If you are now sat thinking “too bad I’m not Swedish, this looks like a fun blog” – fear not! The aim of this site is not to spread Swedish propaganda or to just be a survival guide for other UK-based Swedes. It is an insight into student life here, in comparison with Sweden, into the norms and mannerisms experienced by an outsider and the frequent mishaps and misunderstandings that not knowing these bring about. As a future journalist, I am of the opinion that if I did not recognise and compare cultural differences, political climates, unwritten rules and languages, moving to England would have only been an excuse to escape the snow chaos of my Nordic home.

Who is the Annoying Swede?

With running the risk of stating the obvious, I will quickly break down the name:

Annoying = Moving to the UK I cannot keep count of the situations that have occurred where I have said the complete wrong thing, cooked some weird meal, had traits and opinions simply ascribed to me based on my nationality or even ordered a drink that is ‘too masculine’ for me. The name is more of a joke than how I actually view myself, but it does speak of the struggle that is adapting to a whole new culture.

Swede = I feel like this is self-explanatory, but to develop the deeper meaning I wanted my nationality to guide this blog as it does have, as previously mentioned, already ascribed traits, values, interests and opinions in people’s minds – as with all nationalities. Adding to this, moving away from Sweden made me personally acutely aware of my nationality in a more everyday fashion than I ever was before.

My aim is to publish new content every week, generally twice a week – Wednesdays and Fridays – with posts ranging from entertaining anecdotes and fun facts to filmed discussions with other Swedes in the UK, news reporting and more serious reflections.

It is the clashes, interactions and meetings of the experienced “UK-identity” and “Swedish-identity” that this blog will build upon. The funny, the embarrassing, the upsetting, the revolutionary bits – they are all here, in one place, making this the perfect site to use as your personal Scandi-Guide to UK-culture, no matter where you are from.

When I’m not posting on here you can find me on my Twitter: @AnnoyingSwede or my Instagram: @theannoyingswede. Ha det bra!