Swedish food!

Students!

Before you go into the fabolous world of swedish groceries like Tyrkisk Peber, mesost, knäckebröd and ICA supermarkets, please consult this handy documentary on swedish culinary habits! The ever so excellent New York celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and his TV series "No Reservations" devote this entire episode to our wonderful meatballs, reindeer dishes and the abhorring fast food called Tunnbrödrulle. If you'd like to try out this (by some feeble minded Swedes considered) delicacy, be sure to go to Medborgarplatsen and Björns Trädgård. This is the same place as shown in the final sequences of the episode.

Other than that I urge you, while you are here, to explore the Swedish world of foods, not the least since the annual Surströmmingspremiär is on it's away. If you're into fermented fish, you'll be in heaven!

Well now, enough talking and instead, watch the show!

Here goes:











By the way, I do not support the American candy Swedish Fish. Instead, as you can see when you enter any well-sorted candy store, the so called "Swedish fish" is only one variety in the land of plenty:

Language event, Monday Sep 14th!

The language department here at KTH will host their annual Tandem Language Learning Mingle Monday 14th of September 2009. Come any time between 16.45 and 18.15.
Where? The music room, top floor in the student union building Nymble.

Take the chance to meet Swedes who want to improve their language skills in your mother tongue. Join the Tandem Language Learning project and find yourself a Swedish tandem partner!

A language tandem is made up of two people from different countries who meet to improve the other person's language ability in addition to finding out about each other's country and culture. The benefit of the Tandem project is that you can start at a level that suits you. Tandem partners can help each other with grammar and home work, but just as well meet for an hour to have a cup of coffee and chat for a while; it is mainly helpful to improve your verbal skills.

You can find a tandem partner by publishing your own personal profile on the Tandem Language Learning website, http://www.forum.ths.kth.se/tandlearn. You can also browse the listings of other students to look for a tandem partner. More information as well as useful tips and practical information can be found on the website.


At the "kick-off" mingle you will be able to find out more about the project and also meet potential tandem partners face to face instead of via the website.

Welcome!

The first Skansen excursion

Now we've had the first excursion in the course.
Group A went to Skansen on a Tuesday when the weather was really nice. No raincoats needed this time. We went to see the house where the poor workers had lived in the 1920's, the old school, and the farmhouse.

Although the group I attended did not get in to the farm Älvrosgården as planned. The door would not open! Due to old lock or evil spirit, we were not sure. The other groups seemed to have been let in anyway. However, we got to see the farm Moragården instead.

Since one of the groups was really too big, 38 people or so (this because one of the four guides we had planned for had called in sick) we had to take turns visiting the houses. Therefore we did not get to see the last stop, the hardware store and Konsum. But, instead most of the people in the group wanted to go and see the animals. I hope it was not too dark, and that the bears were still out. Perhaps you saw the moose as well? Here is a photo, anyway, The king of the forest, we call it.

Cheers, Helena

photo: www.fotoakuten.se

Swedish national parks

If you want to discover Sweden's most beautiful nature, right in the middle of the city, you should visit this outdoor exhibition about Swedish national parks at the Raoul Wallenberg's square, just across the street from the theater Dramaten (subway stop Östermalmstorg).

100 years ago, in 1909, the first national parks in Sweden were founded, which was the starting point for an ongoing tradition of Swedish environmental thinking. The photographer and author Claes Grundsten has traveled through Sweden and captured the soul of the 29 parks with his camera.

The exhibition has free admission and is open until September 8th.

Enjoy!
Helena

Photo: Claes Grundsten

Blogger vs Bilda and a request

So, finally the blog is launched. I do hope that you will find your way here, and that it won't be too confusing with part of the course discussion in this forum (+ all the extras I've already announced) and part of the discussion and detailed course information in Bilda (the KTH course platform). The reason for using Blogger is that the blog tool in Bilda is less sophisticated (if a blog may be sophisticated at all?).

Course start is approaching rapidly, and today I found that 96 people have already signed up for the course. Fantastic! Talking about that, please note that we have a maximum capacity of having 200 students in the course. Our excursions, museum visits, etc does not allow more than that, unfortunately. Logistics is an important part of this course, in addition to its contents, that is, so you must all be aware of that some excursions are held on Tuesdays, some on Thursdays, and at different times. This is the type of detailed information that will be given in Bilda, and that you need to check continously.

Since the course has become increasingly attractive, and that we each semester need to deny students entrance to the course because of limited space, I want to ask you who sign up for the course to think about this: Please be serious about taking this course, and put effort in doing the project work, reading, writing and exam. Some former students have decided to take the course "just for fun", without caring too much about credits or grades. But, by doing this, they have prevented students who really wanted to take the course, and were in need of the credits, to enroll. The waitlist is usually long, and there is not room for everyone. So, if you enroll, be prepared for a lot of work - in addition to a lot of fun!

Best regards (Vänliga hälsningar)
Helena

Welcome to the course blog!

Now you have found the course blog for the Swedish society course. Welcome! (Välkommen!)Here we will post useful and amusing information about activities, events, culture and other matters which might be of interest for you as students in this course.

Here you will also have the chance to comment on course activities, ask questions and come with suggestions about topics you would like to see included in the course (we might find ways to add "your own" specific event during the course!).

Activities suggested in this blog are "extras" in this course. You are free to partake, and they are not included in the regular course schedule. They won't be graded, the course staff won't join on all activities (but probably some!), and at this very moment we do not have the slightest idea what will turn up here during the weeks to come. This is very exciting! It may be sports, music, food, language, politics... endless possibilities.

We hope you want to join and contribute, and that we will get the chance to meet outside the lecture hall or classroom in our search for Swedishness (whatever that may be) in all its forms.

Best regards (Vänliga hälsningar),

Helena & course staff

Above, production of Dalecarlian horses (Dalahästar)
Photo: Andreas Österberg/Sweden.se