Tag Archives: Culture
Barfotavisan – The Perfect Summer Ballad Posted by Chelsea B on Jul 8, 2020
“Barfota utan strumpor och skor / barefoot without shoes or socks.” Ahhh, what a feeling! Midsommar may be over, but sun and fun are still in full-swing for Swedes. Vacationing at the sea and in the countryside are popular this time of year, when folks have weeks of vacation to use at a time. My…
Midsommar: Blommor or Bust! Posted by Chelsea B on Jun 24, 2020
Glad midsommar allihopa / Happy Midsommar everyone! I’ll admit, I’m a little late because midsommar was last week but because it is one of the most popular holidays in Sweden, this wouldn’t be a Swedish blog without a nod to midsommar. An ode to nature and all things summery, Swedes leave cities in droves to…
Swedish Voices in Prose: Johannes Anyuru Posted by Chelsea B on Jun 17, 2020
Writers have been using prose to reflect upon the world around them for millennia. One of my favorite Swedish writers who does just that is Johannes Anyuru. Today, we’ll learn a bit about Anyuru and introduce his 2015 poem Aska (Ashes). Johannes Anyuru is a writer, poet, and playwright whose work focuses heavily on identity…
Demonstrations, Black Lives Matter, and Perspectives from Abroad Posted by Chelsea B on Jun 10, 2020
Last week’s blog post was a small attempt to emotionally respond to the killing of George Floyd via music. Events in my home state have continued to spark conversations and protests abroad as people work to bring injustices to light in their own communities. It is difficult to discuss, but avoiding it is simply not…
Reggae Artist Kapten Röd on the Music Blog Posted by Chelsea B on Jun 3, 2020
This week’s music blog is coming to you from a difficult place, both mentally, and physically. If you’ve read my blogger bio, you know I live in Minnesota. Events surrounding the killing of George Floyd a week ago have created ripples globally; shedding meaningful light on deep racial injustice, and sparking actions that have resulted…
False Friends – How “ett kiss” in Swedish isn’t “a kiss” in English Posted by Chelsea B on May 13, 2020
Faux amies or false friends are tricky little things for language learners! Called “bilingual homophones” these are words that look or sound similar between two or more languages but differ significantly in meaning. So, you guessed it, while (ett) kiss is pronounced relatively the same in Swedish as it is in English, it’s not a…
Swedish Inventions / Svenska uppfinningar! Posted by Chelsea B on Apr 28, 2020
Sweden is an incredibly innovative country for its size and Swedes have been making history with inventions big and small for centuries. With Carl von Linné creating the taxonomy system in the 1700’s and the Spotify folks are reaching millions of music streamers across the globe today, innovation is a part of the Swedish narrative…