Frat parties...

I will never be going to one again. Okay, so that's probably not true, but I do know that Greek night life will forever pale in comparison to my latest experience. What am I talking about? A traditional Swedish "sittning" of course! 

On Friday, my friend Alex and I signed up to work at Östgöta's (a nation) Novischfesten sittning. A sittning is a traditional Swedish seated meal that usually takes place before a party. This semi-formal sittning in particular welcomed all the new members of Östgöta nation. The tickets to the event included a three course meal and tons of drinks (bottle of wine, cider, and snaps), not to mention singing performances, speeches, awards, beautiful and tasteful cocktail dress, Swedish drinking songs, gag gifts and party favors. Working the festivities gave such an awesome behind the scenes to this completely student run tradition. I'll walk you through our night! 

3:00- All of the workers had to arrive early in order to begin prepping. When we arrived Alex and I changed into Östgöta polos and began setting up tables and chairs. Next, we shined 130 sets of silverware (this would be one of the few not so fantastic times of the night; I felt like I was back working in a restaurant, yuck). While we were doing this other students were folding napkins, cleaning candle fixtures and setting the tables. 

I'm not too sure why Alex looks so happy?

The final product! It took two hours and 12 workers but totally worth it.

5:30- Oh I kinda forgot to mention that when I say work I really mean volunteer haha. Everyone who worked that night were students; from prepping, cooking, bartending, bussing, serving, coat checking, and cleaning we did it all! It was actually really impressive and a great way to meet people. What better way to bond with some Swedes than by slaving away in a restaurant/ club from 3PM til 3AM? Anyway, at 5:30 we had some Swedish pasta and drinks, and sat around to get the game plan. 

7:00-Up until this time we were still essentially prepping everything. It was a lot of work! We had to stock both bars, clear the floors and hallways, etc. I had a bit of learning to do since I had never worked a sittning or club night. By seven though, we were all changed into our white blouses and ready for the guests! It was a semi-formal event and all of the girls were wearing stunning dresses (Swedes really like black anything) and guys in suits. Nearly 100 people mingled and drank in the entry way before finding their assigned seats. 

8:00-10:00 -Time to serve! The appetizer was a type of cold tomato soup full of flavor and spices. There were some speeches which I couldn't understand and of course a drinking song before the main dish. Clearing the used plates got trickier throughout the night as, how shall I say it, hmmm intoxication levels went waaay up haha. Next, we served lamb, salad, and potatoes. Oh also the student cooks always make extra plates for all of the workers. My first taste of lamb was delish. Finally, we had Key Lime pie (which really just tasted like cheesecake sans the lime) as dessert. After going around and serving snaps (shots) it was time to kick everyone out. But the night was far from over.

Server life? 

I thought US restaurants were hectic... It was funny hearing all the shouting and direction giving in Swedish. Throughout the beginning of the evening prep and clean up the cooks blared songs like "Footloose", "Living on a Prayer" and "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" in the kitchen.

Pie on pie on pie

10:30- Back to the not so fun activities. In the next 30 minutes we completely transformed the dining area into the club dance floor. We blitzed the place: tables and chairs were broken down, floors swept, dishes, glasses, cutlery bussed, bars restocked, lights turned off and music on. It was like magic! Mind blown. 

11:00- The club opened to both guests of the sittning as well as other students. We each had different shifts. For this hour I was manning the emergency exit which led to a few interesting conversations with random drunk Swedes haha. 

12:00- Coat check. Well I mean I don't know what else to write except...I checked coats. 

1:00- Bartending...? Hahaha Mom and Dad I assure you, I do NOT have a future in this line of work. Luckily, I was stationed at the "Lil Bar" in the back so I wasn't hit too hard with customers. But I definitely don't do well with foreign currency under pressure. Okay, I admit, I don't do well with ANY kind of currency because I don't do well with mental math... Ooops. I had to figure out the register and remember the prices all on like 30 minutes notice! Not to mention the actual alcohol part. We had three beers on tap; the first time I tried to pour one I couldn't figure out how to turn it off so it just kept over flowing lololol. Eventually, I figured it out and the customer was errr, feeling a little too good to notice! Despite how terrible I was at first, I got a hang of the whole thing and ended up having a lot of fun. The music was good and my co-workers were really fun to work with.

2:00- Clean-up. When the club closed we were back to the dirty work. Mopping, cleaning, putting the alcohol in the back, washing dishes, cleaning bathrooms, etc. My job was to pick up all the cigarette butts out front. Um, Sweden, let me introduce you to the ashtray? 

Sleepiness kicks in...

3:30- YAY! We're done!! Time to go home? Wrong. Now the workers' party begins upstairs. For the next few hours Alex and I hung out with a bunch of Swedes, exemplified a perfect game of "American" beerpong, and listened to music. I've decided, hands down, that cider is my favorite drink here in Sweden. In the end it was a good night (morning?). I met some friends and we plan to fika soon!

Alex doin' her thaaaang

7:00- I waited until sunrise to bike home. While the streets of Lund are safe at night, they're definitely not warm! I got to see theee most beautiful Swedish sunrise in town. The quiet of the early morning was only interrupted by the chirping birds. It was so blissful I almost didn't want to leave. Almost. I booked it back home just in time to Skype my family after Buddy's game! How much more blessed could I be? To have such a fantastic and entertaining night anddd get to see my entire extended family at their weekly post-football dinner?! It made my night just that much better (: 

I spent my entire Saturday recovering and sleeping, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Sittnings are such a unique part of the social life in Sweden; it's so unlike the rowdy, dirty frat parties. Don't get me wrong, the clubs can certainly get rowdy, but I think there is also a touch of class that is missing from the US college night life. Working was a blast and I can't wait to attend a sittning before I leave in December! 

Until next time, 

Xo