A Major Conversation: I Called The Swedish Number!

I’ve never been to Sweden, I’ve never even had it on one of my list of things to do, but this week my interest in the Scandinavian nation was piqued when the The Swedish Tourist Association rolled out The Swedish Number. What is that? Well, The Swedish Number is a number anyone from around the world can dial +46 771 SWEDEN that connects you to a local Swede. In 1766, Sweden became the first country to introduce a constitutional law to abolish censorship and to honor this accomplishment, Sweden is now the first country in the world to introduce its own phone number.

How cool is that!

The number gives you access to a random person, where you are able to discuss all things Swedish. My curiosity got the best of me today and I decided to call Sweden. First things first, if you’re calling please be aware of any long distance/roaming charges you might incur while chatting, don’t be surprised by that bill at the end of the month. I dialed 1-301-276-0600, the alternative (cheaper) number if you’re in the U.S. or have access to an U.S. line, the line started to ring for a second, and then an automated voice boomed through the line to say that I would be connected to a Swede. I really got excited then! After I was patched through, the line began to ring for quite some time, I almost contemplated hanging up, but not before I was connected to a man with lots of screaming children in the background.

I instantly regretted my decision. I stuck my finger in my free ear and tried to put my entire right ear through the phone. My first reaction was, “Does he speak English?” “Why are these children screaming?” After I introduced myself as ‘Sherice, from The Bahamas’, he told me that his name was Joseph(ine) [it was hard to hear] and that he was from a small city in Sweden called Kalmar. Joseph (for short) was very excited when I told him that I was from The Bahamas and that I was thinking of putting Sweden on my travel wish list.

Photo Credit: Lola Akinmade Åkerström/imagebank.sweden.se

My first question to him was ‘How’s the weather?”; very lame, I know. “Its rainy”, he said. I then boasted about all of the amazing sun shining outside of my window. We then morphed into talking about the Northern Lights, which is now on my bucket list. Interestingly enough Joseph has never seen the Northern Lights; mainly because of the location of Kalmar (South), the lights are not visible. He did say it’s beautiful, but I guess we’re both just taking the word of those who have seen it! Just like me, he said he is interested in one day seeing them.

Our chat rambled on and on about Kalmar, Stockholm, The Bahamas, the Swimming Pigs in the Exumas (“very strange” he said lol) and a little bit of the history of Sweden. I asked him what was one historical thing I should know and he told me The Vikings! I learned that The Vikings were the first Europeans that visited North America, even before Christopher Columbus’ voyage. I learned about their explorations and invasions. Joseph asked me if we had any Vikings in The Bahamas and I told him the closest thing we had to Vikings were our Junkanoo group, ‘The Saxons”.

The most interesting part of my call though was when I asked my new Swedish friend about food. He told me he was actually in Ikea eating at that very moment; I never knew Ikea even sold food! That was also the reason there were so many children and so much noise. (My bad!) While Sweden has lots of Western options he said that Swedish meatballs were a must try. Ikea’s menu option of 12-16 meatballs with potatoes as a meal made me realize, Swedes love their meat. I told him that I loved Ikea’s furniture and then the conversation got really good. When they say ‘talk about anything’, they do mean anything. Joseph told me Ikea wasn’t exactly a favourite in his country. Apparently, the company wasn’t known for good employee relations and that the company doesn’t promote enough environmental awareness. Words like deforestation & sustainability were used a lot in our conversation.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t sit and chat all day, but, something told me if I wanted to, Joseph would’ve been up for it. His presence and warmth radiated over the phone and his passion and love for his country and the environment made me a fan. The only regret that I had was not remembering to ask Josephine if Swedish fish are actually a thing there. *shrugs*.

The Swedish Number is brilliant, a genius marketing idea by the country’s tourism board. It connects you to locals who are able to best market their country. I also love the fact that Swedes from across the entire country are able to be connected to callers, not just in the capital of Stockholm. Even if you have no interest in visiting the country, give the number a ring. It’s fun, educational and a break from routine and just remember, you can talk about ANYTHING!

P.S. Be mindful of the time that you call, you may not get an answer. Sweden is on GMT!