Stefan Nešković (21), a young man from Pancevo, has been living with his family in Sweden for several years, in the small town of Sodertelje near Stockholm.
Year after year, there are more and more people in the Balkans who are looking for their happiness abroad. One of them is Stefan from Serbia, who together with his family decided to chooses life under “someone else’s sky” and moves to Sweden. Stefan Nešković (21), a young man from Pancevo, has been living with his family in Sweden for several years, in the small town of Sodertelje near Stockholm. He and his family left in 2018 when his father got a job offer. And what is it like to live, study and work in Sweden, whose food is better, what are the people like in the far and cold north, Stefan gave answers to all these questions.
Stefan first looked at the education system. As he says once a week they also have a native language class. The question arises, why are the Scandinavian countries more successful and advanced than us? There are many opinions that the key to that success lies in the education system.
Education system in Sweden
Since he attended an electrical engineering school in Serbia, Stefan wanted to continue in the same direction in Sweden, but first he had to a certain adaptation period passes in order to fit in and learn the Swedish language, which lasts a year. After that, he could start attending high school, like any average Swede. What is interesting is that even once a week they have a class in their mother tongue, in his case Serbian.
“The Swedish education system is much more relaxed than ours. There is not so much stress, it is much more relaxed. You know when you’re afraid that the professor will call you to answer and you’ll get a bad grade… that’s not the case here. What’s really interesting is that you have the opportunity to listen to your native language once a week,” Stefan, who plans to enter the prestigious faculty at Stockholm University, tells Alo.
In addition to numerous benefits such as free secondary and higher education and school quality, Stefan’s answer to the question “which educational system to choose: Swedish or Serbian” was simple.I would definitely choose the Swedish education system, precisely because of the reasons I mentioned earlier. This relief is very important for pupils and students. The range of benefits provided by the Swedish educational model is truly amazing – everything from a free pencil and eraser to complete education” said this young man.
“The institutions listen to you here”
Swedes don’t need family ties to find a job. They don’t bother with unnecessary bureaucracy and waiting in lines in front of the bank counter, and when something bothers them, they complain and imagine… they are listened to.
“I have to say that Sweden is a very technologically advanced country and most things are digitized. There is no waiting in lines, frowning faces of officials, annoyance… everyone does everything mostly via mobile phone. Even, according to my knowledge, by 2030, they plan to completely switch to a digital form of payment and to eliminate cash in order to further reduce the crime rate,” says Stefan, adding that Swedish institutions they really have an ear for the citizens, and if they have a complaint, they certainly take it into account, and do not turn a deaf ear or ignore it, which is the case with our countries.
Stereotypes about Swedes are not exactly true
When everything is added up and subtracted, we realize that the stereotypes of “stupid Bosnian”, “lazy Montenegrin”, “stingy Slovenian” and similar are not only part of the “cultural heritage” of citizens who are geographically located in the Balkans. And what is the situation in Scandinavia? There are a lot of stereotypes about Swedes that mostly revolve around how they are “a cold and reserved people”. As Stefan says, that is not exactly true.
“Swedes are focused on their own life and their family. Here, you don’t have to worry about the Goca neighbor from the end of the street saying something about you or the like. And we know very well how it is here. I hang out with Swedes too, but definitely yes I spend most of my time with our people. The Swedes are really very pleasant, despite the fact that our people often have the attitude that they are cold. The mentality is different, but the people are quite polite and kind“, Stefan said to Aloonline.Ba.
Food and pub: Who wins?
Beautiful nature, friendly hosts and good food – the first three most common associations of foreign tourists when mentioning Serbia or Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our kitchen has a long tradition and few people remain indifferent to our dishes. In addition to good and quality food, we also have a good time, as you know – there is never enough music, games and bars. And in Sweden it’s a little different…
“As for Swedish traditional cuisine I didn’t have much contact with her. For example, they adopt a lot of things from other cultures, as far as cuisine is concerned,” says Stefan and adds that however, he chooses traditional Serbian cuisine and spending time with us.
At the very end of the conversation, Stefan was asked to say three words that associated him with Serbia, to which he replied stress, disrespect in society, crisiswhile for Sweden those words were orderliness, respect in society, cold but standard.
(WORLD/Alo)