The alien in Sweden

Of course I'm British, born and bred, although I fled shortly after starting my career to a warmer spot on our globe. Australia was followed with years in California and Florida. So you will excuse me if I miss more about the States than I do of Britain. I just felt so at home with the lifestyle there. And I still miss those little things now I'm living in Sweden, that makes daily life, well, easier. Here are a few of my favourites quirks:

I miss turning right on red. I did it a few times when I first moved to Sweden, forgetting that it's just not done within the confines of Swedish law.

I miss my garbage disposal unit in my sink. These things don't come standard in Sweden, especially when buying an older house. Shortly after we moved in my husband caught me pushing old food bits and leftovers down the sink. "What on earth are you doing?!" - just trying to find the switch to get rid on this garbage... - I spent the next half hour picking out everything and trying to unblock the sink.

I miss having my groceries bagged for me at the supermarket, and someone wheeling the cart out to the parking lot and loading up the trunk of my car, and not even accepting a tip! Such service is unknown in Swedish supermarkets. As I quickly discovered after standing waiting for bag service in the market as the next customer's food purchases squeezed against mine - I suddenly realised that, in Sweden, everyone was their own bagger of groceries. At least their plastic bags are better quality than your average Publix bag...

I miss opening hours. Why can't I get a coffee-to-go at 7.00am here?

And I just won't get into the food stuffs you can't buy here. Although we have welcomed Betty Crocker, Maltesers, Ben & Jerry's, Maple Syrup and Marshmallow Fluff to our shelves .... I'm just waiting for BLUEBERRY Hagen Daz, ready-to-roll Halloween Cookies, Cadbury Flake Bars..... Everything terribly bad for you, but oh-so-good.