I meant "not a fan of Finland" but now that I think about it, I don't like Sweden that much better either. Still, a trip to Sweden is always welcome in summer time, I like how peaceful it is there
I agree, US has some stupid things. It's just that I don't like how small in scale Finland is. If I had to live somewhere i'd want it to be fairly normal but still large in scale. US would be perfect for that in that sense. And you can't help but to feel that USA is the center of everything. Almost all of the mainstream media comes from there and they have a close-to universal language
I love Sweden at summer time, when it's not raining. I hate however that the winter is so long and how dark it is during the days at winter. It is pretty depressing. But I love Sweden too much to leave. I love our music, I love our ethics and policies, I love how secularised Sweden is, I love the welfare and our policies, I love our language etc. Most of all I love our girls haha (yes the myth is true I'd say).
Though there are things I do not like as well. It's almost a crime here to be proud of the country. People would instantly think of you as a "racist". I also don't like how politically correct we have to be all the time. There is no sense of unity here I'd say. As I said, you're basically not allowed to be proud of your country, at least not aloud. Media and people overall only bash things that are "Swedish" or "Western" culture, but never dare to say anything negative that's connected to foreign religions, because they're afraid of upsetting them. People here are very ungrateful of how good they have it (Sweden is one of the safest and most modern countries to live in and has a very good economy) and seldom do things for the people but for their own. It's very individualistic here.
For example, I'm not sure if it's enforced yet, but if it is there will be no more national anthem at graduation anymore because that's too "nationalistic" and might "upset those who are from other cultures". I mean, that's just ridiculous. And many times, it's just those politicians making such decisions even when people "from other cultures" haven't made any complaint, so it's not those people's fault but the politicians. They make "foreign" people look bad, even though there are a few of those actually making such complaints but they are just stupid, just as there are a few stupid people in any culture.
It's always about "us" having to adjust to "others" all the time. That's what I really don't like about this country. But there are so many great things that I can't imagine myself living anywhere else. I think the smaller scale is just right for me.
I haven't been to Finland and I don't think I have plans to. I don't know why but I just don't know much about what it's like over there and I picture it being pretty much like Sweden when it comes to nature, places and stuff. I do think however that you Finns would be fun to party with haha. And you have some good music too.
About USA. I very much agree with those things you list there that is awesome about that country. I do however think that their policies are horse crap, that their heavy faith in religion sucks (also how ironic it is considered their policies and many other things) and the conservatism among many people there. However, electing Obama as their president is the best thing they've done for a long time if you ask me. That gives me hope not everyone there is stupid :P
I also do appreciate how they fight against terrorism and cover our asses. But that doesn't make me want to live there :P