The Wrap Up

Wow, time flies.

Yesterday, Saturday, December 13, 2008 was St. Lucia day. And it marked almost an entire year since I wrote anything substantial on this blog (and it only took me that long to follow up on the promise – see below.)

My last few weeks in Sweden were a whirlwind of last minute parties, presents, and the packing (ugh). My korridor mates began to finish classes and go home for the holidays (to Västerås, Halmstad, Kisa…), I took my exams, celebrated St. Lucia with my American friends, attended a Swedish julbord with my UC friends, packed, and then I was flying across the Atlantic, saying a sad goodbye to the little Swedish life I had built for myself over six months.

I'm going to go ahead and back date the events, because I've written out the recap and it's pretty long. (And it'll be easier to reference later on, too.)

New posts include:
-Last two weeks in Lund, Pt. 1
-Last two weeks in Lund, Pt. 2
-Välkommen Hem!
-
-


I'm happy to be back in America, but I sure do miss Sweden.

God Jul och Gott Nytt År 2008!

Back in the States...

And I will wrap up this travel blog soon, I promise. In the meantime, if you're in California, come by and say hi!

Happy New Year!

Last two weeks in Lund, Pt. 1

It was a busy time! Here's the re-cap.

December 3rd: Today we said “Tack” to our Swedish teacher, Annika, and thanked her for being such a wonderful friend and instructor to the die-hard intermediate Swedish learners (only 7 of us left by the end of December!). We gave her a group photo and brought a treat from Mormor's bakery.

Then I decked the halls the traditional Swedish (and American) way, with an amaryllis and a wreath from the local grocery store:


December 5th: I captured a picture of what southern Sweden would look like if I were to stay for the next four months: foggy and gray.


December 6th-11th: Exams. I was holed up in my room for quite a while. I wrote a 30-page paper (on religion in U.S. public schools) over three frantic days and turned in a take home exam comparing Swedish and Canadian social systems. (I did well in both, but wouldn’t receive my final grades, converted from the Swedish system to the UC system, until March.) You can look at one of my final table of contents for one of my papers on the right. No fair critiquing now -- I got an A.

December 12th: I hosted a taco night for my korridor as a farewell gesture. Not my best cooked meal ever, but they seemed to enjoy it and I got a group picture with most of my Swedish familj.


December 13th: St. Lucia Day and exam day.

I woke up early to join two of my other korridor mates, LH and Lovisa, in watching the nationally televised St. Lucia procession. It's a beautiful tradition. In towns and cities across Sweden, a sort-of-pageant is held and a young woman (between 15-23ish) is elected to be the St. Lucia. The others serve as her “handmaidens” and accompany her in singing and processing.

Sweden’s winters are so long and dark that it's no surprise that most of their holidays revolve around the wonder of the light amidst the dark, the warm moments during the cold winter. Traditionally St. Lucia was celebrated on the darkest day of the year. The Lucia group sings a beautiful song (you can hear it in the video from my Lucia day blog post) and the lyrics translate to this:

The night treads heavily
around yards and dwellings
In places unreached by sun,
the shadows brood
Into our dark house she comes,
bearing lighted candles,
Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia.

Swedes also replicate the tradition at home, and the eldest daughter is often Lucia. (When I was younger, we did celebrated with my godmother's family here in the states.) She comes to greet her family in morning, wearing a long white gown, with St. Lucia rolls (lussekatter) on a tray and a crown of candles on her head. You can read more about the holiday here.


At 8am, I arrived at Lund University’s Centrum för teologi och religionsvetenskap (Center for Theology and Religious Studies) for my final Religion, Violence, and Politics class, which involved a public critique of our term papers. Our professor was late, and we heard people down the hall. Eva and I, wondering if we’d gone to the wrong classroom, wandered towards the voices and poked our heads into a room. There was assembled the entire Lund University Religion department staff, rehearsing their Santa Lucia procession and songs, to be performed in the religion library that morning. When our professor arrived, we begged him to let us (mostly foreigners, who had never been in Sweden for Lucia) go downstairs and watch. We did, and that was the second Lucia I saw that day.

For the exam, my class of ten students sat around a table and our peers (all of whom had read each others papers) would offer suggestions and critiques of our papers. At thrity-pages a pop, this was no small feat for anyone, yet this is standard in Swedish universities. As 90 percent of my grade was based on this paper, I was a little freaked out, but it went smoothly (and I got top marks).

Later that day, I met up with Cheryl, Eva, and Kalela to go to the Allhelgonakyrkan (All Saints Church) to see Lund’s newly elected Lucia process down the church aisle. There was already a crowd gathered outside the church waiting for the doors to open, and when they did we rushed inside to grab a good seat in the pews. We sang Christmas songs in Swedish and watched a children’s choir perform, and then they dimmed all the lights in the sanctuary so only the candles lit the room. St. Lucia and her handmaidens entered the room, glided slowly down the aisle, singing a cappella. It was breathtaking. That was the third Lucia I saw. Quite a day.

Happy St. Lucia Day!

Kulturens Julstök

Tonight was the Julstök at Lund’s culture and history museum, the Kulturen. It seemed like the whole city showed up to wander through the open-air part of the museum, where historical Swedish buildings create a cozy little village.


The entrance was a bargain – only 20 kronor for students (3 dollars) – and we got a glimpse at some authentic (and local) Swedish Christmas traditions, which is probably why both our Swedish professor and our UC advisor urged us to check it out.


I drank some delicious glögg, listened to the Östgöta Nation choir sing carols, watched Swedes pig out on hot dogs, including the local skånsk knake sausage, and ooh-ed and aah-ed for some talented performers including some jugglers who tossed flaming torches back and forth.


The museum was all lit up, and with darkness falling well before 4PM, it was a really wonderful holiday atmosphere. I thought the highlight of the night was buying a pig-shaped pepparkakor cookie which was then personalized with MY name.


My mom’s favorite stop would have been the herring buffet. You could try all kinds of pickled herring or “sill” for only 20 kronor. I headed for the lussekatter (saffron lucia buns) instead.


With only two weeks left it’s going to be hard to find the right balance between enjoying the little time I have left in Sweden and getting all of my school work done. Speaking of which, I have a paper to write!

Have a great week,
Linnea

Think Swedish.

It’s funny how the closer I get to coming home, the more I want to stay in Sweden (even though there were times during the last six months when I would have given anything to be back in California). It almost always works that way, though, doesn’t it?

There is a group on Facebook titled, “You know you’ve been in Sweden too long when…” and it points out some of the more interesting cultural quirks associated with Swedish culture. It turns out that I’ve adapted to quite a few of these norms, and I laughed out loud when I read some of them. A good reminder of how different things really are here.

Here are some of the best ones…

You know you’ve been in Sweden to long when…

…you rummage through your plastic bag collection to see which ones you should keep to take to the store and which can be sacrificed to garbage.

Here’s the deal: not only are Swedish grocery stores devoid of bagboys, but you are also required to pay for your shopping bags (about 15 cents each). They are made of much thicker plastic than the typical U.S. grocery bag and this leads to the stockpiling of bags, which you then reuse: either by bringing them with you on your next shopping trip, or using them to line your trash can.

…you associate Friday afternoon with a trip to System Bolaget and think nothing of paying $50 for a bottle of 'cheap' spirits.

The Swedish government has a monopoly on alcohol sales in Sweden. If you want any drink with stronger than 3.5 percent alcohol, you must go to the System Bolaget. They are only open Monday through Saturday, close by 5PM, and the prices are steep! All of this is an attempt to encourage Swedes to drink "responsibly." Procrastinators line up on Friday to buy booze for the weekend, and the more ambitious and price conscious head to Germany, Finland, or Denmark to buy it for cheap.

…your front door step is beginning to resemble a shoe shop.

Self explanatory. Everyone takes off their shoes when entering a home. Even the computer repairman who came by my dorm several weeks took his shoes off automatically, without any request. Primary reason? Long, snowy winters = wet, muddy shoes. And year-round cleanliness, I suppose.

…you associate pea soup with Thursday.
It's a Swedish tradition: pea soup and pancakes on Thursday. Even for the royal family.

…the first thing you do on entering a bank/post office/pharmacy/bakery etc. is look for the queue number machine.

Swedes don’t wait in lines, except at the grocery store. Almost everywhere, you take a number. Banks, bakeries, the doctors office, wherever. Take a number. Then sit. And wait.


…an outside temperature of 8 degrees Celsius (45 F) is mild.
Even a wimpy Californian like me is getting used to the cold!

...you think that an unripe wedge of tomato on a limp leaf of iceberg lettuce can be called a salad.
Swedish food is very good for the most part, but I haven’t had a really good salad since I left California. While in Sweden, I’ll take what I can get. But one of the first stops when I’m back? Café Intermezzo!

...you assume that anyone who apologizes after bumping into you is a tourist.
This is a bit of a generalization, but Swedes do treat their personal space a little differently.

...paying $5 for a cup of coffee seems reasonable.
Actually, $3.50 is a little more accurate, but a café latte doesn’t come cheap. Neither does a lot of other stuff (clothes, food). The dollar is weak and there are no Target stores here. Suck it up and pay.

...you get offended if, at a dinner party, someone fails to look you in the eyes after raising their glass for a toast.
When you toast, you say “skål!” but you don’t clink glasses. Instead, you look every person at the table in the eye. Always.

...seeing a young woman with lit candles stuck to her head no longer disturbs you.
Sankt Lucia day: December 13th. This is a tradition that my mom brought into our home when I was younger, so the candles-on-head thing has never actually been disturbing, but I suppose it's a bit strange to those who are unfamiliar with the Nordic Christmas! Read more.

..."candles" are a permanent fixture on your weekly shopping list.
When I got out of my class yesterday (at 4PM) it was already pitch black outside. Swedish winters are dark! And cold! Candles are an easy way to make everything warmer and brighter.

...you believe that when you finally win your Nobel Prize, it is best to be modest and say "Oh really, it was nothing!"
Ah, the Swedish concept of “jante.” It’s humility – the idea that no Swede is better than any other Swede. It’s a really refreshing perspective that affects the way one thinks and behaves. (And it is dramatically different from America’s individualistic ethos!)

So, when I come home in December and you discover that I’ve become a plastic-bag-collecting, winter sunbathing, Sankt Lucia girl who takes off my shoes while indoors and walks around saying “California is so warm!!”, don’t be surprised.

Linnea

Parting Shots

Sunday through Tuesday went something like this:

We shopped til we dropped. We ate ourselves silly at restaurants everyday for lunch, but cooked our own dinner (with salad!) almost every night. We laughed (at ourselves and at the Swedes). We braved the cold weather, bundled in our scarves and hats and gloves. We visited museums full of art and Swedish culture. We spent hours walking around town on skyltsöndag, marveling at the beautiful city of Lund.




We spoke Swedish.... well, a little. My mom spoke a lot, to everyone from cashiers to my korridor mates. I stuck to English for the most part, and used my Swedish skills as usual: only when necessary. For example, I yelled at a taxi driver – at 4:45AM on Tuesday morning – who refused to believe that I had previous experience with fitting large cardboard bike boxes into not-so-large station wagons. (And I have to say, between the two of us, our Swedish is pretty darn good).


And, of course, we had a lot of fun.

Then my mom was back to the States. Vi ses snart, mamma!

Gotta go... I have some schoolwork to catch up on!

Linnea