Week 5- Cultural

Within one week we have gone from Växjö being a white winter wonderland to experiencing the first signs of spring. The snow has been replaced by sunshine and the ice on the lakes is starting to melt. The improved weather and the fact that it is not so cold now means that being outdoors has become appealing. We have spent the last few days exploring the campus a bit more, visiting Teleborg Castle and walking around one of the nearby lakes. It is nice to see more of the natural environment this city has to offer and of which the Swedes are so proud. At home we do have beautiful surroundings but because it is familiar to us I think we tend to forget it is there; spending more time outdoors here is convincing me that I should continue this when we return to Belfast in June. This week we also became aware that Swedes learn the name of plants and flowers from an early age, walking around the lake today with the kids asking ‘what’s this?’ every five minutes about many of the plants I wished that I had a little of this knowledge. The fact that they learn names and that there is a policy in Sweden which allows the public to walk anywhere and enjoy all nature the country has to offer backs up my expectations that Swedes are outdoor loving people who care for and value their natural environment.

In class this week we have talked a lot about the school system in our home countries, it has been interesting to hear how each country is similar or different to our own. The most amazing thing for me was to be in a group with a Japanese student who was discussing how it is important to learn through doing and having personal experiences; I expected Japan to have a very strict education system that would be based on learning by listening to the teacher and was surprised to hear her placing this emphasis on learning through actions, as we do in Stranmillis.

It has also been pancake Tuesday at home and here it is known as ‘fat Tuesday’ or ‘fett tisdag’. On this day the traditional Swedish food is Semla, a bread roll filled with almond paste and cream, I did feel that I should try one and was pleasantly surprised at how nice it tasted.

It is hard to believe that the weeks are going so fast, sometimes it feels like we only arrived yesterday and others it feels like we have always been here. I love getting to know more about this country and the people who live here and plan to find out much more before I leave.