Swedish men and a little story of mine

I wanted to write another post about school. But seriously it's friday. That isn't a nice thing to think about on fridays.
 So we had this fun discussion today, when eating dinner and I had an experience today that triggered me to write this post.

Swedes are considered to be the prettiest nation in the world. No doubt. It is actually true, in my opinion. Like most people look way better than the average German. German people are also considered to be one of the uglier nations, so I guess I am not really objective. I would probably have a different opinion on it, if I was from Norway for example. I guess no point of view in this topic is objective though. So yes, the average Swede is handsome. And many of them do have in fact blue eyes and blonde hair. And really many people, in all ages, go to the gym. They are quite fit in general I'd say. Compared to what I'm used to from Germany.
But enough of these superficial things.
Now I'm gonna tell you the story that happened to me today. At lunch, there is usually a long queue. So today was just like every other day. You usually take as much food as you think you will need. Because if it is too little, you cannot really go back and take more food. It would just take too much time, you need to go to class and hey, it's raining outside! And the queue usually ends outside of the cafeteria. So there is just no way you can get more food. But today, we were really still starving after the first time we took food, so a friend and me decided to do something, that is a big no-no in Sweden. It probably is everywhere. But Swedes are very patient people. They stand in line without moaning. And if someone dares to cut the line, nobody will say anything. But the person will be killed with their looks, that stare him or her down. Knowing this, I was really, really scared. But I was also really hungry and my hunger was stronger than my fear and my willing to be a good Swede in this moment, So my friend and I found a good place where we thought, we could just sneak in. And we share our cafeteria with another school, that people who are not born in Sweden go to. So this guy from middle-east sees us trying to cut the line as sneaky as possible. And he just says in the little swedish he knows: Go ahead and he tells us with a hand gesture that we can have the place in front of him in the line. And his plate was still white and unused while our plates were dirty.
Seriously, I was so impressed. This is the nicest thing a stranger has done for me in a loooooong time. Cutting the line is like the rudest thing you can possibly do. My swedish friend was stunned as well. She said: "Wow, now I get why everyone says, Swedes are rude. No Swede would have ever done this." And she's right. I didn't understand why it is like this in the culture of Sweden. Why are there no gentlemen? And when we had a discussion about this with my family today, they said it is probably a result of equality. They have another image of women in middle-east. But in Sweden, everyone is equal. So why should men treat women like real gentlemen would? Doesn't that make them unequal? I was found it really delighting. And you know what? This is a point where you can see that refugees, that come from another culture aren't a threat to our culture. In fact, they might have the power to change it someday, being so many. But gentlemen are wonderful and I would be happy to have more of them in Germany or Sweden.

Back to Swedish men. Most of Swedish men are feminists. Yeah, it's not like they would have a choice, growing up in this culture that sees equality as its most important principle. But I think that is pretty good.
They are also well educated and the huge majority is interested in politics. Well, I haven't met a single person yet, that is not interested in politics. In Germany I know a couple of people who just don't care about it at all. How can you not care about it? About your rights as a person and your freedom?

Another thing that seems a little odd to me, but not in a negative way is, that if a girl and a guy go on a date, everyone pays for themselves often. I am saying often. Not everyone does that. Not everyone does that all the time. Whereas in many cultures (German culture as well) it is more common, that the guy pays. I am thinking, that that is also the result of equality.

I mean sure, gentlemen that pay for your food are great. But that restricts equality in a way. And we don't want that, do we?

Sportslov, february 25th 2016 and the week after

Hey. I wrote this text on february 25th during the vacation. I didn't have internet access for a while and when school started, I was really busy. But today it's friday :) 

It is sportslov right now, sportvacation. Yes, Sweden has a special vacation for winter sport. We came to Dalarna last Saturday, we live at the grandma's place. It's very nice. We do something everyday, but we also rest a lot, it's the perfect mix between both. We do some sport, we meet some people, we eat good food. We went skiing twice. It was the first time for me. In the beginning it was a total failure and I fell like 40 times. But after an hour, it went quite well J and I had lots of fun. We were super lucky with the weather. The sun shone on both days and I even got a little tan. We went out with the sledge. But got tired of it pretty quickly, because we had to climb the hill all the time. After skiing the day before, that was exhausting. So we had a little BBQ with the family and ate some sausages. Yeah, I'm not a big fan of Swedish sausages, I'm used to the German sausages. But we had a really good time, it is so cozy having a BBQ in the snow. Today we will go ice skating and do something else on the ice. I forgot what it's called. [it is called spark] I might post pictures later. J

Have a good day everyone

Franziska

The day after we went to a nice swimming bath in Dalarna. It was nice and somehow calming. They had pretty cool slides also. Oh and we took the cat with us to Dalarna. She was in the appartment the whole time. We had to put her in the car and that wasn't an easy thing to do. And she is not a nice cat. She scratches us with her claws and bites. My poor hostsister Eva had to carry her on the way to the car. 

Going back after the holiday wasn't a fun thing to do. The vacation was nice. Some sport, some time off, spending time with the family. But now everyday life starts again, which means I have a lot to do for school, I am more stressed and I have less time to enjoy things.

But that's just life. Oh and the weather. I always talk about the weather, right? Well a couple of days ago it was really pretty. It was not really cold, and the sun shone a lot. I felt so much more energetic, the sun is so powerful. Especially after all these months without sun. But now it's bad again unfortunately. The snow and ice is slowly melting. So there is ice and there are puddles. And the combination of both can be really dangerous. The sky is gray and it's raining. Not fun. But seriously? I have seen worse. Sweden made me become inured to cold weather. 

The weather isn't really good in Germany either, is it? We all need spring to come. Very soooon. Like right now! 

School Sweden vs Germany: relationship between students and teachers

The relationship between students and teachers is so much better in Sweden. The teachers are asking the students how they are doing, every teacher wants their students to do good, to be happy, the students have a saying in when they want to have a test, and in postponing lessons to a time where it fits the students better (for example if another lesson is cancelled) Iit is a very nice environment. Saying that teachers and students are friends, is said too much, but sort of. I like most of my teachers in Sweden a lot. There are maybe one or two that I don’t like so much, but they’re great compared to most of my german teachers. In Germany it’s more like 2 teachers that I LIKE. And the rest I don’t. And the interesting thing is that these teachers have something significant in common. They took us serious. They treated us like grown ups and not like “stupid teenagers” that don’t deserve to be treated the same because of their lack of experience in life. (time spend on earth = important life experience (?) ) They respected us. And mutual respect is the most important thing in a relationship. It’s not working without mutual respect. I don’t like to interact with people that don’t respect me and don’t see me as a reflective human being, that is able to make her/his own decisions and to take responsibilities for her/his actions. Nobody does. MUTUAL respect, come on, it’s not that hard. In Sweden the teachers respect you, no matter how dumb you might be. They see the strenghts of every student and support them. Which is definitely not the case in german schools. Sweden helps their students to build up self-confidence, apart from grades. If you fail a test, the teachers don’t tell you you should have studied more, but they ask you if you’re doing fine, why that happened and so on. They show that they care and want you to do good in school and feel good in general.

It’s not the case in german schools. The teachers don’t care if you’re stressed out because you have a couple of tests in a week. I have never heard my german teachers saying: Good job guys, I know you have really worked hard. I hear this every week here. Instead my german teachers said:”I have so much work to do. I work so hard.” And they just don’t see that we have worked hard. The teachers get their encouragement through their salary. We don’t get any. We want our hard work to be appreciated.

Everyone is so stressed out, teachers don’t respect their students, so students have a hard time respecting their teachers, there is no good relationship. It’s simply a cold and bad atmosphere in our schools and I really don’t look forward to going back.

Ask any student in Germany if they like school, the answer will never be yes. In Sweden it is different. Most people like school. It’s a nice environment. You don’t only go there to learn, but they educate you in so many ways, they actually have an impact on you and your personal growth.

A row of posts about school coming up, and here are some winter wonderland pictures

I notice more and more that I feel the need to write about the school systems in Sweden and Germany. Because it is an issue that really makes me angry. And I think that I've gained so interesting and valuable insights into the swedish school system, that I really want to share with you and give my opinion on.
It is sad that I can only reach so little people. But thank you for reading this and feel blessed ;)
I want to make a couple of posts about this. Because I think it is such an important issue, and it would be more structured than in one single post.



And in general I'm doing fine. The snow came back and transformed everything into a winter wonderland again. Only this time it's nicer, cause it's actually -2°C and not -15°C and there is much more daylight and also some sun. I have had a good weekend which, like every weekend, went by too fast. On friday after having a big italian test, that I have been studying for quite a lot during the week, I was at Uppsalas climbing center with my dear friends Anni and Noemi (exchange students from Germany and Hungary). It was fun, we want to do it more often. I haven't exercised in a while, because I was fighting with a cold for one week (still am unfortunately).

On saturday I slept in and Noemi came in the afternoon and we had a sleepover. We were watching a movie and Melodifestivalen in the evening (I should really write about Melodifestivalen some day). Sunday morning we went to church, where my hostfather and I were performing two songs that he has made. He is really good at playing the guitar and the piano (and singing as well). I was singing with him. And I haven't done anything like that before, singing in front of an audience. So I was super nervous. But it was fun. Having a cold made it a little harder for me though and it didn't sound the way I wanted it to. But I guess it was alright. After church Noemi and I went for a walk in the snow and took a lot of pictures, because seriously, it looks amazing. I felt like I'm in Narnia. I spent the rest of the day watching some videos and writing.

                          

One more week of school and then we have holidays. My hostfamily and I will go to Dalarna for a week, visit some people, go skiing (first time in my life), and do some other things. We haven't planned what exactly yet.

I hope you're all doing fine. Have a good week.


Franzi

rulla i snö & badtunna / rolling through the snow and hot bath tub

A couple of weeks ago, we did something really fun and very swedish. My hostfather's cousin has a hot bath tub (badtunna). You can use it in summer and in winter as well. One one side there is some kind of oven that heats the bath tub up. One the other side, there is space for people to sit in it. You put bathing clothes on and a hat, so your wet hair won't turn to ice and break (because of the cold). And when it gets too hot, you climb out of the tub and roll through the snow. It's thrilling. Afterwards you feel clearer again. And you have to drink a lot before the bath because your body looses so much water.

We ate tacos that evening. There is nothing better than tacokväll!:) [tacoevening, traditionally on fridays in Sweden] There was a boy, who had gone on exchange to Germany last year, and it was very funny and interesting to talk about the cultural differencies and our opinions. It was a pleasure to speak german again. Face to face, not on the telephone.

Here you can see a photo of a hot bath tub

It is definitely on the list of my top 3 experiences in Sweden. 

The weather has been less... bad. During the last week we had degrees above 0°C. Which was very nice. First the snow was melting. So there was a lot of water and uhm slush. So when the temperature fell below zero in the night again, it transformed the sidewalks into a skating rink. And if I wasn't running late for school already, I could have gone to the busstation on ice skates. In PE lesson, the teacher told us we could decide whether we want to do some strength inside or go for a walk to Uppsalas castle and back. In Germany that would not have been allowed. Because of all the insurance stuff. We are not even allowed to have lass anywhere else than in the classroom. Sad. My friends and me decided to go for a walk. First I thought we would just take a walk to ICA (supermarket ;) ) but we actually went to the castle and took some pictures as proof. We were sliding on the ice the whole way. It became difficult though, when we had to go on a hill. It was a lot of fun, but I almost fell 3 times because the ice was so slippery. When I'm scared, like really really scared, I scream so loud and terrible out of panick, that it sounds like someone just murdered me. I remember 4 times this happened here in Sweden. The first time was in summer when I saw a spider, and I was really not expecting to see one. The second time was a couple of months ago, when we I was filling up a bottle of water and my friend sneaked up behind me and said: buh. We were actually plannng on studying in the room. But this was really embarassing so we went somewhere else after I screamed in panic. The 3rd time was last weekend. We were having a sleepover with friends and she did the exact same thing. And I think she learned her lesson, to NOT scare me, because this always ends badly. I have to say, we were lucky nobody called the police after that. The 4th time was when I slipped on the ice. And I literally thought: "This is my end." But I managed to catch someone's shoulder, so I didn't fall. 

There was another fun thing that happened. Many people were skipping italian class and the teacher saw on the phone of a girl that was in class, that the girl that was skipping class had sent her a snap on snapchat. So he took a picture of himself, where he looks angry, with the girls phone and sent it to the other girl. It was hilarious. We need more teachers like that in Germany. 

It is a good feeling to know, that winter is coming to an end. There are so many things you can't do when it is cold outside and so little things you actually can do. Like: the other day, I wanted to go for a run in the forest. But the running path was icy and slushy, and it was dark. And I figured running on an icy, slushy path through the dark forest isn't the smartest thing to do. Plus I was a little afraid that I might meet animals that I don't want to meet. 

But right now the weather is quite nice. It's like spring, but the scent of flowers in the air is missing . 

You guys have a great time and enjoy the first rays of sunlight, that we have been missing for so long. 

And have a great Carnival my german friends! Next year I will celebrate it with you again. 

Heute in einer Woche ist Rosenmontag!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4LdGG4BzLA

So, I'll keep in touch. Ha det bra guys!

Franzi 

what swedish winter feels like/ -20°C

Okay. No one that has never experienced minus 20°C can even try to imagine what it feels like. I can tell you guys that the nose is freezing inside, that you can not stay outside more than 15 minutes at a stretch, because it is too cold. I can tell you, that you can not use your phone, because then you would have to take off your gloves. And that your forehead is freezing. And that 2 pairs of socks and warm boots are not enough. Tights and jeans aren't either. Little ice crystals are everywhere. In the nose, on the scarf, on window panes, Everywhere basically.
It sounds funny at first. I was laughing hard when they told me that your nose freezes from inside at -20°C. But every second you are out of the house is pure torture. Like a thousand neadles slowly piercing your skin. I have never even experienced -10°C in my life before. It doesn't get so cold where I live in Germany. My 15 minutes rule is really easy, it works like this: You go outside. You count to 10 and then start again. After 15 minutes, the pain gets so bad, that you just can't bear it anymore. Sometimes it is less. The longest time I managed was 20 minutes and it was so much pain. The worst thing is that it feels like you just can't dress right. And all the Swedes are like: "What? You wear tights beneath your jeans? And two pairs of socks? You're so weird, it's not that cold. Wait till it gets even colder."

To all the Swedes, You're all heroes. It's just one winter for me. (Maybe I will move here later though) But a couple of months every year for you.

I remember one year ago when I was reading the blog from a german girl that spent her year in Sweden. And she was telling how cold it is. But I couldn't imagine it. I was like: Yeah -20°C? Sounds sick. But now I know..

Another problem that comes with the cold is that the phone loses battery very quickly. I noticed that in Germany too. But it was -2 degrees then. Not -20. Iphones shut down completely sometimes. And the battery goes crazy. So they're super useless here. The snow doesn't even melt on the phones.

If anyone would ask me what my biggest accomplishment is, I would say it is surviving the swedish winter. Well right now I can't say I've survived it yet. but I think I will. Hopefully without any losses. I need my fingers. And as there are 3 months with temperature below 0°C left, I need a plan. My plan is not leaving the house unless I really have to. Like for school. It looks so pretty outside with all the snow and the red cottages. But it's a shame that you can't really go outside. And you can't take pictures. When I was in Skansen yesterday, which is an animal park in Stockholm, I always had to consider very wisely whether I take out my phone or not. But anyway I took some pictures :)



Dear Germans. Don't you ever complain about rain in the german winters ever again. Or about -5°C. I will never again complain about that.