I love learning, especially when it's a cultural norm somewhere else that I can adopt into my own world.
My latest: fika. It is a Swedish tradition that ๐ข๐๐๐ฃ๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐จ๐ก๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ, ๐ค๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ง ๐๐ค๐ก๐ก๐๐๐๐ช๐, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ฎ ๐ ๐๐ช๐ฅ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐๐ (๐ค๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐) ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ก๐ ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ฉ.
Pronounced fee-ka, it can be both a noun (๐ญ๐ฆ๐ตโ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ฌ๐ข) and a verb (๐ญ๐ฆ๐ตโ๐ด ๐ง๐ช๐ฌ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธโฆ). No rules - just a good cup of coffee or tea, a bite of something delicious, and some time to enjoy the moment.
Fika is about genuinely slowing down, getting back in touch with your body and the people around you, and recharging on a deeper level. It is something to look forward to, a short time where everything else stops and you savor the moment. Quantity isn't the key here either, nor is it to "trick" the body into carrying on and working harder (like an afternoon caffeine jolt here in the U.S. often is).
For Swedes, fika is nothing revolutionary; itโs simply part of everyday life.
If you are interested, let's fika together!