An Elizabethton resident and her daughter received a firsthand experience of another culture during a visit to Sweden as part of East Tennessee State University's newest "Study Abroad" program.

Angie Sheek, who is currently an ETSU graduate student, decided to participate in the program to enhance her own understanding of international communications as well as different cultural nuances.

Sheek holds a master's degree in professional communications from ETSU. She also works in the ETSU communications department.

The trip to Sweden was part of two classes comprising Speech 1300 at ETSU. She received a total of six credit hours for her participation in the class.

Sheek's oldest daughter, Victoria Ann Brinkley, 11, accompanied her on the trip as a "sidekick."

Sheek's husband, Rick, is a sports writer for the Elizabethton STAR. The couple also have a daughter, Miranda, who is a kindergarten student at Range Elementary School.

Sheek and her daughter, Victoria, spent a month -- July 6 to Aug. 6 -- in Sweden, except for a week when they made a trip to London.

They also made a few day trips to Denmark, Sweden's neighbor. "But most of the time we lived in Sweden," Sheek said. She added that she took classes at Kristianstad University.

"We walked everywhere," Sheek said, describing that fact as one of the major cultural differences between the United States and Sweden.

"It was a mile to town," she said. "We had to walk to a bus or train station."

Swedes, she reported, rely heavily on mass transportation. "Everyone takes public transportation-- to work, to the beach, to other towns," Sheek said. "The trains run every 30 minutes to an hour and the buses usually run every 15 minutes."

A 20-mile bus ride, she said, cost about a dollar.

Possibly as a result of physical activity, Sheek said the Swedes seemed very healthy.

Both mother and daughter learned some Swedish during their stay. They did not have to depend on fluency in Swedish, however, to communicate.

"I found it interesting that the Swedish people have the highest rating of English as a second language than in any country in Europe," Sheek said.

Sheek said the fact that so many Swedish spoke and understood English "made it so much easier."

Swedish students begin learning English in grade school and continue to study the language through high school, according to Sheek.

"You could have conversations with almost everyone you met," she said.

Sheek, noting that Swedish is a Germanic language, said that by listening closely, she began to detect the meaning of certain phrases and words.

"I learned to say 'tak sa mukit,' or 'thank you,'" Sheek said.

She also learned the Swedish phrase "HiHi" for "hello" and "HiDo" for "goodbye."

They also enjoyed sampling traditional Swedish cuisine.

"They really do have Swedish meatballs," Sheek said.

Staples in the Swedish diet, Sheek said, include salmon, herring, potatoes, cheeses and a variety of vegetables.

According to Sheek, salmon is cured with salt and dill by being pressed between a board, weighted down and kept in a refrigerator for a few days. At the conclusion of that process, the salmon is very thinly sliced.

"We ate salmon three times a week," Sheek said. "They have lots of potatoes as a side.

"Their food is much more healthy," she added. "They eat smaller portions and their vegetables aren't fried."

A popular condiment, she said, was a lingonberry sauce.

In restaurants, Sheek soon learned, the check is not delivered to the table until requested by the customer.

"Dinner can take two or three hours," she said. "Outside dining is a popular activity."

The length of daylight meant Sheek and her daughter had more time to explore Sweden. "It got light at 4:30 in the morning and stayed light until 10:30 at night."

Although this gave the students participating in the program more time to see the sights, Sheek said "you were worn out by the end of the day."

She also said she was glad she visited during the summer. "In winter, the days are much shorter," she said.

Just getting to Sweden, however, posed a challenge.

"I needed to renew my passport and Victoria needed to get one," Sheek explained.

In fact, Sheek said she contacted the office of U.S. Rep. David Davis for Congress to expedite the passport process.

"We didn't know until five days before the trip whether we would get the passports in time," Sheek said.

They departed from Knoxville, flew to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and caught a flight to Copenhagen, Denmark.

"There's a six-hour time difference, and I didn't know if I was behind or ahead," she said.

Once in Copenhagen, they took a train to Malmo, Sweden.

"It wasn't a long trip, but then we had to take another trip to Kristianstad," she said.

There the parents of Daniel Mansson, the program's director, picked up their son and the program's participants.

In addition to Mansson, Sheek and her daughter, those attending the "Study Abroad" program included Michael Shaffer, Abingdon, Va.; Jon Wood, Johnson City; and Brody Kinsler, Johnson City.

This year's program served as a pilot for anticipated future "Study Abroad" classes in Sweden. "We're hoping to get a class for next year," Sheek said.

Mansson described the class as a "great success."

He said his priorities for the class included student satisfaction, safety and having their needs and expectations met.

"After having read the students' journals and reflection papers, it became obvious they were all pleased and had already started thinking about future travels to Europe," Mansson said.

Mansson added that he could not have asked for better students. "It was a small group of very motivated, intelligent and responsible students," he said. "There was a high level of mutual respect and trust both among the students and between the students and me as the instructor."

Sheek said the Swedish terrain reminded her of West Tennessee. "There were a few hills, but it was mostly flat," she said.

Most of the towns, she noted, were clustered around train stations. Sweden's population numbers nine million. "They have a high rate of immigrants, which adds to the country's diversity," Sheek said.

Individuals can remain in Sweden for six months without a special visa, according to Sheek.

The Swedish capital of Stockholm impressed her. "Stockholm was fabulous," she said. "It was one of the best places we visited."

Sheek said Stockholm is actually a cluster of islands. To best tour the city, they took a boat cruise.

Stockholm offered a wealth of art, statues and architecture of historical significance, according to Sheek.

"We saw modern buildings next to centuries-old castles and palaces," she said. "We were walking on cobblestone streets."

Sheek said they also visited some of the palaces used as residences and offices by the Swedish Royal Family.

Sheek also enjoyed a visit to Åhus, the town where the Absolut Vodka distillery is located.

In addition, Åhus is the hometown of Mansson, the program's director.

The town, she said, is very old, dating back to around 1100.

"A lot of the towns were having summer festivals," Sheek said. "Almost everything was open to the public."

Other towns they visited during their stay included Ystad and Dalby in Sweden and Copenhagen and Helsingor in Denmark.

Mansson said he was pleased that the students, including Sheek, both enjoyed their stay in Sweden and met the course objectives, which include developing an understanding of Swedish culture, basic knowledge of the Swedish language and appreciation for cultural differences.

"John Travolta said it best in Pulp Fiction when he noted that the interesting thing about Europe is the little differences," Mansson said. "Sweden is no exception.

"In general, Sweden is a more collectivistic and feminine society than the United States," he said. "By that I mean that people are more concerned with bettering and promoting the entire country."

He described Sweden as a socialistic system.

In addition, he cited other collectivist characteristics, include a well-developed public transportation system, free higher education and numerous government founded agencies intended to aid and promote the citizens.

"In terms of Sweden being more feminine than the U.S., the Swedes are less competitive in society," Mansson said.

For instance, he noted that personal achievement is not valued as much as in the United States.

"In addition to these somewhat technical differences, there is the obvious difference of the architecture," Mansson said. "Sweden has a long and rich history with influences from Denmark, Germany and other European countries.

As a result, he said many churches and castle are built in traditional styles from various countries around Europe.

"We always felt very safe," Sheek said of her travels throughout Sweden.

A very special event during the trip was a chance to celebrate her birthday. "My birthday is on July 26, and we celebrated the next day in Copenhagen," Sheek said.

To celebrate, she enjoyed an Irish coffee and ate Swedish candy and ice cream in the town square in Copenhagen.

"The Swedish people are very outgoing," she said. "It's easy to start a conversation on a bus or train."

The Swedish currency is based on the crown, or "krona."

Prices, for the most part, are comparable to prices in the United States, according to Sheek.

The primary religion of the country, she said, is Lutheran, and her tours of Sweden included stops at many churches.

"The religion is 80 percent Lutheran," she said. "Tax money is collected to support the church.

"For this, citizens get free wedding and funeral services provided by the church," Sheek added.

Citizens can opt out of the tax, Sheek noted, but doing so means they forfeit the benefits.

Although her Swedish sojourn was not her first trip to another culture, Sheek said immersing herself into the culture for several weeks with the classroom as a background provided her with a valuable learning experience.

In addition, Sheek said her daughter greatly enjoyed the stay in Sweden. "She has decided she would like to study abroad herself," Sheek said.

Since returning home, Sheek has also been asked to present a talk on the topic of culture as part of the "Carter Cares" after-school program at Range Elementary.

In addition, she is teaching five classes at ETSU this semester and also teaching speech at the Elizabethton campus of Northeast State Technical Community College.