Meet My Swedish Cousins! Theo, Oliver and Hugo

Photography:

Veronica Vikstrรถm

By Jenna C, Age 10 East Greenwich, RI

Hej ungar!

(Swedish for “Hi kids!”)

My name is Jenna and I am from Rhode Island. I want to tell you about my cousins, Theo, Hugo and Oliver V. from the village of Bäsna in Sweden. They are triplets and are ten years old like me! Believe it or not, I have never met them in person because they live so far away. But their birthday was just a few weeks ago and I got to Facetime with them to see how they were celebrating.

Since Sweden is also experiencing the Covid-19 pandemic, they celebrated in a small group with mostly family.

Their mom baked them a delicious-looking cake, they played soccer in the morning, scoring more than ten goals and they were having fun running around their beautiful yard and playing on their trampoline. They seemed really happy and excited!

I don’t speak Swedish but luckily, Theo, Hugo and Oliver speak a lot of English. They started learning it in school when they were six years old and they also watch a lot of Tik Tok and YouTube in English! In school, their favorite subjects are art, woodworking and needlepoint. All three play soccer, which is one of Sweden’s main sports along with ice hockey and tennis. Oliver also plays tennis. Of course, like most Swedes, they ski in the winter! It snows A LOT in Sweden in the winter and gets VERY cold.

Their village only has around 700 people and is surrounded by forests. Half of Sweden is covered by forests and there are more than 100,000 lakes! There are also more than 120,000 small islands throughout Sweden that anyone can visit.

Sweden is located in northern Europe and is part of Scandinavia. It has a population of around 10 million people. The official language is Swedish. The capital city is Stockholm.

My grandmother, who I called “Mormor” (mother’s mother) was born and raised in a town called Hammarstrand in the northern part of Sweden. She immigrated to America when she was 18 years old in 1959. She traveled here on a steam ship across the Atlantic Ocean.

The trip took more than two weeks!

Like many immigrants, coming to America was a dream come true for her.

I have never been to Sweden but I hope to go one day. I have met two of my other Swedish cousins when they came here to visit a few summers ago, Theodora and Jayden. They both spoke English fluently also. We had a lot of fun!

I have many cousins in Sweden and hope to visit them all one day soon, or I hope they can come visit me.

Theo, Hugo and Oliver and their mom and dad would love to take a trip to America to visit a warm, sunny place. A place with palm trees like Miami or Los Angeles. Of course they would also like to visit me here in the “Ocean State.” I can’t wait to show them all the great things about Rhode Island!

I think it is really cool having family in other countries because it gives me a chance to learn about other places and to travel!

Now, here are some interesting highlights about Sweden!

In the fall and spring, there are spectacular light shows in northern Sweden in Lapland known as the "aurora borealis," or "northern lights."

There is a very important celebration in Sweden called “Midsummer.� It marks the solstice (longest day of the year) and is considered the official start of summer. In the northern parts of Sweden, the sun does not set and it is light all day and all night!

Sweden is one of only nine countries where they herd reindeer. The native Sami people in Sweden herd reindeer in a far-north province called Lapland.

Soccer (called “football” in Sweden) and ice hockey are the most popular sports in the country.

Vikings were the fierce Norse people from Sweden, Denmark & Norway who pirated, raided, traded and explored across Europe, Iceland and Greenland many centuries ago.

This is an example of one of Sweden’s traditional folk dresses. So pretty!

The Swedish currency is called the “krona” or “crown” in English. One dollar equals approximately 9 crowns.

But this number changes depending on what is happening with the world economy.

And who doesn’t love SWEDISH MEATBALLS?!

Björn Borg Sweden is known for its many world famous tennis players.

Björn Borg was the first man ever to win 11 Grand Slam titles.

The “Dala Horse” is a traditional handmade carved wooden horse that dates back to the 1600s.

It has become symbolic of Sweden and the region where it is still made called, “Dalarna.”

These are just a few interesting things about Sweden but there is much more!

It is a really fun, fascinating and beautiful country.

Maybe one day you can visit Sweden and see for yourself!