Fat Tuesday

Hello everyone! I am sorry I haven't written in a while. I have been busy writing a paper and trying to improve my Swedish! And this upcoming week is also going to keep me busy since I have another paper due soon and a test! 

Anyway, I haven't been up to much since I last wrote... I mostly was at home, but I went out a couple of times to do University stuff, shop for groceries, and meet my friends.
On Friday night,  I went out with Tina, Eunice, and Eric to Atta Glas for the after-work buffet. We originally went to a Sports restaurant with a bunch of Ania and Caroline's friends, but the place only had a salad buffet. So we decided to look around for some Asian food, but those places only had lunch buffets. Then, on Saturday I meet up with some friends and we tried out a nice restaurant called Jensens Bofhus. 

It was a nice restaurant with candles everywhere, but it was a little on the expensive side and it was a step down from Asian food. We tried looking for a good Asian restaurant with a decent lunch buffet price, but since it is the weekend the prices went up so we will have to try a third time to satisfy our Asian food cravings! 

On Sunday, I met up with Lorelie and Robin. 

This time we went to Sofia Church. It is a beautiful building of Neo Gothic architecture. It is located in the middle of the city and I pass it every time I go to class. It is an Lutheran church that was built in 1888 and it is one of the oldest churches in Sweden. It is part of the Church of Sweden (Svenska Kyrkan) which was founded by Gustav 1 in 1527. 

Here is more information. Just copy and put into google translator.

http://www.svenskakyrkanjonkoping.se/kyrkor/rubrik_kyrkor_frame.asp?mapp=sofia&sida=info&rub=sofia_rubb

Jonkoping is actually called, "The Jerusalem of Sweden," since there are a great number of churches here from all different faiths. Which is interesting since I hear from many Swedes (especially my professor) that Sweds don't really talk about religion since mostly they are atheists. 

After the service the church gave out some selma and coffee so we had a fika. Robin tried to teach us some Swedish words, but Lorelie and I have a long way to go...

Today 

I presented my paper during my Swedish culture class. The Swedish school system likes to emphasis group work and discussion. So in Swedish fashion, my professor split us into small groups for us to share and discuss our papers. My paper compared the stories of Pippi Longstocking and Little Orphan Annie. I discussed the similar theme of child independence, challenging social rules, and female empowerment. Before I came here I didn't know that Pippi was a Swedish story so I was happy to learn that I had some previous Swedish exposure. 

After classes I meet up with Eunice at Books and Coffee on campus to discuss our trip! 

I AM GOING TO GO TO COPENHAGEN NEXT WEEK! :D 

I am extremely excited! We are going to leave on the 21st and come back on the 25th. I just booked my ticket and soon I will book my room at Copenhagen Downtown Hostel. 

http://copenhagendowntown.com/en/hjem/

A little bit about Sweden

Today is called Fettisdagen/Semmeldagen which is translated to Fat Tuesday. 

http://www.gadling.com/2013/02/11/classic-scandinavia-celebrate-fat-tuesday-with-swedish-semlor/

Today is the last day before Lent and so traditionally the Sweds would stuff themselves with Selma on this day before they had to fast for Ash Wednesday. 

Thus, today Books and Coffee (it is the place for hanging out on campus) had semla available. 

Of course I had to have some!