Hooray Spring Break

So no doubt as you look at tweets and Facebook posts you're fellow MAT are rejoicing over during their spring break as you work on anguish in Sweden, the anticipation of your break is slowly starting to grow. At this point you have started to consider all the possibilities that await your easy travel desires. France! Germany! England! Spain! Romani....well maybe some are more attractive than others. I decided to go by myself to visit Stockholm and Copenhagen during my break so I cannot testify for the other places. I'm sure they are all amazing (even Romania) but of course you will have a limited time so my advice is to do your research and plan carefully. Who knows if you will have another oppertunity to travel abroad?

So Stockholm is first. Stockholm is a very beautiful city. One night stroll around the palace will attest to that. It is full of history and measums. The city itself is fairly easy to navigate and is very walkable. When I was there I visited the Vassa which was a huge ship that sunk in the harbor that was eventually brought to the surface and reconstructed. It's worth a visit with a student discount. The ship is very impressive and the measeum gives enough facts that it is interesting, but not so many that it becomes boring. I also visited the alochol and spirits measeum, which was very cool. It had a gallery of Absolute paintings done by famous artists next to album covers that they created. I really don't see anyway you can go wrong doing things in Stockholm as the city is beautiful, but try to walk around the old town. The only negative is how expensive Stockholm is compared to other cities, but since you will already have experienced that in Sweden, it won't be as big of a shock.

Now on to Copenhagen. I'll go ahead a spoil the ending. I've traveled throughout most of the United States and now I can say I've visited Sweden. Honestly Copenhagen is the most amazing city I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. It's worth the journey. I did a walking tour and visited several of the signseeing marks. This isn't what makes Copenhagen special. It's the people. As our tour guide said, Danes are known for being the happiest people on earth, and walking the streets...it just feels different. I can't put it into words, the only advice is to go visit, grab a carlsburg in a local pub and see for yourself.

Actually Teaching in Sweden

So after getting settled in Sweden it is time for you to do the job that you are paying to
do....yeah. The first thing to notice the the inherent difference there is between the way that
Swedes approach education and the way the United States approaches education. The student
you teach will either be tracked for a University or a trade such as mechanic, baker, chef, etc.
These students still will be able to speak very good English as it is still required that they take
several years throughout elementary. Most of the education that you will be required to give
them will be improving their English skills to the point of flawless conversation. How is this
accomplished? I have no idea, but as best I can tell I simply engaged the students in what they
liked and had them converse with me in English. This is a little easier because of the obvious; I
don't speak Swedish.

The next thing to notice is all of your free time! Welcome to Sweden! Generally during the day
you will have a much longer time to plan and get your lessons ready due to the fact that you
only teach for 15-20 hours a week. The rest of the time is yours to grade/plan/enjoy Swedish
cooking. The other thing that you will be required to do is attend fika and drink coffee with the
teachers. This is time to discuss your class with your mentor teachers and talk about all of the important information. Some of the teachers won't talk to you because they do not know English, or they are not comfortable speaking it around a native. Don't be discouraged, just smile and see if you can pick up any Swedish while living abroad.

Many of classrooms where I was teaching were also equipped with smartboard technology. The students also had their own laptops that they were able to use. I used this to my advantage and had the students plan a trip to America, and give a presentation all in English. I think it went well; it wasn't life changing, but what lesson is?

Finally comes the biggest difference in the education system. You may be tasked to teach in a school where the students are not interested in going to University. They are preparing for jobs that may lead them down a different career path. These can include Truck Drivers, Auto Mechanics, Hair Stylists, and Bakers. So just be prepared for a different attitude when approaching the classroom.

There are countless little differences between the education systems, but I don't want to influence how you perceive them. So I'll stop here and say Good Luck!

Food/Transportation in Sweden

After landing the first thing that may pop into your head is food. At least that was my initial thought. To be fair, that is my normal state of mind. Food. So you will need to go to the grocery store. This is no biggie, but in order to not embarrass yourself here is the most important rule. THEY DON'T PROVIDE THE BAGS FOR FREE! Seriously you have to buy the bags, which are located at the register. 

Just for a moment, picture yourself standing at the end of the grocery line after checking out. Since you are so incredibly healthy, you have proceeded to buy vegetables, meat, milk, and maybe even a package of the infamous Swedish meatballs. However everything is just sitting at the end of the conveyer belt staring at you as other people in the line look over inquisitively wondering how long this person is going to hold up the line. Then imagine trying to carry everything home with the entire country of Sweden laughing at you. I definitely avoided this experience while over there. No question about it. Seriously I didn't do this. You can't prove otherwise.

 So I only went to two grocery stores, Hemkörp and Netto. Hemkörp is the nice one, and Netto is the cheap one. Guess which one I went to (1$ fish sticks all day erry day). Generally everything is more expensive in Sweden, (surprise, surprise) however the food just seems....fresher. The vegetables don't keep as long, but they taste like they were picked from the farm that morning. So I'd recommend going shopping every 4-5 days.

Eating out in Sweden is pretty rare as everything is....well you know by now. However the best time to do it is afterwork. Not after work, but afterwork proper noun. Friday afternoons most places run a special where for about $10-15 you can eat and generally get a drink as well. This is probably the best deal. The two other food  experiences that will occur in Sweden will be Fika which is coffee break, generally served with a pastry or other dessert (more on this later). The final thing that you must try in Sweden is Kebab pizza. The best place is across from Juneporten and is called Time Out. I wish I could describe what the Kebab pizza, but that would be doing the bread of life and injustice. 

On the topic of transportation in Sweden, look down. See those two things sticking out? Say hello to your your transportation. But seriously they have monthly bus passes if needed, but the only reason you would need on is if you work at a school outside the city proper. 

A MAT guide to Sweden Part Ett.

So it's taken me several months to write this, but tonight I feel like I had procrastinated enough and I must finish what I started and get back on track, talking about international teacher. So here it goes to future UofA (THE YOU OF A) MAT students and people looking to teach abroad. I can't speak for the Peru experience in the MAT, but what I can do is give an account of Sweden.

What to bring

Sweden is cold. I am cold natured, and so while it is not unbearable I didn't find it awful. Imagine a normal December day in Fayetteville. 20-40 degrees at night warming up to 60 during the day 70 if lucky. So bring appropriate clothes, and I'd make sure to bring one medium coat (you're not going to Siberia). I would forgo the sheets and towel, as those can be purchased in Sweden then thrown away when leaving. (A cheaper alternative to the overweight baggage fee) The rest is fairly simple, but make sure to bring any and all research that you need for the MAT since I'm assuming that no roommate will want to dig through you crap to look at a survey result you forgot to bring . I would recommend a converter for your plugs before you get to Sweden as well because checking email will be one of the best and only ways to keep in contact with everyone.

Arriving in Stockholm/Jönköping.

So you've decided to take the plunge and go to Sweden despite the limited funds in your bank account. Congradulations! You've made an amazing decision one that will leave you poor, starving (I lost 10 pounds in Sweden, and not all of it was fat), but above all depressed. Depressed knowing it will only last 6 short weeks. The flight over probably left you nervous how you are going to function in this weird snowy country across the world. First thing to do is relax, a difficult thing, but the thing about Sweden is that almost every speaks English and while they are shy, they are extremely friendly and willing to help. The best way to get to Jönköping (pronounced Jern-sher-ping) is a bus that runs from Arlanda airport in Stockholm. It costs around 50 dollars. It takes about 5 hours and if you can stay awake, I recommend to look out the window, at least while in Stockholm. It's a gorgeous city filled with water and canals. Once arriving in Jönköping you will notice that it is much smaller than Stockholm. Well duh, William you idiot that is a small town compared to the capital of Sweden. Shut up I know. What I mean by that is that you need to get used to walking, because almost everything is walkable in Jönköping. So comfy shoes are a must.

Getting your bearings

When stepping off the bus, hopefully someone will meet you and take you to your apartment during your stay in Sweden. Above all, if you are staying in an international dorm make friends with everyone. These people will be your lifelines and are critical to your enjoyment of Sweden. Plus you can become friends with people from all over the world. I recommend that you go grocery shopping the first night and relax and meet people. Trust me you will be too tired to do anything else. I will talk about grocery shopping as well as getting other essentials on the next part. But for now, sit back and enjoy the incredible scenery that Sweden offers. And I'm not talking about the tall, thing ridiculously beautiful people that live there.....well maybe I am.....hush up.