Because of the university, Lund is a very international community. The city embraces that more than I ever expected. I hear English spoken on the streets everywhere, rarely by native speakers but it is the common language almost everyone here can use to communicate. But there is an emphasis on continuing home cultures. Children in the schools here are offered free classes once a week in their mother tongue. At the moment Lund schools offer mother tongue instruction for about 22-25 languages. From what I've heard that can be either for a child who only speaks their mother tongue or for a child whose parents speak it and want their child to learn it.
I had heard somewhere that the library here actually had a decent selection of books in English so we set out to explore what they had to offer. I was so impressed! First we found a huge section of books in English for adults. And then we ventured into the children's area. They have books in English for all ages of children - picture books and chapter books grouped by ages. I was thrilled, but that wasn't what struck me. What struck me is that the library carries children's books in MANY languages. Turkish, Thai, Hungarian... the list goes on and on. I was amazed!!
Here is the section that includes German (Tyska) and Vietnamese books...
And these sections include Persiska, Polska and Somali...
On the way home from the library.
Here's a band playing on a roof top in one of the central squares in town.
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