Week 12 At SVF

October 5th- October 11th

When we arrived back at SVF from Gothenburg, Jack and I decided we were too worn out to go to class. *we had gotten back to school at 7am and had class at 8am. We both got our heavy backpacks, went into our separate rooms, and instantly fell asleep. I later woke up around 12, had slept through lunch so I decided to go to the store with Kajsa, Olivea, Jack and Rachelle. Jack was keen on trying Surströmming, which is a type of fermented baltic sea herring. It is also known for being notoriously smelly and disgusting. The Vikings, because there was no refrigeration, would salt the herring and can it to be eaten later. Today, some people still eat it during the month of August, however, because of the smell and the extremely salty taste, people usually avoid it. Because we are in Sweden, I decided I should try it as well. Jack bought the herring and made the executive decision that we would be trying it this weekend. When we got back to campus it was nearly time for dinner so we unpacked and went to dinner. Wednesday (onsdag) we resumed our normal classes starting with Religion. However Jon was sick so Marianne decided that because there would be a presentation on bullying in the later weeks, we should get into our groups and discuss bullying. After religion class we had Comparative Politics class where we were given more time to work on our presentations for next week. During the American Culture class we discussed racism in the U.S and the slave trade. On Thursday (torsdag) we discussed more about the royal line in Sweden in our Scandinavian History class. I found myself really enjoying the Scandinavian History class. I am finding that the history of the nordic countries (especially Sweden) is extremely interesting. In our Comparative Politics class we were given more time to work on our projects and signed up for times when we were to present. After this class, we had Creativity. I had decided to learn how to knit; I had finished knitting my first hat and was ready to start on the second one. The first one turned out a little rough but it was okay because it was just my first. Hopefully the second one I am currently working on will be better. That night, me and Kajsa decided to work on a puzzle that we had set up in her room while listening to Disney music. It was a relaxing, uplifting night. On Friday (fredag) we had P.E in the morning. We woke up early (reluctantly) and made our way to the gym. That day we would be playing capture the flag, which was super fun. However, it was a little bit different than the way I was used to playing. Instead of having two flags, there were seven cones on the end of the gym on your side. The goal was to get all 14 cones to your side. There was a 'jail' like in the other version and two mats on both side that counted as 'safe zones.' After capture the flag we played football (soccer). I found that it was a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be. That night Kajsa, Jack, Axel and I were finally ready to watch season 2 of Stranger Things (don't spoil anything we still haven't finished it). We watched only two episodes before the time caught up to us and we decided to get some real rest after fall break. The next morning I was awoken by Olivea and Kajsa who wanted to go into the city to get face-masks for Kajsa's birthday on Monday. We decided to celebrate on Saturday (lordag) because it is no fun to celebrate your birthday on a Monday. They went and got the masks and then came back. In that time I showered and cleaned up my room a little bit. After I showered, Jack was set on trying Surströmming, so he made the potatoes, got cream, crackers and onions (as you're not supposed to eat Surströmming alone, and eat as a dish). We set up everything and went outside so the smell wouldn't stink up the entire dorm. The second Jack opened the can, the smell filled the air. It was indescribably disgusting. However, I am in Sweden, and I was determined to try it. Rachelle put some of the fish on a cracker with the cream and the onion and let me try a bite. The taste of it was a lot better than I was expecting but it was still terrible. The smell is definitely worse than the taste but I do not recommend trying this Swedish dish. After we had washed our mouths out with milk, mints and toothpaste we went out into the city for dinner to celebrate Kajsa's birthday. We went to a restaurant called Badabing which specialized in burgers. It had been a while since I had had a burger, so I was especially excited. When we got there we had to wait around 30 minutes for a table so we left and walked around a little bit. When we got back, Olivea and I ordered a beer and Kajsa ordered a Rose cider. We got our table and nearly all of us ordered the burger with guacamole on it. (It had also been a while since I had had real guacamole). The burger was amazing along with the sweet potato fries that Olivea ordered. When we got back to campus after dinner, Kajsa wanted to watch a movie and put the face masks on. We put on our masks and got ready to watch Twilight. It was a very relaxing and fun night. Needless to say, the week back from Fall Break was quiet, calming and easy.