Sunshine, Swedish Meatballs and School

The Dalecarlian painted horse has become a symbol of Sweden.

Gudrun and I attended the Majornas högre allmänna läroverk (Majornas higher general grammar school).  Although I had a Swedish tutor that helped me with grammar and speaking, I didn’t understand much of the class lectures for the first few months of school. I mastered the art of seeming mesmerized by the lesson while my mind escaped into elaborate daydreams.

Eventually, I was able to understand the readings and lectures.  I particularly enjoyed Swedish poetry. I remember a poem dealing with the unpredictability of life. It compared our existence to a seedling clinging to life on a rocky coast, battered by waves, wind and rain. The theme reflected the rugged geography of Sweden.

Our modernized school.

I didn’t always shine on English quizzes.  As in France, students learned British English.  I used to get the wrong prepositions.  For example if a sporting event doesn’t occur due to weather, Americans say it is rained OUT.  In Britain one says it is rained OFF. To be enrolled IN a course versus to be enrolled ON a course…different FROM vs. different THAN etc. 

By Spring, I was able to sit for 8-hour-long exams.  We wrote essays on various topics that were graded by several teachers. For example we would write about the Great Swedish Empire of the 1600s. It would be graded by the history teacher for historical facts and by the Swedish teacher for the grammar and development of ideas. I imagine my opus was jam-packed with errors.

One day we participated in an all-school “orienteering” competition.  We were dropped off in the woods in groups of 4.  With the aid of a physical map and a compass, we found our way over rough terrain and through heavy woods. There were several check points before reaching the final destination. The contest took most of the day and we were outfitted with warm clothes, sandwiches and a thermos of coffee. The winning group completed the run in the least amount of time.

Orienteering tools.  Part of the trick is to carefully read the map so that your group doesn't get stymied by an impassible  stream, bog or a steep gorge.

Guess what?  They really do eat Swedish meatballs (Köttbullar) in Sweden!  They were on the school lunch menu once or twice a week.  Usually the meatballs were served with a pool of puréed potatoes and a lake of lingonberry sauce.  Another school lunch favorite was hash (Pyttipanna) served with a fried egg on top. This was also served with a lake of lingonberry sauce or sliced beets.

In the winter we left for school in the dark and came home in the dark. It was debilitating. Sometimes at noon, the girls would stand pressed against the warm wall on the South side of the school.  They would raise their faces up to the sun like worshiping sunflowers.