Day 30 – Things I am missing from home…

After today, it means that I have one more Tuesday to spend in Sweden! I cannot believe where the time has gone by! I figured I would create a list of some of the things I am missing from because I will soon be closer to those things!

1. I miss my family A LOT!
2. My friends
3. My kids at school and work, and my colleagues too! I can’t wait to share my experience with you when I get home!
4. Cell phone – I may have brought my phone and used it like twice to call home, but it’s very expensive to call home and send text messages everyday, so I never used it. I thought one week without cell phone reception was hard in Up North Wisconsin. Try having it for six weeks in the Up North Sweden!
5. My bed and my blankets – it is way too cold in these rooms and the bed feels like I am sleeping on foam from a pit. Oh wait I am sleeping on hard foam and my blankets do not justify my nice warm bed at home!
6. Being able to drive. It has been very nice to take the bus and to walk everywhere. Remember walking and the buses are their primary forms of transportation. It takes me 10 minutes to get to school in Lake Geneva. Here I have to take a bus for an hour each way to get to school. My hour-long bus ride in Sweden is a two-hour walk to the school or a fifteen-minute car ride.
7. Being around to help set up all the Christmas decorations. Yes they are getting ready for their Christmas here in Sweden, but it is not the same as being at home. I didn’t even get to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas the day after Thanksgiving this year because I didn’t bring the movie with me!
8. I actually miss having a t.v. It is much different when all you have is a computer as your source of technology. Watching a few shows online (if they come through the server of being in another country) is not the same as cuddling up on the couch watching t.v.

Here is just a list of foods that I am missing from home….

1. Coca Cola is not the same here! There is not as much carbonation or sugar in their drinks!
2. A nice juicy cheeseburger from a good restaurant
3. Chipolte, Mongolian Restaurant food
4. Panera Bread
5. My mom’s amazing rice hot dish
6. My dad cooking our steaks on the grill
7. Homemade chili
8. Chicken fajitas
9. Wisconsin cheese – it is NOT the same here. I tried a cheese that the students at Linblommans skola suggested and it tasted just like a block of parmesan cheese but it did not even taste very good on the pasta.
10. Nachos with either cheese or salsa
11. Sunchips
12. Spaghetti – O’s
13. OREOS!!
14. Reeses
15. Being able to go out to dinner and not spending $30 dollars on a meal that doesn’t even leave leftovers. 

P.S. Mom and dad if you are reading this… I hope you remember my list of foods that I would to have when I get home! Love, your daughter.

11 Days and Counting until I am on a plane home!

Day 27, 28, and 29 – I don’t know where time is flying!

Umeå University

On Friday, I could not believe how fast everything is going. Friday marked having one more Friday in the classroom, and today (Monday), now means that there is ONE more Monday left of our adventure and being in the classroom. You must be wondering where I am figuring in one more Friday, if I still need to get through this week and next week, since I leave on December 10th. This Friday we have the opportunity of taking a bus to Åre. It is a town in the mountains and we have rented a house on a lake for the weekend. Our supervisor here in Umeå has been so grateful enough to set up our trip to Åre for the weekend. We are trying to get an early morning bus (its about a 6 hour ride!) but we have heard it is a beautiful city! We are sad that we could not get to the other countries, like Norway, Denmark, or Finland but it was just a little too expensive for us to travel for such a short time on the weekend.

Is this how the man invented skis?!
Look at all the skis to the right ->

Skis that date back to the early
1800s

This past weekend kept us busy as well. On Saturday, we went to Gammilia. In Gammilia is a big museum which is called the Västerbotten Museet. We got to se the oldest skies in the world, walk around an open air museum, expect that everything was closed up. The area where the Västerbotten Museum is located is called Gammlia. Nowadays, since Umeå grown, it is actually the center of town. Right next to the museum is open-air museum Gammlia. Here you can check out old buildings from around the county. For the open-air museum, Gammlia, has different kinds of houses from Västerbotten since its inception in 1921 until 1990. Most of the buildings have its origins in the farming community; houses, sheds, barns, bakery house, barns and mills, among other things. In the Swedish Ski museum, it was a museum about the skiing history of the Swedish. It marked from the Stone Age to Stenmark and to 2011. We saw skis from the first time man used skis to the updated 2011 verisions. Along with the history of skis, were exhibits about Anja Paerson and Per Elofsson, both from Umeå who have won numerous skiing medals from World Championships to the Olympic Games. The ski museum was very cool learning about skis and snowshoes that were once used to travel through the snow. Then we looked at the Sami people and the culture, learned about Umeå’s past, present, and future. (www.vbm.se)

A type of house they used to live in.

I heard Gammlia is better to visit in the spring/summer time and next weekend when they have their Christmas Market here in Sweden, but unfortunately we will be up in the mountains. After walking through the Museums, we decided that we did not want to stay much longer, since the sun goes down around 2:00 p.m. After we left the museum, we went downtown Umeå and ate at a fabulous restaurant. We then went shopping in some of the shops looking for those last minute presents to bring home for Christmas. Most of our Christmas shopping is being done in Sweden rather than at home because it is so close to the holiday.

Today in the school I had a wonderful day again with the students. In the morning, the students attended art class where they continued to work on their rooters that they started last week. It is very interesting that you can use newspaper and wire to create a rooster-looking animal. Today, most of the students were decorating their roosters with colorful feathers. After art class, the students were working on their Europe test. The students had to memorize 40 European countries and their capitals, so while the students were working on their European test, I was watching the students work and working on homework that I need to do for the schools. After two classes of the European test, the students went to lunch. I did not eat with the students today. I ate in the teachers lounge and then I went back to the classroom to continue working on my work that I need to get done for the schools. After lunch, the students had English! Yay!! This is my favorite part of the day. The students were extremely excited to come to English because they two that they had two tasks to work on today for me. The first task was to finish their pen pal letters and the second task was to start working on their State project! I explained that they needed to finish up their letters by Wednesday this week because I want them to finish up their State projects by Monday, so they can share what they are learning about the States with the class. I am very proud of the hard work the students put into writing their letters to Mrs. Anderson’s class and how hard they are working on their State projects!

Teaching the 5th graders about
how to write a Pen Pal letter!

Writing a Sample Pen Pal letter! Notice I do
not have a SmartBoard to work with, I had
to write on the dry erase board!

After school, I was in charge of detention. Students received detention for not going to class or showing up for the day tardy. These students spend between 10 to 40 minutes in detention depending on what they did to deserve detention. Many of the students were finishing up their pen pal letters to their friends in the States and were working on their State projects. They were all excited to ask me questions about their pen pals and asking me questions about the United States.

Reading our Pen Pal letters from our
New Friends in the United States!

After finally getting back to my room about 3:45, Amanda and I went to on an adventure to the post office on campus. Amanda had to mail out a letter to her students in the United States and I sent out a few post – cards to family and friends. Who knew that the post office on campus would be so busy around 4:30 in the afternoon? We didn’t because we waited in line for about thirty minutes before we got our letters in the mail.

Another type of house they
used to live in during the early
years of living in Umeå.

Lennart, our supervisor, stopped by tonight to check in on us, to drop off our evaluations, and to talk to us about Åre. We are very excited to go to Åre, apparently there is a huge chocolate factory there and we will be on top of one of the tallest mountains in Sweden. We do not think we will be able to go skiing because there is no snow here in Sweden, but we might be able to see Norway from the top of the mountain!

I cannot believe how fast time has flown since we arrived in Sweden a month ago! I can admit that I am starting to really miss a few things from home, but after talking with Amanda and Erika, we can now say that we had the experience of living in another country for 6 weeks. Even though it has only been 6 weeks, we can still say that we lived in another country. Well, for me, I have now lived in three countries, The United States, Canada, and Sweden! I never thought that would ever happen to me before!

Well, Good Night everyone! I must rest up for the rest of the week, catch up on my e-mails, and continue to write my papers for school! 12 days and counting until I am on a plane back to the United States!

Day 26 – It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

It is the day after Thanksgiving and I am missing the shopping experience of black Friday and the weekend of putting up some of the Christmas decorations. But it has been an awesome day here in Sweden! Last night before I went to bed, I had the opportunity of Skyping with my parents and the family we do Thanksgiving with! It was awesome being able to see everyone. It felt like I was really having Thanksgiving with them. I was able to talk to everyone talking about my experience of being here in Sweden!

Even without snow in Sweden, everything is starting to turn into the joy of Christmas. On my way to school in the morning the Christmas lights are shining so bright and I see the trees lighted up outside! In Sweden, this weekend marks the first weekend of Advent for the Swedish. Advent means arrival, or coming, and since the 5th century AD has heralded the Christmas season and the birth of Christ. Since the 1890s, the custom in Sweden has been to light a candle every Sunday during Advent. The candles used to be placed in tiny Christmas trees, but from the 1930s onwards candlesticks of iron or wood superseded these. The Moravian custom of hanging a star made from paper, straw or chipwood in windows also found its way to Sweden in the 1930s, recalling the star that guided the Three Wise Men. The advent calendar dates from around this time as well. Children open a window in the calendar for each passing day until Christmas Eve. So on the first Sunday (this Sunday) people light the first candle in the Advent candlestick. In towns and cities, Christmas fairs sell handcrafts and decorations and people start baking in preparations for the holiday.

Today in the school, the teachers started celebrating the weekend with each other. So as a tradition, the Swedish prepare a drink called glögg. In preparation for the first Sunday in Advent, many Swedes get together to drink glögg — a hot, spicy mulled drink with blanched almonds and raisins and ginger snaps to accompany it. And I had the opportunity of trying this wonderful drink. It tasted so good and the ginger snaps (gingerbread cookies) made me think about the holiday season. I also learned that “God Jul” means Merry Christmas in Swedish.

Today, I introduced my students to their new pen pals! They were super excited that they were going to have a pen pal from the United States. Johan (the physical education teacher) explained to me that the students were running into p.e. jumping up and down with great excitement! I was excited to see their reactions when they found out that they would be able to communicate with someone in the United States.

Well, its an early night for me, but I will update you more tomorrow about the pen pals. Its been a long week for me, but I cannot believe that I will be in Sweden for two more Fridays and then I will be home!

Day 25 - Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Sweden!


Today I taught the students about Thanksgiving before we started our State projects today. The students were extremely jealous that in the United States, there is a holiday that gives you a day off. Even some of the students were confused as to why I was teaching and not taking the day to be with my friends here in Sweden. The students started working on their state projects and are learning a lot about some of the States in the United States. They are really excited to see how they are going to turn out in the end! I know I cannot wait!


Tonight, we had our own little Thanksgiving dinner in Umeå. Kim, Sara, Amanda, Erika, and I went to the grocery store and bought chicken for dinner. Unfortunately they did not have any turkey so we had to settle for chicken. We also made mashed potatoes, corn, and bought some french bread. It was not the same as a Thanksgiving dinner at home. We all agreed this would be a Thanksgiving to remember! 


Hope everyone has fun on Black Friday and getting in the holiday spirit for Christmas. Sweden is already in the process because this weekend starts the first weekend of Advent for the Swedish... that means Christmas lights are starting to go up all around us. The only thing we are missing is the snow! Which I have been told numerous times that there is suppose to be snow by now, and there isn't. Maybe we brought over some of the weather from America! 


Well, Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Hope you enjoyed all the food you could eat, since I missed it this year. But it looks like I will be trying to convince my parents make me my Thanksgiving meal when I return to the States ;)

Day 23 and 24 – Another School Day

A picture on my walk to the school.
The sky was such beautiful color of red and
orange, but the ground was frozen with frost!

It has been another two days in the school, I cannot believe how fast the time is flying. Tomorrow is Thursday! It is sad that I won’t be able to be at home eating a turkey dinner with family and friends. Instead, I will be teaching about Thanksgiving and hopefully the students will start on their State projects that they are so eager to learn about!

Today, I taught multiplication and division of whole numbers to the 5^th graders and multiplication and division of decimals to the 6^th graders. Needless to say, it was very interesting. According to Frida (the teacher I was working with today) said this was a way that the students had never seen before. As I noted earlier, they do their math in different ways. I taught them how to do the problems the “American” way as some of the students called it in the classroom. Some of the students loved the new version being able to place the numbers on top rather to the side and “saying goodbye” to the numbers they do not need to use when multiplying triple digits by double digits. But the lesson went well and I was proud of how it turned out! 6^th graders had math before lunch and the 5^th graders had math after lunch since their school day started at 10:00 today and lunch is always at 11:00 in the morning. But, Frida had a parent-teacher conference during the 10:00 math lesson and Britt – Inger (The Special Education teacher for Linblomman) was suppose to be teaching with me as the Swedish translator in the classroom but shee took the day off because she felt very overwhelmed with things going on with student plans. So I taught the 6^th graders how multiply and divide decimals all by myself. There was not another teacher in the classroom and the students understood what I was teaching to them and they really enjoyed the lesson! I didn’t even know where the time went because the next minute I knew it was time for lunch!

Now for the rest of my day: During lunch, I ate with the students. Today’s lunch menu…. FISH! Once again, I ate fish for lunch with some Swedish pasta dish that was fabulous. I think this adventure is opening up my world of eating a variety of foods. After lunch, while the students went outside in the freezing cold, I then went into the teachers lounge. I had a nice conversation with Katarina and Frida about math lesson and the differences. Then a teacher who was subbing (I forgot his name) was having a conversation with me about the differences in the schools. He explained that he had been to the United States before and had to sit in for a class. He said it was much different than being in a classroom in Sweden. Afterwards he tried teaching me riddles in Swedish. He told me that my goal for the next two weeks is to memorize these three riddles. Needless to say, I do not remember them and they were extremely difficult for me to say. But it was a fun conversation at lunch to talk about with the teachers.

For the last two hours of the day, they were the longest two hours I could imagine. The last two hours were spent for the students at “study hall” or time for the students to get caught up on their homework. Students do not take home their homework because the parents feel that it is something that needst to be done in school. It amazes me that they do not take their homework home, but there is time taken out of the day for the students to work on their homework. While I was sitting there working on English with some of the students, I had some interesting conversations. First, there was one about me doing gymnastics on YouTube. I was really shocked that the student went on YouTube and searched for me. She said, "Allison, I found you on YouTube." I looked at her with great confusion and said, "Really what was I doing?!" She said, "Well, you were doing this thing in the air running up on a podium and rolling around in circles, but you looked awesome." Afterwards, I tried explaining what I was doing and she just nodded and agreed with me, she said that she still liked calling it the rolling thing in circles. Then we started talking about gymnastics with like five other girls at the table and how she thought that I looked really cool. One of the girls had done gymnastics before and she said that she loved doing all the events. They even do it in gym class, but I missed it because it was the week before it I came to the school. I was sad because I could have helped out a lot with that unit! Once we finished talking about gymnastics, Katarina and I started talking about MAC computers and how Pillar (headmaster/principal) would like to take part as a pilot school for having MAC computers in the classrooms. I happened to be traveling my laptop today and I pulled it out to show Katarina the computer. We were talking about the programs and how all the teachers in the school would have to take classes in order to know how to use a MAC. I was explaining what components the MAC computer has and how it works. She was very impressed. Then all of a sudden, I had a buzz of kids swarming my computer because they were all very interested in the MAC. Some of the students that were scared to talk to me were talking to me about the computer. It was like something magical with the students. Once, I put the computer away, the students were sad I put it away, but I felt that I was distracting the students from their homework time. I know it can be difficult to work on homework for two hours in a row with a ten-minute break. The students seemed to be handling it well working on a variety of assignments that are due to the teacher.

On my walk home from school at 2:00 p.m.
The sun is about to set. There is not
much daylight here!

After school, Katarina (my cooperating teacher) invited me over to her house for dinner. This is where I met her boyfriend, two daughters, and their pet dog, Linus. Her house reminded me of being in the woods in Wisconsin, there is a lot of forestland, very few houses around where they live, and there is a lake right by their house. Even though it was dark when we went there, you could see the 11 houses lit up in the area. I was very thankful for the meal that they provided. It was another elk stew, but it was fabulous. The meal consisted of elk, string (mashed) potatoes, salad, cracker bread, and a really good chocolate sticky cake (almost like a brownie). After we finished eating dinner and talking about the United States, I played a game called “Mix Max” with her eldest daughter Stina. It was a fun game, but very hard to understand since her daughters are too young to know English. Her other daughter wanted me to speak Swedish, but Katarina had to explain that I did not know Swedish and that is why she had to translate for me. But it was very nice of her to invite me over and I would say that I had an overall amazing day with the kids and had another Swedish meal.

Well, it is getting late here again… I must prepare myself to teach a little bit about Thanksgiving and the 50 states for tomorrow! I cannot wait to see how the lesson turns out!

Have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!

Day 21 and 22 – Life of a Student Teacher in Umeå

On Sunday, I spent the entire day writing lesson plans for the week, writing reflections for my teachers, and working on writing my paper for the Phase 4 portfolio. Needless to say, I spent the entire day trying to catch up on assignments. After I spent the day working on homework, Erika, Amanda, and I went to the grocery story and decided that we were going to make hash browns for dinner. The dinner was good but I would have to say my experience eating elk was a much better meal this weekend.

Today was my first day planning and teaching the United States geography. I think it went pretty hard. At first I thought it was hard trying to explain and talk about the United States. Luckily, Katarina was sitting in the back of the room observing and translating what I was instructing for some of the students. I did a lesson on the U.S. geography and the fifty states. Katarina thought that learning about the U.S. geography is an important aspect for these students because they do not learn much about North America. Just like we learn about the United States, they learn about Europe and Sweden. I think that my favorite part of the lesson was when the students were excited to learn more about the fifty states. The next part of the lesson will be taught on Thursday. The students will create a poster board where they will draw one of the states and they will have to identify facts about the state. They are excited to learn more and I am excited to see how the projects turn out!

Well, I know it is a sort blog tonight, but I still have a lot to do with lesson planning, reflections, and papers for my portfolio. Hopefully, I will be able to relax one of these nights and be able to write a little bit more in my blog!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful time at home and enjoying the short week, unlike me, I will be teaching all week. They do not celebrate Thanksgiving but the girls and I are hoping to make a Thanksgiving meal on Thursday!

Days 19 and 20 – Linblomanns Skola, Downtown Umeå, and the Elk Farm

Old Town Hall all lit up in lights!

Yesterday was another day at the Linblomanns skola where I continue to learn a lot about the Swedish school system. I had the opportunity of getting involved with the physical education class of the 5^th and 6^th graders and meeting the principal of the school. In gym class the students were learning how to play basketball. I did not know what Johan was instructing to the students in Swedish but luckily, I knew what was going on in the class. Since I learned how to play basketball in school, I could figure out what was being taught to the students by the hand motions of the teacher. I found physical education easier to understand than observing a Swedish class. During physical education I learned a new game that is played like the game board “Sorry.” I really liked the game that he was having the students play. Every time the students scored a basket, they got to move their game piece around the hula-hoop board.

The Heart of Umeå

During school I was told that gymnastics is not a sport. One of the students explained to Katarina (my cooperating teacher at Linblommans) that gymnastics is not a sport because you do not get paid professionally. I thought that was the cutest thing a student has said. The student felt that in order for it to be considered a sport you must get paid professionally and it must involve a ball. Katarina explained that she had to tell the student that gymnastics is a sport because you need to have the strength and ability. Some of the students are impressed that I did gymnastics especially since they did gymnastics last week in physical education class. 

I ate lunch with the students on Friday as teacher supervision. Plus the principal suggested that I eat with the students more often to try all the foods that the school provides since they are all Swedish foods. It another fabulous Swedish meal of Swedish meatloaf, potatoes, and a pasta salad. I loved the meal, expect that the meatloaf was a saltier than what I am used you! The sauce was a Swedish sauce topping that tasted so good I wish I knew what the recipe was!

One of the bridges lit up in lights

After school, the girls and I decided that we were going to go downtown Umeå for the evening. There was an event show is called Umeå Höstljus (Umeå Autumn Light). The event is the seventh light festival of Umeå Autumn lights that have various light installations in the centre of the city. The light installations are made up of 20 different public light installations throughout the city. We saw about eight of the light attracts and they were absolutely beautiful. It started with a festival opening ceremony, which was difficult to understand since everyone was talking in Swedish, but then we went exploring for the various light decorations around town. My favorite attraction was the circle of candle jars that had candles lit inside. The children from the schools in Umeå decorated jars with tissue paper and paint and they were placed in circle in the park. It was such a beautiful sight to see. There are about 4,000 candle jars and lanterns placed at Vänortsparken produced by the children each year! This is a gift to the city that is lit on the first night of the opening festivities. It was such a beautiful and touching sight; words cannot describe the beauty of the magical lights!

1000-tals lyktor och ljuskarusell - 1000
lanterns and candles carousel

On Saturday, Erika, Amanda, Kim, Sara, and I had the opportunity of going to the Elk farm in Bjurholm, just outside Umea. Our supervisor, Lennart and his friend Yvonne were kind enough to drive us to the Elk Farm. The drive through the country was so pretty! I wanted Yvonne to stop like every five minutes to take pictures, but I didn't have her do that because it would have taken longer to get there! Even when the sun was setting, the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful but was another wonderful adventure to experience in Bjurholm, Sweden.

Proof I was eating the Elk!

Before I begin about the Elk farm, I will give you some background. The Swedish people call them Elk, but in North American we call them Moose. I am going to refer to the animals as Elk throughout my blog. I had seen Elk in Skansen but today was the second time I had seen the Elk. This time I got up close and personal with the animals. We arrived around 12:00 and lunch was served as we were arriving. For lunch we had salad with vegetables (corn and peas), Swedish bread and butter, peeled potatoes, and Elk stew. The elk stew had carrots, zucchini, carrots, and mushrooms, with a Swedish stew sauce. Yes, if you are all wondering, I ate ELK for the first time! Actually all five of us had Elk for the first time! I was so proud of myself for trying another Swedish dish. Yvonne explained that in the North you would experience many Swedish dishes when you visit places like the Elk farm. It was extremely delicious and it tasted just like a beef stew!

The Elk Stew Meal

After we lunch, we were led on a tour. First we watched an 18-minute video about the elk and their life throughout the year. I learned that the male elks only have their antlers during the summer and in the winter they lose their antlers. After the video, we were led through a small museum. This was in a small shed that had stuffed elk, antlers, pictures, and facts about the elk. The facts were difficult to read since they were in Swedish, but it was nice having the guided tour of the museum. I learned that an elk that the Swedish men were trying to keep alive was shot one year because it was considered a female during hunting season one year. They were trying to keep the male elk alive for as long as possible until it was mistaken. The reason it was mistaken was because it had lost it’s antlers earlier than it should have been so the hunters thought it was a female. Some of the largest populations of elk in the world are found in Sweden. Each year about 40% of the elk population is hunted during the hunting season to control the animals. When our tour guide was explaining the hunting season of elk, I thought about hunting season of deer.

The Elk eating their lunch. It just looked like
a rabbit pellet meal!

Finally after eating the elk and learning about the elk, we got to meet the elk. We met Charlie (an older elk) and two calves that are about six months old. Since it is the end of mating season for the elks, we could not pet the other elk in other pens, but we got up close to three of them. Charlie was very calm as the other two wanted to eat and play. Erika had the opportunity of feeding Charlie the elk a banana. The elk were loving and kind that they were giving out kisses to all of us and trying to get into our purses. It was fun and we were able to get some awesome pictures with the elk.

Since it was so cold outside, we only spent about an hour petting the elks. After we finished, we took the adventure back to Umeå. On the way back, we stopped on a bridge to view one of the rivers that flows in Sweden. It was a sight to see! The river was flowing and we were so high up on the bridge, I was scared that I was going to lose my phone when I was taking pictures! It was a test of my fears even though I knew I was safe on the bridge!

Once we arrived back in Umeå, Yvonne and Lennart dropped us off at the Åldheim Centrum right next to our dorm rooms. Yvonne was explaining how much fun she had with us today and we thanked her for driving us to the farm. She then told us that she would like to make us another Swedish meal of reindeer! So I wonder when we will be having reindeer in the next few weeks.

I am having a blast with the adventures I am encountering. I have experienced so much in the last few weeks that everytime we do something it is an adventure in itself. I don’t think that I would have ever expereicned what I am experience if it was not for this wonderful opportunity to study abroad. I start teaching lessons about U.S. geography on Monday and the students are excited to learn more. It will be better than them labeling a US map with the states and capitols! Well, it looks like I should start my lesson planning so that the students have something to learn about! I will update you on how that lesson goes on Monday.

Day 16, 17, and 18 – School Days

Linblommans skola - This is the front of the building where
the students attend school. In the background you can see
the sun starting to rise at 8:00 in the morning!

I know that a few days have passed and I have not updated my blog! I do not know where the time has gone. Ever since I have been in the classroom my days seem to go by faster than I imagine. I cannot believe that it is already Thursday and I have been in the classroom for 4 days now! I don’t think that it helps that I get up before the sun rises and then I get done with school around 3:00 when the sun is setting. It makes my days feel extremely short! I miss driving around in the daylight after school being able to see where I am going. Then after my days are done, I am heading back to Umeå to work on my homework and trying to get as much as I can before I got to bed.

One of the classrooms that I am working in.
There are two classrooms for the 5th and 6th
graders. This classroom primary has Swedish,
English, and Social Studies taught here.

The last few days have been very interesting for me. I am still trying to understand the classroom and how the school runs. I am trying to understand what the students are talking about all the time. Since everything is in Swedish, it is difficult for me to understand. But I can usually get a student to translate the words for me. At times it can be extremely difficult for the students to say the correct English word. There are times where they try to describe the word for me so that I can tell them correct English word. I can tell it is a challenge for them but they are enjoying having me around. Even the staff members at the school want to speak better English and ask me to help them as well!

Here are some differences that I am seeing in the schools:

1.    Students do not wear shoes. Students walk around in their socks or some students wear crocs in the school, but then change their shoes when they are to go outside.

2.    The school starts and end times vary throughout the week. This is a typical week for me: Monday 8:10 – 14:00 (8:10 – 2:00), Tuesday: 8:10 – 15:00 (8:10 – 3), Wednesday: 10:00 – 15:00 (10:00 – 3:00), Thursday: 8:10 – 14:50 (8:10 – 2:50), and Friday: 8:10 – 14:00 (8:10 – 2:00). Some of the girls that I am traveling with end their days around 13:00 (1:00) or so.

3.    Students call the teacher by their first name. So if you were all wondering, they call me Allison, instead of Miss Nelson. I had my notebook out on the table the other day and they could not figure out who Miss Nelson was. They had to ask their teacher Katarina who Miss Nelson was and she explained in Swedish that they call me by my last name in the United States. Then they asked me in English if the students back at home call me Miss Nelson and I said yes. They were surprised that the students in the United States call the teacher by their last name instead of their first name. One girls, Linda, pointed out the difference between the two countries to me.

4.    When multiplying they write the problem upside down. They write the smaller number on top of the multiplication problem. See my picture on how they multiply and divide.

5.    When they divide they leave the problem in fraction form. I am still trying to figure out how they divide. I tried to explain how I learned to multiply and divide and the girl I was helping with looked at me with great confusion. She said that she did not understand what I was doing. Also in their numbers, instead of using a decimal point, they use a comma. A difference that I noticed when I explained what the point was on the problem.

6.    They do not give out grades on the students. The student’s turn in their work in a binder and the teacher is to evaluate the work at the end of the year if it falls under the category of an A, B, C, D, E, or F. They do not give out points for grades or grade the homework immediately to return the work.  They students must take responsibility of their work and turn it into their binders in a timely manner.

7.    Students do not sit at desks. They sit at tables and all their supplies are kept in drawers in the classroom. They do not have big textbooks to work in. They have smaller paper workbooks that they write in directly to do their work. The books are designed to create independent learners in the classroom.

8.    Students are independent learners. They work in their workbooks and the teacher will help the students when they ask for help. Students will work in pairs when they are allowed to but otherwise most of the learning is done as an independent learner.

9.    Students receive a 10 – 15 minute break after each class. They go outside for recess and the teachers go into the teachers lounge for some coffee or tea. For lunch their recess begins when they finish eating their lunch. Usually teachers will go outside to supervise but there are not many supervisors outside on the playground.

10. Students do not bring their lunches. Lunch is provided everyday by the school. The students did not understand why I had brought my lunch to school and I had to explain that we can either bring our lunch or pay for lunch. Teachers get free lunches on the days that they are supervising the lunchroom because they have to eat with the students. Teachers can bring their lunches as well during the week when they do not have supervision of the lunchroom.

Front of the school where the students
keep their bikes during the day!

11. Teachers teach all the subjects. For example, teachers teach Swedish, Social Studies, Math, Religion, Science, English, Music, Physical Education, and Art. In the United States, we teach the primary subjects and there are other teachers who teach the elective classes.

12. All students either walk or bike to school. There are no school buses that transport the students to school. Because they live in such a small community, it is not necessary to have buses to transport the students. Plus there are not many people who drive their cars that it is very safe for the students to walk. The only buses that you really see are the transport buses that take you from different places around Umeå.

13. Students do not have their own supplies of colored pencils, crayons, or markers. There are three small buckets of colored pencils and that is all that they have. They must share all the colored pencils. The students also need to be careful on how fast they use the lead in their pencils because they must get their pencils to last awhile in the classroom. Students have a check by their name every time they use a pencil. It is the student’s responsibility to keep track of the pencil and if they lose it they are out of luck. Plus there is not electric pencil sharpener, they are all the hand-held mini sharpeners and if they all break, they are out of luck!

Homes where the civilians live in Röbeck

As I am continuing my adventure I am working and meeting all the students. They are all willing to help me learn Swedish and always want to walk me to the bus station after school. I am so grateful that they are all helping me through my experience. It is different for me because my partner is not in Sweden anymore, as she had to go home, so I am working in the school by myself. Everyone is so kind and helping me through this wonderful experience. It reminds me of being in the classroom at home, but the only real difference, is everything is spoken in Swedish.

Two of the students made a present for me!
It was even wrapped in beautiful
wrapping paper!

The teachers have asked me to teach lessons on the American History, since all they do is label a map of the United States using the internet or the Atlas. Some students want to learn about the “Cowboys and Indians” so I think I will focus some lessons on the Native Americans in American. I find that perfect because I was teaching about Native American before I left to come to Sweden. The teachers have also asked me to teach about the geography of the United States. I am willing to help them out in any way because they do not have the same resources as we do at home. This shall be interesting as to how I am going to teach it all because I have to be as green as possible! They love to save the Earth!

I cannot believe how fast this experience has been going for me. Tomorrow is already Friday, meaning I have three weeks left in the Swedish classroom and about 23 days until I am home! It is sad that I will be missing Thanksgiving and the wonderful turkey dinners and the black Friday shopping, but apparently they have some funfests that get them ready for Christmas that I will get to see.  

Day 15 – My “First” Day of School – Linblommans skola

Today was my first day at Linblommans skola. Today was a little different schedule for me because my teacher at Linblommans skola asked to meet at 9:00 a.m. Usually I will start school at 8:10 in the morning, except on Wednesdays. I wish that I could express that I have a partner with me during this experience, but unfortunately she went home today. She ended up getting sick and thought it was the best idea to go home and see her doctors in the United States. So I had to experience a new school, a new place in the city of Umeå, and riding the bus by myself. Luckily, this morning, Lennart (our Umeå supervisor) was so kind and grateful enough to take me to the school. Lennart met me right outside my room. He was generous enough to walk me to the bus station to take a look at the map and show me where I will need to be going and how I will be getting there for tomorrow. Afterwards, we took a walk to the grocery store to buy my bus pass, but unfortunately the place I needed to buy my pass at was close. So he took me on an adventure showing me places to visit in the next few weekends through the city of Umeå just to get the bus pass. 

After receiving my bus pass, we headed towards the school. Once we arrived, Lennart was explaining that the building I am in is the elementary building and the otherside is the high school building. Once we arrived at school, we found the students playing outside and taking their break. My teacher’s name is Katarina and I will be working with her for some of the time in the elementary school. The classes are run as teams, so I will also be working with Frida, Britt-Inger, and Johan. They all teach different subjects (English, Swedish, Social Studies, Science, and Math) and the students rotate classrooms. I even got a tour of the school, which was extremely small.

I tried to soak in as much as I could through the introduction of the school, meeting my co-workers for the next four weeks, and meeting the students in the classroom. I am working with about 15- 5^th grade students and 15 – 6^th grade students. Much smaller class sizes because that is about all the students that they have in the classroom for those class sizes. During Social Studies, there were about ten students who were labeling a map of Europe. They were trying to labels the countries and the cities. As my teacher and I were talking, she was explaining to me that they label cities and states on the United States map in order to learn about the United States. She asked me if I could teach a little something about the United States history to the students. I think that the best part of being in the school is I get to talk in English and the students must learn to understand English from me during the day. For math, she explained to me that they are just starting to work on multiplication. That was quiet the surprise that they are just starting to learn multiplication and division, when I was teaching decimals at home! During English class the students had to talk in the English language and it was a time to do our introductions of getting to know each other. The students had about six questions each for me to answer. Some questions I did not know. I learned what floorball (innebandy) was. It is another way of saying floor hockey.

For lunch, I ate with the students today. The teachers in the classrooms have to do recess duty each time they go out and have lunchroom duty. While on lunchroom duty, I had the opportunity to eat the lunch that was provided by the school. They would not let me eat my peanut butter and jelly sandwich that I had packed for myself. :/ Today’s lunch was fisk (fish), ris (rice), and anything you wanted from their “salad bar”.  That was the first time I had a Swedish meal and it happened to be fish. I do not eat fish at home, so it was an experience for me to try as well. It was not bad at all, it tasted really good (I swear, this trip is opening my eyes to eating a variety of foods, except I will always stay away from tomatoes). After lunch, five 6^th graders went on a walk with me to show me where the bus stop was. The teacher let the students walk me around to show me where to get on and get off in Röbeck. Might I add having the opportunity to be shown where the bus stop was nice but it was about a ten-minute walk from the school, and we did not have to sign out of the school! I was completely shocked that the teachers were willing to allow the students to leave the school to take me to the bus station.

After we got back from our walk, it was time to come in for English class. To my surprise, all the students took off their jackets, as well as their shoes. So the students were walking around the classroom with just their socks on! The teachers kept their shoes on, but the students were walking around in their socks. Today, I felt completely overdressed. I wore my khaki pants with a nice sweater. Note to self, always wear jeans and different shoes! The teachers were in nice shirts, jeans, and tennis shoes. I always thought that teachers had the same dress codes as the teachers in the United States, but I was wrong. Luckily I brought enough jeans but it looks like my dress pants will not be touched during the adventure unless the girls I am traveling with decide to go out to a fancy restaurant (which you do not see many around here).

As we were getting ready to leave, all the students either walk or ride their bikes. The only buses that you see are the ones that take you to the major cities along the way. The girls that showed me where the bus stop was during the school hours offered to take me to the bus stop at the end of the day. I was very grateful for what they did. I was learning some more Swedish terms and learning how to say them. They were probably laughing at me because I cannot roll the “r” nor could I say the terms correctly. Oh well, looks like I have a lot of learning to do while I am here the next four weeks!

Here are a few other things that I saw in the school today:

          1.)  All the students came into the classroom quiet and sat down waiting patiently for the teacher to finish talking to me or come back from walking in the hallway.

          2.)  Students have a free range of the classroom. They can come and go whenever they would like.

          3.)  During group discussions the teacher sent the students to the student kitchen area, the coat area, or kept them in the classroom to talk.

          4.)  There is not much floor space, plus the floor is really dirty you would not want to work on   the floor.

          5.)  The teacher does a lot of teaching from the desk. The desk is in front of the classroom and the desks are in pods of about 4 – 6. Plus they are not your average style of desks. Students have drawers for their materials in different sections of the room and they are allowed to just sit at their assigned seat.

          6.)  Students get about a 10 – 15 minute break after each class. The students go outside for their recess during this time.

          7.)  The teachers have a workroom and a teacher’s lounge where they keep their coats, an extra pair of shoes, and where they do somewhat of their lesson planning.

          8.)  There are not many books in the classrooms or even in the library. The library was extremely small. It was about half the size of Mrs. Anderson’s classroom, maybe even smaller!

          9.)  Everyone speaks in Swedish. I am going to be teaching the staff and students a lot of English in the next four weeks. Sometimes I feel strange asking the students what they are saying because I do not understanding. But they are all very nice and willing to help me with everything that I need.

Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to take some pictures of the school. I was so busy trying to figure out what was going on, meeting the teachers, and talking with the students that I forgot to take pictures. Plus at the end of the day, I was worried about traveling on a bus by myself since I did not know where I was going, I left right away when school was done at 14:00 (2:00 p.m.). I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings for me being in the classroom. It should be interesting since I am trying to learn what they are understanding!