The arrival of 'Civilisation'...thru my eyes

I've accepted and resigned to the fact that I live in the countryside (can't say that out loud tho..hee hee!). I'm even beginning to see the silver lining of living in a small town of population 12,000 (and growing...slooowly....) where nightlife is when you forget you need milk at 9.55pm and rush like a rabid dog to the ONLY store still open, tiny supermarket (one of 2 in this town. A fact we are ALL proud of) which closes at 10pm and you meet some other desperate people running in for last minute groceries, usually light beer, chips and magazines (items of choice especially on the weekends).

Don't get me wrong, I really like Askersund. It's a nice, calm town with a beautiful lake across one side of the town and where most people nod and smile when they pass each other (but that's usually cos everyone knows everyone...especially the old people, the majority demographic of this town). We have at least 1 of almost everything. I town square, 1 bookstore, 1 pharmacy, 1 toystore, 1 knit store, 1 spa, 1 hotel, 1 electronic store, 1 sports store, 2 flowershops, 2 bakeries (Swedes love their flowers and bread), 4 cafes (2 of which belong to a B&B), and for some strange reason, more than 5 hairsalons. I'm not sure how this is possible but they all manage to stay open for business and yet I never see anyone in the salons. Oh and Swedes love their pizzas and kebabs so we have 4 pizza places, 3 of which are a block from each other and an Asian Restaurant that is open only during the warm half of the year.

Everything but 1 cafe, 2 restaurants and the supermarkets close at 6pm on weekdays and beyond 10pm, you'd be lucky to buy a coke anywhere. When I first moved here, like any tourist, I looked out for certain stores or things that are international and familiar. So of cos, I looked for things like Burger King, KFC, Body Shop and 7-11. Of the 4, I found 2 that are within 45min drive (and that is considered close by), KFC does not exist in Sweden (sent shock waves thru me) and husband told me that 7-11 can only be found in Stockholm and Gothenburg, mainly the really large cities.

Darn it. After living in Thailand where 7-11s are found on every street and appreciating the selection of 7-11 foods when I worked the late shifts in Singapore, I became a 7-11 lover. And to hear that there is no 7-11 within a 3 hour drive radius made it feel like I truly lived out in the wild. I may be exaggerating but take the 7-11 away from a girl like me and you can only get drama.

But perhaps someone up there heard my silent cries of frustration cos 2 weeks ago, civilisation, as I see it, arrived in Askersund. We found out that the gas station by the harbour has now opened a 7-11!!! I almost did not dare to believe it. Here in tiny Askersund!! We have a 7-11!! Yippee!!! Granted that it is only open till midnight but in Sweden, that's considered all night anyway.

I am sooo glad!! We were so excited, both husband and I, that we actually went down to the gas station just to have a look around the place. I was in awe and checked out every shelf, every magazine (good selection of porn mags, according to husband), every coffee machine and every hot food item they had. We could tell just how recently it had opened since most of the items and shelves were without price tags and half of the shelves were empty with cartons lying around. I hope they have a slurpee machine soon but I'm not holding my breath. I'm just glad there's a 7-11!!

And now dear husband knows exactly where to head to if I ever get a midnight craving. hahaha!!