My first Impressions in Sweden

I was fourteen when my family and I landed at Malmö Airport, Sweden, but we didn’t stay in the city. After a long drive we reached the small village where we would live the kind of place where everyone knows everyone’s business. The streets were quiet, and sometimes the distant hum of a tractor would cut through the silence. Back home life was loud and messy here it felt almost unreal. Everything was unfamiliar the language, the people, the schools, the shops, even the buses.

We came during the summer, and the days felt very long. Back home the sun went down early, but here it stayed bright almost all the time/night. I stayed awake, thinking it was still early while Swedish people were already sleeping. We didn’t understand the long evenings, and we didn’t have phones to check the time. We wasn’t sure if it was afternoon or evening. I remember we could go outside for a walk without realizing it was actually very late. Summer here felt a little magical. I kept asking myself how is this even possible?

My first day at school felt like stepping into another world. My sister and I were placed in the local high school though in Sweden it’s called grundskola from grades 7 to 9. I had learned some English but Swedish was completely new to me the words just didn’t make sense yet, the teachers tried to help but every sentence I didn’t understand made me feel smaller.

Making friends was even harder. The other kids had known each other since kindergarten. They played games I didn’t know, used slang I couldn’t understand, and sometimes laughed at my accent. I spent hours figuring out how to join in. Slowly I started learning the language conversations and the jokes.

School life in Sweden was very different from back home. The classrooms were bright and organized, and teachers encouraged discussion rather than strict memorization. Everyone had laptops and we could choose many of our subjects music, technology, or crafts. I remember struggling to understand the grading system.

Outside of school, life in the village was quiet. There weren’t many shops or places to hang out. Jobs for teenagers were scarce. The system in Sweden is strict under sixteen, you can only do light work like babysitting, helping on farms, or small retail tasks, and even that is regulated by labor laws. I once helped at a local restaurant, serving food and washing plates.

Over time, we started appreciating Swedish traditions fika breaks with cinnamon buns and coffee, Midsummer celebrations with flowers and dancing, and the quiet respect for nature and personal space.

Living in Sweden taught me resilience. I had to face loneliness, language barriers, and cultural differences, hard making a friend, understanding a teacher, but i realized that adapting wasn’t just about learning Swedish it was about finding confidence in myself, even when everything around me felt strange.

After two or three years, I wasn’t just surviving I was beginning to belong. I could joke with classmates, understand most lessons, and even teach my parents some of the words I had learned.

Being fourteen in a new country was hard, yes, but it also taught me lessons I’ll carry forever patience, curiosity, and the courage to start over, even when it feels scary.

Writing this helped me remember how far I’ve come since my first days in Sweden. This story is based on my real experience of moving to Sweden as a teenager. Every struggle taught me something about courage, patience, and finding home in a new place.

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