Old news

Snow and ice has come and gone and I’m betting that we will be getting much more it in the next upcoming weeks and months. I think it’s a little exciting, my first real winter. Sure South Carolina gets cold, but I don’t think it’s ever been as cold as it is here. But surprisingly I don’t mind it, I thought the weather would be my least favourite thing about Sweden, but really it’s not terribly bad. In South Carolina, winter is the ugliest season, all the leaves have fallen off the trees leaving them stricken and bare, but in Sweden most of the trees are evergreens. It’s still green and lush even with temperatures of -5 degrees Celsius in November.

Last week in naturkunskap (Chemistry) we distilled beer. I thought it was hilarious that we were able to have the substance in the school, much less work with it in class. I don’t think people realize the stark contrasts between the general ideas of alcohol in Swedish culture compared to American. Of most toxic substances. Students smoke at school (not technically on school grounds, but right in front of them) use snus (a kind of popular tobacco in bags that they put in the top corner of their mouth) in school (even have it out on their desks). And it's not like chewing tobacco, not the same thing.

As most Americans know, if you even had that in your car at school you could be suspended or given some sort of punishment.

In some ways I think Americans have managed to really demonize such things and therefore make them so much important than they really are. Of course they are dangerous, addictive and unhealthy, but I believe that there is more of a problem with them in America than here because of the way they are seen. On a more positive note, I wager to say that use of tobacco and cigarettes is decreasing these days, at least in the states, as most people know that it leads to bad health, cancer, and overall unpleasantness.

So Obama won. Old news right.

I don’t really know how to feel about that. I feel kind of distanced anyway from the whole scope of American politics right now, but having been nearly bombarded with all sorts of questions and opinions about who won and how I feel about it I realized I don’t have many answers for them.

You might be surprised about how important the American election was in Sweden, I surely was. There was news coverage on it every single night on TV, press conferences held on the issues and pros and cons of each candidate. It was on everyone’s tongues, and every time something would come up about Obama or McCain everyone would turn towards me and ask ‘Who do you think will win?’

I thought it was strange at first and I remember asking one of my host brothers why Sweden cared so much about the American election.

‘‘Because it affects us too.’’ He said without missing a beat, and it made sense.

I didn’t have much favour for either McCain or Obama. I thought McCain was too rigid and too old and set in his ways to lead a nation into the future when everything around us is changing. I thought Obama was too young, too inexperienced and not ready to take on responsibility for everything that needs to be fixed in order to help pull America out of all the mess we’ve gotten ourselves into.

But one of them had to win and somehow I had always known it would be Obama. So I guess what I thought never gave the decision much weight.

Oh well, the country hasn’t caught on fire yet, that’s a good sign. We will just have to see how it goes.

Undrar (und- rar) it means wonder