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Sweden

Vanilla Extract

Geo tags: norrtälje 

Descriptive tags: culture adjusting 

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Back in the winter of 2000 as I was getting ready to move to Sweden the big discussions seemed to be the things Americans cannot get in Sweden. The big one was VANILLA EXTRACT. Oh dear, how was I supposed to live without VANILLA EXTRACT???

I checked my kitchen cupboard and found an old bottle of VANILLA EXTRACT way in the back corner. Probably had been there ten years or more. It was hard to open-but when I got it open ----it was dried up-----empty--!

 I quickly ran to the store and bought a bottle of VANILLA EXTRACT. For extra measure I bought a bottle of lemon extract .

I placed them near where I was packing. I could see them from the computer as I did some surfing to see if I was needing anything else. I sat there looking at them and wondering what I was doing. Here I was moving to a different country and dragging America along with me. How did people in Sweden function without VANILLA EXTRACT?

Very well I can assure you after almost ten years of life without VANILLA EXTRACT. I do have that bottle of VANILLA EXTRACT here in my kitchen as a constant reminder that I am glad that I can function in my wonderful new country without

                                                VANILLA EXTRACT!

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  • I looked in ICA today but could not find it either! I did find vanilla in a little green and white box. Yeah! I got it home and opened it to find a little packet of what looks like sugar. Next trip I will bring vanilla extract, bisquick or teabisk, Red Rose tea....
  • I had a similar discussion with my sambo during my first month here. He later directed me to the baking section of Hemköp and sweetly pointed at the whole vanilla beans and said that they do have vanilla in Sweden =)
  • lol I was looking for this the other day, but couldn't find it, ended up using vanilla suger insted. Great story :)
  • hehehe... I recognizie this! I have a very good friends in Göteborg who comes from Mississippi, every time I went to the USA I bought her a little bottle of Vanilla Extract to make her happy :-) Allthough I know that both in Sthlm and in Göteborg there are American shops where you can buy lots of American food, like barbecue sauce and such... But it's good to hear you made it without the extract for so many years!

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