Gothenburg (Part 2) and Other Adventures

Hej hej!

Around this time last year I flew back from Gothenburg to California, it's only fitting that I finish the blog sooner rather than later. Let's get started!

Ain't No Party Like a Crawfish Party

Towards the end of the summer, one of my co-workers threw a crawfish party. I couldn't remember the last time I had a crawfish and I remember feeling very odd breaking apart an animal to grab the meat inside - but it was delicious. 

Crawfish parties come with their own very colorful decor. We all wore paper caps and wore aprons in a slight attempt to stay clean. The host of the party wanted to make sure we had enough food, so aside from the crawfish he bought a lot of bread rolls....almost enough for each of us to have our own pack of 12. While the rolls were small, he had enough leftovers to make a lot of sandwiches for the next couples weeks! 

After we were all done eating, we had fun throwing streamers at each other. Looking back at these pictures, it seems like I may need to throw a crawfish party myself! And in another Swedish tradition, I remember that it was raining when we left the party so we all huddled under the bus stop together in attempts to stay dry. I remember hating the rain before getting to Sweden and now I kind of miss it. With the right rain gear, it's nice to have a change in weather! 

Food, food, and more food! 

So in my last few weeks of Sweden, I was very focused on getting the most out of my experience - a large component of that was trying as many different foods as I could. 

The first of my many food adventures was a soup and cake buffet in central Gothenburg. Above is a creamy seafood soup with saffron and to the right is just a glimpse of all the cakes I tried - yes I tried them all! I chose to get tiny slices of all the cakes to make sure I didn't miss out on anything. It was a great lunch and really makes me wonder why I don't know of a place like this in California - I think it would do very well here! 

Some might be shocked to hear that I've only ever been to Ikea once, and it was when my mentor took me during a lunch break at work. Who knew Ikea had such affordable lunch options? The meatballs were good, and the dessert was surprisingly decadent. It was really cool exploring Ikea for the first time and knowing that the first Ikea I went to was actually in the country that it was founded. Also, I tried to buy cheese slicers as souvenirs, but Ikea was out of them for the next month - this is when I learned just how seriously the Swedes took their fresh cheese slices.  

Surprisingly, Sweden was also the first time I had Tapas or a variety of Spanish appetizers as a meal. One day, on an impromptu plan with Saba at an After Work, we decided to grab dinner. It was very yummy cuisine, and it was really nice being able to taste several different dishes instead of just one plate. Looking at those shrimp now makes me want to go back!

This picture below is from my last "Friday Fika" at work. I tried to be very Swedish and made rhubarb pie using my host mom's recipe. She wasn't there to help me, so I was happy to hear that it was actually tasty. We also had some pastries and some homemade vegan apple muffins that were so yummy! 

One day I noticed that my friend from UCSB was in Stockholm and found out she was on her way to Gothenburg. We found some time to do fika together and I tried to show her as much of Gothenburg as I could in an afternoon. We also split this delicious and huge cinnamon bun in true Swedish style. 

Varberg

At Chalmers, my department took an annual retreat to promote team building and develop other professional skills. This retreat happened to be during the last week of my stay and I was able to score a ticket to attend! 

This spa resort right on the ocean made me miss UCSB. I have to say, the west coast is always the best coast ;) During our time here, we visited a World Heritage Site called the Grimeton which is an Radio Station used during the 1950s to connect to Long Island, New York. The location of the Grimeton was ideal in transmitting transatlanic radio waves to connect the Swedish Navy to the United States.

While at Varberg, I participated in some team building activities and some workshops. The one that I remember the most is the "Talent Show". Our team decided to do some stand up comedy and we all did jokes in Swedish that involved some sort of pun - a type of humor that is very common in Gothenburg. It was really funny because of the 5 of us telling the jokes, only 2 of us spoke Swedish. I practiced my joke a lot, and I think I managed not to butcher the accent too badly.

For dinner that night, we had this awesome fish entree and dessert. I can't quite remember what the flavors of each were, but they look so delicious that I had to share the photos.

Chalmers

Closing up this blog, I wanted to reflect a bit more at my time were I worked. I had some awesome coworkers, many who I still keep in contact with through the wonders of the internet, and a lot of really good food. Let's look at some of my last fika meals:

I believe my co-workers called the Oreo chocolate chip cookies I made "The Most American Dessert" they could imagine. They were delicious and I'm contemplating making them again. The second image is Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Cookies which is a dessert I've made several times since then, and is always a hit. The last is an assortment of cakes which I believe was at one of the last few Friday Fikas I attended.

Above are the pictures of the Fika room. I remember when I arrived to Chalmers one of the first things my professor said to me was "Let me show you to the Fika room. We have Fika twice a day at 10 and at 3. Friday Fikas are special because we brings treats. Oh, people also eat lunch in this room". I miss having Fika breaks during my days here at the states.

Above is a picture that proves I did more than just travel and eat in Sweden - sometimes I dabbled with science. The second picture is of my mentor Mats Hulander and my professor Martin Andersson. I learned so much that summer and had a lot more flexibility than I was used to with my summer research. A lot of the skills I learned at Chalmers in terms of planning my own schedule, learning to ask people for help, and reading up on old work were skills I applied to my last internship at Clorox. The next time I visit Gothenburg, I'd definitely stop by Chalmers to see if the construction that was going on ever finished!

My Swedish Family

The most lasting connection I've had since leaving Sweden is with the family I lived with.

From left to right there is Jasmine, me, Malte, Richard, and Lotta. I remember watching movies with the family on Friday nights and going to the Gothenburg festival together. Most of the travel suggestions I had were from Lotta.

On my last night in Sweden, I decided to cook Indian food for the family and Lotta made dessert.

The family loved the food so much that I left them the recipes for it! I miss catching up with them on the daily, but it is still nice that I get to keep in touch with the family even when I'm half way across the world.

On a slightly random note, here is the park near my house were I ran during the summer:

It was a moderately challenging run because it was very hilly, but it was also very scenic. By the end of the summer, I was able to run the equivalent of a 5K on the hilly trial. If I had kept up the momentum, I probably could have ran a half marathon by now, but I got side-tracked with engineering at UCSB and am now finding my way back to running.

Fourth of July in SF

This past summer I was able to show my Swedish Family what it was like to explore SF and celebrate Fourth of July like an American!

It was really exciting to show my Swedish Family around a city I knew and be in the state I grew up! I remember eating a delicious Ghiradelli Brownie Sundae for dinner the first night I saw them and the next night we all had Starbucks hot chocolate as we waited for the fireworks to start. The Ghiradelli "G" was even lit up in the America flag color on the Fourth! 

Reflections

1) I took way too long to finish this blog. The next time I blog, I'll have to hold myself to a more rigorous time line.
2) Looking back at my blogs, it's been really nice to reflect on the places I've been, delicious food I've eaten, and amazing people I've met. Going to Sweden for a summer definitely set me outside my comfort zone and made me grow a lot as a person. I have much more confidence in traveling alone and am more open to trying new things.
3) Thank you all for reading! If it wasn't for the encouragement I received, there is no way I would have been able to complete this blog. I apologize for it being so late, but I'm so excited that I've finished it!
4) I'd once again like to thank the CISEI program for the incredible opportunity!
5) Everyone should go visit Sweden - I definitely plan on going back to visit!

Hejdå,
Dilpreet   

Let's Talk Swedish Culture

Hej hej!

I leave Sweden in 4 days - that's less than a week! Being the procrastinator that I am, a have jammed a lot of things to do this week and therefore won't have the proper time to write blog posts about the adventures I've had over the past two weeks. Never fear - I promise I will write them when I land in sunny California!

For now, I'd like to talk about some cultural differences I've noticed between Sweden and America. Please note that these are entirely based on my experiences and do not reflect how everyone in Sweden or America acts!

1) Differences in English
Alright, to be fair, the majority of Swedish people learn Swedish first and then learn English at school, I believe starting at 10 years old. However, most kids learn English before that because American cartoons and TV shows are popular (to be honest, that is one of the ways I picked up English when I was younger).

"restroom" vs. "toilet" - I remember when I was on the train on my very first day and asked if they had a bathroom, the conductor looked at me and was like "we have a toilet". Not too crazy, but took a while for my ears to get used to since in America we tend to avoid using the word "toilet".

knock knock jokes gone wrong - Today at lunch someone reminded me of one of my first few weeks here. We were all sitting in the fika room exchanging jokes and I decided to do a classic knock knock joke.

Me: knock knock
My mentor: Who's there?
Me: Boo
My mentor: Who's Boo?

I simply lost it - I was laughing so hard because I couldn't finish the already corny joke just because he answered me incorrectly. So when I explained it, he said "Boo who?" and I said "Don't cry, it's just a joke" and we all had a half-hearted laugh. When my co-worker reminded me of this at work today, it took me a while to remember how the joke had gone wrong, and I was laughing so hard at the memory. I then had to explain the joke to the rest of my co-workers which was just precious. I really am going to miss working at Chalmers.

A Mixture of British and American English - What happens when a country learns British English at schools, watches American TV shows, and speak Swedish as their native tongue? They speak this adorable combination of Swedish English which I really enjoy - the accent is light enough to understand and the mixture of British and American English keeps things interesting.

I'm going to miss being the resident expert on the English language. It was cool to explain some grammar rules that took me years to learn to other people who were struggling with them as well.

2) Expenses
People warned me, Europe is expensive. But I'll be honest, I never realized how cheap things are in America compared to European countries! We really take for granted how inexpensive clothing and food is in our fine nation. Groceries haven't been too much more expensive, but eating out here is significantly more costly in Sweden (and Europe in general). In Sweden, a cup of coffee costs about twice what I am used to paying in Starbucks and it is because employees get paid more here. It works out because everyone can afford to live here (maybe not super extravagantly), if they have a full-time job (from what I understand). Anyways, I've been fortunate enough to have a great internship through UCSB's MRL program (details here) that covered housing, flight, and gave me a stipend for living expenses. The stipend was enough to cover groceries and other needs, but I did pay quite a bit to be able to travel around Europe while I got the chance.

3) Giving Compliments and Swedish Shyness
To people living in the states, I'm fairly sure we have all heard at some point "cool shirt", "cute shoes!", "That is so pretty! Where did you get that?" by not only our friends, but strangers we meet waiting in line for groceries, walking in the park, anywhere really.

I took this for granted - I didn't realize that this quality is fairly unique to Americans, or at least isn't common in Sweden. Swedes are a bit of a shy bunch, and they wouldn't want to "make anyone uncomfortable" by complimenting them, but will comment among their close friends and say "Oh that girl had such a cute dress" or something of the sort, after the person wearing the dress has already left. Now I don't mean to say I haven't received a single compliment here, I did get compliments from some of my co-workers, but it was after we had gotten to know one another a bit.

I also missed being able to talk to random people, as crazy as that sounds. I missed standing in lines and just chatting about the weather or some sports game or anything really. It was a difficult adjustment for me to get accustomed to a much more reserved society.

4) Environmentalism
Sweden has been like living in a nation where everyone is part of the "Environmental Club" in high school. Everyone sorts their trash here into combustibles, compostables, metals, glass, papers, and plastics. This means that Swedes either recycle, compost, or burn the rest of the trash for heating. Nothing is wasted. Here is the huge trash bin divider located all over the Chalmers campus.

Also, many people bike or take public transportation to work. This has in part to do with the high gas and high taxes in purchasing a car here, but also due to making less of a carbon footprint. In grocery stores here, most people have their own reusable bags, or they have to purchase plastic or paper bags. I know California is moving towards this, which is really cool.

5) Weather
I'll admit, I'm a California girl. More specifically, I've lived in the Central Valley the majority of my life, so I'm used to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) summers. I was lucky enough to be in Sweden during one of the warmest summers they have had, but it was funny to hear people complain when it was 90 degrees F (32 degrees C), about how impossibly hot it was. In general, Swedes like to complain about the weather. If its warm, it's not windy enough. If it's cloudy, the sun should be out. It has been really nice to experience a full Swedish summer with some cold, gloomy, rainy, and windy days along with really warm, sunny days as well.

6) Vacation and Taxes
Taxes in Sweden are ranked among some of the highest in the world, but they receive a lot of social benefits because of these taxes. All Swedes are covered by health care and only pay about $15 for a standard visit to the doctor, and have spending caps on how much they pay for medication or doctor's visits before they become free. Also, the Swedish unemployment benefits are up to 80% of the previous job's income which protects those trying to find a new job. Also, Swedes receive both maternity and paternity leave that is at least a year (I believe on 80% pay) and can be longer if you decide to decrease the percentage of money you receive each month. Lastly, Swedes get anywhere from 5-7 weeks paid vacation a year. This is on top of national holidays. I can't imagine having that much time off (well besides summer vacation I suppose), but it also explains why many Swedes have seen a lot of the world through traveling. So while taxes may be a bit high, Swedes receive a lot of benefits for what they pay. It isn't a perfect system by any means, but most people seem happy with it.

Alrighty, I promise the next blog post will have more pictures!

Bye for now,
Dilpreet

The Gothenburg Culture Festival

Hej hej!

Last week was the Gothenburg Culture Festival that is a week long event with workshops, museum exhibits, and concerts that are free to all! It started off as a week long drinking festival but in recent years they have added the culture component and made it kid-friendly as well. It was like a fair but without the barn yard animals or the dangerous looking carnival rides.

On Tuesday I went to support my house mom at her Ju-Jitsu group's presentation. After several martial art groups gave a small show, they had a "try-it-yourself" session. What I pictured below was part of their warm up routine.

That night we decided to have festival food for dinner - as posted on my food blog, this is a langos. Deep fried bread with sour cream, onions, and LOTS of cheese. It was really fatty and very filling but quite good.

On Saturday I visited the festival again starting at this cute little chocolate shop at a "Make Your Own Chocolate" workshop. I'm glad I went to this workshop because the shop was in this little plaza that reminded me of Rome (minus the statues).

Step one: Roll the fudge into a ball. I used this muscovado sugar fudge which tasted really yummy.
Step two: Dunk the fudge in chocolate.
Step three: WAIT for the fudge to dry, that's the hardest part.
Step four: Put melted chocolate on the bottom of the chocolate and add toppings. I went with sprinkles, cinnamon, and walnuts.
Step 5: Enjoy! The fudge was amazing because it just melted in your mouth when you took a bite. Very yummy chocolate.








After the chocolate workshop, I really didn't have any plans but just wanted to explore the festival.

To the left is is one of the kids activity/food stations.
Below is the Citroen booth which I learned is a French car company that is quite popular in Europe. The Citroen employee seemed surprised that I didn't know about the brand, but I just googled it, and they do not sell Citroen cars in the states. The car had plastic "air bubbles" on the doors which are supposed to prevent scratching the car in parking lots. In my opinion, it really takes away from the appearance of the car.

This is one of the many "Native Swedish" booths. The dream catchers and music made me think of Native American products back home.






Since there was free entry to some museums, I decided to check them out. I started off at the Röhsska Museet which had 6 rooms that displayed products from the 1800s-2000s in Sweden. It was a really cool exhibit and interesting to move a few decades at a time through history. I noticed that Sweden picked up some of the same "retro" styles we had in the states during the 1900s.

At the top floor of the museum was this metal collection. I thought this child riding a reindeer was really unique but I think they mislabeled this as a "Drinking Cup". I'm not quite sure how you could drink out of that.

I then visited the City Museum of Gothenburg which was really cool. I only had 45 minutes so I missed a lot of the museum, but here are some of the highlights.

This was a "Where are you from" exhibit. Basically, there were about two rooms filled with pictures, videos, and other displays of people describing either their home town or their favorite place. I wish I knew Swedish so that I could have enjoyed the exhibit more!

To the right is the remains of an old Viking ship. They also had really cool exhibits on the Norse Gods so I got to learn about Oden, Thor, and Freyja. I wonder if Norse mythology had as much relationship drama as Greek mythology (I mean Zeus had A LOT of kids).

Below are just a few pictures of this amazing exhibit called "Gothenburg from Above" by Lars Bgydenmark. It was such a cool way to look at the city! The first picture was presented in this dark room so the light from the picture seemed so real. People who can use photography as an effective form of art always impress me, so this exhibit was my favorite.

Lastly, I visited the "All World Market" to grab some dinner. There were about 20-30 booths selling fresh food, packaged food (teas, meats, jams, ect.), plants, and even British tea cup set. I decided to go with this spicy Polish (I believe) sausage which was delicious. Again, the hot dogs here never seem to have a bun big enough to fit the meat. 

I still have a lot of Gothenburg left to explore, but I can't believe I only have two weeks left in Europe. Once I finish exploring the city a bit more, I think I'll be more than ready to go home and back to UCSB!

Bye for now,
Dilpreet