NEWS A new term has started and this week, Umeå University welcomed 260 new exchange students. Aamer Barood was here to talk about what they can expect. He himself came as a scholarship student from Sudan just over two years ago.
Aamer Barood outside Aula Nordica
Image Abebe AsresMany things appear exotic in Umeå if you are from another country.
Aamer Barood introduces the newly arrived exchange students to the Swedish fika culture with cinnamon buns and semlor (a traditional sweet roll). He also tells about bleak roe and fermented herring, about Systembolaget, and about the mystery of the vocals Å, Ä, Ö and, U, which in Aamers ears still sound about the same.
Aamer Barood talks about traditional Swedish food
ImageAbebe AsresAamer Barood is 32 years old. He's from Sudan and moved to Umeå in September 2016 to study IT Management.
– I honestly did not know much about Umeå and Northern Sweden. I knew it was cold, but I did not expect it to be as cold as it is right now.
There's much else that's possibly exciting and different. Aamer Barood highlights Umeå as a particularly ecological and sports-oriented city, which made him change his lifestyle.
– I weighed 97 kilos when I came here, and now I weigh 79 kilos. Losing weight was never my goal, it's was about embracing the Swedish way of life. I knew people were healthy here, but it surprised me that so many had a sports-oriented lifestyle.
Aamer Barood had heard there were vegetarians, but he never heard the word 'vegan' until he came to Umeå. He was used to eating a lot of fast food, but coming here he attempted to be a vegan.
– It obviously only lasted for ten days. I am not a vegan, but I try to improve my lifestyle.
In Umeå, Aamer Barood has experienced in real life what his mom talked about.
– My mom was a diplomat so she traveled a lot. She is what you now call a feminist, a concept that did not exist in Sudan thirty years ago. She believes in equal rights everywhere, but our way of living in the family was different from our surroundings.
Aamer Baroods friends in Sudan used to laugh at him when he told his views on equality.
– But when I came to Sweden I saw that everything my mom had talked about was true. There is equality, everyone is able to respect each other. It really warms my heart.
He studied in Umeå for two years. During the second year, he did his degree project that is now a business - Umeå Wheels AB. The company buys, sells, repairs, and rents bicycles.
– After living here for nearly three years, Umeå feels like my second home. I will stay here for at least three-four years to follow my company.
Article by: Anders Wynne
Translation: Sandra Lundström