Skåne

Factoids:

-It's traditional to eat pea soup on Thursdays. Historically Friday was a fast day, and the pea soup was considered quite hearty, so they ate it on Thursdays. Restaurants and campus joints still serve it only on Thursdays.

-My first class, according to my schedule, starts at 10:00 on Monday morning. However, in fact, it doesn't really start until 10:15. When the University was first created in the 1600s, it would take 15 minutes for people to get to class after the bell was rung. The tradition continues. But if it is at night for example, 6:00 pm, the start time is really 6:30pm. The historical basis is that people had to change into their evening wear and then head out, so half an hour was allotted. If an invitation is written, however, as 10.., then it actually really is 10:00am.

This is a massive sausage-hot-dog. I had to buy one. Falukorv (korv means sausage, falu is a reference to town it originated in)



This is a common recipe that uses Falukorv:

Falukorv Stroganoff

4 portioner

Tillagningstid: 20 min.

* 400 g falukorv
* 2 gula lökar
* 1-2 msk margarin eller smör
* 1 msk vetemjöl
* 2 dl mjölk
* 1 tsk salt
* 1 krm mald svartpeppar
* 2 msk tomatpuré
* 1 dl gräddfil
* 2-3 msk hackad gräslök (eller persilja)

Gör så här

* Skär korven i centimetertjocka strimlor. Skala och hacka löken. Fräs korv och lök i matfettet i stekpanna. Strö över vetemjöl, rör om och blanda i mjölken, lite i taget så att det blir en tjock sås. Tillsätt salt, peppar och tomatpuré. Sjud det hela sakta på svag värme cirka 5 minuter. Rör i gräddfilen och värm - utan att koka - till lagom ättemperatur. Strö gräslök eller persilja över korven i sin sås. Servera med kokt ris, pressad potatis eller pasta (vid äggallergi - välj pasta som passar).


-I feel lost in the grocery store, really. Time to start studying names of things.

-A traditional Norwegian dish is cold canned mackerel on hard, dry, crumbly, bread. Even for breakfast. Gross.

-Quite pleased with the grocery store in comparison to Scotland. Many more fresh vegetables and fruits. You can actually touch them too. Not all covered in plastic. It isn't THAT expensive. Probably more so than Edinburgh.

-The lingonberry is really common.

-All alcohol above 3.5% really is sold in state run stores. There are only 2 in Lund. The systembolagett. Most people go to Denmark or more frequently Germany to buy beer and liquor since it is substantially cheaper (and probably better if they go to Germany anyways). The Norwegians go to Sweden for cheaper booze. Ah, to be a Norwegian, life must be good and easy when you have to go to Sweden for cheap stuff.

-I need a bicycle. I feel left out without one. The residences have garages just for all the bicycles. The rule here is if you lose your bicycle, just take someone else's. I'll buy one or go to the police station, though. And invest in a good lock. Helmets are considered total non-sense. Who would wear one of those ugly plastic looking thingys?

-Skåne is the southernmost province of Sweden. Lund and Malmö are in it. Pronounce the å like an o, a bit similar to how you would say 'Scone'.

-Sweden has an army. Not sure what they do, but one guy in my residence went to Egypt to study Arabic for the army.

-Tuition is covered for all and everyone gets a small living stipend if they ask for it (nothing massive, enough to cover food probably). You can also get a 0% interest loan from the government. One genius in my residence invested his. Guess he'll make a profit.

-My Swedish stinks and I can't understand anyone. I'm studying a bit in my free time, though. I'll wish myself some necessary good luck, I think it will be a reasonably fruitless undertaking without totally immersing and dedicating myself. Plus, theyre English are probably more grametically correct then mine.

That's it for this Sundays factoid session.