educating her non-boarding kids.

Also, private Swedish boarding schools can pick and choose which non-boarding applicants they will accept, unlike public schools which have to educate everyone. So I guess they’d pick the cream of the crop of Bjarstad locals, kids who stand out in some way, and will enhance the school’s standing.

Simon presumably for his musical talent, Sara probably for her grades. Or maybe on compassionate grounds, since she got bullied so unmercifully for years at the local public school. Hillerska could pat itself on the back for rescuing the poor girl from the scourge that is public education.

The above is my understanding from what I have picked up on Tumblr from Swedes. It’s entirely possible I didn’t get it all right. I’m just a Canadian, after all! If I misunderstood anything, please let me know and I’ll edit.

[wildwood-faun]

Swedish word order is fairly predictable, as in there's a schema you can fit the various sentence elements into and some of them can go in several different places but there's a structure to it. Except if you're one of the trickster words like not, never or sometimes, then you can do whatever the fuck you want and we had to put special boxes in the schema to accommodate for them. Neat!

[sflow-er]

Some thoughts on the hierarchy at Hillerska

A few days ago, @raincitygirl76 made a really intriguing post about how the show is about the class system (find it here!), mainly focusing on Hillerska’s impact as an employer and the types of students who go there.

That inspired me to go off on a tangent and make a separate post about the hierarchy. I’ve been using Agnes Hellström’s book about the real boarding schools (‘Att vara utan att synas: Om riksinternaten Lundsberg, Sigtuna och Grenna’, 2013) as a fanfic reference, so I’m also using that here. It was written back when the schools were still allowed to charge for tuition, and I’m sure things have improved since then. However, much of the content is pretty consistent with what Lisa has said about doing research for YR and what we see in the show.

Disclaimer: I’m not Swedish, just a Nordic neighbour, and these are just my own impressions. If I’m wrong about something, please feel free to add on to this or correct me!

Let’s start with a description of the hierarchy by a former student (he attended long ago, but the author confirmed it largely held true in 2013):

”De som var grevar, baroner och friherrar var högstatus, sedan kom de som var snuskigt rika, ’uppkomlingarna’ som inte fötts rika, företagsledares barn. Därefter kom en grå massa av oss andra, efter dem lärarbarnen och sist kom externerna.” (p. 58)

So, the top tier is reserved for the aristocracy. Kids from comital, baronial, and untitled noble families. They’ve been going to these boarding schools for a long time. Interestingly, it’s mentioned in the book that some of them may have even experienced bullying in a normal school; specifically, the ones who have grown up sheltered on their family estates (likely too far away to attend the exclusive schools favoured by the elite in the cities). They might be singled out and picked on in a more modern crowd, but at the boarding schools, they are the leaders.

The next tier is for the non-aristocratic elite: the filthy rich, the ‘upstarts’ who weren’t born rich, the children of business executives. The order that this former student lists them in feels significant, because old money looks down upon new. According to the book, the old elites felt that the schools were ‘ruined’ when even just more nouveau riche and scholarship kids started coming in (they must’ve hated it when the tuition fees were abolished!!). So, kids like Alexander are likely to be treated worse than those whose family’s wealth goes back several generations - but they are still part of this group.

The next tier is for other boarding students who aren’t as rich. At the time discussed in the book, their parents often took out loans to get them in. As we know, that isn’t the case anymore, but the schools do still have ways of keeping the ‘riffraff’ out... Some of the knowledgeable Swedes here on tumblr have written about this.

Furthermore, I think we can also include the ‘optional’ costs as a deterring factor for those who can’t afford them. Back in 2013, parents were apparently advised to put at least 10.000 SEK aside on a ‘student account’ for other expenses (some kids would take taxis to the nearest town, for example, and they could also use it to buy stuff they needed from the school). I’m guessing the student account may not be a thing anymore, but as we see Sara struggle with money in S2, there will still be stuff you don’t want to miss out on. Also, the extra tutoring seen in S1 is based on real life. The price in the show seems to be pretty close to reality, although according to the book, the teachers could sometimes offer discounts to “poorer” boarding students... (I’m sure it’s not humiliating at all to accept let alone ask for that.)

On the next tier down, we find the teachers’ kids, and the former student interviewed specifically mentions that the non-residents are at the bottom. So I guess Englund or Ådahl’s kids would be treated a little better than Simon and Sara in the show, but they would still be looked down upon. It’s mentioned in the book that the teachers often live on the premises, and I get the impression that they can bring their families too (there was a story about a teacher whose boyfriend was going to move in with her there), but I’m not 100% sure.

So why don’t we hear about these other boarders or teachers’ kids in the show?

Well, the book talks a lot about how everyone is acculturated into the same inner-circle mentality. Despite the internal hierarchy, the boarding students still feel closer to equal than one might think. They all get to be part of the elite bubble, and they want to stay there. Even though it’s a community with very strict norms and very little wiggle room.

A few illustrative quotes from the book:

Trots externerna blir tillvaron så sluten, åsikterna likriktade. En lärare flyttade sin son från Sigtuna till Märsta efter att sakta men säkert ha sett honom förvandlas till en brat. Sonen är fortfarande arg över det. (p. 76)

Lundsberg hade varit ett isolerat, klasslöst samhälle där alla tyckte likadant. Inget revolterande, ingen politisk diskussion. [...] Det var en del av hela Lundsbergs koncept, att träna ynglingarna att lyda auktoriteter och inte göra uppror. (p. 133)

Eleverna på riksinternaten påminns ständigt om att de är Sveriges framtid och Sveriges elit. Där den traditionstyngda kulturen med gamla anor är som starkast är det som svårast att våga sticka ut. Ramarna blir snäva, rörelseutrymmet begränsat. Normen är vita, heterosexuella överklassbarn (med lika vita heterosexuella överklassföräldrar). (p. 144)

To paraphrase in English, these schools are closed bubbles where everyone follows the rules and shares the same opinions, to the point where even those who aren’t technically elites (e.g. the teachers’ kids) start to turn into entitled brats. Rebellion and political discussion aren’t really a thing, and the students are taught to respect authority. As we know, this isn’t just the school’s authority; it’s also the authority of the older students (we see this in the show, and there have been plenty of real-world revelations of hazing and ‘peer upbringing’ among students). And of course, it’s also the legacy of those who came before them. They are constantly reminded of their elite status, wrapped up in old traditions and conservative thinking, and expected to fit into a white, heterosexual, upper-class box.

[As an interesting sidebar, the book supports what the creators of YR (Lisa?) have said about most queer people in such schools. Nobody is openly bullied or harassed for their sexuality, but they are gossiped about, and people usually choose to stay in the closet. Being trans is basically unheard of, and traditional binary gender norms abound. Many students feel that it’s even harder for boys to come out than it is for girls.]

In conclusion, I think it’s safe to say there probably are other students at Hillerska who aren’t necessarily part of the elite - but they want to be, so they’re not going to stand out. I’m sure there’s been a lot of progress since the book’s publishing, but considering how well it aligns with S1 of YR in particular, the changes we see Wille enact in S2 do feel rather revolutionary.

[swankifyed]

🔥🐐IMPORTANT NEWS EVERYONE: the 2022 inauguration of Gävlebocken will take place on November 27th, 16.00 Swedish time, and the construction will begin 12.00 on October 15th. Barring any outside interference he will stand in his place until the end of New Year's Day. Plan your betting pools accordingly.

The location has changed to Rådhustorget this year due to construction work, which will be the first time ever where he won't be at Slottstorget. The goat will stand in a 25m x 25m area adjacent to a 2.5m x 2.5m booth for the security guards. There will be a double gärdsgård fence, but no specifics beyond that are made public "due to security reasons". We can also assume that there will be video surveillance.

The longest survival streak (4 years) was broken last year when Gävlebocken burned down in the early morning of December 17th, 19 days after his inauguration:

For those new to this, Gävlebocken ("The Gävle Goat") is a 13m tall Yule goat made of straw in Gävle, Sweden, that is built as part of the city's annual Christmas celebrations. He is famous for repeatedly being destroyed, to the point of some considering the destruction an integral part of the tradition. Gävlebocken has been completely destroyed 38 out of his 56 years, despite increased security measures and it being a crime punishable with jail time (the conviction for the 2021 arson was six months in jail and a fine).

Gävlebocken also has a little brother, built by Vasaskolan's Science Club, called Lillbocken ("The Little Goat") who is smaller (1.5m tall) and not as well known but also very often sabotaged.

I really recommend reading the entire timeline section of the wiki page, its pure gold, but some of my personal favourites are: some dude stole the enormous goat and put it in his backyard (1973), an American burned the goat thinking it was legal due to how often it happened and spent 18 days in jail (2001), two people dressed as Santa and a gingerbread man burned the goat either by firing flaming arrows or throwing torches (2005), someone tried to bribe a guard with 50k SEK to leave his post early so they could steal the goat with a helicopter and fly him to Stureplan in Stockholm the same year as other guards reported being approached by a "mysterious German-speaking man that was perversely interested in the goat" who told them of his detailed ideas of how to make the goat burn down quickly (2010).

Webcam (comes online after the inauguration): https://visitgavle.se/en/gavlebocken

Official twitter account: https://twitter.com/gavlebocken

Official instagram account: https://instagram.com/gavlebocken

Youtube channel of Gävle city (will stream the inauguration): https://youtube.com/user/sharegavle

[destinedtobeloved]

Joel teaches Jimmy Fallon a midsummer Swedish drinking game to ‘redeem the Americans’ :)

[solrosan]

I feel I should post this on the union loving, musk hating website!

[icypiece]

Inte löken. @svenskjavel

[dendro80]

Julbocken in Gävle. Hope it will last the until christmas and after. Every year some person puts it on fire before christmas. 😅 (you should not do that before or after)

(Not my photo)

November 2022

Gävle, Sweden

[loren91]

A Swedish question: if Wille wants to move to wherever Simon lives, to finish his gymnasieutbildning, is it actually illegal to stop him before he's 18? I guess the optics would be in his favour regarding public schools/kommunala skolor.

In Norway you can choose which school you want to go to when you're 15, which is why I'm wondering.

Okay boring question done, a fun one coming stat

Not a boring question at all! 😁

Gymnasiet is completely voluntary! It's year 1-9 that's mandatory. You're not very likely to get a job anywhere though if you haven't completed gymnasiet. But Wille has the right to choose whichever school he wants! You can drop out or switch schools or choose a new programme if you want to. There's an application process however, which depends on what programme he wishes to study and is mainly related to his grades. Since schools in Sweden aren't allowed to charge for tuition, there's limited funding and a cap on how many students can be in one class. So it's very common to apply to several schools at the same time. And if he wishes to change programme now before his second year, he'll have to repeat the first year.

The only issue I'm aware of for under 18's if they choose a school in a different town, is housing. Some schools might offer some help with that, but it's not a guarantee. And if you're not a legal adult you'll probably need help from your parents/legal guardian if you wish to rent a place.

I'll keep replying to my asks after I've finished work for the day 😅

[hanna-kin]

Hej ! I just read your post about Swedish facts (loved it) and i've been wondering for a long time, what place does have religion in Sweden ? Is it the default situation to be a believer or a majority of swedes are atheists ? Does it feel like the church have some grip and power over political decisions in Sweden ? Does the church seem more progressive in Sweden than in other countries (regarding of women, lgbtqia+ people, etc.) ?

Seeing it from Hillerska, it seems like students do not really care but the school in itself still has strong religious foundations with the chapel or praying before diner. And how monarchy is just very based on christian traditions.

If you've already talk about it i'm sorry and ik it can be a quite vague and though question, i read some stuff online but i thought it would be more interesting to have your view and opinion on it.

Have a nice day and thank you so much if you reply to this ✨

Hi.

Sweden is one of, of not the most secular country in the world and the church is very much a separate entity from the government. Many people are Christian "by default" meaning that they are not practicing but might believe in god a little bit or they don't really know. There are many people who are atheist too.

Sweden is still very tied to Christian culture though traditions ans holidays but they don't have a religious element for many people.

The Swedish state church is very open and liberal. They are open ans welcoming of Lgbtq+ people and have allowed lgbtq+ people to get married in church for several years. More Conservative churches are far behind but some are catching up and in this year qx gala a pastor of a church is actually nominated for hetero of the year for his work for lgbtq+ rights a more Conservative church.

State school is not supposed to have religous elements but private are allowed to to some extent. There are Christian private schools and also muslim schools that I know of.

Hillerska is a private school but I think it's mostly about keeping traditions than anything else.

The royal family is bounded by law though to be Christian which is against freedom of Religion which is a human right. They have to be raised Lutheran to inherit the throne. However it's very unclear how religious they are internally.

However, as you say, the monarchyis very much based on Christianity.

[l3o-lion]

I fucking hate the new trams and buses with ads covering their whole sides.

This is what the trams should look like

And here's what they've done the poor machines

Good buses

What did they do to my boy