I came to Sweden in 2006. Except the name of "the land of forest" and they speak the best English among all scandinavia countries, I knew nothing more about this country.
From 2006 to 2009, I finished my master program of Sustainable Management and did half year thesis work at a local company. With the protection of school and employer, that was the easiest time of my life in Sweden. Hard time came from the begining of 2010, since I started my own company.
Things happen really quick in China. However, in Sweden, especially at northern part, everything goes sooooooooooo slow. In the begining, I tried really hard to slow myself down to adapt into the environemnt, the result was that I went into a long period of depression. I was so lost and didn't know how to be happy in this culture.
With help from family and friends, I finanly realized that I am a Chinese who can never become a Swede, I should always be ME.
Now I understand that to adapt into an international environment, it is very important to understand the core values of my mother culture and myself as a person. Based on that, learning Swedish culture will help me finding a balance between my own culture and the new environment.
Adapting into a new culture doesn't mean that totally drop your own culture and become someone else. There are always people saying "now you are in Sweden, you should behave like a Swede". Fuck it, you know. In scientific research, scientists call for interdisciplinary cooperation to solve cross-boundary problems. In real life, you are the one with intercultural background and capability, trust your mother culture and learn new cultures, this is where creations start.
But please, respect the law and the new culture. Nothing can be your excuse to break laws. The only way to gain respect is to show respect first.
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