Fika has been one of my most favorite cultural introductions since coming to England. It is a Swedish concept and the word itself directly translates to the American word coffee -- though that is hardly the only definition. Swedes take time during their day, typically the afternoon, to catch up with friends and family while enjoying coffee or tea alongside small cakes or other treats. My housemates Sandra, Fredrik, and Daniel have each explained to me in their own terms what they tend to incorporate into their fikas when they are home in Sweden. We as a house attempt to fika together once a day, even if it's just a break for tea and coffee at our kitchen table. In this daily routine, I have learned that fika may be vital to the working American's lifestyle.
One thing I love about being American is our overall drive to get things done. We skip lunch, go into the office early, stay late, miss dinner with our families and even take time on our days off continue working. While this displays our drive to accomplish things and to move onto the next big project, it also forces Americans to give up much of our personal time in the name of work. Rather than allowing our weekends to truly be time off, or using sick days when we are actually sick, we fight through it all in order to reach that one goal: a fabulous paycheck.
Money is all well and good, of course, it's what the world runs on, but is it truly worth it at the expense of our memories? Of our relationships? Of our personal happiness? Can you ask yourself when the last time you or your friends just randomly got together to catch up without having to check each other's schedules eighty times before making a plan? On top of that, there's a large chance that this drive to be the best in the classroom or the workplace has caused some overwhelming amount of selfishness in one's actions. All signs point to getting ahead, and the only way to do that is by putting your work or studies before anything else in your life, including your family and friends. This is where the Swedish idea of fika comes into play.
If each American who never stops working took twenty or thirty minutes out of their afternoon to step outside and get a cup of coffee with a friend, we may finally be able to bring leisure time back into our lives. We make life so difficult already as we try to attain the ever elusive American Dream, so why not take some time for nurturing our souls and hearts? Rather than allowing ourselves to be swallowed up by the machine of the working world, we should be using the concept of fika to slow down and remember the small things. Part of the original American Dream included having a family, and probably friends, but when work tends to take up all of our time, will we ever fully feel whole? Fika can bring balance to an overworked human and will allow for that person to earn back the countless minutes of leisure time they've already missed out on.
The relationships I have built here in England would not be as deep or well rounded had my Swedish housemates not introduced fika into my world. Slowing down to reflect on the day and talk with my friends helps me to find my center -- a center which I never knew I had! I have not only been less stressed in my own life, but I have taken more of an initiative to learn more about the people and world around me. I'm not saying that an American has to spend each day trying to find time to fika, but incorporating it into a typical week will bring a more balanced emotional state for a person and for those close to him/her. Fika can truly make a difference for the American lifestyle and would allow each person the chance to recharge to keep moving forward...plus who doesn't love a chance to drink a great cup of coffee?
