I can´t start speaking about my experience before informing myself. I´ve been looking for some general information about Sweden and this is what I´ve found: usefull information to know before going!
GEOGRAPHY
Sweden is the fourth largest country in Europe. Its area is more or less equal to that of Spain or the state of California. Sweden is located so far north in Europe that the Artic circle cuts through Lapland. The Atlantic Ocean gives Sweden a quite mild climate. In Växjö, winter temperatures can drop to -20º C but are generally just above or below the freezing points. The wind often adds to the chill fators. Warm and windproof outdoor is essential during winter.
More than a half of the land area is covered by forests. Just a few area, less than 10% is farmland. The distance from north to south measures 1,600km. That means there are a great variation in terms of climate, wheater and water formation.
POPULATION
Sweden has a population of 9 million. The majority of them live in cities and urban areas. More than a third live in the three largest cities, Stockolm, the capital, Gothenburg and Malmö. In general terms, Sweden was ethnically homogeneus with the excepcion of Sami people. But with globalization things are changing. In terms of government, Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a chamber parliament, the Riksdag. The Riksdag consists of 349 members elected every 4 years. At the beginning of the XX century, the Swedish economy was agrarian and very poor. However, a rich domestic supply of iron ore, timber and water power, clever engineers and skilled workers led to rapid industrialisation. Sweden is now a modern welfare state.
SWEDISH FLAG
The flag in Sweden is a Scandinavian Cross that extends to the edges of the flag. This Scandinavian cross represents Christianity. The design and colours of the Swedish flag are belived to have been inspired by the present Coat of arms of Sweden of 1442, which is blue divided quarterly by a cross pattée of gold, and modelled on the Danish flag. Blue and yellow have been used as Swedish colours at least since king Magnus Birgersson´s royal coat of arms of 1275.
According to Ancient and Heraldic traditions much symbolism is associated with colours.
- Blue colour represents vigilance, true, loyalty, preseverance and justice.
- Yellow colour represents generosity.
SWEDISH NATIONAL ANTHEM
The anthem is called ``Du Gamla du Fria´´.
GEOGRAPHYCAL MAP AND IMPORTANT CITIES
THE SWEDISH LANGUAGE
Sweden belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages. In addition to those living in Sweden today, about 300,000 people in Finland and 300,000 Swedish immigrants in the USA and Canada speak Swedish.
Swedish is very similar to Danish and Norwegian, and speakers of these two languages also understand Swedish. English is taught as a second language is Sweden, and most Swedes speak and understand English.
EDUCATION
Nine years of school are compulsory for all children from the age of 6 or 7. About 98% of all students go on to the upper secondary school, which offers both vocational and academic programmes. Women make up about half the student population, and a large number are students over 25. More than one-quarter of adult Swedes have some post-secondary education.
This is all I got! See you soon Sweden!! :)))
… and I'm one of the teachers you're going to meet in Sweden!
ResponderEliminarHowever, you'll be studying completely on-line with me, so it's highly unlikely you'll ever meet me in person.
Your internet tutor is someone who lives in Valladolid, so you might have *more* contact with Spain than you reckoned on when you're in Sweden.
Sweden's a very atypical country for being a European country. If you were to swivel Sweden around, so that the country covered the EU, it'd go all the way to Madrid! In other words, we've actually got a great deal of space here.
We've got a lot of small towns here, with a lot of forest between them. You'll see wild boar here, and elks and masses of other wild animals and birds.
Växjö sees itself as a significant and large place (it's the county town of the County of Kronoberg) and you'll find more shops and other facilities than you might expect, given the relatively small size of the population.
I hope you also find your way over to Kalmar too. It's town with a great deal of history - it used to be the last fort on the Swedish-Danish frontier. Later on Sweden conquered the part of Denmark that used to be in the southern part of what is now Sweden. It's quite picturesque, but it's also just opposite one of the premier tourist destinations in Sweden - Öland.
You'll find the winters here quite short (compared with the rest of Sweden). We'll probably get our first snow at the beginning of December, and January-March will probably be cold (and possibly rainy), but by April you'll find the spring returning - and it'll soon be a lot warmer.
Swedes tend to be rather reserved - and to live very ordered lives! Work and school starts at 8.00 am and lunch is between 11.00 and 12.00. There'll be a pause for coffee and cakes (the famous Swedish 'fika') at about 9.00 or 10.00, and people finish work and school at about 4.00 or 5.00. Things get quiet very early, though. People eat their evening meal at about 6.00 and then the long winter evenings set in!
However, Swedes are also very approachable. You can begin talking to people very easily, despite their looking as if they're not interested in you. Swedes love contacts with people from the outside, so take a chance! If they don't want to continue talking to you, they'll make it clear … but they don't mean anything negative - it's just that they'll be busy.
Have a nice time in Sweden!