04 Oct A month!
Hej,
So it’s already been a month that Laura and I arrived here. Fortunately, time passes by rather quickly. Many of our friends and family, as well as local people, are asking us “so what do you do during your freetime?”. Good question!
To be honest, we spend a lot of time talking about all those little things that are for many of you as local people completely common, ordinary. Things that you do without even thinking about them, because you have always done them this way. Things that are necessary to know to have a good understanding of local/Swedish culture. And thus facilitating your integration in the local community. Those are mostly things that you’ll learn by experience, things that no one will tell you (unless you have friends or place like IFALL 😉 ) things that you’ll discover by yourself step by step. It is at the same exciting and a bit confusing. And sometimes frustrating (when we don’t understand, when we would like to know more) and tiring (why do we have to think about all those details?), but it’s definitely worth it. Whenever we are confronted to a “new” thing or situation, we explain each other why it bothers us or it surprises us, and how it is in our respective countries. It makes us reflect on ourselves. Therefore, we not only have a better understanding of your culture, but also of ourselves/our cultures. “Traveling makes you grow”, they say… Welcome to the world of intercultural dialogue my friends!
Spanish and French cultures having a lot in common (at least, Laura and I have some common background and understanding), we are often curious of and surprised by the same things. Don’t misunderstand us/me. We are not trying to judge you or being judgemental about how things work here, we are only trying to get used to them. And sometimes it takes time 😉 And don’t also think that we spend all of our time being obssessed with those things! Oh and be sure about one thing, we are most of the time discussing things that we like. And believe me, you have a lot of good things in Sweden! We just hope that all of you are both conscious about them and grateful about all that 🙂 Because we feel grateful to be here and to be able, through our volunteering, to give back to the community.
Anyway, I can say that I’m more than glad to be together with Laura in this adventure. It makes life easier and for sure funnier! I am also glad to have a lot of people around who can give us tips on how to survive here 🙂 Waiting to know you better and meet new people! See you around soon 😉
Have a good week!
Malika
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