Student blogs

Hi!

I am back with a new blog to continue my series where I mention some things I find interesting about Sweden!

So let’s get to it!

Use of week numbers to talk about time

It’s very common here to use week numbers to describe a time period. For instance, “this class starts on week 16 and ends on week 21”. I still find it a bit odd as most of the time I am not actually sure what week we are on. Plus, neither my phone nor computer calendar tell me this information. Nonetheless, I am getting slowly used to it!

(So, if you are thinking of buying a physical calendar, I’d recommend one that indicates week numbers.)

If the sun is out and shining, you should be out as well!

In a weird way, I guess I could say that I am a bit thankful for the winter darkness. This meant that I have now gained a new sense of appreciation for sunlight. Being from South America, I have taken it for granted for many years. But now that I am in Sweden, every time the sun is shining outside, I see many people go outside and take the sunlight in, so I feel like I should too. It is actually really nice!I

So, in spring, if you go to any park on a sunny day, you will see many people be outside to get those rays of sunshine 😀

Bagging your own groceries

(This might be common in many countries, so it might not be specific to Sweden.) However, I did get a bit surprised when I had to bag my groceries and be fast enough to not make the line behind me slow down. This can be kind of nerve-wracking if you bought a lot of stuff!

But after ~ 8 months here, I think I have gotten okay at this! I plan my trips to the grocery store so I do not buy too much food at once. I pack heavy things and boxes first. Besides, if I buy from a grocery store near my place, I can just carry fragile food (like eggs) on my hand and not worry about them breaking.