party hats and safety vests

Sorry I took a little blogging hiatus last week.  I spent most of last weekend at a friend’s house, and did not have the opportunity to write an update.  Because I have not written for quite a while, I think it would be best if I gave you a quick rundown of the highlights from these past two weeks:

• For the past several weeks, the students in my science classes have been working on a project about sources of energy.  Each student was asked to research a different source of energy (e.g. hydropower, solar power, geothermal powers, etc.), and produce a small booklet about the advantages and disadvantages of that source of energy.  Since turning their projects in, I have really enjoyed reading through their work and have been impressed with what they were able to produce.   My students amaze me every day.
• In other school-related news, I must tell you about one of the more recent teacher meetings I attended.  When I entered the conference room, candles lined the center of the table with chocolate candies tastefully scattered around.  Additionally, each attendee of the meeting was given a party hat to wear to the meeting.  And why all the decorations you ask?  No reason really.  It was no person’s birthday, and we really were not celebrating anything.  I just have the best colleagues ever. 
• This past week, when I arrived home from school, I was surprised once again with a package from my parents.  The package contained a wonderful assortment of Christmas cheer and a new essential article of clothing—a florescent yellow safety vest.  Things are starting to get dark here in Borås.  Real dark.  The sun rises around 8 in the morning, and sets a little before 4 in the afternoon.  Needless to say, I am getting quite a lot of use out of my new safety vest while riding Lena.
• This list of highlights would definitely not be complete without some mention of last weekend.  As I said previously, I was at my friend’s house most of last weekend.  Much of the weekend was spent relaxing.  We played games, ate delicious food, slept with her cat, sat around the fireplace and generally just enjoyed each other’s company.  It was so, so nice.

It has been a good couple of weeks.  I am getting into the swing of things at school, and continue to enjoy life in Sweden.  Party hats and safety vests—things honestly really couldn’t get much better.  

cracked eggs and cow licks

Wow, what a week!  As I mentioned in my previous post, this past week was fall break so I did not have school.  During this week, I have really enjoyed all the opportunities to take in a bit more Swedish culture.  (Small side note: I am a little tired from all the week’s events, so I apologize if this post is lacking in some of the more juicy details.  I’ll try to compensate with pictures.)

The week started with a short trip down to southern Sweden with Julia.  Julia has family who lives in Landskrona, so we stayed at their place for several days.  While there, Julia and I sampled Swedish cuisine and enjoyed nice walks around town.  Some of the cultural highlights of our stay included making cabbage rolls, learning how to eat an egg Swedish-style, exploring the town’s castle and surrounding moat (yes, the castle has a moat), and tasting the unique saltiness of kavier.

Every morning for breakfast, we each got an egg served
on a lovely pedestal.  To eat the egg, we cracked the top
half of the shell off before using a spoon to scoop out
the egg from the lower half of the shell.

 

I joined Julia and her family on a walk along the beach.
Yes, that is the ocean!  And yes, you can see Denmark
just across the water!

During our walk along the beach, we came across a few
friendly cows.  This cow took a liking to me and licked my
hand.  Who knew cows' tongues are so rough!

To complement our Swedish experiences, Julia and I also took a train down to Denmark to explore Copenhagen for a day.  While in Copenhagen, we visited the king’s castle, saw the queen’s residence, admired the crown jewels and played at the post museum.  Although a bit wet and cold, we had a nice time exploring the city.

While at the Queen’s Residence, Julia and I got to see
the daily changing of the guards ceremony.

I think one of my favorite parts of Copenhagen
was this radio exhibit in the post museum.  Julia and
I got to make our own radio broadcast complete
with music and sound effects!  

After a splendid few days down south, I returned to Borås to round off the week.  Saturday was particularly special because it was All Saints' Day.  On this day, many Swedes go with their families to the graveyards in the evening to light candles around their loved ones’ graves.  I went with a friend to one of the larger cemeteries in Borås.  I am real happy that I went as it was a very impressive sight to see all the candles lighting up the hillsides. 

Needless to say, I have had a really lovely break.  I can’t say I am quite ready to go back to school, but this past week has provided some nice down time to recharge for the rest of the semester.