Week 16 (Mon 14th May – Sun 20th May)

Cultural blog

This week we said Goodbye to Trisha as she left Vordingborg for Northern Ireland.  It was strange that we weren’t leaving with her as we all arrived in Denmark at the same time and shared the experience together. As Trisha packed for home, Fionnuala and I packed for our trip to Sweden with our two Austrian friends and set off the next day on a 4-hour bus journey to Gothenburg (Sweden’s 3^rd largest city).  We stayed in a hostel for one night, then did a little sight-seeing via a canal tour and enjoyed tea and cake; also called ‘Swedish Fika’, in Old Haga town; a beautiful and quaint area with lots of little antique shops, boutiques and cafes.

Old Haga town

The four of us were invited to stay with a Swedish lady and her family for the next few days; where we had our own bedrooms in a dream house that overlooked a stunning lake and forest.  We couldn’t believe our luck!  The Swedish lady made us feel so welcome in her home and prepared a variety of Swedish dinners and desserts for us throughout our stay.  We learned to play some traditional Swedish games including ‘Kubb’; a game involving the knocking down of blocks to win.  The Swedish lady provided us with a rich insight into Swedish culture, which we never would have had if we hadn’t stayed with her and her family.  I learned that the Swedish people are generally quite into the outdoors and embracing the nature around them when the weather permits and if you had seen where we were staying you would know why! The natural forest and lake surroundings were unbelievable; like something in a film!  We were lucky enough to have brilliant, sunny weather and we took a canoe trip down a lake near to where we were staying.  I really ought to appreciate Northern Ireland’s natural surroundings more often as we too have some beautiful scenery such as the Mournes and the Giant’s Causeway. I have learned that it sometimes takes you to be out of your homeland to develop a new appreciation for what you have there!

Where we stayed with the Swedish family!

Enjoying a Swedish dinner in the sun!

This trip to Mullsjo; staying with the Swedish family in their beautiful home, was a perfect end to our ERASMUS travelling experience. We were truly spoilt by the family and couldn’t believe how kind and inviting they were to us, considering we were strangers and each from different countries (Northern Ireland and Austria).  I will never forget their hospitality and open-mindedness!  I would like to think that a majority of people in Northern Ireland would also demonstrate this culture when guests from other countries visit their homes.  I don’t intend to generalise but I do assume that people these days are more wary of people they don’t know and are perhaps more guarded and reserved when it comes to opening up to people from other countries and foreign cultures. I do however like to see that people can easily enjoy the same things and share the same sense of humour even though they come from different countries, backgrounds and cultures.