Visited Rudenstams Gårdsbutik & Kafé, quite the trek

Author: Karina Escobar | Majors: Communication Sciences & Disorders and Spanish

My name is Karina Escobar and until going to Sweden, I had never consumed so much beef in the span of three weeks in my whole life. It all started by being a peer mentor for the College of Education and Health Professions. I was a junior at the time, listening intently to the course material the freshmen were being taught. The professor that guides the summer Health Teams Abroad in Sweden trip came and spoke at the University Perspectives class that I was mentoring. This was the first time I had learned of the study abroad trip to Sweden and I was instantly intrigued. Besides being in COEHP studying Communication Sciences and Disorders, I am also a part of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences studying Spanish with a minor in General Business. It was a study abroad trip that intrigued my interest in helping people in a different way. In Sweden, citizens have Universal Healthcare, and that was what most captured my attention about the country. In the United States, most people pay thousands of dollars in insurance and health expenses in general. Personally, I have always had dentist appointments, check-ups, and endocrinology visits and luckily with insurance I normally only pay a copay. People in the United States with no insurance would be paying hundreds of dollars for an annual check-up and that is a huge difference in Sweden. Now while I was studying health, my diet was not reflecting the details that I was learning.

It all started on June 6th when I landed in Sweden and had dinner at a restaurant with a beautiful view of Lake Vättern in Jonkoping. As I looked at the Swedish menu, I was taken aback by all the choices and the selection of “tapas” which were small dishes that you choose 3-5 of. The options varied between seafood, Swedish traditional food, and other variations of food I couldn’t understand. After flying for several hours, the only words I recognized and knew wouldn’t let me down was “burgare”. This was the beginning of an endless number of burgers during this trip.  It became the joke of the trip, “how many burgers can Karina eat?” Besides my burger-filled adventures, by going to Sweden I learned that living in one country your whole life, you become closed off to keeping an open mind and researching ways other countries operate. For example, in Sweden, a person under 18 years old will receive completely free healthcare. So, if a patient were to experience a traumatic brain injury and needed to undergo speech therapy to regain some of his communicative abilities, it would be free. The treatment could also be for an extended period of time, which in the United States, it would be a dream for people to receive as much therapy as needed. Something that holds many therapists back in the speech, occupational, and physical therapy world is the prospect of insurance. The lack of time restrictions is something I thought was very important for myself as for a speech pathologist we are limited to insurance. Due to this, making sure that I make the most out of the time with my patient is critical and I will be more aware of the true impact I can make on a patient’s life.

During the first two weeks of the trip, our classes began around nine in the morning and ended at noon or around three in the afternoon. We normally spent our time either in the classroom or touring/observing clinical settings in Sweden. This was a difference from the U of A because we normally do not experience what we learn in a hands-on or observational manner. It was a change of pace that was much appreciated, and our instructors had a large hand in this. In previous years, the study abroad program had students doing a lot more work outside of class. We had the privilege of really taking the time to learn about the culture after class instead of spending time indoors doing homework. Our professors created an experience where we could digest the information in manageable ways and still allowed us enough freedom to explore Sweden in all its capacities.

When I was not in class, I was eating burgers. Nevertheless, I did experiment with other foods, like Mediterranean, Thai, Indian, etc. I truly never expected to try so many cultural cuisines while abroad, as I did not try as many Swedish traditional plates. I noted that in Sweden, there is an appreciation for many cultures, and it is a mixture of all types of food. Besides the cuisine, I spent a lot of time exploring museums, cities, and even went to an amusement park. One of the first excursions we had was to a hike which almost made me give up seeing the view.  It was one of the most difficult things I had to do during the trip. Throughout this hike I considered simply sitting down and not completing it because I was so exhausted, but I knew I couldn’t give up. Once I reached the top we could see the whole city of Jonkoping, Sweden and it was beautiful. The second time I got the best view of a city was while at an amusement park in Stockholm. It is a random experience especially in another country, but I was able to see the city while I was swung in the air by a swing. The whole experience was full of trying out new adventures.

Overall, this trip is insightful for all health-related fields, but primarily towards pre-med students. I would say this program is beneficial for students so that they can understand that while the United States does things a certain way, there are multiple ways to provide proper health care. I would advise that students come with open minds about the culture which consists of soft-toned speakers, well-dressed citizens (even at eight in the morning), and an abundance of fika (coffee and a treat). There are plenty of more traditions and characteristics of the Swedes, but I will leave that to the imagination. After this trip, I crave a home-made meal that does not consist of burger related ingredients.