Welcome to The Newbie Guide to Sweden Podcast! The podcast about all things Sweden, for Newbies by Newbies! In our first episode, we're diving into all things Nynäshamn, beer, winter survival tips and ice-swimming! Brace yourselves...
Join the discussions via The Newbie Guide to Sweden instagram and Facebook group and tune in in every other Wednesday for a fresh new episode.
You can currently listen here on our website and in number of different places such as Spotify, Acast and Apple podcasts. And more are on their way!
Meet the host - Sheona Urquhart Smångs
A Melbournian from ‘down under’, Sheona’s experience sits mainly in entertainment as a musician, actress and comedian and digital communications specialist.
After meeting her true love in Stockholm, Sheona made the unexpected move to Sweden and quickly fell in love with the country. Nowadays, when she’s not chatting all things Sweden, she can be found gigging somewhere in the country, or eating her body weight on Gotland. Sheona is passionate about helping fellow newbies find themselves in Sweden and relishes in connecting with people from all over the world.
Episode list
Episode 1: Välkommen Newbies!
In our very first episode you learn about beer brewing in Nynäshamn, ice bathing, why you should not microwave your food in plastic containers and you get to meet our lovely host Sheona, the amazing newbies Astrud Tuck @luminastro and Andrew Colley @andrewcolley and you get peak into Nynäshamns ångbryggeri @nynashamns_angbryggeri.
Episode 2: Tour and toilets and tips
In our second episode we dive into Gamla Stan and select parts of its rich history. This medieval town within Stockholm has seen a lot of sh*t - literally! We also learn about Vasaloppet and meet fellow Newbie, Fer Donoso, who is a certified tour-guide in Stockholm! Fer Donoso Tours website: ferdonosotours.com and Fer Donoso Tours on Insta: @ferdonosotours. What are your favourite parts of Gamla Stan? Join the discussions via The Newbie Guide to Sweden Instagram and Facebook group!
Episode 3: Let's get sustainable!
In today's episode, we are diving into Sweden's favourite thing ever - sustainability! We go through the emotional rollercoaster that is sorting your trash as a newbie in Sweden, to discovering which of Sweden's cities is the #1 in sustainability. We also have a wonderful and insightful chat to researcher (and Newbie) Francisco "Fran" Vilaplana, who is an expert in the field. We also share some tips on how to make your life more 'circular' and we even briefly chat about waffles, Kalles Kaviar and pole-vaulting!
Extra interlude: An unexpected message from Sheona
Today's episode is... well...slightly different, due to an unexpected Migrationsverket-related incident. Not everything about being an expat is fun and our team is personally currently experiencing a not-so-fun part of being a Newbie in Sweden. But this is also a reality of being an expat and something we wanted to share with you!
Episode 4: Gothenburg pt I: a history, accents, Cafe Molokini and Volvo!
Fasten your 3-point seatbelts, we are heading West in today's episode! Göteborg (or Gothenburg) is a brilliant city for so many reasons, mainly because so many wonderful Newbies call it home. In today's episode, we are meeting two of them: Veronica from Cafe Molokini and Vishnu from Volvo Group. We also chat a little bit about Gothenburg's history and touch on the hilarity that is the Gothenburg accent - possibly the jolliest of all Swedish accents!
Episode 5: Swedish Summer Secrets - some of natures delight's
It's officially Summer and time to get thinking about your Swedish summer destinations during this precious, short-lived but beautiful season! Sheona shares some of the top destinations around Sweden that are perfect for summer, so you can add them to your list! We meet fellow Newbie Alexandra, who hosts her own spiritually minded kayaking and walking experiences in the Stockholm Archipelago - she's also lived in a cabin in the woods by herself for 7 years!! She's a beautiful soul.
Episode 6: Newly arrived in Sweden - first impressions and studenten
To wrap up this season, I talk to a freshly-arrived Newbie, who also happens to be my good mate. Enjoy hearing Josh's first impressions of Sweden, including work cultures, friendliness, snus, lös godis and Swedish pronunciations. We've all been here. We also briefly discuss Studenten and the bizarre traditions surrounding this rite of passage for teenage Swedes! Big ups for Andrew from episode 1 taking on the Vätternrundan.
Learn more about us on:
- The Newbie Guide to Sweden on insta: @thenewbieguidetosweden
- Sheona Urquhart Smångs on insta: @mysheona
