My informant’s mother is Swedish and her father is black. To keep in touch with her mother’s culture she learned Swedish as a child and visits her family members in Sweden every summer.  Her grandmother lives in the countryside in Sweden and traditionally whenever my informant would go visit they would go to the forest to pick svamps, which is the Swedish word for mushrooms.

Picking mushrooms in the forest is a common activity in Sweden presumably because Mushroom’s are often used in Swedish cooking. In modern times, it probably reminds people of the time when their ancestors were alive and they picked and gathered all of the food they ate rather than buying it. Mushrooms are also a food that reflects the lush and moist terrain of Sweden.

My informant sees this activity as a fun pastime that reminds her of her Swedish heritage and bonding time with her Grandmother.