A place I do recommend university students apply for is Stockholm Universitet.
I studied there one year and the feeling I had was just fantastic, I felt in the future with a look in the past.
In the future because I had all the technology and means I needed to study properly
In the past because I could interact with many people from many countries: life, despite any technological evolution, will always be about friendships, love, sex and human contacts otherwise it wouldn’t be life, it would be something else, something unworthy.
Many faculties are in the Frescati area together with several places to have a decent lunch, plus three coffee shops and a big computer room
Follow my advice, if you have a chance just study there!
The main status symbol in Sweden is the neighbour you live in.
You are not a lawyer, an employee nor a doctor; you are a Stureplan or a Södermalm or a Vasastan person.
The most prestigious area in Stockholm is Stureplan: the most expensive for accommodation, the fanciest part of the city where people go to show off and try to prove that they are somebody while clubbing in the night.
I never go to Stureplan because I judge it a chicken trap. However it is a good looking neighbour and sometimes I like to walk there, but never in the night!
When people live abroad they need to share something with someone else to feel integrated.
This need to belong to something is fulfilled in Stockholm by Lappis. Lappis is a student campus where people have their own room with their own bathroom and a shared kitchen. Lappis is where students, especially foreign students feel at home, where they return from downtown or from long distance trips.
There’s a curious syndrome which is contagious, “The Lappis Syndrome”, being this campus a place you don’t want to leave because there’s everything in there: food (Ika), friends, parties, gym, laundry, even a beach to suntan during summer time.
It’s a trauma to leave Lappis and everyone who is still alive inside tries to stay there as long as possible. Those who don’t like it, those who escapes it are people who are already old, old in the inside.
Criticism is not condemning someone, it is just underlining what is not perfect about something and if it leads to reflections and new solutions is extremely useful.
People should understand the difference between destructive and constructive criticism.
There’s really no need to feel annoyed or irritated or offended by constructive criticism even about your own country, it could lead to new perspectives and ideas which could generate new solutions and improvements.
My thought about films is that too often they show mechanisms that in real life do not exist.
Sometimes, however, they can be useful to understand how a Reality was perceived in a given historical period. It’s the case of "To bed... or not to bed" ("Il Diavolo") Italian film made in Stockholm in 1963. The filmmakers have taken the character of Alberto Sordi and transported it in Sweden, working closely with reality, changing the canvas according to what the environment suggested. The theme is always the play boy attempt, almost de rigueur in speaking of Italians abroad. The director is Gian Luigi Polidoro, who already had directed “Swedish Girls”, an intelligent comedy about the relationship between the male Latin and the female Scandinavian.
This time the protagonist is not an Evil Woman, but an absolutely common person. On this occasion Sordi waived harsher tones of his palette, he composed a kind of Italian less sinister than usual: with moral and religious concerns, with small complex. In the movie nothing so special happens.
The merchant Amedeo arrives in Sweden, stations in a small town to get a tooth pulled out, is surprised by the open minded mentality of the girls in Stockholm, participates in the evening of the Nobel Prize, has an innocent flirtation with a beautiful married woman, faints after having a sauna together with a girl, attends a party car on a frozen lake and other small adventures.
Obviously it always ends with no sex, as a certain convention wants, but he is filled with a sweet amazement for what happens around him. In a country where women do not know the shame, he feels he is the Devil, a kind of good guy-husband, who could not sin without pulling out the picture of his wife, who faces a frank and spontaneous approach by a woman like something that erases everything which gives taste to love relationships in the Latin countries. So in the end, aside from a smiling and good-natured film, we see a successful, objective comparison of mentalities.
What emerges watching the film 46 years after its implementation is that Sweden is always the same, beyond the bullshit about globalization and changes in socio-cultural characteristics of peoples and countries.
The story could take place in 2009 and there would be nothing to say about it. The same types of events happen to the same types of people when they are in the same territory, at the expense of the time factor
Parlare di Berlusconi non significa parlare di politica in senso stretto, chi lo sostiene o e’ un gonzo o e’ in malafede. Parlare di Berlusconi significa dissertare della persona che decide i destini dell’Italia per via del suo ruolo che gli permette di manipolare il paese politicamente, mediaticamente ed economicamente. Berlusconi e’ appena stato definito dal Forbes la dodicesima persona piu influente nel mondo.
Berlusconi non ha nulla a che fare con il pensiero politico della destra, ne della sinistra, ne del centro. Non ha nulla a che fare con alcun pensiero politico. Sono patetici coloro i quali lo votano sostenendo di essere di destra. Proprio le piu grandi personalita’ della destra liberal-conservatrice italiana lo hanno disperezzato come nessun altro (basti pensare a Montanelli o Sartori) perche’ loro sì erano e sono in buona fede e sanno che Berlusconi ha sempre calpestato ogni valore e idea della destra.
Ora la domanda, perche’ le persone di destra e quelle cattoliche votano in genere per lui? Berlusca non solo non ha a che fare con il pensiero tradizionale della destra che va da Adam Smith a Milton Friedman (lui a chiacchiere e’ liberista, a fatti e’ il piu grande monopolista e oligopolista della storia) ma non ha nulla a che fare con i valori cattolici. Che centra col cattolicesimo chi va a mignotte? Chi divorzia piu volte e che si vanta di essere un playboy? Che c’entra coi valori della Chiesa chi promuove la televisione di showgirl che si prostituiscono per arrivare in alto e che promuovono idee ridicole e false su cosa sia il successo? Chi sostiene che le ragazze si debbano preparare al futuro scegliendo partners benestanti come suo figlio con il messaggio “tu donna non conterai mai un cazzo, ma se scopi quelli coi soldi allora potrai avere una bella vita”?
Non c’entra nulla ma la Chiesa se lo deve tenere buono perche’ lui prende molti voti cattolici, come meccanismo clientelare fa si che i clericali non siano toccati da nesuno legislativamente ed economicamente.
Questo uomo piccolo piccolo e’ l’antitesi dell’uomo, rappresenta la parte di Italia malata che lo vota, lo imita e lo sogna. Molti italiani si lamentano di cosa sia l’Italia ma la verita’ e’ che sono dei piccoli borghesi invidiosi di non essere dall’altra parte della barricata, di poter essere loro a godere dei privilegi dei lacche’ ed amici del cialtrone supremo.
Posso capire che i suoi amici e collaboratori lo difendano, lui paga (fisicamente parlando s’intende) per tutti e loro ne traggono un utile. Ma gli altri no. Quelli che lo difendono senza avere interessi personali sono molto piu pericolosi perche’ sono degli invasati integralisti. Il loro cervello fa poche sinapsi e tutte sbagliate che funzionano piu o meno cosi’: lui e’ contro i comunisti allora e’ di destra, quelli che lo attaccano devono essere di sinistra altrimenti non si spiega, quindi io lo devo difendere sempre e comunque, qualsiasi cosa faccia prendero’ le sue parti.
Non si fermano a pensare, non si pongono il dubbio, partono con il loro software in automatico, fanno sempre le stesse sinapsi e dicono sempre le stesse cose.
Io dico a queste persone che voi siete conniventi dello sfascio dell’Italia e ve ne dovete assumere le responsabilita’
Lo sfascio della giustizia, le connivenze con Mafia e Camorra, la prostituzione istituzionalizzata, lo spingere le donne a fare le marchette per sopravvivere in un contesto impossibile.
SIETE CONNIVENTI DI TUTTO QUESTO!
Io sono cresciuto con un altra Italia in testa, l’Italia di Dante, di Michelangelo, di Galileo, di Leopardi, financo di Calvino e soprattutto di Saviano. L’Italia che non ruba, non paga le mignotte, che ha valori veri, che crea, che si ribella alle ingiustizie e alla malavita. L’Italia che stanno cercando di schiacciare definitivamente
Io aspettero’ il giorno che lui esca di scena augurandomi che Gianfranco Fini possa rimettere a posto i cocci della destra che Berlusconi ha distrutto. Sperando che non sia troppo tardi
When I was a half grown up (around 16 and 17 years old) I was rather sceptical when I heard some of my class mates point out "I never watch TV". The same thing happened when some friend of my sister, just a bit older than me claimed without any doubt "sugaless coffee is much better".
My typical reaction was "this guy is boasting around, he is just showing off. Television is very useful and bitter coffee is disgusting. They are liars and they prefer to suffer a little bit to prove that they are cool, macho and bla bla bla".
For a long time I was convinced of that.
Then suddenly something happened: I was alone and I was making a coffee, when it was ready I was about to add loads of sugar as usual but there was no sugar anywhere. My instinctive reaction was to throw the coffe in the sink but just before doing that I thought "why not trying? I mean, let's see if those guys are just full of shit or they have a point".
At first it tasted very bad but then a little bit better.
So the days after I tried again and then again and what tasted bad started to taste good and it became possible to recognize the taste of different brands which was impossible when I used a lot of sugar
These days I get disgusted when somebody gives me coffee with sugar inside, it tastes fake.
I have never been dependent on TV but I used to watch it at least 2 hours a day. Nowadays I don't even own a TV and when someone gives me one of them as a present I don't say anything, I thank that person but then I hide it in a storage!
How did that happen?
Three years ago I was sharing a flat with a retired man who was TV dependent. Unfortunately the internet connection worked only in the living room where he used to watch TV 12 hours a day which means I had to listen to TV programs every time I used the internet
I started to hate TV because watching or even hearing it felt like a violence perpetrated against me
I found out I didn't miss it at all! Besides I noticed that real life is very different from what they show on TV, extremely different.
If people start observing what happens in the real life they will notice as certain mechanisms are completely different from what TV wants us to believe
Everything shown on TV has the objective to convince us of something which does not exist and that is in the interest of those who show those things, not in ours.
If we paid more attention on what happens in the real life (streets, offices, courses) we could understand why what we would expect to happen (according to TV shows) don't happen and why other things happen
Over the last few years many social networks have been created , no need to mention them since everybody knows Facebok, Myspace and Twitter.
What people ignore is who uses the most these tools: Losers
People who are on these networks most of the time (and have loads of "friends" there) are usually people that don't exist in real life, when they walk on the streets they are called NOBODY
But then they have their Social Networks where they have their "virtual friends", their pictures, their "life"
Many people will never understand that what masses usually do is pointless and very sad. That's why I never used Myspace, Twitter and I stopped using Fake Book (Face Book) a long time ago even though I admit FB to be very useful to get quickly in touch with those you need to contact
But real life is based on phisical presence on a territory, who you really are in that environment
There will never be a virtual life that can take over this matter of fact
In order to explain the Swedish social mechanisms it's important to analyze the characteristics of this country which are related to its particular history. Sweden is a country which is different not only from the rest of the countries that shape up the European Union but also and above all from any other country in the world. Why? Along with Switzerland, Sweden is the only country that has not fought wars over the past 300 years. Unlike Switzerland, however, Sweden is not located in the heart of the European continent, influenced by the important states which surround the Helvetic Republic, but instead lies fairly isolated and reluctant to contamination of the main European countries. In Sweden, the memory of any war does not exist among the elderly and even in the “collective memory of the species”, which determines that it is not present in the “Swedish collective consciousness" the “perception of danger”. All this implies that there is no such social mechanism (typical of any other country in the world, independent from any religion): the need for the people to stay close to their own family and to their dearest friends to guarantee their survival. In the Swedish "cultural gene pool" war is not present, they do not know the perception of danger, if danger is there it is not perceived and therefore Swedes usually don't feel like maintaining necessarily close relationships with their parents and even with people outside their family. Not in a way comparable to that characterizing the other cultures worldwide anyway.
The non participation to wars has allowed Sweden to grow economically and to address conflicts between industrials and workers in a peaceful way that satisfied both sides. So the Swedish social system was developed with its advantages and drawbacks which continue nowadays. Sweden is in good and bad ways antithetical to Anglo-Saxon countries. The bright side is the free education, lack of crime, respected rules, the assistance of those who cannot make it on their own, high standards in many fields and the emancipation of women. The drawbacks are the lack of evolution in Darwinian terms: talent is not awarded, everyone has to make it, ambition becomes a negative factor, there are no incentives to develop excellence. The Swedes are generally happy with their system: they read data about crime and sustainable life and pride themselves of being among the leaders in the world; while traveling they realize that the standards to which they are used in many fields do not have many equals in the world. Most are surprised why other nations don’t reach the same standards of living and usually their explanation is the difference in the density of population. Only some of those who live abroad are able to understand what is the main reason that leads to these differences, what is the price that the Swedes pay, while others are unwilling to do so, to have these standards: human relationships.
In Sweden the rules are respected with neither “ifs” nor “buts”, they are right by definition. The ability of the Swedes to be proactive or leave the scheme tend to zero. The Swedes are very lonely and often call themselves “boring”, but they don't not understand why: how these aspects are just the reverse of the coin of their ability to stay in their schedules assigned by the Leviathan system that guides them throughout their whole lives. The "rebels" are usually those who had the opportunity to live abroad and felt freer: not to do what they wanted but to express their thoughts and emotions. These Swedish "rebels" are used to moving to the U.S., England or even to Australia because English is a language they speak, does not require time to be studied and the Anglo-Saxon culture is known throughout television which is colonized by TV shows made in USA or UK. The most brave “alternative” Swedes choose Latin countries as a destination but it is still a small minority. Those who live their whole lives in Sweden usually tend to start working when they turn 30 years old, have a decent salary, do not ever work a minute after office hours, are not big savers, succeed however in affording their 10/15 day vacation in Thailand, where sometimes they meet the partner who will become their “Sambo” in the future.
But how's life in Sweden in the social aspects? Who commands there? How do people get to know people? How do couples shape up? And friendships? What interests do people have? Having interviewed many Swedes and having obtained very similar answers from everyone (fancy that!) I can rely on them for the explanations. Everyone agrees that women command, there are more disputes on the elucidation. Mary, 27 year old worker, claims that there's a tacit agreement between men and women: women are happy to command while men are happy not to have to prove their masculinity. Kåre 28 years old teacher confirms this view and argues that the problem arises when men are called to pull out the balls when the situation needs that and they are unused to it so they are unable to do that. Isabel 25 year old just moved to Stockholm and points out that girls are more structured and organized, and men are less, in every corner of the world, therefore Swedish girls would lead the relationship even with non Swedish men. No one knows when historically the "seizure of power" was perpetrated by women, we can therefore rely on the historiography which tells us that the feminist movement took place in the '60s which mark the turning point; the movie Flickorna made by Mai Zetterling in 1968 is quite enlightening. In the current European Parliament, the Swedes have 47% of women as national representatives, Germans 32%, the British 24% to give a dimension to the difference of the women weight in various nations.
It seems there is no such big difference as to how new friendships and new love relationships start. All agree on the point that in Sweden and especially in Stockholm people are rigid and skeptical about new acquaintances: it is almost unthinkable to make friends on the streets or in a non-conventional way. The protocol which has to be followed takes that the new friend or partner comes from school or work, depending on whether they are students or employees. Even more typical is common friendships: this appears to be the main source of new friendships and loves. In particular with regards of the emergence of new sentimental relationships it seems that this is favored by organized parties where friends of friends can get to know each other and with the help of alcohol can also take immediate action: the possibility that two unknowns with a common friend can end up together the same night is not very rare and it’s often the way a relationship starts. Being Swedish girls emancipated and not having socio-cultural blocks they don’t need to wait to see this guy 2 or 3 times (as it happens often in the Latin world) before they get what they want.
Regarding “flings” originated in pubs or clubs the girls don’t believe so much in them: it’s not that they never happen; it can happen once a year that a girl after several drinks ends up with a total unknown she is attracted to. Swedish girls usually agree that stable and reliable relationships don’t originate that way.
"Historical" friendships are considered typical and rarely repeatable: the Swedes usually have a couple of friends they have known before turning 14 years old and the friendships continue throughout their entire lives. The Swedes can associate with new people but before creating intimacy it takes long time and a series of rather daunting tests. Friendships between boys and girls are not very common: girls accuse boys of being only sexually interested in them; the boys argue the opposite: they say if a girl is not attracted to that boy she is not interested in a potential friendship, not even as a vehicle for new acquaintances. Neither the 19 year old Ida nor Isabel agree on that: they have many male friends due to their hobby: the former plays the guitar, the latter is passionate about football since she is a former player.
The most widespread activities in Sweden are: sports during the weekdays, attending coffee shops after work or after school, getting drunk in clubs or private parties in the weekend; during their alcoholic euphoria the Swedes seem to be more human and accessible but they act in an "altered state of consciousness" and then everything ends when the night terminates and the next day they are back on their rules. People should thereby stick to the methods described above to make stable acquaintances.Provided that it’s worth it!
