With the kids at my mother-in-law’s camp, Nicke suggested that it is a good time to explore the city and know my way around.

So, this is my observation so far.

1) Everything here is in Swedish. (streetsigns, directions, atms, menu…etc).

Everything in the supermarket is in swedish. Just the other day, i bought 2 different fabric softeners when I am supposed to buy washing detergent and fabric softener.

2) All immigrants must sign up for a ‘Learn swedish’ course. But everything (including enrolment brochures, instructions) in the ‘Swedish for Immigrants’ Office is in Swedish! If I know how to read Swedish, I wouldn’t need to take up a course.

3) They have awfully long road names…Kommendorsgatan, Vahalllavagen, Torpangsbacken, Lansenvagen, TeniskaHogskolan..

4) ‘Herr’ refers to Men..

5) Why do Asian supermarkets smell so bad? Honestly,the supermarkets in Singapore do not smell of rotting bamboo shoots.

6) The MRT train ticket comes in a row of 16 stamps. Why does the minimum cost per trip start at 2 stamps?

7) Eating out is expensive. Be prepared to pay Swedish kroner 100 for a simple meal. Pizza is inexpensive and maybe the cheapest. You can get a nice decent pizza or kebab at Swedish Kroner 80+ ( but the coke will cost at least Swedish Kroner 25+) Exchange rate SGD1 = 5 Swedish Kroner

8) The most popular Asian food is Thai and Japanese. You see one in almost every corner in the city.

9) There are no attendants at petrol stations. Everything is DIY.

10) Driving on the ‘right’ side of the road is interesting. But parallel parking is not!

11) Usage of the toilet is not free. It cost 5 Kr (SGD 1) per entry!

12) Everyone (above 10 years old) speaks English! They all learn it in school. They have English programmes on TV all the time!

13) The city is very child friendly! School and childcare is free! If you push a baby pram, you get on the bus free of charge!

14) Swedes are big on recycling. You need to pay for all shopping bags in supermarkets. If you return an empty drink bottle, you get some money back. I was told, rubbish collection is done only once a week!

15) The city sits on 14 islands connected by bridges and there is water everywhere which makes the city very pretty.

16) Swedes love candy. I have never seen so much candy in my life! I think dentistry is a good career option!

It has been good so far learning new things everyday. I even found a boat named Singapore…