Starting to Settle In: A Swedish Student's Experience with Campus Life & New Culture - Week 3

Another week down, and we’re now only three weeks away from the first swim competition! It’s been a pretty standard week overall, but it also marked the first week of "real" training. I haven’t been this sore in a while, which reminded me why I hate swimming. But at the same time, swimming is probably the love of my life. It’s a weird relationship where I despise it, yet I cherish every single moment. I wish it could all be over, but then again, I never want it to end. The ultimate balance point is competitions themselves—especially when I feel unstoppable, swimming faster than ever and beating the opponents who seemed unbeatable last season. It’s those moments that make everything worth it. That’s my cloud nine.

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.” - Tim Notke

Classes have been pretty routine this week—mostly listening and taking notes. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with that, but I often feel like I’m missing something. I’m doing everything I’m supposed to, but I think the feeling comes from being used to my old educational system. There isn’t as much individual responsibility here as there was in Sweden. Even though it seems like the Americans are taking big step from high school, the European system is looser and more dependent on the student’s own initiative. Not saying one system is better than the other—they’re just different. It’s probably going to take me longer than three weeks to fully acclimate.

This week, I didn’t hang out with friends as much as usual, probably thanks to training taking up more time, and energy levels being lower becuase of it. But I did visit Cabela’s, which was a massive culture shock. It was so overwhelmingly American that I couldn’t help but feel very European and out of place. I saw rows and rows of guns, like they were toys. The only time I’ve ever seen a gun in Sweden is when I go hunting with my dad, and even then, we handle them with great care. In Sweden, guns are taken very seriously, but in the U.S., it’s totally different. I even learned from a shopkeeper that I, as a foreigner, could buy a rifle in West Virignia just because I’m over 18 years of age. That’s crazy to me, but I suppose it’s just how things work here. Who am I to say what’s right or wrong?

On a lighter note, I also visited Crumbl Cookies. They were good but definitely overhyped. I guess my European palate isn’t quite ready for the super sweet American treats, though I feel like it’s starting to grow on me. I’ll probably dedicate an entire blog to food here because it definitely deserves its own spotlight.

All in all, it’s been a good week. A few bumps here and there, but that’s normal for college life. My teammates and I, are struggling a bit with the new training schedule and the expectations, but I’m sure we'll adjust in a week or two. Everything is new, and it just takes time to get used to it all.