Stockholm

---

So....I have not written in quite sometime. Apologies. I have been to three countries since last I wrote. I spent a week in Stockholm, Sweden and Tallinn, Estonia, which was part of my study abroad program's 'Long Study Tour'. I then was back in Copenhagen for a week before departing for a week in Paris, France, which was easily the highlight of my entire time abroad. I will write about my experiences from each country in seperate blogs, mostly for the sake of pictures, but also because each country was so distinct and different from the others, it would be unfair to try to mush all experiences into one adventure evaluation. I want you to read each of them, however, so they will be fairly short. 😊

Stockholm was the first stop on our classes' study tour. Again, the class I have been taking these trips with is the core class for the program I am enrolled in (Psychology and Child Development), entitled: Psychology: Children in a Multicultural Context. The technical main purpose for our travels, first to Jutland, now to Sweden and Estonia, has been to visit different schools from varying countries with unique theoretical approachings to teaching, and to observe and evalutate how these different schools address and appease the difficulties students from multicultural backgrounds face in the school system. We visited one school which is run by a parent cooperative. Similar to Danish schools, the children are afforded a level of autonomy quite considerable to that of the United States, but the unique thing is that the parents compose the board upon which the school is run, and it is solely up to their participation to keep the school running. In terms of multicultural education, this parent cooperative has proven to eliminate a sense of elitism among parents and students, and has, instead, fostered a sense of community, diversly composed of families from all cultures and socioeconomic statuses, united together under the common goal of running the best school they can for their child. I think this approach is quite creative, thoughtful, and solves a plethora of problems that we seem to be perplexed as to how to solve in the U.S.- most notably, parent involvement. We visited a few other schools there, as well.

Other than academics, we enjoyed a tour of the old town of Stockholm which was quite simple and beautiful. The air in Sweden- as corny as this may sound- was just so comforting that you really felt like you wanted to stay forever...or at least for more than 2 days. It was sunny there, and the wind was chilly but refreshing and the air wasn't so damp as it is here, in Denmark, or back home, in the 'Land of 10,000 Lakes'. We also went on a canal tour which was a really great way to see many of Stockholm's oldest and most historical buildings (many of those sites are featured in the pictures, below). We also were treated to a couple of very tasty meals in Sweden...my favorite was Swedish meatballs! 😊 To be honest though, if you've ever tasted the Swedish meatballs from Ikea, you really can't taste the difference. At least now I know! We also got to visit a few historics museums in Sweden, including one built around a ship, with a similar story to the Titanic, which sank after 20 minutes at sea (The Vasa). Can you just imagine if the Titanic ship was completely intact and there was a museum with the ship just right there in the middle? It was quite the sight to see. The nightlife in Sweden was almost non-existant though, which came as a shock in contrast to my experience in Copenhagen. It gave me a chance to rest up though, which any good 'vacation' should do..... 😊

We departed the Swedish shore in style, traveling on a ferry that would take us from Stockholm to Tallinn overnight. There were 9 decks which housed a restaurant, several duty-free shops, a bar, a cabaret theater, and two sun decks from which to look out over the water as we traveled. My most beautiful photographs from the trip were taken at sunset on the day we took off. In the morning, we would be in a land I knew not one thing about...

---

Photos

SW5
Multicultural B Group

SW14
VASA Museum

Comments

[Melissa Woehrle]

Lucky You!
Hi Kjirsten! Loved the latest update -- Sweden sounds wonderful, and the architecture in Talinn is gorgeous. So interesting about the schools there. Can't wait to hear about Paris! Stay safe! Melissa :)