Shadowing-Übung: What 30 Days in Sweden Taught Me About Happiness as an American - Englisch Sprechen Lernen mit Video
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Sweden is one of the happiest countries in the world, but I kept hearing another word, lonely.
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So I came to Sweden to find out, can a country be both happy and lonely?
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As an American, I've always been fascinated by the Nordics, the happiest region in the world,
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and a place where some say the American dream can best be achieved.
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So I went to Stockholm to attend a Nordic happiness conference, where I learned from academics,
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government, entrepreneurs, and other happiness experts on what makes life so good here.
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But I knew I needed to experience this for myself, and people told me if I wanted to really experience Sweden, leave Stockholm.
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So I traveled north, 8 hours by train, 3 hours by bus, and 2 hours by car,
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to Swedish Lapland, where I met Chris, a German, who has lived in northern Sweden for eight years.
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Why did I travel 13 hours in Sweden to meet a German?
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Well, what I've learned is sometimes it takes an outsider's perspective to really understand a country.
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So come along and spend a day with me, Chris, and a few Swedish friends as we explore life in Sweden,
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from FICA to work to healthcare to childcare and also loneliness too.
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And at the end, I'll report back on what I've learned about life in Sweden as an American.
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The sun has been up since 2am and in a few weeks there will be almost 24 hours of daylight.
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It's time to get up because Chris needs to go to work and also prepare his daughter for school.
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Chris's daughter goes to school in another village, but there's a taxi that picks her up every morning.
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This is free and paid for by the government.
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I would learn that Sweden is one of the best places to raise a family, but more on that later.
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It's time to go to work.
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It's about a 30 minute drive and I'm curious, what is it like to work in Sweden?
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Back in Germany, we did have a lot more stress.
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Like, people had much higher expectations, but there's not as much expectation here.
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And therefore, I think people are more relaxed.
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In Sweden, there's a concept called lagom.
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Not too much, not too little, just enough.
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You work just enough to be productive, but not too much.
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Let's hear from an English guy who also moved to Sweden.
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Well, in England, they expect you to always put in that a little bit extra, you know, be there 50 minutes early, leave half an hour late, gotta do the most and you have to live the work.
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Whereas here, they literally expect you to be more relaxed.
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They definitely put more of an emphasis on you getting the job done right, but also not being stressed off your feet.
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We arrive in town and Chris drops me off at a cafe where I meet some friends for fika.
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Fika is a Swedish coffee break with friends or colleagues.
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It's usually with coffee and a pastry.
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It's sacred.
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But is it too early to have sweets?
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No, no, no. You can always eat sweets.
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Okay.
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No wonder Swedes are so happy.
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It's time for the moment of truth.
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Ice cream Danish.
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It's pretty good.
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Sweden is also top three in the world when it comes to drinking coffee.
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They drink about three cups per day.
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I like fika.
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Well, it's time to go and meet two local Swedes.
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And being on time is very important in Sweden.
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Hi.
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How's it going?
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I'm David.
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Okay.
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Okay.
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David.
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Hello.
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You must be from Marino.
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Yes.
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Nice to meet you, Marino.
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Thank you.
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We drive and talk, and when we get to the top, you can literally see that nature is everywhere.
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Sweden became the first country in the world to be prescribed by doctors.
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Spending time in Swedish nature and culture can heal.
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And fika is part of that prescription too.
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I asked them specifically about life in northern Sweden.
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We have a really good life in Sweden.
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It's secure, it's easy.
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I think the easy part is the best part for me.
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Easy living.
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It's easy living.
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It's cheap to live here.
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Easy houses is like 100,000 euro.
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A really good house in a good area is 200,000 euro.
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And if you go out in the village, you can buy something for 5 euro.
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Maybe it's time to move to rural Sweden.
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And I learned there's an even sweeter reason too.
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A Swedish tradition where kids are allowed to eat candy on Saturdays.
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Luckily, I'm not a kid.
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And Marino is so excited for me to try some of Sweden's best sweets.
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You have to taste it.
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You can taste it.
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Yeah.
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This is in Finland.
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In Finland and in Sweden, we eat liquor.
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Liquor.
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You don't like it.
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According to the Disgusting Food Museum in Maumal, there are only six nations that love black licorice.
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Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and the Netherlands.
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You're good.
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Yeah?
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You're good.
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It's good to try.
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Sorry, I'm not a fan of black licorice, but I do love candy.
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And I love...
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Lordaxguris.
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But it's time to get some real food.
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But as I walk around, I notice how quiet it is.
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This is what I've noticed about Sweden it's perfect for introverts like me
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but can a country be too introverted
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because more than 50 percent of households live alone in this country the most in the eu
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and that's also why sweden gets categorized stereotyped as one of
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the loneliest countries in the world can you be happy while also being alone.
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Now, I don't know but I'm keen to explore that.
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But what I do know is I'm hungry and I want to try the national dish of Sweden.
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Kebab pizza.
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Italian tradition, Turkish imagination, Swedish obsession.
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It's good.
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It tastes good.
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Yeah, a kebab on a pizza.
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After gaining a few kilos by midday, it's time to walk over to meet Chris for his doctor's appointment.
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Chris's shoulder has been bothering him for the past 4 months and he's not sure if he should continue working.
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While the doctor sees him, I learn that healthcare in Sweden is among the most affordable in Europe.
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It's so called free but taxes do pay for it.
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Now compare that to around $2,000 per year for an individual in the Netherlands, and $1,400 in the US.
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Now in the US, health insurance costs like $9,000 per year, but because health insurance is tied to employment, employers cover most of the cost.
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In Sweden, you do have co-pays for things like doctor visits, but the max or deductible is around $150 per year.
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That's around $450 in the Netherlands, and in the US, the average deductible is $1,900.
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Health insurance is expensive and complicated in the US.
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Well, the results are in.
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I have to stay home for now one month.
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Chris needs to let his employer know, but he will still get paid 80% of his salary.
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The employer covers the first two weeks, and then the social system pays after that.
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In the US, there is no law for paid sick leave, but in certain more generous states like California,
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we get five days of paid sick leave per year.
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And it's time to pick up Chris's daughter from school.
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Sweden is one of the best places in the world to raise a kid.
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Chris pays around 60 euros per month for daycare five days a week.
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Now, daycare costs are based on income, but the max anyone would pay is around $200 per month for one child.
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In the Netherlands, where I used to live, it can be around 1 to 3,000 euros or dollars per month for one child.
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In the US, same story.
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In big cities, it can be around $2,000 per month.
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And parental leave in Sweden is one of the best in the world.
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New parents get 16 months off for each child, which can be split between the parents.
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In the Netherlands, mothers get around 16 weeks.
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Partners get around 6 weeks.
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In the US, it depends on the state and the company you work for.
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Now you can see why Sweden is one of the best places to be a parent.
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We get back home, and then we meet our friends for...
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...Fri Lus Liev, or the outdoor life.
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It's about being outdoors, relaxing and enjoying nature.
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It's a way of life here and one reason why Swedes are so happy.
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There's also Allemansretten which is the freedom to roam in nature.
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People can walk, hike, camp, paddle and pick mushrooms and berries anywhere too.
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Moose Prince.
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Moose Poop.
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What does a moose sound sound like?
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I don't know.
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Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Shhhhhh That's the thing about Sweden.
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You have wildlife right next door.
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I'm hungry and it's time to get back because it's Friday and I hear, Swedes love...
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Mexican food?
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Apparently, Swedes love tacos.
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And pizza too.
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And today it's Fridax Mies or Cozy Friday, which is a Swedish tradition where family and friends get together at the end of the week.
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So we have taco and pizza night.
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But before bed, we watch an eye-opening documentary called The Swedish Theory of Love.
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It talks about how Sweden created the most individualistic country in the world,
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but in doing so, it also created this hyper-independent society that depends too much on the state and not on each other.
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That's what the problem is that we have a shielding network that takes care of us.
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It's not us who takes care of each other.
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I wonder sometimes, why are we so lucky?
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Now, I know this is only one view, so I wanted to ask others.
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People that are old are lonely.
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And that's maybe, if you look at it as a bigger picture, our culture as well, because in maybe in poorer countries,
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it's a stronger family culture than in Sweden because everybody goes out
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and do their careers and the children moving away to get other jobs and they left their parents behind.
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Then their partner died and they are very lonely.
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This has also come from a young age because I see a lot of kids here, they play outside by themselves without parents.
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Kids grow up naturally having more freedom.
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They can just go out whenever they want, roam around and explore things a bit.
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Some people choose to be alone.
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We are happy.
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I'm alone.
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I'm single, no children.
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I love it.
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It's quiet.
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I can do whatever I want to do when I want to do it.
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Introvert, yes.
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Swedish people can be hard to make friends with, but it takes a little while.
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Then you never get rid of a Swede.
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Loneliness is a big problem everywhere, but the research also shows us that Sweden isn't more lonely compared to other countries.
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What I've learned about Swedes is that they are simply more okay being alone compared to other cultures.
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And as an introvert, I kind of get it too.
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People still question why I choose to do so many things alone.
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and it's not that I don't like people,
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I value social connection, but I choose to spend time alone because it gives me freedom and it gives me happiness.
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And being alone doesn't mean being lonely.
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But there is one thing I've heard from Swedes,
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from foreigners, and it's that life in Sweden can sometimes be a little too comfortable.
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The biggest issue is that people realize too much about others.
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And if you can ask anyone who is pretty successful in any way, they understand that they are the CEO of their own lives.
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In Sweden, there's this big safety net that people can rely and depend on from the welfare state.
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But for me, growing up in the US, we can't just depend on the state, the government, the system.
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So we have to learn to push through, to figure out many more things on our own.
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And that can be really stressful.
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But at the same time, there is value in the struggle too.
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Happy life means overcoming troubles, fighting with troubles, resolving difficulties.
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We all have personal challenges but in Sweden we don't have so much real problems.
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We complain about shitty stuffs.
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Like should that tree be cut down?
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Yeah.
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No, don't cut it down.
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Yes, cut it down.
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Now I will take a hundred tree problems any day,
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every day if you give me a healthy Lego work-life balance, five weeks of paid vacation,
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free education, affordable health care, super affordable child care, nature everywhere,
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a safe country, and Saturday candy.
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Well what do you think about life in Sweden from Swedish happiness to loneliness?
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Whether you're a Swede, someone living in Sweden, or someone interested curious about Sweden,
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please leave your thoughts in the comments below and I hope you have a nice day, a Lagom of a day,
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and I also hope you have lots of fika.
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Shadowing ist eine wissenschaftlich fundierte Sprachlerntechnik, die ursprünglich für die professionelle Dolmetscherausbildung entwickelt und durch den Polyglotten Dr. Alexander Arguelles populär gemacht wurde. Die Methode ist einfach aber wirkungsvoll: Du hörst englisches Audio von Muttersprachlern und wiederholst es sofort laut — wie ein Schatten, der dem Sprecher mit nur 1–2 Sekunden Verzögerung folgt. Anders als passives Hören oder Grammatikübungen zwingt Shadowing dein Gehirn und deine Mundmuskulatur, gleichzeitig echte Sprachmuster zu verarbeiten und zu reproduzieren. Studien zeigen, dass es Aussprachegenauigkeit, Intonation, Rhythmus, verbundene Sprache, Hörverständnis und Sprechflüssigkeit signifikant verbessert — was es zu einer der effektivsten Methoden für die IELTS Speaking-Vorbereitung und reale englische Kommunikation macht.