Orientation Day 4: SUSA Lecture 1 + Seminar, "Taste of Sweden" and Professor Pong

Just look at how majestic the snow looks on these branches - with the leaves and berries showing the first colours of the burgeoning spring! 

Schedule:

SUSA Lecture: 09:15 - 12:00 

SUSA lectures emphasise Swedish culture rather than the semantics/linguistic elements of the language. This morning included a series of three lectures by different academics on Swedish film, Swedish literature and Swedish music, mostly focusing from the late 18th Century spanning to the 21st Century.

"Ring Ring" by ABBA. The academic Fredrik Persson is awesome, he played the ukulele for us, led us in song and also wrote a handout with a list of Swedish music and a Spotify playlist to download!

My key takeaways were:

• Swedes are singing people. They love music and love to sing, especially when drunk! 
• Swedes love ABBA - despite the common myth of Swedes critiquing their music, (rather, for editors it was more the "first world problems" associated with singing about telephones as compared to the tragedies of the Vietnam War), Swedes adore them. 
• The earliest known recordings of Swedish literature stretch back to the Viking era (800CE), recorded in the runic alphabet (used prior to the influence of the Christian religious tradition). Remnants of this period can be found in rune stones such as the Rok Stone (named after the place it was founded). The Rok Stone itself is the best-preserved specimen of literature from the period and has not yet been fully translated
• Swedish people love reading crime thriller novels!
• The most famous Swedish botanist was Carl von Linne (1707 - 1778) who specialised in documenting the taxonomy of plants. He made expeditions throughout Sweden making detailed notes on the vegetation and mapping the  most fertile lands. Fun fact: he experienced many moral conflicts with Christianity, namely after he recorded the prolific growth of nettles in graveyards (a signal of highly fertile ground) but could not reconcile using burial/church land for agricultural purposes.
• Astrid Lindgren is perhaps the most well-known Swedish author, famed for the creation of Pippi Longstocking. Her novels have been sold over 150 million times and translated in over 150 languages too. 
• More of the popular or well-liked Swedish heroes tend to be bold, headstrong women who go against the grain and fight for independence as well as love. 
• Another famous childrens' author is Elsa Beskow, who created stunning water colour picture books known for their incredibly realistic qualities. Also interested in natural surroundings, Beskow sought to teach children about Swedish botany whilst they learned how to read. 
• On screen, Swedes enjoy films about the tensions between extrinsic markers of success, e.g., high paying job; with what is "important" - community, caring for other people, connection to place and the natural landscape. 

Examples of Elsa Beskow's work. On the bottom right picture you can make out four different types of moss. The detail is incredible and make her illustrations so charming!

Lunch from ICA Malmborgs Tuna: 12:00 - 13:15

Despite having gone grocery shopping, I haven't had the chance to start cooking yet. There's not a lot of time to meal prep during the first week, so my advice would be to head to your local ICA (the one outside Sparta is about a 10 minute walk from the classroom) or pack your own sandwich for lunch (the cafes inside the classroom buildings have long queues!)

Unfortunately I was running really late from class (got distracted taking photos of the snow) so I only had a chance to quickly rush in and buy a cheap lunch:

Left: apple and cinnamon pastry, Middle: bread cheese donut, Right: granny smith apple

Frozen lake opposite Helsingkrona Nation!

Looks exactly like a Scandinavian Winter Wonderland out in the woods :)

Snow covered garden beds on the way to class

SUSA Seminar (Class): 13:15 - 15:00
SUSA is definitely not my thing but it is satisfying being able to get better at pronouncing Swedish words! Today's seminar was focused on counting and numbers, as well as asking for personal information (such as the year one was born, phone number and Swedish personal identification number).

Taste of Sweden: 16:00

"Try samples of different Swedish specialities including pickled herring, meatballs and pea-soup with pancakes." 

I really enjoyed Taste of Sweden! Unfortunately this event is not vegan (or vegetarian) friendly; I ended up sacrificing my ethics due to already being there and having paid (SEK100). However, despite this it was an enriching cultural experience - most of the traditional Swedish delicacies were created on the basis of survival (and a not so regular food supply, hence the abundance of pickled/preserved fish and cheeses which can be stored throughout the winter).

My photos aren't the best, but here goes:

Split pea-soup with spicy mustard

Left to Right: Kottbullar med lingonsylt (Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce); smoked salmon with dill sauce; inlagd sill (pickled herring; pickled herring with mustard).

Left to Right: Swedish pancake with whipped cream and raspberry jam; cheese quiche; rotmos (mashed parsnip, carrot and potato).

Breads: Swedish bread with "mjukost" (soft cheese) cheese ("reindeer", "shrimp", "regular"); vanilla cheese on flat bread; prastost ("priest cheese", bread with Swedish cheese and cucumber); sugar cookie (front) pepparkarkor (gingerbread cookie); dammsurgare (punsch-roll); chokladbollar, (chocolate ball); Ahlgrens bilar (Swedish childhood candy in the shape of cars); djungelvral (salty liquorice); knackebrod med kaviar, agg (Swedish crisp bread with Kalles kaviar, a common condiment served with egg).

Full Menu of Taste of Sweden: (transcribed + arranged alphabetically from hand-out)

• Ahlgrens bilar - "Sweden's most bought car" is a typical childhood candy for many Swedes. Produced in 1953, the marshmallow-like candy has three flavours (white, green and pink) that correspond to each flavour. 
• Chokladbollar - one of the typical fika snacks that you can get at cafes or at the nations. The 11 May is the day of the chocolate ball. Remember to celebrate!
• Dammsugare - "punsch roll", or in Swedish, "punschrulle" is a small, cylindrical pastry covered with green marzipan with the ends dipped in chocolate. It's interior consist of a mix of crushed biscuits, butter and cocoa, flavoured with punsch liqueur. 
• Djungelvral - salty liquorice! This is the Swedish equivalent to the Australian Vegemite, the taste is special to the Swedes and an acquired taste, but also leaves a shock to new people. Salmiak salt is used to produce the flavour and is a common ingredient in many other European candies. Originally thought to be used as cough medicine, ever since the 1930s it has been produced as a pastille in Nordic countries as well as the Netherlands.
• (not pictured) filmjolk (fil) - a traditional fermented milk product from Sweden and a common product within Nordic countries. Made from fermenting cow's milk with a variety of bacteria, this is often eaten together with breakfast together with cornflakes, muesli or cinnamon. 
• Gravad lazx med hovmastarsas - gravlax or gravlaks is a Nordic dish consisting of raw salmon cured in salt, sugar and dill. Gravlax is usually served as an appetiser, sliced thinly and accompanied with hovmastaras (literally "maitre d'hotel sauce"), also known in Swedish as gravlaxsas and in Denmark as raevesovs (literally "fox sauce"), a dill and mustard sauce either with bread or potatoes.
• Inlagd sill (pickled herring) - the traditional way of preserving herring. most cured herring use a two-step process, initially with salt to remove all moisture and second by removing the salt then adding the herring to a brine (made of vinegar, salt, sugar solution), where other ingredients including peppercorn, bay leaves and raw onions are added. Additional flavourings are also used, including sherry, mustard and dill. This dish is eaten in Sweden for almost all the major holidays such as Christmas, Midsummer and Easter. Outside Sweden, pickled herring remains a popular food in Scandinavia, the Baltic, Central Europe and the Netherlands.
• Knackebrod med kaviar, agg - a classic Swedish bread, eaten as a snack served with kalles kaviar - a common condiment for Swedish sandwiches. The product is based on a recupe that is several hundred years old, one which originates from the Swedish west-coast, particularly from Lysekil. Made from salted cod roe, sugar, canola oil and a selection of spices. In French, this type of caviar is sometimes referred to as caviar de Lysekil. It is often served together with eggs.
• Kottbullar med lingonsylt - meatballs and lingonberry jam is one of the most commonly recognised dishes outside of Sweden, probably because of the infamous IKEA. Some people eat it today with ketchup or other sauces, but lingonberry jam is the classic. The jam is a staple food in many traditional Swedish dishes.
• Mjukost (soft cheese) are served through a tube. There are many different kinds and flavours, including shrimp, reindeer or mushroom. A common and simple condiment for sandwiches (especially when hiking). 
• Nyponsoppa med mandelbiskvier - rose-hip soup is a common after-school snack, often together with a type of almond biscuits (similar to a small macaron). It is a good winter snack. Swedes sometimes heat it up and serve with almond biscuits and ice-cream for a cold winter day.
• Pepparkakor - considered the main Christmas cookie in Sweden, the name means "pepper cookie" which speaks of its history. Previously it was made with pepper, which was said to have calming qualities that aided with indigestion. Today it is mainly flavoured with cinnamon, cardamon, ginger and clove. Today, Swedes sometimes say "ta en pepparkaka sa att du blir snall," ("take a gingerbread cookie so that you become kind,"). Whether this actually has an effect on individuals who consume the cookies is currently unknown. 
• Prastost och Smogasgurka - "priest cheese" is a Swedish cheese with historical roots in Sweden's one-time custom of paying tithes with agricultural goods (including milk). It was common for the church to make cheese from milk in the 16th through to the 19th century. It was seen as one of the better kinds of cheese, since you would give the "best" milk to the priest who would then make the cheese. Today, this style of cheese that was once produced in churches across the country is now factory-made from pasteurised milk. Often eaten with a cucumber on top.
• Ragkaka med ost pa tub - a common type of bread made from rye. 
• Rotmos - root vegetable mash is a Swedish alternative to mashed potatoes, included in many classic dishes. It is not served as often these days, but it seen as a staple in classic household food. Usually it is made from rutabaga (a swede), potato, carrot and parsnip. Often served together with pork or sausages.
• Tunnbrod med messmor - "tunnbrod" literally meaning "thin bread", is the Swedish equivalent of flatbread and belongs to the northern Swedish cuisine where housewares previously shared a a common bakery to produce it. There are many kinds of tunnbrod, depending on the grain, leavening agent (or lack of thereof), and rolling pin. The dough is made from a combination of wheat, barley and rye; where the leavening agent can be both yeast and ammonium carbonate.
• Vasterbottenostpaj - this is the name given to a pie made using the vasterbotten cheese. This cheese is made in the Vasterbotten region of Sweden, and is a hard-cow's milk cheese with tiny eyes or holes and a firm, granular texture. Many Swedishpeople consider it the king of cheese and demand for it has often outstripped the limited supply. For his reason, it is more than twice as expensive as other types of aged cheese. The cheese must be aged for at least twelve months, although fourteen months is most common. This cheese is a must-have snack for late-summer Crayfish parties and is also eaten together with the traditional pickled herring year round. The vasterbottenostpaj is eaten widely throughout Sweden, especially during celebrations of Christmas, Easter and Midsummer alongside the Crayfish season in August. It is made from Vasterbottensost cheese, cream and eggs. 
• Vegetariska kikartsbullar - chickpea patty, or falafel is a common fast-food in northern Sweden. It originated from the Middle east. Malmo has been dubbed the falafel city of Sweden, and it has become a staple late-night on the way home from the club snack for students. 

Taste of Sweden was essentially set up like a buffet - you could return for seconds and thirds (or however many times you want) until you've eaten your fill from the samples of Swedish dishes. There are chairs and tables (as well as standing tables) provided for you to mingle with other students!

Club Professon Pong @ Vastgota (VG) Nation 19:00 - 20:30

What is "Professor Pong" (PP)? In summary, PP is similar to visiting a more pleasant Australian bar. It's a large basement space that includes:

• A bar where you can order food and beverages 
• Ping pong table 
• Pool table + pool games (including beer pong) 
• Dart boards 
• Seating / dining areas
• Sofas 
• TV and Wii console set 
• Standing tables + mingling zones 

I spent the hour and a half mingling and chatting with a fellow Australian exchange student as well as a couple of Scottish exchange students - speaking about nations, the SUSA course, weather differences and local cuisines.

 The walk from my accommodation to the Vastgota @ 18:50! I feel it's probably going to get real old real quick but crunching on the snow is really fun - and hearing the cracking noise just like the first tap on a creme brulee.

Entrance to Vastgota Nation! Pretty fairy lights - events take place in the Basement (level 1). You've got to cloak your jacket and validate your ID at the door.

Getting stamped at the entrance ensures that you can enter and exit whenever you please. I just thought the nation stamp itself was pretty cool!

 Ping pong table

 Order food at the bar 

Another exchange student who I went with "Liked" the Vastgota Nation Facebook Page and visited their stall at the Student Association Fair. This earned her a free pizza - normally SEK30. The pizzas on offer were: salami, Italian ham and vegetarian cheese; and she rated the pizza 4/10 (because it was served... cold, as in, lukewarm). Pictured is the salami pizza.

 Seating area / benches to eat and drink + chill with friends

 My viewpoint of the "floor" from the couch vantage point (at 19:00) 

My viewpoint of the "floor" from the couch vantage point (at 20:30). It filled up pretty quickly as the second group of Taste of Sweden (starting 18:00) arrived.

Highlight of the day: probably the beautiful pictures of the snow and the Taste of Sweden event! I cannot emphasise enough just how much effort Lund University International Desk puts in their orientation program. I've met so many people and have seen the same familiar faces, which is great! Settling in wonderfully.