2015-05-28
https://youtu.be/a06-rmAB6KI
Click on this link to find the video about the Spanish food and eating hours
Click on this link to find the video about the Spanish food and eating hours
2015-05-21
Study assistance - for those who are under 20
To get student aid, you must study full time. If
you skip class may CSN stop your payments of student aid? Have you got the
money paid you are not entitled to because you skipped, you must pay them
back.
As a student,
you will be eligible for various discounts and offers. (Studentkortet and Mecenatkortet).
You are eligible for these cards if you
will be attending a college or university in Sweden and belong to a student
union. The cards will be mailed to you when you pay your student union dues.
During your first semester, the cards are free. The cards entitle you to
discounts on travels with for
example SJ (Swedish State
Railways). But you can also get a job on weekend (Sunday Saturday) if you want
more money. You can work in a shop story or in a clothes story etc. Same pupil
gets money from their parents too.
Financial aid
(studiestöd) is money you can receive to help you pursue your studies. But you
only get CSN January-July.
On summer you can search for “friaarbete
or sommarjobb” means summer-job. You can work as janitor or waitress in a
restaurant and things like that. You can
also work in Gothia the biggest teenager’s football cup in the world if you
live in Gothenburg as I do. Many teams from many countries come to Gothenburg
to play Gothia. It happens every summer and it is only two weeks long. It is
very nice job because you can meet many people from different countries.
Fashion in Sweden
Hello Barcelona, Oliver and Patrik here!
We aren’t really interesting in fashion, we are not the type you know.
In Sweden we wear all kinds of different clothes, but some are more common than others. Girls in our age are very brand fixated. They aren’t satisfied with cheap brands from example different supermarkets. Almost all girls have the outfit which is on the first picture.
A big part of all boys in the swedish school dress like snobs, but not everybody. We don’t have any prejudices about those who dress like that. The second picture shows what snobs are wearing in Sweden.
Common behaviour
How much do our parents control our lives at home / outside?
The amount of control our parents have over us vary in different homes, but we probably have a lot more freedom compared to many other countries. Although our food is controlled by the school, as the government provides ‘free’ food in all swedish schools
General rules
Swedes are very polite people, and also quite shy. In general we never share our opinions if we don’t know what everbody else thinks first. Together with that, of course, we have few unwritten rules. If someone stands at a bus stop, you DO NOT enter it before that person has left. Doesn’t matter if it’s raining or if there’s thunder. We also like to queue a lot, since we believe in order and discipline. If we have a reason to line up, god knows we’ll do it. We also have this other thing that is probably the most Swedish thing you’ll ever hear: Lagom.
Lagom means “not to little, nor to much”. It’s just lagom. If there are two versions of something we’ll make sure to have a lagom verision of it as well. We are very equal up here. We have equality parties, equal pay (almost). We have even in recent years started to use the word “hen”, which is a hybrid between the word for him and her. To summarize, we are relatively gray and lack common interest in practicing our culture, but in exchange we are polite and rarely get in to conflicts
Relationship
A relationship between a girl and a boy in the age of 16 is quite common in Sweden.Three out of four of the relation does not last for over than two years, usually because of problems that youngsters fall in love for the feeling and not because they love him or her.
When you are 16 years old you chose a specializations in school like economics, nature and science, esthete. The rarity of relationships grow bigger if you take a specializations as nature and science, but grows smaller if you take economics. It is not because we look nerdy and do not have a social life. I think it is because the most of us priorities studies over social life and let the relationship come later.
Drugs and alcohol
Among youths in Sweden it is more common to drink alcohol than taking drugs. In Sweden we have an age restriction for buying alcohol. If you want to buy legally you have to be at least 18 years old to buy in a club or restaurant and 20 to buy in a shop. But it is common to buy alcohol illegally for those who are not old enough. As mentioned earlier you choose a specializations at 16 and it is often a pattern that if you choose economic or social science program you often drink more alcohol than people that choose a different specialization. In Sweden many drugs are illegal and it is not so common to take these illegal drugs in young years.
2015-05-20
Holidays, marks and timetables / foreign languages at school
Hello everybody!
Holidays
The most popular holiday destination for us here in Sweden is actually Spain. But on the winter break we often go skiing up in the Swedish mountains or the Alps instead. The most common issue on the swedes winter holidays is the Danish people that do not know how to ski properly, we hate them.
Marks
Here in Sweden we have the grade system A - F where A is the highest mark possible and F is when you do not reach the demands of the course. The grades A, C and E are the main grades, while B and D are In between grades. If you have A on a part of the course but can not reach higher than E on the other part of the course, then you will get a D in the whole course. This is because the lower grades always determine the main grade.
Timetables
Our schooldays tend to start at 8.30 but sometimes we get to have a late start and begin later at 10.15. We have lunch in school every day at approximately 11.30 and always have at least a 40 minutes break including the time for lunch. The students in our class does not have the same timetable so the time we end and begin school varies, but we usually end somewhere between 15.00 - 16.30.
Foreign languages at school
In our school we have a system that allows students to learn their mother tongue if it is necessary or if the school has the resources. As a student you get the opportunity to learn at least two foreign languages. English is mandatory to learn and when it comes to the second language you have a choice in which language you want to learn. The languages that you have to chose between differs from school to school. On this school the alternatives german, spanish, italian and french.
2015-05-17
Rules and discipline at school
The most important thing in the Swedish school is to
treat each other equal and not judge by physical appearance, clothes, gender,
sexual orientation or religion. Students as well as teachers need to respect
the people they meet in school, otherwise you can get suspended. The golden
rule is to treat others the way you want them to treat you.
Most of the rules are unwritten rules; with means that
they are not laws, but everybody know about them. One example is that students
should hand in tasks in time to the teacher.
It is voluntary to begin upper secondary school,
called gymnasiet in Sweden. Although when a person is in gymnasiet, the student
must be there. It is controlled by attendance; which is reported by the
teachers. If a student is absent to many hours, the student’s grant will be
taken away.
These are the rules in our school, Aranäsgymnasiet:
- All students and employees should take a great responsibility to create a friendly environment.
- Each student should take a personal responsibility of their own learning.
- Students need to understand that studies in gymnasiet are full-time occupation, and that presence is required.
- Everyone should create a peace, safe, pleasant and harmonic environment.
- To maintain our school, it should be clean from scrawl, damage and rubbish.
2015-05-13
Sports
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| Anette Norberg |
 |
| Cross Country Skiing |
 |
| Anja Pärsson and her very famous goal celebration |
 |
| Zlatan Ibrahimovic |
One of many not so well-known sports that are really popular in Sweden is the floorball. It is actually the second most played sport here and is almost identical to the bandy. The absolutely biggest difference is that the floorball is played inside, on the floor, while the bandy is played on ice. Both sports are also very alike the, a bit more well-known, ice hockey.
Throughout the history we have
had loads of great tennis players and have therefore developed a big intrest in
this sport. However, on the latest years we have not really had any top players
in tennis.
Hockey is a quite famous sport
in Sweden there are a lot of young kids playing it. The team where we live
witch is called Frölunda has brought up a bunch of the big stars in NHL. Such
as Joel Lundqvist, Erik Karlsson and Loui ericsson. The Swedish national team
is one of the best in the world they have won 9 world championships gold and 19
silver. The
have also won 2 Olympics gold and 3 silver.
Handball is also one of the
biggest sports in Sweden. Back in 2000 the Swedish national team was pretty
good and they had won 4 world championship gold. But since then they have not
won that much. The best ranking for the Swedish women is a European
championship silver.
Urban tribes
Sweden has been influenced by the basics in both the USA and Great Britain, so we do not really have a special style of our one. The differences in Sweden aren’t that big. Though there are some differences in how we dress and how we talk.
In Kungsbacka (29 km from Gothenburg) the differences between the cultures are too small to notice. But in Gothenburg the cultural difference is bigger, so you can find more differences in how people dress. This differences is because of the different cultures and religions.
In Sweden we like to follow trends. There is one trend in Sweden right now, and that is sport clothes. It is very popular to wear sport clothes, and particularly clothes you would wear in the gym. You don’t need to go far to see at least five people are wearing sport clothes with in 50 meter radius.
In the nicer part of town where all the rich families live, you can see people wearing blazers, nice dresses and of course expensive labels. This style is most known as posh, think Victoria Beckham. This trend is all about showing off, how much money they have and how cute clothes they can buy. For them, appearance is more important than everything else.
How ever, any particular urban tribes does not exist, in Sweden fashion is what decides how to dress and how to look.
School systems in Sweden
Preschool
When children are about two years old they begin in preschool. The preschool gives the children a chance to hang out and socialize with friends.
After elementary school we get to choose a specific program, for instance the technology programme, natural science program and social science program. We have chosen the natural science program. We read a lot of math, physics, chemistry, biology. We also study English and Swedish like all the programs at secondary school. The secondary school is not obligatory, but it is necessary to get a job in the future. Therefore almost everyone is studying at Secondary school. The education goes on for three years.
When children are about two years old they begin in preschool. The preschool gives the children a chance to hang out and socialize with friends.
Elementary school
When the children are six years old they begin in elementary school.
Elementary school is an obligation from the age of six to sixteen. (The grades
0-9)
Primary school
The first step in elementary school is primary school. Primary school is
basically the first step of learning. We learned to write, read as well as the
basics of math. We also began to study some English in third grade.
Middle school
In fourth grade we began middle school. The middle school is not very
different from primary school. In middle school our knowledge developed. The
texts we wrote was more complicated and the math became more difficult. The
last year in middle school, the 6th grade, we started getting grades.
Secondary school
The step from middle school to high school is the biggest step so far.
The results and grades became more important. The last year in high school is
the 9th and during the 9th grade we have National tests. The test is the same
around the whole country. The grades in all the subjects are important because
admission to secondary school is based on them. In the area around Kungsbacka,
including Gothenburg, there are about hundreds of secondary schools to apply
to. Therefore it is a difficult choice.
Upper Secondary
school
After elementary school we get to choose a specific program, for instance the technology programme, natural science program and social science program. We have chosen the natural science program. We read a lot of math, physics, chemistry, biology. We also study English and Swedish like all the programs at secondary school. The secondary school is not obligatory, but it is necessary to get a job in the future. Therefore almost everyone is studying at Secondary school. The education goes on for three years.2015-05-12
School in Sweden
Because we are attending the science program, there is a lot of school work to be done. The science program consists of a lot of biology, chemistry, maths and physics.
It is the most demanding program in upper secondary school. The department of eduacation under the goverment has some goals that all program need to follow, we have unique goals that we need to follow. In the spring we have a lot to do because of all the national exams and tests over all, for the teacher needs a basis for us, so they know what grade they should give you. It is hard to get high grades in secondary school comperaing with elementary school.
Swedish upper secondary is very serious, much like a university with all the rules. If you cheat on a test for exemple you can get reported to the police (yes seriously) Other rules include; not putting your feet on funiture, don´t smoke on school area.
We get more than 100 euros a month for going to school. We get this contribution from CSN, the central panel study ,an orginisation of the goverment. We also get free food and we do not have to wear school uniforms, Estudiamos español dos veces a la semana.
Bye, have a nice day
2015-05-07
Free time in Sweden
Sweden's situation in the far north makes the changing seasons much more noticeable. The changes in the climate means we have to adapt our activities to the time of year.
Summer starts in May and ends in September. Many families go on holiday to the coast. Those who already live on the coast go to the beach or go out on the sea by boat. Unfortunately the weather in summer is not very good and it rains a lot. So boat traveling is a privilege for most of the inhabitants. This time of year the temperature is about 15-25 degrees Celsius. It’s not very hot, but it’s not very cold either. In the water it’s around 17-19 degrees, which might sound cold to you, but for us this isn’t any problem, we think it’s a great swimming-temperature.
In the late summer and autumn we go out in the woods and pick berries and mushrooms, like blueberries and chanterelles, which are truly delicious.
The winter begins in November and ends in March. In the winter we travel up to the mountains and go skiing and snowboarding. We travels to the mountains in Sweden, Norway and the Alps. We also like to make snowmen and play in the snow. We often go skating on our frozen lakes.
Of course we also spend many hours with friends; talking, watching films, playing football and studying for example.
2015-05-06
Swedish food
Eating hours
Breakfast is usually had at 7 am on schooldays and around 11 am on weekends, but sometimes we skip breakfast on weekends.
Lunch is mainly eaten between half past 10 and 1 pm on schooldays and at around 12 to 2 pm on weekends. However it’s not unusual to skip breakfast and take a “brunch” instead (a mix between breakfast and lunch) often eaten at midday.
Mellanmål, or in between meals, is more of a snack had between lunch and dinner, usually consisting of sandwiches.
Dinner is a larger meal had at around 6 pm, when the parents arrive from work. Dinner is almost always had with the family.
Local specialities
Since we live on the coast of Sweden there is a rather big difference between the food that we eat and the food that they eat further into the country. Other Swedes may say that our dishes consists mainly of fish and other seafood. This is because back in the days when the coast was inhabited by fishermen, that was the only food available. But today, though the fish is cheaper here than in other parts of our country, fish is something only eaten about once or twice a week. However seafood is to some extent our local speciality with the most famous dish, skagenröra in the lead. Skagenröra is a mix of different seafood mainly consisting of shrimp.
Favorite dishes
The most beloved dishes in Sweden are tacos, meatballs, pancakes, pizza, barbecued meat and a sauce called bearnaisesås. Even if tacos and pizza aren't the typical swedish dishes it is still near to our hearts. We even call Fridays “Tacofredag” which means taco Friday, just because people eat tacos on Fridays. The reason why we eat tacos on Fridays is often to celebrate that the week is over.
Pizza is a dish we often eat when we are hanging out with friends or celebrating that the week's ended.
Meatballs, potatoes and lingonberry jam is a dish we often eat to dinner with our families and is maybe the traditional.
In summer you can smell the smoke of a grill almost anywhere you go just because many Swedes love to barbeque. We often barbeque meat of all kinds and of course we have our bearnaisesås to the grilled meat. The bearnaisesås is used to a lot of different dishes and almost
everybody loves it.
2015-04-13
Welcome
A very warm welcome to all new users of this blog. A special welcome to all students from Barcelona.
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