Time to say Hej då

The time has come to fly back to France in a few days. Time is such a relative concept. I moved to Sweden in January, one year ago. I feel like it was yesterday and at the same time, I also feel like I have been living in this country for ages. For those who do not know it, I moved to Sweden to take part in the European Solidarity Corps program, a mobility project funded by the European Union. That is how I started to volunteer at MINE, this amazing organization with fabulous coworkers and members! It is always hard to summarize a year abroad in a few lines, but I thought I could write a top five of the best / weirdest / unexpected highlights of my year in Sweden. I hope these anecdotes and tips will inspire you as much as this country inspired me during my stay!

1.I met amazing people from all over the world!

My main task at MINE was to meet with international academics to talk about their job search and to give them some tips on the labor market in Sweden. I have been incredibly lucky to speak with more than one hundred persons coming from all over the world and I enjoyed it a lot! I heard so many inspiring stories from people who lived, studied, worked, or traveled on every continent. From India, Peru, or Russia to Italy, South Africa, or Canada, the list is endless, and I feel like I have been traveling the world virtually the whole year! I learned a lot about different cultures, and I am forever grateful to have met with such diverse and extraordinary people this year. Big Shout-Out to all the candidates at MINE, you really made my year! Malmö is also a huge melting pot and the people who live here come from all over the world. I have read that more than 80 different languages are spoken in the city. It is therefore easy to meet people from various countries and I found myself speaking English, French, Spanish, and Swedish with the friends I made here. It can be challenging for the mind to switch constantly between four different languages and sometimes I got confused at the end of the day, mixing three languages in the same sentence, or speaking to my flatmates in a language they do not understand… But I swear this is an incredibly good exercise for the brain!

2.I learned a new language!

Well, I would not say that I speak fluent Swedish, I have still a long way to go. Men jag kan förstå och prata lite svenska nu! It always takes time to learn a new language. Everyone has a different way to do it and it is important that you find your own routine. I received support from SFI (Swedish For Immigrants), and I would say that this is the first step to take. But SFI course will never be enough if you do not study on your own. In my opinion, the best way to improve language skills is to be very steady. It is always better to study for 10 minutes every day than 2 hours once a week. And it must be fun and practical as well. In the first article I wrote after I moved to Sweden, I was writing about drag queen bingo, I could not understand any of the numbers that were picked. Well, I am proud to announce that I carried a whole presentation on the drag movement in Mexico IN SWEDISH for my classmates at SFI. And now I can at least shop, order at the restaurant, and say that it is raining, cold and windy! Now that I got a taste of Svenska, I will keep on studying when I am back in France. And here is a tip for people who want to learn while having a good laugh, watch the series Kärlek och Anarki! (No, Netflix Nordic does not sponsor this article…)

3.I visited wonderful places!

Sweden is a country with a wide variety of landscapes: the countryside, mountains, sea, islands, there is something for every taste! I traveled a bit in the country and there is plenty of must-visit places to check on your list. No need to go far away from Malmö to escape for a while from the city. Skåne is known for its national parks and most of them are reachable by public transportation. Go to Skanör-Falsterbo to see the little wooden houses of every color on the dune. Have a walk on the beach and take your binoculars out to observe the birds and the cows chilling in the swamp. If you feel like spending a nice Sunday outside, visit Mölle and have lunch on the harbor. Then walk from the village to the Kullaberg lighthouse, on the top of a hill with an impressive view of Denmark! For those who like hiking, I would recommend spending a whole day in Söderåsens national park. All the paths are marked, and you can choose to take a sporty one or a more relaxed one depending on your mood. There is a lake surrounded by a huge forest and hills, a fairy tale scenery! If you are more of a beach rat, I would advise you to spend the summer days in Sandhammaren. There you will find kilometers of wild and preserved beaches to lay in the sun and feel close to nature. Just so you do not get surprised, clothing is optional! And if you want to escape for a few days from Skåne, why don’t you rent a cottage in Öland? A bridge connects the continent to this beautiful island where you can enjoy the beaches, visit some historic places, and buy some ceramics in little traditional shops along the road. If you are craving culture, your next stop is Stockholm! The capital is famous for its Gamla Stad, the old town, its restaurants, and its museums. Here are my top 3: The Vasa Museum, Fotografiska, and the Abba Museum! Finally, if you are fond of winter activities, go up north and have fun skying, ice skating, or dog sledding! I visited some friends in Sundsvall at the beginning of December, but I was too early to see the snow this year. Can you believe that I never experienced snow in Sweden?! Well, a good reason to come back to visit soon!

4.I discovered Swedish traditions, a miscellany of surprising stuff!

Sweden is a unique country with a unique culture, and I must say that some traditions surprised me. For example, did you know that Swedish people do a Spring Cows Party? Around Easter, after they spent all winter in a barn, the cows are released on the fields. They are super happy to go out, so they jump and dance all over the pasture. Can you imagine 60 cows partying on a field? Original, isn’t it? Several farms organize this event called Kosläpp, so people can come and celebrate cow’s happiness while having glass of milk and a kanelbulle! Talking about kanelbulle, this is one of the things I will miss the most back to France. When I asked my colleagues what Swedish specialty I should try to eat and they answered, “falafels and meatballs”, I understood quickly that gastronomy was not the most interesting part of Swedish culture. However, I enjoyed a lot of Swedish pastries. And there is a day dedicated to each pastry on the calendar: Semmeldagen, chokladbollens dag, kanelbullens dag and pepparkakans dag are the most popular ones and all these pastries are delicious! If you want to challenge yourself you can also start the day eating toasts with some Kalles kaviar, a fish eggs spread (in a tube) that you will find in every kitchen’s fridge. If you see yourself as a warrior, I suggest you try the surströmming, fermented herring more commonly called rotten fish. I personally never tried these two specialties because of my delicate stomach but I would be curious to receive your feedback on this!

And now let the music play! The Eurovision is of paramount importance in Sweden and everyone follows religiously the selection of artists. If you are in Sweden in February, you will probably be invited to a Melodifestivalen watching party with friends! Make sure you leave your shoes in the entrance and NEVER EVER wear them in any house in Sweden. You risk the hosts to look at you like you are coming from another planet. But since Swedish people are too polite to make a comment on your strange behavior or to put you in an uncomfortable situation, they will not tell you anything. Which will lead you to feel embarrassed three hours later when you will notice that you are the only one wearing shoes inside, like an uncivilized person (talking from experience). I will conclude this topic on Swedish culture with another random fact to help you shine in society: Did you know that activist Greta Thunberg’s mother participated in the Eurovision contest in 2009? The song she performed was called La voix and the lyrics are partly French! A must-see performance if you like the opera-disco-electro-dance-music genre!

5.I survived a global pandemic!

I cannot write about my year abroad without talking about the COVID-19 pandemic. When I moved here a year ago, the last thing that I expected was the world to enter a post-contemporary era fighting a global virus! It has been a challenging experience for everyone this year, and the Swedish context is quite peculiar. Sweden is one of the only countries that did not impose any lockdown or tough restrictions on its inhabitants. I must say that I was feeling rather skeptical and scared at the beginning. While France, Italy, Spain, and most European countries were in complete lockdown, everyone here was still free to go outside, meet family and friends, have drinks in bars, eat lunch at the restaurant, and all these activities without wearing any mask! I do not have any opinion on the measures taken in different countries. However, I understood some of the reasons that led the Swedish authorities to act differently. Sweden is a vast country and apart of some urban areas like Stockholm, Göteborg, or Malmö, the inhabitants usually live quite isolated, which does not require any lockdown. Moreover, social distancing is already part of the Swedish way of life. As an example, Swedes never kiss each other on the cheek to say hello. A lot of people also decided to isolate themselves and most of the companies promoted working from home. Tetra Pak offered their employees some material (computers, desks, chairs) so they would be able to work from home in optimized conditions. At MINE, we started to have virtual meetings and workshops on Skype and Zoom, and we changed our way to work. People used to tell me that it was a strange year to live an experience abroad, but for me it was the best year to live in Sweden! Everything is relative and the country is experiencing a pic now, some measures become more restrictive and we must be responsible for each other. And that is something that I experience now. Twist plot: I tested positive for the virus a few days ago! As I am writing this article, I have been isolating myself for one week. I am lucky enough I only experienced mild symptoms and I will be virus-free and immunized to go back to France next week but what an epic way to end my stay here! I just hope that my taste will be back for Christmas now! Wish me luck!

I could keep on writing endlessly about my year in this magic country, but in the end, words are not enough to express how lucky and grateful I feel to have lived all these unforgettable moments in Sweden. I would like to give a huge TACK to my coworkers who welcomed me from the first day as part of the MINE family and especially to Ivar who carried the process to register the organization as part of the European Solidarity Corps program. I also met a chosen family of queer and shiny people in Malmö that I will miss a lot. Tack for making me feel good and for the moments we shared together. Finally, tack to everyone who crossed my path this year and who participated in making this year so special. Time to say Hej då now. Sverige, jag älskar dig och jag ska komma tillbaka snart!

By Francois Perigault