(so now probably we will get really cold weather just because I wrote that...).
My Daughter's kindergarten is within walking distance. It's about a 7 minute walk. If I bring the Son, it's a 30 minutes walk. There are sooo many stones that has to be checked out and stored in all available pockets...
My Daughter was very shy, hardly spoke to anyone before she started preschool at 4. My Son is the social guy in the family. He'll say "Hi!" to anyone he meets and gets genuinely upset if he doesn't get a wave or a hi back.
When walking (slowly... lot's of stones around...) back from school today after leaving the Daughter, we met three persons on the little trail. They were out power walking in the beautiful weather and when the Son happily said "Hi!" they stopped, smiled and responded "Hi to you, do you like the nice sun? Are you happy? You do know that Jesus loves you, don't you?". My Son got a bit confused of all the talking - he is happy with a single "Hi!", but waved happily when they continued their walk.
Two things that would probably not happen on a walk in Sweden - people stopping to talk and starting spontaneous talks about Jesus...
6 comments:
As native Californians, I've never had someone tell me or my daughter that Jesus loves us after we've said a simple 'hi.' A bit odd.
What I have noticed though is that people in my old small town were friendlier (ie, more likely to make eye contact and nod or say a greeting) than in the larger college town where we live now. I miss that.
I think in Sweden older people, i.e. grandparents, would stop and talk to a child, but if an adult said hi to them they would probably just keep on walking.
Well, frankly, I'm just glad that people here in Sweden don't stop and spontaneously say things like "You know that Jesus loves you, don't you?" to perfect strangers in Sweden. I would be appalled if someone said that to my child. Leave your religious nonsense to yourself and don't damage my child. But people would definitely respond with a "hi" to a little cute (which I assume your kid is) kid, here in Sweden. But talking about Jesus. No. and I'm thankful for it.
Jodå del två har jag varit med om, jag bor i Göteborg och när jag pluggade så fanns det en man som ofta promenerade mellan Chalmers och Fysiken (studenternas träningscenter) och han hälsade alltid på alla med orden "Jesus älskar dig".
/u
Christina - haha - no, it was a first for me too. I think that is a universal phenomena - people being more friendly in smaller towns.
Anna - sometimes I like the Swedish way better... I'm not always that talkative - haha! But I like the way people say "hi" more often - gives me a good feeling about being part of a neighborhood.
Starfish - well, it was a first for me too, so I can't really make conclusions on that sole incident - I thought it was interesting nevertheless. It was such a beautiful day - I guess everyone just wanted to talk about what whas in their hearts. :-)
U - well as long as whomever is talking is nice and happy - and harmless. I let my son do the talking. ;-)
Ha ha, nej det är nog ytterst sällan folk i Sverige skulle säga något om Jesus till en glad liten pojke! Men gulligt att de iaf hälsade på honom.
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