Always better, the second time around...

 ...banan cocka v2.0...

Seattle’s “Latté Run” vs. Göteborg’s “Fika”

All right. Yes, yes, I know. I'm late once again...

Whether it was Sweden’s distracting autumn beauty or a series upcoming project deadlines, this week has just been a bit…disjointed. I left my lunch at home mondag, I forgot a skype-date tisdag, a symposium melted my brain önsdag, and I was late to Swedish class torsdag. Naturally, between rushing to make trams, putting spoiled milk in my tea, or forgetting to write emails, the only time I’ve been able to successfully collect myself has been when my hands are around a cup of coffee…

Hence why this post, I will forgo the usual update on my life (as thrilling as it is) and delve into a post about Swedish culture. Come with me: today, we're diving into the Swedish concept of fika from the perspective of a caffeine-addicted Seattlelite...

As you know, Seattle has a large coffee reputation. As the hometown of Starbucks, we're well-known for our espresso snobbery and those iconic white-and-green to-go cups. I'd say the rejuvenating aspects of taking a coffee break there is well-known and well-practiced—almost everyone I know in Seattle enjoys a misty afternoon from the confines of a local coffeeshop often is dripping with eccentric cultural sarcasm and fair-trade initiatives. Or, at least I do...

There is simply nothing more soothing for the winter soul than to migrate to a café from the depths of white, city mist and meditate on the taste of pearly-brown coffee.

That said, I was delighted to learn prior to moving here (as you may remember) that Göteborg had a strong coffee culture. Here, it's probably just as common to go and 'fika' as much as one goes on a 'latté break' in Seattle, and though in several aspects these two cities remain very much the same in their love for the drink, there does exist some very distinct but lovely differences. In the most basic terms, I'd say fika is like 4X longer than a latté break, in comparison, and always involves a seriously decadent dessert.

Other factors, however, while subtle to outsiders, nevertheless create quite a different experience, such as:

1. Antiquity. First of all, let me express my immense pleasure in finding no major obnoxious coffee chains in this city. I’ll tell you, having an actual corner in Seattle where there are no less than five Starbucks makes me cringe in ways I never thought I could. What I genuinely appreciate in Göteborg is how many cafes are still in old buildings, still serve on timeless tables, and still keep the 1970 graffiti on their bathroom stalls. Easily, you can find a tucked-in café anywhere in Linnè, Haga, and along Vasagatan that’d could make all buzzing in your head stop.
    
2. Invitation. This, I find, is the key difference between coffee here and coffee in Seattle. In Göteborg, the baristas and café owners expect you to stay for your coffee break. They give you a porcelain cup. They don’t ask if you are going anywhere. They’ll clear you a spot within their tables. There is in no way or form a suggestion that you should be ordering your coffee to-go and leaving within 10 minutes of dawdling in front of the display of South American espresso. No. Here, you are given your coffee, and you sit and sip for at least an hour (omgyesss).
    
3. Hospitality. In Seattle, when you do have the time (and space) to sit for coffee, you are then expected to bring up your dishes. Not in Sweden. Do you know how luxurious it is just to leave the cup at the table? Do you see the blankets they leave out for you to use if you want to sit outside?? Yes, the baristas may not ask you about your day, but who the hell cares? They give you blankets. Genius.
    
4. Pastries and cakes. No bagels here. No shitty, dry banana bread that costs the equivalent of your firstborn child. No, darlings—here, there are cakes, and cookies, and kannelbulle the size of your head. And if you don’t want anything sweet, there is lasagna(!), and small sandwiches with butter and thin layers of ham. And, God—I cannot…get over…the custard they smother it all in. Eat its entirety, with small spoons with long handles. 

Obviously, there are the smaller things, too: lattés served in water cups (yes!), tea and coffee have the same price (no!), more crying babies (no!), maneuvering six faux-bamboo trays on an antique table for three (tetris!), the impossibility of seats with good reading light/outlets (noooo). In fact, just the other day, I had to master the artful dance of edging around five prams with a very full teacup.

But all things considered, it’s completely obvious to this Seattlelite why Göteborg is the most espresso crazy city in Sweden. Fika here is a religious experience. And I, am a total convert.

Powerpoint < Baking

Today's endeavor: my mother's recipe for banana bread. Or, in Swedish: banancockar. With the Swedish name obviously sending me into fits of laughter, my roommate and I have now christened my new baking project, "The Banana Cock."

Today, it's overcast and a blustery 10 C. Scrapping the idea to go out and take pictures earlier this morning with a couple of my photography-literate friends, I've been domestically puttering around the apartment. So far, I have conquered our cute Wall-E vacuum cleaner, dusted the shelves holding my art supplies (haven't been too active, of late), and discovered the hiding place of our handheld mixer in the kitchen.

Ha. I just realized I'm even wearing a dress today. How's that for gender stereotypes?

Last night, was Kulturnatta, or Culture Night in Göteborg. Kind of like First Thursday in Seattle, the city's galleries, cafes, bars, museums, churches, libraries, parks, and theaters throw their doors open to the public for a full night of world culture. When I was trying to decipher the Swedish pamphlet, I saw everything from book readings to traditional Swedish dance to free women self-defense classes to choir music. The event opened with an indie choir singing hits from Robyn and Abba, and the streets of Linne probably echoed with the sounds of high heels, laughter, rolling beer bottles, shouting, and jazz until I woke up this morning...

As for me---I went first with a group of friends to Stadsbiblioteket (City Library) to hear Afro-Caribbean drumming and watch this five year old bust into crazy, Happy Feet-esque dance solos in front of the crowd. Then we went to Hagabio, an alternative movie theater/cafe/bar/culture house near my flat, and proceeded to listen to a fantastic South African storyteller, peer at black and white photos with courtesy tea, and watch the first half of a Swedish documentary on hip hop schools of Medellin, Colombia.

Awesome. +1000 culture points.

The rest of this week looks busy. Tonight is a birthday party of one of the girls in our program, tomorrow I'm typing up Powerpoints and essays in the cavernous glass lobby of the VarldsKulturMuseet, and Monday I meet the director of Universeum for lunch.

But for now, my roommate and I are going to stuff ourselves with banana cock to El Perro Del Mar.

Whooo, haven't posted here in a while...

The last week has been really hectic. For once, I've got too much to share than I can really blog...

After the seminar last week, our program launched into a full week--I repeat, a full week, including two weekends--where we had no class. The professors provided us this time to work on our first major take-home exam, which entailed reading a 250-page ethnographic analysis in its entirety, and then writing up our personal review. As you can expect, this clearly did not take a week to do, and thus my habits started to lean in other directions...

Tuesday started awesome enough. Upon seeing their neon-colored posters on the walls of a local bar, I learned that Phosphorescent was coming to Göteborg on their European tour. After some crafty inquiries by a former co-worker, I managed to get on the band's guest list, saw a transcendent set, and met a new friend. Still can't believe it. When I figure out how to compress video files, I will so be putting up the video I took of "Reasons to Quit"...but for now:



And so started a week of owling. Wednesday, I played football and goofed/studied until 3am. Thursday, there was a birthday party; out until 3am. Friday, my roommate threw a small party at our flat, which ended with a late-night run to a waterfront dance club, out 'till 2am. Saturday, went to a CD release party (band was decent), danced until 4am. Sunday, turned in my paper, went out for dinner, pretty much happily stayed up all night. Monday: class at 9am.

I'm beginning to notice a serious trend in Sweden in terms of social life. Going out is very expensive. There is no such thing here as 'going out for a beer'---if you drink, you drink to forget. And that's only if you have the cash. Often, a beer (3.5%, mind you) that tastes like Corona Lite is about $8-10 if you don't find a cheap deal. Mixed drinks are about the same, though the shots are smaller. Vodka is popular, as is whiskey, and an assortment of other hard liquors I have yet to taste (aquavit, for example)...

You also have to pay for where you drink. Half the time, if you want to see a concert, or if you want to go dancing (which seems to be far more popular than pubs or bar-crawling), you have to pay an entrance fee between $9-20. Yes, the dancing goes until 4am or maybe even earlier, but still, that's a hefty price when beer is so dilute and so expensive.

So, all in all, the message is: drink at home, and as far as I've observed, that's the general trend. It's much cheaper and often in far better company than lots of drunk, drunk, drunk Swedes.

Not to say that there aren't cheap parties. The underground scene here is famously active. All the good parties that are worth going to and are cheap or free are spread word-of-mouth by Facebook. Yes, seriously fun parties like the night-time ragers in Swedish parks and the poetry slams and the underground art festivals are all spread via Facebook group. If you're not in the group, you're not in the know. And your night continues to revolve around 2002 American club music (and the occasional Michael Jackson). Now isn't that interesting?

Anyway. That's that for social life, at the moment. Soon, I'll report back on the lighter side of my social life that revolves around school: museum outings, innovative exhibits, and opening night parties.

Fun. :)

Ah, sweet Reassurance...

Today, I'm sitting in my program's first seminar (currently listening to group 6 out of 9), where my class is presenting our first critical evaluations of local Swedish museums around the Göteborg area. I already went early in the morning--the only native English speaker in our group--on Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet (the Maritime Museum and Aquarium), and now we're hearing a critique of the Gothenburg City Museum...

I suppose I need to remind you a bit about this assignment. Last week, we were sorted into groups and each assigned a local museum to formally critique. We were expected to integrate our reading assignments into a cohesive oral report that explores everything from museum audience to exhibition, from collections to access and representation from a sociological perspective...

You're probably thinking (if you're reading this and not in my program): "wow, how boring" and I suppose yes, at times it has been (I did write this post during it, did I not?). With nine 20-minute presentations on a Friday, I too am surprised at how much I've stayed engaged. But after such a sporadic start of the program, where content and organization has left much to be desired, it feels fantastic to finally see the professional aspects of the program take hold. And in fact, after today, I think I could confidently say that this---museums---is definitely what I want to do.

See, museums, and the field of museum studies, are undergoing rapid change. Today's museums are fighting a constant battle between keeping tradition or embracing modernity---whether to simply inform or to actively engage society---and often, these institutions get stuck within their own means and mission statements in trying to keep up with modern society. It is clear, after a seminar like today, that the need for fresh, innovative ideas here is dire, and its been fantastic to hear the diversity of comments from my fellow classmates. I'll tell you, the future of museums is bright if you hired one of us: no more of these dull, drab, traditional institutions, but bright and dynamic community spaces that encourage multidisciplinary debate and discussion… :-)

As an outsider, the seminar probably would seem like a very thorough preview of all the major tourist attractions in the area. And in a way, it is---but one that leaves me both inspired and relieved. It's been difficult to get the reassurance that this decision to move to Sweden was a good one, especially since my discipline is so different than what the majority of others have studied. But though many museums we've talking about are not exactly within my interests, its very evident that it'd be beneficial to visit all museums to learn what they do best and what they could do different. And, after getting to know my professors better, it is clear I will not be singled out as a minority within the program (later, I will recollect my first visit to the Universeum).

All in all, I am extremely happy. Plus there are plans to go to a massive opening party tonight for an exhibit at the World Culture Museum celebrating modern Japanese street culture. 


Oh yeah: this year it's gonna be fun.