Week 14 At SVF

November 19th - 25th

Sondag before classes started up again was cold and peaceful. Everyone kept up with their calm, relaxed spirit. I spent the day sitting in the chair by my window, typing and watching the snow fall to the ground. After I was finished typing the blog for the previous week, I decided to take a walk around in the snow. I listened to Christmas music and walked the route I usually take. I came back and did my laundry. That night, the group decided to watch a Swedish Christmas show about cats. It was a little difficult to understand and follow but it was okay because it was good Swedish practice. There was also glug, pepparkakor, popcorn and other snacks while we watched, all of which are usually eaten around the Christmas season. For the Americans, it was a little off putting, as Thanksgiving had not been celebrated yet. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the food and Christmas vibes. Måndag classes started up and in Swedish class we learned about the plural words along with how to describe things more in depth. In Mediterranean World we were given groups to discuss the questions Anders had given us. In Scandinavian Culture class we watched Miss Julie, which was a dreadfully sad movie. I however, was highly invested in the play and kept finding motifs, foreshadows, and themes to discuss with the class. *If you have not seen or heard of this play, I highly recommend you either read it or go watch it. After our Scandinavian Culture class we decided to go for a walk in the snow. Jack, Olivea, Malin and I walked down to the park and played around with each other and explored for a bit. For our Swedish night class, we met up at Mariannes house with the Swede that would accompany us for the class. We played a card game in groups, where we would draw a card and depending on the suit or the number, we would describe something in Swedish. It was rather hard, but speaking Swedish was slowly becoming easier. After class, Axel, Jack and I decided to go to the music room as it had been a while since we all went together. We stayed for a little bit and then went back to do some homework for the next day. Tisdag we continued to learn more about how to describe scenery in Swedish class. In Comparative Politics we talked a little bit about the presentations for next time and in our meetings we helped the Swedes apply for classes for North Park. That night some of us went to Herrgården and played Mario Kart. Onsdag Religion class we discussed a hypothetical dinner we could have, what would we eat, where we would eat and who would be at our dinner in our groups. I decided that I would want to be near the lake in a field (preferably Lake Geneva in Wisconsin). I would want to have as many different types of ethnic foods as possible and I would invite Jesus, C.S. Lewis, Malcolm X and Zora Neal Hurston. After this class at Comparative Politics, we continued to help the Swedes apply for their North Park classes. This carried into the Intro to U.S class that the Swedes had after lunch. After we were done for the day we noticed that it was snowing rather hard outside and Gabbe really wanted to go out and play in the snow. So Jack, Jonatan, Axel, David, Gabbe, and I decided to go have a snowball fight and build a snowman. After we were done and freezing, we decided to go the sauna. Later, Lukas and Calle joined us in keeping warm from the cold Swedish snow. We then went to dinner and decided to play more Mario Kart in Herrgården before going out to celebrate Davids birthday. Torsdag was of course Thanksgiving day so we woke up early to go speak to classes about Thanksgiving traditions and how we celebrate in our own personal homes and families. After this, we went for a walk with anyone who wanted to join as our classes were cancelled for the day. After the walk we ate lunch, and we tried to keep it small as we would be eating a lot later on in the night. After lunch we went back to our room and took a nap before going to Rachelles house to play games and meet her friends that had come to visit her for Thanksgiving. We then left to go get ready for Thanksgiving feast. When we walked up the stairs into the cafeteria I was in awe. The room was decked out with table cloths, wine glasses, and folded napkins. It was a wonderful meal and a wonderful day. After dinner we went to Thanksgiving service where the Americans plus the Indians contributed by reading call and response, the lords prayer and passages from the old and new testament. The choir also performed and it was lovely. After the service, the college line had a party with pumpkin cake, coffee and oranges (which were not allowed to be eaten because of my reaction to them). After we sat together and talked about what we were thankful for, I went back to my room to call my family and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. Fredag we had P.E but we were all rather wiped out from the excitement of the previous night. We played Basketball in P.E and then in Mediterranean History we were supposed to have a test but because it was Thanksgiving, Anders cancelled the test and moved it to Måndag. That night I walked down to Coop to get some groceries for the weekend, then went to the music room to play some guitar and piano. Then, Axel, Jonatan, Kajsa, Olivea, Malin and I decided to go to Pipes then Idelwilde where we met up with Gabbe and Nasir. Lördag Jack, Axel, Jonatan and I decided to make brunch together in Herrgården. After we cooked together and ate we went back to Hemgården to watch The Purge. The weekend was filled with loved ones and homey feelings. Just because we weren't with our blood relatives we were definitely surrounded by family.