Different habbits but a safe place to be

Tonight we had a school picnic at the beach in Ulricehamn with Swedish “brännboll”, soccer and some nice food. The children’s school is small and personal and it is always nice to sit down and talk to the different parents who happen to come from all over the world including Ulricehamn. I chatted to several newcomers from countries both close by and far away. I also said hello to Jochems new barber who is a civil engineer from Iraq but who decided to get a job as soon as possible instead of spending two more years to fulfill Swedish requirements for civil engineers. Sometimes I wonder how many people we have in our country working with completely different things than they originally planned to do. Feels like a possible waste?

The barbers son Achmed is in Nils class and he always greet us most politely every morning when we arrive at school. Jochem finds the strange habits of not saying a clear “good morning” or shaking hands when you meet someone in Sweden somewhat difficult to get used to and he really enjoys Achmeds polite manner. The fact that we in Sweden do not always say good morning, only sometimes shake hands or greet each other with kisses is odd to many foreigners. Jochem once asked me to explain when he should shake hands, when he should give a hug and why there are situations where you greet each other with a single hello but nothing more. I could not give him a clear answer. It is not impolite in Sweden to see someone walking down Main Street and just nod a quick hello. Or at least people will not get offended that you did not shake hands with them. Why this is I don’t know.

Jochem is off to Brazil and I hope he is having a nice time and a safe time. He is off to work for Philips Medical Systems at a place in San Paolo where three of his five colleagues have been robbed while visiting the company. This does not feel very safe so for the first time ever (after spending years all over the world) we have made a deal that he will write me an e-mail a day. I have never asked for this ever before so when I did Jochem said; ”- you are the last person to ever worry about these things so now I feel really worried! Do you know something about San Paolo that I don’t?”

I have never been to Brazil so actually I have no clue about how dangerous it is but Jochem going there made me think about how important safety is for your personal wellbeing. Just imagine all the energy you use on thinking about possible scenarios if you live in a dangerous place or the energy wasted on feeling afraid. When we lived in Johannesburg I always had to keep my mind set on the safety of the family (never stop for a red light, never drive after dark, not to walk anywhere, not to get off at the wrong exit and end up downtown etc.). Now I never think about these things anymore. It is nice to live in a safe place and good to realize it as well at times.