Week 13: Malmö, Close but Not the Same

Wednesday of Week 13 was a day trip to Malmö, Sweden, which still feels strange to say because it is only the second Scandinavian country I have ever been to. Denmark has started to feel familiar now, almost routine in the best way, so crossing into Sweden felt both significant and surprisingly subtle. Malmö is close enough to Copenhagen that the transition is quiet. No dramatic shift, no culture shock. Just small differences that slowly add up.

That is the best way I can describe it. Sweden feels to Denmark the way Canada feels to the US. Very similar. Same general rhythm. Same systems. Same unspoken rules. But just different enough that you notice it if you are paying attention. The signs change. The sound of the language shifts slightly. The energy feels a little softer and a little more spaced out.

The main reason for the trip was a visit to the Disgusting Food Museum with my anthropology of food class. Walking in, the smell hit first. Not overwhelming, but layered. Sweet, sour, fermented, unfamiliar. The museum itself was part educational and part psychological experiment. Each display asked you to question why certain foods feel normal to some people and repulsive to others.

There were a lot of bugs. More than I expected. Dried, roasted, preserved, whole. I tried them anyway. Many of them caused immediate texture problems. Crunch where I did not want crunch. Soft where I wanted resistance. A few made me gag before I even had time to process the taste. It was not always the flavor that got me. It was the feeling.

Some foods confirmed what I already knew. Durian was exactly as bad as I remembered. No redemption arc there. Other things surprised me. Milkis, which I had never tried before, was actually good. Comforting, even. Slightly sweet and familiar in a way that felt almost out of place in that room.

I tried every single tester, partly out of curiosity and partly because I wanted to spin the prize wheel at the end. That turned out to be both a mistake and worth it.

The final challenge was hot sauce. Five of the hottest hot sauces in the world, lined up in increasing intensity. The last two were not even really sauces, just straight concentrate. There was no milk allowed until all five were finished. By the third one, my mouth was numb. By the fourth, my stomach was already angry. By the fifth, everything was regret.

I made it through. I do not know if I would call it strength or stubbornness, but I finished. I won a few pieces of candy, which felt deeply ironic considering what I had just put my body through. My stomach was absolutely wrecked, but I was also laughing, slightly delirious, and weirdly proud.

After the museum, Malmö opened up in a different way. I wandered without much of a plan. I went thrifting. Looked through small shops filled with knickknacks that did not need to exist but did anyway. I sat in a park and listened to music with my headphones in, watching people pass by, letting the day settle.

The day felt full in a way that did not need to be explained. Uncomfortable at times, funny in hindsight, and strangely grounding. Between the museum, the challenge, and the quiet hours afterward, Malmö gave me space to think without forcing anything.

It was close to Denmark, but not the same. Enough distance to notice the shift. Enough familiarity to move through it easily.

By the time I headed back, I felt settled. A little tired. A little reflective. Not in a way that needed conclusions, just aware of where I am right now and how much of this experience has already become part of me.