Hej Hej! (the general Swedish greeting, pronounced "hey
hey.")
So here I am after the first full week in Sweden of what I
consider a great way to start five months in Scandinavia. In my last post I
talked about having a hard time getting accustomed to the culture, and I still
am, but because of my experiences this week my attitude has completely changed.
Why the complete turnaround in attitude?
Well, the beginning
of the week cued the onset of classes, something I've been looking forward to.
My one engineering class for this quarter is going to be very interesting;
Aircraft Engine Systems. The only other class for the quarter, then, in Swedish
for Beginners (or Swedish I). I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous
about the class. I hadn't started learning another language since taking
Spanish in high school, over six years ago, and so I thought it may be a challenge
compared to my usual curriculum of engineering and math classes. Ten minutes
into the lecture and those feelings were sapped away. The instructor made the
class very inclusive with both her and the other students. Unlike Spanish in
high school, this language class was, dare I say, fun and enjoyable. But the
best facet of this class is the fact that everyone in the class is an exchange
student. It's culturally intriguing when the instructor asks the class to
repeat phrases to practice diction. Everyone, including myself, is attempting to speak Swedish, and since
there is such a difference in culture found throughout the class, you hear
dialects upon dialects, some French here, a little Spanish there, perhaps some
Korean, and the list goes on. It's truly cultural nirvana.
Perhaps now you're wondering why I chose the title of this
entry. It's because of everyone I've met in these past seven days and the
events that proved to be the catalysts for these social epiphanies, with most
of the activities outside. As I write this, there were so many events that I
have to jog my memory from the schedule that is buried in all my paperwork.
Bare with me for a moment...
Ok, here we are. So, on Tuesday we had the information
session that kick started the orientation events. There we played name games
and such to break the ice within our respective groups we were broken into. In
my group I came to realize that I was the most western exchange student
(geographically speaking), although there was one girl from Montreal (not too
far from Clarkson, eh).
In my engineering class I met Thomas from Germany. We hit it off immediately because of our common thread of both
being exchange students in such a predominantly Swedish class. I'm beyond
thankful for meeting him since he was a segway to meeting several other
students from Germany. One of them being Julian, whom I
met when I went to the exchange students' hockey practice at the town arena.
Julian and I hit it off immediately, and for the rest of the week we have perused
the sporting goods store for hockey equipment, attended orientation events
together, and have just hung out getting to know each other and our cultures.
Jack from Singapore (home country of China) was also at hockey
practice that Tuesday night. He has been a huge help and support since I met
him early on upon arrical. The hockey practice, although I did not practice
since I hadn't purchased equipment in time, was a great experience meeting
everyone. I feel bad since I have such a hard time remembering everyone's names
but I learned one thing while I was watching everyone practice and play; whether
you're playing at Clarkson or Luleå, there is a common hockey culture wherever
you travel to. In that regard, for the first time while being here, there
wasn't an ounce of culture shock or homesickness. It was a huge relief and eye
opener to the potential of what I will experience in Sweden, and who I'll
experience it with.
On Wednesday I attended a campus tour, in which I now fully
understand this campus is completely different than Clarkson's. Afterwards, I
accompanied the rest of the exchange students to fika. This is where I met some
friends from Mexico, including Ulises, whom I connected with before arriving in
Luleå via Facebook. It was a pleasant coincidence to randomly sit beside him
and connect in person rather than through social media.
Thursday I was on my butt a lot, literally. The orientation
team, LURC (Luleå University Reception Committee), and the Phösare (Swedish
welcoming party/helpers) gathered the exchange students on the local ski
training hill for snow sliding. We used saucers (the plastic disks one usually
purchases for sledding) to go steaming down the hill on our backsides. It was a
blast! Unfortunately I forgot to take my GoPro camera, so no pictures or videos
(sorry). Afterwards we were provided a BBQ and hot beverages (the latter being
a necessity).
Friday was a fantastic time in the city. LURC took us
through the town and down onto the harbor ice (as I mentioned in my previous
post, picture below). We ended the tour at City Hall where we met the mayor,
Karl Petersen. We went to the roof of
the building to look out over the city, which is the tallest point in Luleå. I
didn't take my camera that day because I didn't want it to get too cold while
being outside for a couple hours in near zero (Fahrenheit) temperatures.
However, I did manage a few shots with my phone's camera (I apologize in
advance for the quality).
Saturday was the capstone to the orientation week with the
Welcome dinner. There I met several more people from France, Finland, and
finally a student (doctorate) from Ohio! The dinner was fantastic, although the
portions were small and didn't seem enough to fill my American appetite.
Nonetheless, the food, every course, was exceptionally delicious. The first
course was toast skagen, followed by elk roast and potato gratin (yes, you read
that right, elk), and finally a scrumptious blueberry pie with custard. The elk
was not what I expected but I absolutely loved it! That's something I never
thought I would say. If you're wondering, it was a very mild meat, tender, and
wasn't gamey at all.
These weren't the only things I did this past week, but
these were the highlights and this post is more than long enough. Besides, I
know why you're all here... for the pictures. Enjoy!
Ice road prepared on the harbor. Everyone pictured here is an exchange student.
The city center (centrum).
Panorama of the entire city.
And last, but not least, you're truly atop City Hall.
If you have any questions, like what you see, or have
any suggestions for Swedish adventures, don't hesitate to leave a comment. I
love hearing from back home. Thanks for reading!
- Jonathan
