Min första veckan i Sverige

It's only been a week , but so far I'm in love with Sweden. Of course I suppose that might be the awe factor thats sets in your first time in a new country, but there is much to love.



For example, Sweden is absolutely a gorgeous country, in a country with less people than the whole of New York city, you know it's bound to be beautiful. Trees and feilds and flowers and rivers and mountains everywhere. And even the cities are beautiful, old buildings and winding walkways, tall metropolitan towers that gleam in the sun.



Yea a little too poetic, but you get the idea.



So my first week....



The first word my host family taught me was 'fika' (fee kah) its the Swedish equivalent to a coffee break and all Swedes love it. The difference is that the Swedish fika is a social thing, they all get together and go to a cafe or gather at someones house and have sweets like cake and pastries and cookies with strong black coffee (they don't use cream and sugar!) It's very important and popular, especially among highschool and college age Swedes.



It seems like everyone is always eating! Hahaha, and the diet (from what i've seen) largely consists of meats and cheeses and breads. Yet everyone walks everywhere and rides their bikes (I have already ridden my bike to so many different places there are even bike paths on the interstate and the highway) so there are hardly any overweight people.



It took two days for me to get my luggage (Eva was kind enough to let me borrow some clothes) and it arrived just in time for my first day of school. You can bet that I was extremely happy about that.



Which brings me to my next discovery, Alleskolan.



In America highschool is pretty much like prison. Adults yelling at you telling you where to go and when, disgusting food that is extremely overpriced and only adds to the growing obesity problem in the country. You aren't allowed to use cell phones, you aren't allowed to leave school grounds and in some schools (MINE) you have to wear a uniform.

But Swedish highschools are completely different. Students come by train or city bus (me included) and everyday you have different classes. The schedule is insane, for example, on Monday I start at 8:00 on Tuesday I start at 7:30 and on Wednesday I start at 9:30.

Every day except for Friday I have two or more periods free and students are allowed to leave whenever they want. My school is in a small city so just this past week my friends and I have gone to a cafe, gone shopping, gone to a grocery store and walked around the city. During school. If I have the same class, each day it is in a different room, and it can be confusing to find the right one.

You call the teachers by the first name and there are never any discipline problems, everyone treats each other with respect and the teachers treat us like adults. If you don't have a class during the last period you can just go home. (It's great!)

People use their cell phones in plain sight for their teachers to see and unless the volume is on they don't care.

And the food.

Holy crap, the food is delicious! And it's healthy too and guess what? It's free!!!! An example of what they eat, one day I had grilled fish with white rice and vegetables and it was delicious. They're are several meal choices as well and it's all served buffet style (no lunch ladies) No candy, chips or soda.

School is a social affair for Swedes and yes they have challenging classes, but their is not much emphasis placed on them. But it's hard for me.

Why?

To qoute perhaps the BEST movie ever made (Mean Girls) ''It's all in like Swedish or something''

I only speak basic Swedish and everything is in Svensk, the textbooks the teachers and my friends speak mostly Swedish too. I can understand my friends better than my teachers because they don't use such difficult words, but I think that it will get easier with time.

Speaking of Swedish, my family has told me that I know the most Swedish out of all of the exchange students they have ever had, and that surprised me because I was rushing to try and finish my Rosetta Stone, I was so sure I would'nt know anything and wouldn't be able to talk to anyone.

It's a very musical language, difficult and very strange for the native english speaker hearing it the first time. I have been studying for three or so months, so my ear is tuned to it, but someone hearing it for the first time would be very lost.

From what I've seen, Sweden seems like a beautiful place to live. Safe and idyllic while being urban and fashion forward at the same time. I could see myself living here, anyone could, but it would be impossible without speaking Swedish.

Swedish word for this post.....Skinka (Whink Kya) it means Ham

för exempel

Jag vill har röttskinka med ris och sallad

(I will have roast ham with rice and salad)