For college, I went to Bryn Mawr, a women's college outside of Philadelphia. When I moved to Memphis, there were 12 alums in town, who had never met. I appointed myself Memphis Club president and tried to get us together once a year for strawberries and champagne on May Day (the rites of spring kind). COVID messed us up, these last few years. But we at least talk about getting together, each year. And a few years back, when the much larger Spelman club invited us to a lunch catered by one of their sisters, and the 50 member-strong Wellesley club invited us to help welcome Rhodes College's first woman president, two or three of us went along.
When I was planning my trip to Stockholm, I checked the Bryn Mawr Alumnae directory, to see if any Mawrters were around. I found seven alums living in Stockholm. All five with email addresses responded to my messages asking for advice on how to find housing. They also all said that they hadn’t met each other but would like to, now.
So, on a sunny day in May, we all met for “fika." When you look up the definition of fika, it is so much more than just a cup of coffee with friends. In Sweden, it’s an important and common way to gather and share time together. Fika seemed just perfect for meeting up with Bryn Mawr alums. One pointed out afterwards that we didn’t even get to a chat about our time at Bryn Mawr! We just jumped right in, as though we were all long-time friends. And it really felt like we were. I was especially pleased when one, from the Class of 1984, called the name of her classmate and my fellow Memphis Chapter alum, who I would have been having a May Day tea with, if I’d been home in Memphis! I've had so many people welcome me and help me get settled, on this trip to Sweden. I'm so glad that I can count these women as friends, too.
Comments