A cinnamon cake sits between the four of us. The wind threatens to blow out the precariously placed candles. In a closer look, you realize that the flames on the candles are not actually made of fire, but instead cheese doodles stabbed onto the end of the unlit wax candles. You may look at this small group of teenagers and wonder what they’re doing, but to us, it was like any other weekend in Sweden. If you’re wondering what was actually going on, it was the day after our French exchange student Amicie's birthday. We were determined to celebrate together and seeing how nice the weather had been recently, the four of us decided to have a small birthday picnic in honor of Amicie. The group was Amicie from France, Mariana from Brazil, Caleb from Canada, and me. On Saturday, we all met at Emporia, the mall in Malmö and made a plan for who would buy what for our picnic. Mariana took charge and assigned us each food items to buy. I was put in charge of drinks, and decided on a box of Capri-Suns. We all met in front of the store after buying our designated foods, and from there caught a bus to one of the many parks in Malmö. We weren’t exactly sure where we would go to eat, but walking through the park we noticed a raised wooden platform on top of one of the grassy fields. This seemed like the perfect spot to have our picnic until the clouds moved in and the temperature dropped considerably, leaving us shivering on top of our little hill. If we had moved off the top of the hill, and out of the path of the constant Skåne wind, we would have most definitely been warmer and more comfortable, but being the stubborn exchange students we are, we sat through the cold on the top of our hill. It wasn’t until a few minutes after we had set up our spread that we realized we were sitting in the middle of a dog park. This posed no problem for us, as we all enjoyed watching the dozens of dogs run and play with each other. The wooden platform on the hill, despite being cold, was the perfect size to fit all four of us and our food comfortably. Our picnic spread included Capri-Suns, grapes, Cheez Doodles (a cheese puffs brand), and two different cakes. One cake was made out of cinnamon rolls stuck together, so we designated that as the birthday cake. We had bought candles for the cake, but seeing how the wind would’ve immediately blown out any flame, and no one wanted to ask for a lighter anyway, having real fire on our candles seemed like a long shot. That’s where the cheese doodles came in. As we debated between languages to sing happy birthday in, Mariana prepared the cake. We eventually settled on singing in English, because none of us could remember the first verse to the happy birthday song in Swedish. As we sang off pitch over the wind and sound of barking dogs, the locals looked at us in confusion. At the end of the song, we did the traditional four “Hurrahs!” and Amicie “blew out” her candles, eating the cheese doodles one at a time. For the next hour, we sat, sang, ate, and contemplated our futures outside of Sweden. For me, this is what being an exchange student is all about. Making your own fun with people that you’ve known for less than a year but will remain friends with for life. Learning to be creative in new circumstances and always finding a solution. Who knows how many times this group of friends will be together before we all have to board planes to our own countries, and who knows when we will ever see each other again. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned as an exchange student is that you have to make the most of every day with the people you love.
Culture Note- In Sweden at the end of the Happy Birthday song (Ja må han liva) you usually cheer Hurrah four times. In Skåne, Sweden's Southernmost district, you traditionally only say three Hurrahs. That is because Skåne used to be a part of Denmark, and many people were unhappy when it became a part of Sweden. The fourth “hurrah” is to honor the Swedish king, but because Skåne was so divided on whether they considered themselves part of Denmark or Sweden, they cut out the fourth Hurrah entirely.
Swedish Birthday Song Ja, må hon leva, ja må hon leva, ja må hon leva uti hundrade år. Ja, visst ska hon leva, Ja, visst ska hon leva, Ja, visst ska hon leva uti hundrade år. “Ett fyraldigt leve...leve hon. HURRAH,HURRAH, HURRAH, (HURRAH.)”
English Translation Yes, she may live, Yes, she may live, Yes, may she live for a hundred years. Oh, sure she will live, Oh sure, she will live, Oh sure, she will live for a hundred years. “A four fold cheer… cheer for her. HURRAH, HURRAH, HURRAH, (HURRAH.)”
