Week 11 Cultural

Easter tree in town

This week we have been celebrating Easter in Växjö. The town is decorated with colourful feathers and we decided that we should have a feather tree of our own. We have also been told that at Easter the Swedes have Easter witches; little girls dress up as witches and go door to door exchanging songs or pictures for candy. This is similar to our Halloween activities and it was good to see that the children here have as much fun dressing up as our children do at home.

Here in Sweden the children are presented with cardboard eggs filled with sweets as their Easter treat. While we joined in with this tradition I also asked family to send chocolate eggs from home and so we celebrated in both Swedish and British styles. I think it is important for us to experience things as they happen in Sweden; it is an integral part of being a member of a community. However doing things as they are done at home also helps us to keep our links with family and friends who we are thinking about, especially during holidays and times of celebration. This experience has helped me to realise why it is essential for us to take into account the sometimes diverse cultural experiences of the pupils in our classes. I think it is good for children to know that we don’t all experience things in the same way and to be aware how others do things differently from them and why.

Our tree on a much smaller scale

Meeting people from many different cultures has also made me realise that while there are many things that we all do differently there are also a number of things that are universal to all of us. The boys have been guests at birthday parties and reported that they took part in many of activities common to parties at home. They did however describe a game, I understand in place of our pass the parcel, where they had to ‘fish’ for small trinkets and candy. They said that this game was a lot of fun and are going to show me how it is played so we can play it at parties when we return home.

This along with an Easter tree every year will help to keep the experience in our memories. After posting pictures of the Easter trees on Facebook I had friends and family messaging me saying how they loved the tree and next year they wanted one as well, it will be a nice way for our family to be involved in our experience if they do this.

Week 10- Personal

Over the last few weeks I have noticed many changes in my attitude. I have become more open to trying new things including: food, literature genres and television programmes. I have discovered that I actually enjoy many things that I had previously been closed to experiencing and am encouraged to continue with trying new things before I have decided I do not like them. This attitude is also impacting on my children as they are also more open to trying new foods and I have been able to cook a greater range of meals knowing that they will at least try before deciding whether they like it or not.

The last couple of weeks have seen my oldest child really missing home. This had led to me having doubts about whether I should have brought them to Sweden and experiencing many instances of guilt. However in the last couple of days we have been discussing how long we have left in Sweden and what places we want to visit before we leave; the children have all expressed their enjoyment at being here and the oldest has asked when we might return. These conversations have made me realise that even though they miss home they have been given an opportunity which is not available to most of their friends. I believe this experience will impact on many areas of their life as they grow and develop and I am hoping that they continue to remain open to new experiences. It is also encouraging to watch them grow in confidence the longer we are here and to watch the boys become more independent as they take the bus to and from school and make friends with more new people.

Our time in Sweden has also enabled me to spend more time with my children and to take a greater interest in the things that they like. At home they spend their free time playing with friends and there is always some sort of housework or study for me to do. Here the house is smaller and the university work load is not as heavy and so I am able to spend more time talking to and playing with the children. This was something I had hoped would happen as a result of our time here and I am very happy that it has.