The GoGlobal Blog

Tag: Sweden

Walpurgis (Valborg) night

Walpurgis (Valborg) night

April 30th (trettionde fjärde) marks, from what I believe, one of the two major holidays in Sweden. It is called Walpurgis Night or Valborg night/festival. Walpurgis Night entails dancing, drinking, bonfires, and maybe an occasional accordion player. The celebrations are in honor of St. Walpurga who was a missionary, converting pagan affiliated Germans to Christianity during the 700s. She took over as abbess of the double monastery of Heidenheim am Hahnenkamm in Bavaria.

May 1st (forstä femte) marks a day off of work for most Swedes and doubles as International Worker’s Day. This is also commonly known as May Day. Protesters occupied some streets of downtown Jönköping. My friend went and said they were from the far left and far right parties of the Swedish political spectrum.


I was in my Swedish language course when my friend asked if I was going to the Valborg festival in Jönköping. I completely forgot tonight and tomorrow were holidays. Usually, if I head to the city I plan to spend the whole day there. I absolutely love commutes (I know fight me) but I do not like to commute back home after commuting to my destination not long before. For this instance, I had my school bag and was not prepared to be outside all day and run around from apartment to apartment. Students at my uni were partying on the “quad” and then going apartment hopping until the clubs at night. I bit the bullet and went home with the intention of coming back to the city later to ride my new beautiful 1970ish bike around with a friend.

Actual is rarely similar to what is predicted. Pass that down to your kids, friends. My inside source told me that the bonfire was not happening in Jönköping, but in a town between the area I live in, Tenhult, and the city. Peep my earlier post about Huskvarna. My legs were eager to get turning so my house mate, Vivek (peep my 2nd post), and I went off to Huskvarna. We met up with two of his friends, and thats when the adventure began.

Vivek and i saw the flames a-blazing from the train. After 20 minutes finding a meeting place with his friends, the flames and smoke disappeared. We asked locals where to find the bonfire (yes, Swedish people do talk and actually love to help out. Do not believe everything on the Internet). We climbed, and rode, the paved hills of Huskvarna until we hit the stairway to heaven. Unfortunately, my rusty stallion became obsolete here. We walked up maybe 200 steps until we arrived at our destination. There was an aging boy/girl scout building on the left, the embers of the once beautiful flames straight ahead, and about 5 booths lining the dirt path up the hill to the right. It was 9pm. This is the point where I make another crucial point about Swedish society. Everything, except bars and clubs, close around 6pm so be prepared. The journey back was also quite the adventure. The rain picked back up and we missed our train by 5 minutes. The next train got delayed 45 minutes so we had to wait an hour and a half at the station, since everything was closed.

Alas, it was not a bad experience. The fire was still hot when we got there. The rain was not too bad. The booths had candy, a lottery, and cotton candy. The scouts’ building had a homemade desert feast benefiting the scouts. The remaining people were still smiling, and running so that was great to see. Vivek told me a lot about his religion. About the various gods and also how most families have a temple just for them. I also had time to listen to a nutrition podcast that I left a while ago. And play a really cool game on my phone.

When one door closes, another one opens. For lack of better phrases I am going to stick with that one.

 

How I feel after finishing my 2nd book ever

How I feel after finishing my 2nd book ever

By finishing, I mean reading every chapter.

Yep, any book assignment ever given to me I have never read the entire book. I tried every way to get around having to read. I would use the beautiful sparknotes or cliffnotes. I would ask my friends for summaries. Last, I would just not do the work and bs my answer in some philosophical manner. I just couldn’t get myself to sit down and read. I used to be a very hyperactive child. I never knew how to sit down. My poor parents. Also, my mind never slowed down. I am a product of the generation of “over-thinkers.” So, reading a book never computed in head. (DOES NOT COMUPTE, DOES NOT COMPUTE! HE’S DEAD JIM).

As I matured (although I will cling to my youth forever) I noticed how my peers, role-models in particular, read a lot. The people I admired, the ones who inspired me, were people that avidly read. I was jealous and tried to replicate their habits. My most fond attempts at reading was Magic Tree House series and the Artemis Foul series. I was reading below my level forsure, but magical-related topics were my jam at the time.

After realizing my immature “why can’t I do that” state, I ask my peers more questions about what they were reading. The overwhelming answers were “something that interested me.” That was the kicker. Before, I was reading books below my level, and I wasn’t challenged but interested. In school, I hated the idea that I was forced to read, thus I had no enthusiasm. Furthermore, I tried to read the books my friends recommended, but I was forcing myself to read something that I was not genuinely interested in. I needed to know and understand that sweet spot.

So now I am at a point of actualization. I am mature enough to read most books, I am not often forced to read, and I have a better idea of what I truly enjoy. Now that I think about it, I read a lot. I spend a lot of my time reading articles of wide-ranging topics, books, and news.

What does this have to do with studying abroad? Studying abroad provided me with the opportunity to understand myself better. I believe finding out more about yourself is the most crucial part of being abroad. Having a strong grasp on who you are will make everything else in your life so much easier. You will notice what does and does not compute, in your eyes. Studying abroad gave me time to slow down and think. Gee willikers have I thought a lot. My life is not necessarily any less hectic, but there is a lot less baggage. The beauty of this is that when I go home, the baggage that held me back previously will be gone. Or I will make it be gone.

I know, 2 books is nothing. However, I have a better idea of what topics I can spend hours pondering. I am positive that number will go up. 1 book a month sounds like a good starting plan (subject to change).

Hehe I never said what my two books were. You will understand why I wrote this post after you know what books I read. Both were by the amazing author Malcolm Gladwell. His books, on a broad level, are about social psychology.

BLINK:

It is about understanding your impulses or gut reactions. He helps you understand your ability to think without thinking. Thin-slicing is the method that he explains will improve your decision-making. Maybe I could say, holistically, it is about narrowing down what matters.

OUTLIERS:

Geniuses are not what you think they are. That is what Gladwell tries to get across. Who we perceive as geniuses are people that had a tremendous amount of help along the way. Instead of being a genius based on academic ability, a genius can be defined as someone that seized the moment and took advantage of the opportunities provided.

 

Thanks for reading,

Jello

“The eyes perceive, the ears perceive, the mouth decides” – Angelo DeMarco

Husqvarna AB

Husqvarna AB

1600s, 1700s = Rifles, pistols, shotguns

1800s = sewing machines, ovens, stoves, cast-iron products

1900s = bicycles, motorcycles, lawn mowers, chainsaws, power cutters

Old models of bikes

2000s = robotic lawn mowers, demolition robots

The company Husqvarna AB has come a long way since making rifles for the Swedish Army. Husqvarna AB is the company and is in Huskvarna. Husqvarna AB changed its name once it became independent of the Swedish state. Obviously, not the first time they diversified.

Yesterday, I went to Huskvarna for two reasons. First, to visit the industrial museum connected to Husqvarna AB. Second, to visit Huskvarna library (biblioteket). The sun was up and I was ready to move and shake. A bus lets out right in front of the museum, but I wanted the long way so I took the train. I “lost” 20 minutes, slowly walking to the museum. I came across a beautiful view of the valley, with the church in the middle.

Huskvarna Church

I took a winding path down a hill and near the outdoor sports hall. Eventually, at the end of the path memories started coming back to me (I came to Huskvarna a month ago. Our fika lasted 3 hours and we missed the museum). I reached the museum, branching off the factory, which has motes on both sides. A 125 meter waterfall flows into the mote near the entrance.

Inside, a group of about 30 people were learning about the history of the company before starting their tour. They were an older crowd, and I can’t imagine the nostalgia they must have felt. Huge changes occurred during the 1900s, and if they are from Huskvarna, then they saw the impact this company had on the town. Once I started, I read, and read, and read because I am a history buff. The business-side in me was particularly interested in the people who ran the company. Each exhibit had at least one section describing the directors, and managers associated with dramatic changes. One man obviously stood out amongst everyone mentioned. His name was Wilhelm Tham.

He spearheaded what seemed like the largest change for Husqvarna AB. He became Executive Director in 1876. Remained until 1911 (35 years). He slowed gun production because there was no fighting. Instead, he focused engineers towards improved hunting rifles. At the same time, he enhanced production of cast-iron products, fireplaces, stoves, ovens, and most importantly sewing machines. He was a true entrepreneur. He noticed needs before they became needs.

Husqvarna’s guns over the years

Oh wait, he did more. He noticed that workers were commuting from the far countryside. He ordered 30 houses to be built for his workers. On average, each house had 6 families. He lived right next to them. In 1887, he joined the government of Jönköping County. He was the representative for Sweden’s occupational health and safety. Remember that church I mentioned? On Tham’s birthday, in 1901, he received a large sum of money from Husqvarna AB. He donated that money to build Huskvarna Church. Remember that sports hall I mentioned? Years later, he received more money as a present. He donated that money to build the sports hall. A bust of his head is near the site. He also expanded the street, Kungsgatan (King’s Street), to make Huskvarna a more complete whole.

 

Name one reason why Amazon keeps growing?

 

Did CEO retention come to mind? The CEO, Jeff Bezos, has been part of Amazon since he founded it in 1994 (2018 – 1994 = 24 years CEO). He eat, sleeps, breaths growth. That is why he and Amazon are still relevant. Growth can be simply explained by the person running the show. Bezos and Tham deserved to be CEO for so long. They knew how to constantly innovate and renovate. Tham also knew how to treat his employees and the community well. It was absolutely inspiring to read about a person who had such an impact on so many different things.

Husqvarna AB is now the leading provider of outdoor power products. Also, they just released bicycles again after many years of ceased production. AND THESE ARE E-BIKES. There are four models: mountain cross, light cross, tourer, and city. Also, look out for their sewing machine assisted by a pre-installed tablet. Husqvarna AB is an innovation machine.

Hejda,

Jello

 

Link to Husqvarna Bicycles:

https://www.husqvarna-bicycles.com/en-INT

 

 

Pizza and Immigration

Pizza and Immigration

‘It is a privilege to be a resident of Sweden where people are respected regardless of religion, belief, colour, appearance and nationality,’

The idea for this post came from pizza. I love pizza and I guess residents of Sweden do to! It seems that on most corners you will find a pizzeria with a family name on the sign. I have tried about 4 places in Jonkoping and Tenhult. The style of pizza is definitely different from Chicago pizza. Your order is almost always a full thin-crust pizza and is not meant to be shared. Also, every pizzeria has about 30 combinations where some are radically different from anything I have ever seen before. I tried a pizza once that had marinara, bananas (common topping), pineapple, paprika and roasted peanuts… I was the only one who liked it.

I looked up and noticed who was serving me this delicious compilation and not once was it a native-born Swede. One pizzeria owner was interested in my English and we had a conversation about our origins (while he recommended the kebab pizza, kebab being one of the most common foods in restaurants). He told me how he migrated from Iraq to Sweden 27 years ago and opened his pizzeria doors 21 years ago.

Angelo: Do you like living in Sweden?

The owner: No, I miss home too much (long pause). You know, it is the motherland. How could I want to be elsewhere?

And if you read my last blog post, you would know why inside I was like “aww man why does everyone have to go breaking my heart?”

A lot of pizzerias are owned by immigrants mostly form Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Chilean and Iraq. They immigrated their “motherlands” in times of political turmoil. Many Chileans came during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet during the period 1973-1990. The Iran-Iraq war brought many from both countries avoiding a war they did not believe in. They were able to do so according to the Geneva Convention which granted many residence permits to Sweden.

‘I am proud to be part of a country that gives shelter to those in need.’

Sweden also became an asylum for many Syrians during the war zone that is occurring in Syria. Sweden has granted permanent residence permits to all Syrians and led to Syrians being the largest immigrant group in Sweden. Every fourth immigrant is from Syria.

The current situation is that every sixth person was not born in Sweden. Sweden has become an asylum for the right reasons. It is amazing to be able to see the diversity everywhere I look. It is not a new sight for me considering Loyola is similar with diversity, but still beautiful to understand.

The task for Sweden now is integrating refugees into all aspects of Swedish society. From the testimonies of refugees, it looks like all Swedes are excitedly willing to accept the challenge.

Thanks for reading and HEJDA (GOODBYE)!
Angelo

quotes came from this website:

Sweden and migration