Marcela’s Journals

March 31, 2025

Varmt, Kallt och Allt Däremellan

Already March? I still remember writing a paper on Sweden a year ago, trying to familiarize myself with different aspects of the culture — you know, the things you do as a future outbound. I’m still processing the fact that I’ve been living through what I wrote back then. And though I can now see the finish line, I don’t know what’s between now and then. Not much time left, but a lot can happen in so little time. I guess that’s why people say going on exchange can change lives.

I’ll remember the feeling I got that first Sunday of March for a while. Nothing special happened — and I think that was the second most beautiful thing about the day, because the number one thing was that the sun was out. I’ve always heard the phrase, “you don’t know how much your environment affects you until you’re out of it,” but I think the truth is: you don’t realize how much your environment affects you until something in it changes — especially when it’s something constant, so constant that one doesn’t really think about it, like the sun being out after months of absence.

Despite the sun, it was still relatively cold (although just having sunlight changes everything in Sweden). I never thought I’d be wearing just a T-shirt and claiming it’s “hot” with temperatures between 5–8°C. Hearing the seagulls almost all day now makes it feel like summer.

One more thing before I change topics: at the end of the month we had daylight savings, and now we have sunlight past 7 p.m.! WOHOO

I love Sweden for its food-related days. Fettisdagen (Fat Tuesday) is also known as Semla Day. Traditionally, people ate semlor exclusively on this day to prepare for fasting during Lent. But nowadays, you can spot semlor as early as January (like when I had my first one), and they’re often enjoyed without the religious meaning they once had.

Semlor aren’t just for a day — they’re a whole season, showing up in many forms, whether as fika or anything labeled as "semla-flavored." A sweet way to start the month.

If anything, March was full of movement — lots of traveling, and once again, I got to experience Swedish life under a different roof with a new host family. With my new host mom and sister, I attended a gala for women, directed by women, on Internationella Kvinnodagen (International Women’s Day)! The event was incredibly inspiring, full of strong and intelligent women. Among the many attendees, I even spotted a couple of my former host moms. It was a surreal and unexpectedly heartwarming moment.

Another situation I genuinely never thought I’d experience: going to the North Pole! Along with other inbounds from Sweden and Denmark, I traveled to Kiruna. It’s a peculiar place — the city is literally being moved, building by building, 4 km east to avoid closing Europe’s largest iron-ore mine while keeping residents safe. It’s also home to the Sámi Parliament of Sweden.

The Sámi are the Indigenous people of northern Europe. They traditionally live in Sápmi, a cultural region, and speak a variety of Sámi languages (many of which are endangered). These languages belong to the Uralic family, meaning they’re unrelated to Swedish. I was lucky enough to meet a group of Sámi who shared a bit of their family history and what it’s like to be Sámi in modern-day Sweden.

Aside from meeting amazing people, I witnessed sights I could’ve only dreamed of before: northern lights, snowy mountains, moose, and reindeer. It all felt too good to be true. This trip has easily been one of — if not the— highlights of my exchange so far. But there's still more to come, so let’s keep making unique memories.

As for music recommendations, this one’s special. Why? Because Mello came to an end, and we have a winner who will represent Sweden at Eurovision. None other than the group KAJ with their song Bara Bada Bastu. Go give it a listen — but be warned, it’ll be stuck in your head for days!

Until next time, take care and stay safe!
Vi ses snart!