Last week I wondered if people knew where Sweden was as they so often think that I’m talking about Switzerland when I say that I happen to live in Sweden.
I wonder if the opposite is true? That there are lots of Swiss out there who get asked if they live in Sweden! Now – what kind of conversations do they have, I wonder…
So, close your eyes and … (no – hang on! If you close your eyes, you won’t be able to read this) … OK: just imagine that I have a twin sister (who is not nearly as witty, intelligent, good-looking or modest as I am). Let’s call her Lady Di. She lives in Switzerland.
And you all know where that is, right?
So, Lady Di gets into a taxi and asks to be taken to the airport. Ron Turning happens to be the taxi driver again.
Ron: So, where ya’ll flying off to then?
Di: Switzerland.
Ron: Oh, Switzerland. But hey – didn’t you just fly there last week?
Di: Er.. no, you must be thinking of my plain twin sister.
Ron: Oh, I see. So, you’re off Switzerland, where they have lots of naked blondes everywhere.
Di: Um … no … no! NO! You’re probably thinking of Sweden.
Ron: No, I’m thinking of Switzerland. Where they whip each other in the sauna.
Di: Er.. you’re still thinking of Sweden. Or maybe even Finland.
Ron: Why drag the French into it? I’m thinking of Switzerland. Where IKEA comes from.
Di: Sweden again.
Ron: That’s what I said – they have lots and lots of forests there.
Di: Still Sweden.
Ron: You’ve got the Arctic Circle there too – and polar bears on the streets.
Di: S.W.E.D.E.N.!!!!!!!!!!
Ron: Everything is efficient and the trains often run on time.
Di: Well, you’re getting a bit closer now…
Ron: Told ya! Switzerland .. That’s where the people don’t have a sense of humour, right?
Di: Yes, that’s right. It’s a real hazard not smiling all day long and just eating chocolates while watching cuckoo clocks chime… (The irony seems to be lost on Ron.)
Ron (dropping Lady Di off at Departures): You have a good flight back to Sweden now, ya hear!
***************************************************
So, there you have it!
Now.. did you get it right? Switzerland can be found in Europe – right here, in fact:
What misconceptions do people have about where you live?
November 21, 2008 at 12:26 pm
You are so creative, and yet you don’t sew? Hmmm….
Anyway, there are no misconceptions about where I live, only about the residents of the town that I live in. The running joke is about the number of teeth that the borough collectively has.
For example…
-What is 1/4 mile long and has three teeth?
-The line at our town festival.
-How do we know that the toothbrush was invented here?
-If it was invented somewhere else they would have named it the teethbrush.
November 21, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Back when i lived in Kenya i would tell people back in the States that i lived in Nairobi. And they’d ask if Nairobi was a country, where in Europe Nairobi was, and once even if i had learned to speak Kenyan. (At least that guy was able to narrow it down to a country!)
November 21, 2008 at 2:25 pm
When i was in America, and I told people I come from Singapore, they would say, “Thats in China right?”. Surprisingly most Danes seem to know where Singapore is located- I think its because many of them travel to the neighbouring country Thailand on holiday. But I always get the classic “But you dont look Singaporean”- and I’d ask, so what do Singaporeans look like, and they are ” No idea, but you dont look it.” My grandparents did come from India but Singapore is a multiracial country with a Chinese, Indian and Malay population.
November 21, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I live in Detroit and it is considered a mean city full of lazy auto workers and accomplished thieves. Now for the question of whether or not it’s a true picture …
November 21, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I once heard someone say that everyone in my little town wears rubber boots. And frankly? That particular type of footwear is vastly underrated! Rubber boots are highly practical, they’re even fashionable now. Seriously. Get yourself a pair:)
November 21, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Western PA…USA…people ask if we belong to a amish dutch settlement. Ummmm…..nooooooo……not everyone in New Wilmington is Amish.
November 21, 2008 at 4:08 pm
I know where Sweden is. Sweden is the capital of Ikea right?
Many Americans seems to confuse Dutch with Danish/Danes. They tink Dutch people come from Denmark or Danes come from Holland. Or that Amsterdam is the capital of Denmark or similar confusions.
November 21, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Try being told that you only live in igloos, or teepees. And that everyone in your country runs around in loincloths. And the Vegas taxi driver was completely serious.
Well I guess if he looked around him, a good portion of Vegas does run arouond in skimpy outfits……
Jen
November 21, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Well this is one I actually new the answer too. I guess being European gave me the advantage. I knew it had to be good for something eventually.
November 21, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Hi! I wandered over from Typ0’s blog. I live in Norway, and the questions I fielded from people back home were astounding! At a breakfast with friends, one gentleman (in his fifties) asked my husband where, exactly, was Norway located in Sweden? I think my husband did an admirable job of not falling out of his chair!
We’ve also been asked where Norway is, like they didn’t realize Norway was in Europe. At the end of the dat we can only laugh!
November 22, 2008 at 2:44 am
A lot of people ask me where I’m from even though I have lived in Canada since the age of 9. They do not know where Taiwan is and often try to guess every nation in Asia…but they couldn’t never guess Taiwan.
Now I tell people my husband’s Danish…that’s another challenge. People often mistaken his nationality for Swedish, German, Swiss…some of them don’t even know where Denmark is. I find it’s very sad.
November 22, 2008 at 2:53 am
Hahaha, nice joke. I am chinese but people I met on the net, think that all chinese are from China. My roots are in China but I am not from China, my both sets of grandparents are from China and daddy was born in china too but mummy was born in Singapore. My paternal grandfather even spotted a pigtails (during Qing Dynasty ended 1911, the men wore their hairs long and tied into like a pigtail)
When I told them I am from Singapore, they think Singapore belongs to China. NO NO NO, Singapore is an independent country and do not belongs to China. Some might have mistaken Singapore for Hongkong and yes Hongkong now belongs to China not Singapore.
November 22, 2008 at 6:35 am
Everyone asks if I ride my horse to school, if I own a gun and if I personaly know George Bush since I am from Texas. The answer is no to all three. I don’t even have a horse. But I would like to say that I knew exactly where both countries were because I have been to Switzerland and I met a Swedish woman who tried to teach us how to say the number 7. Yep, couldn’t do it! p.s. see if you can see the pics now??
November 22, 2008 at 7:48 am
Hi Lady Fi, Minnesota misconceptions.. That we have only 10,000 lakes..we have 11, 842 that are ten acres or more and several thousand that are smaller. Everyone from Minnesota lives in Minneapolis/St Paul area…60 % of the population live there. The other 40% live in other parts of the state. (Like me) We have four seasons, before winter, Winter, after winter and Road Construction..close, but we do have four seasons..but winter rules for the better part of the year. We are mostly Lutheran..there are some Catholics and a few Baptists. That we eat hotdish all the time..not true. That our mosquitoes are the size of small birds..close..but not quite! And lastly we have no mountain ranges:)
November 23, 2008 at 8:18 am
I married my brother, I live in a trailer and I eat roadkill. I live in the south. Yes, it’s definitely annoying when people stereotype you or get your geographical location completely wrong! Enjoyed your post!
November 23, 2008 at 9:05 pm
And everyone that lives upstate New York have no teeth, mullet hair cut, an oily cap and they chew tobacco and go to obscure bars where you can find a three legged dog under the pool table…?
Isn’t that correct? ;o)
Actually, my fav bar is upstate NY and all of the above is true…but I have seen “real” people there too…upstate New York that is…just not in Waneta Lake bar though :-p
November 23, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Sorry, I live too close to answer this question.
November 24, 2008 at 11:19 am
Too funny! You’re so right though! When I tell people I am from Africa, they say “what state?” Then I might elaborate “South Africa” and they think I’m being vague, like I don’t want to tell them which country. Geography is just a little on the ignored side of education.
November 24, 2008 at 12:28 pm
[...] Switzerland is in Sweden – right? « On a quirky questfor inspiration. From the mundane to the extraordinary… [...]
February 15, 2009 at 5:25 am
That was a delightfully fun read! I live in Canada and people think Alberta is near Toronto or Ottawa. The also think we drive snowmobiles all the time and walk around with snowshoes. We, too, have four seasons. Spring, Construction, Fall and Winter! And we love IKEA any season of the year!
February 20, 2009 at 2:05 pm
haha.. so funny..
March 3, 2009 at 7:13 pm
LOL I’m sorry I payed attention in school and I can actually point to the map and tell you where Switzerland/Sweden are!
I live in New Mexico. Yes it’s the 49th state of the Union. So Yes I live in the United States! I love when people ask me if I speak English! The best? When I was 12 and went to Cornell University in NY for a summer camp and everyone asked if we rode our wagons to to town!
March 15, 2009 at 5:35 pm
As a child, I lived in the Emirates in the Middle East. I was always asked why my hair wasn’t blond as I was swedish..from Switzerland!! And when I came back to Switzerland, I was asked if I went to school riding a camel and lived in a tent in the desert…Hey, ignorance is worldwide! PS: we DO eat loads of chocolate and we DON’T look at cuckoo clocks as they come from Austria(no, that is not Australia).
June 22, 2009 at 6:27 pm
I thought this post was hysterical.
July 8, 2009 at 11:05 am
“and the trains often on time”
That’s a total understatement. They are ALWAYS on time, and if they are more than 1-3 minutes late people start making that sound one makes when they kiss their own teeth. It’s quite funny actually. But it rarely ever happens.
Same thing with buses and trams. If the bus is a tiny bit late you’ll get to hear people complain in three languages depending on what part of Switzerland you’re in (they have three national langauges: French, Swiss-German, and Italian).
I’ve lived here for almost a year now and it’s really comical when they get pissed about one or two minutes – in Canada, a bus/train/streetcar can be 20 minutes late before people start to bitch.
I guess it’s all about building expectations.
To your point, I don’t even want to tell you how many people I’ve met that suck at geography. But if you’ve never ever traveled than I guess you really only need to know the place you are.