Comparisons

Well I've been home in the U.S. visiting for five days so far. It's a very unique experience being able to see the world I grew up in and knew for the first 23 years of my life with very familiar, and yet very new eyes. Part of me falls right back into going about my city just the way I always did, and another part of me looks at the place with brand new eyes.

For instance, all of the cars here seem huge to me now; not only huge, but excessively so. No wonder the U.S. alone uses up 25% of the world's oil. Isn't that a sad little piece of knowledge? Living in Sweden, I believe, has really turned me on to the green culture. Rather than driving my car to my friend's house who lives in the same neighborhood, I now ride a family bike. It just seems so wrong to me to look around and see the majority of vehicles being so wasteful, with people blatantly not caring about the planet. At this rate, we certainly will kill it and all its beauty.

Even though I know I have had a bone or two to pick with Swedish manners (or lack thereof in several cases), I am easily more irritated with Americans. At least more often. Or maybe I just focus on wherever I am at at any given time and it seems like the home I'm in is the more irritating one. To materialize these ramblings, here are a couple of mini-rants I have about Americans.

1. LEARN TO DRIVE. Today I was on the highway and I checked my rear view mirror and a woman in a van was perhaps only 15 feet (or approximately 4.5 meters) from my rear bumper. Had I put on my brakes for any reason she would have rear ended me. Not only was she that close to me, she stayed there for at least 10 minutes. Not 5 minutes later, a massive pickup truck cut me off while exiting the highway.

2. DON'T BE RIDICULOUS. While eating dinner with my mom this evening we had the local news on in the background. The news anchor moved on to a story of a woman (I believe in California) who was suing McDonald's because she didn't like/agree with how they were marketing their Happy Meals. Do you really have nothing better to do than sue a massive company because you don't like the way they are marketing one of their products?

I believe I have become used to the quiet, sensible way that Swedes tend to conduct themselves. At least that is mostly how I have come to experience Sweden. It's amazing to be able to look at the U.S. with new (dare I say foreign?) eyes. I am much more critical, and yet a part of me still loves the U.S. because I will always, at least partially, identify as American. It's just inside of me. Nevertheless, I fear I will never be able to hold back judgment on this country, however minute the critique. Nothing can improve if it is never critiqued.

Part of me already misses Sweden. Which I take as a good sign - it's become home for me. At first I struggled with having to choose a home, but now I've embraced that I can have two. No matter which country I'm in, a part of me will feel at home, and the other part will miss the other home. I've had to come to terms with this, especially because it was my choice to split myself, so to say, in the first place.

Be on the look out for more post to come! I'm sure I'll post some more before I fly back over the pond. Who knows, maybe I'll have some more rants, too. ;-)

PS - Happy Midsommar to all of you in Sweden! I'm truly sad to miss out on it, but I will have to just wait til next year.

Swedish Scaredy Cat

This past week there have been several thunderstorms, and I have to say, I have loved it! Finally Sweden got some "dangerous" weather. It's really pretty safe here, besides the boatloads of snow we got over the winter. Even the roads stay pretty safe because Swedes are masters of keeping the roads clear, unlike central Ohio. With the thunderstorms came humidity. At first I was excited because it was in the evening and the smell in the air even reminded me of home. Then the days followed and I became crabby - who dare make the air so wet that 22C feels terrible?! The whole business with your clothes sticking to you and whatnot. I've already become spoiled by the dry Swedish climate. It'll be interesting to see how I react to summer in Ohio when I step off the plane this coming Friday. It'll be probably around 30 - 35C and super, super humid! In any case I'm looking forward to visiting home for 3 weeks.

So last night J and I went out to dinner at a local pub with M and her Swede. It was nice, although I think it'll take me quite a while to get over just how expensive eating out is here in Sweden. Over seven months here and I still cringe when I look at the prices. Thankfully we don't eat out often at all, at least in any sit down place like last night where it's practically robbery for a burger and fries.

After we finished eating J was really tired (as always on a Friday night) so we said our goodbyes around 9pm or so. He wanted some of that tasty lösgodis I mentioned in a previous post, so we went to our favorite store for that since, after all, it was Friday night. I decided to pay for the candy and so when the girl (around my age, I'd say) at the cash register told me 82kr in Swedish, I obligingly gave her my 100kr bill. Now, whenever I interact with any Swedes in public I suppose you could say I flip my "Swedish switch" to "On" mode. For most public interactions with Swedes I can understand and respond in Swedish now. For some reason, this girl blurted something to me so fast and in my mind I tried to replay the sounds to understand exactly what it was she said or asked me, and before I knew it "I'm sorry?" popped out of my mouth while smiling, of course. Whenever I revert to English I always kind of smile because I feel somewhat guilty/embarrassed for having to use English! However, this girl was so surprised to suddenly be confronted with the need to use English, she blubbered something else unintelligible, got into her cash drawer, handed me my change with visibly shaking hands, and then said "Thank you!" really fast and threw the receipt away without asking me if I wanted it. J even stepped up to try and save it by saying something to the girl really fast in Swedish but she was so shocked/scared that she just gave me the change without responding to him.

I was astonished at how afraid she was to suddenly have to speak English. I'm glad I was able to keep my face composed! As soon as we were out of the store I said to J, "Did you see how scared she was??" because I thought maybe I was the only one to notice. But he completely agreed with me and could not believe at all how frightened she was by me and how her hands were actually shaking! We had a really, really good laugh in the car on the way home. For once I was the one who wasn't afraid of the Swedes (about language) - they were afraid of me! I almost felt guilty for scaring her so badly. J even said he didn't catch what she said to me in Swedish, so I felt better for not understanding her the first time she spoke. Usually I can catch simple things. Of course when she began fiddling with the change in the drawer I immediately figured out that she wanted just 2 more kronor so that she could give me an even 20 bill back, but by then she was chaotically counting out my 18kr.

It's quite interesting gauging how different Swedes will react to an American speaking English. At first I used to be so shy of speaking English in public, it made me feel guilty/embarrassed and of course it made me stand out! Which I really don't like. I'm completely over that fear now. And besides, like I said, I can usually get by in Swedish now. But it's always interesting to see the different reactions. Sometimes you can tell they get really excited to be able to show off their English skills to an American. There was a woman in one of the local post shops, it also happens to be a gift/decoration store, who overheard my friend M and I once talking about something and the woman jumped in on our conversation in English. Then there are times like yesterday where they are so shocked to be confronted by English that they become tongue tied and super shy!

If anything, J and I had a really good laugh.

Summer is here!

Things are moving along!

First of all it's June, officially a summer month here in Sweden! Hooray for summer!

I have passed course C in SFI with flying colors, yay! On to course D! I'm especially excited to have received new books/study material. Already they've appeared much more difficult so I'll be learning a lot again!

Other big news: I'm traveling home for 3 weeks!! I'll be gone mid-June to early July. So I may not have many (or any!) posts here within that time period as I will not be in Sweden and thus not be able to blog about Swedish life! But we shall see. One thing I am somewhat sad about is I'm going to miss my first opportunity for Swedish Midsommar. I guess no dancing around a giant pole and eating lots of herring for me. I could always belatedly eat herring, I suppose. However, I will get to celebrate the 4th of July and my birthday while at home! So I guess it's a trade off.

On yet another note, we have a 5 day weekend here in Sweden! I'm sure some people don't have the glorious 5 days and will actually have to work tomorrow. Today is a national holiday called Ascension Day, or Kristi himmelsfärds dag. Again, my suggestions for Google Chrome or Google Translate. Tomorrow is just a normal day, but the Swedes have dubbed it klämdag, or literally translated, squashed-in or clamped-in day. It makes sense if you think about it after you've had a bit of a chuckle. It's the day squashed in between the holiday and the weekend. Some will be required to work. But if you can, might as well take the day off!

Also this coming Monday is Sweden's National Day, basically their version of the 4th of July for Americans. I don't think they celebrate it nearly as robustly as we celebrate our 4th of July, but I'll be sure to report back later on that one. I say hooray for a 5 day weekend!

This past Monday J had a meeting in Göteborg in the morning, so I decided to tag along and plug along with my Swedish books while he was in his meeting. In the afternoon we spent some time in the city. The weather was beautiful and warm. Here are a couple of pictures to leave with you:


This is the ferry boat you take across the...harbor?, so that you can get to the other side and go downtown from the island we were on. They're basically like city buses but for water!


As we were walking to the ferry landing I noticed the big ship going by. I realized I've never seen a cruise ship up close. Many run out of Göteborg to go to Denmark or Norway or the such.


I liked the houses perched on the giant granite rock. These miniature mountains come out of the ground everywhere on the west coast.


The nice, brand new apartment complexes in the Sannegården area of the city.




There are many of these little canals in the city. Little tourist boats called Paddan go around and under all the really low bridges telling about the city. J and I may like to go on one sometime.


These last 3 pictures are of the Haga district. It's a fun old part of town where there are many shops and little cafes to sit out and enjoy the weather or have a nice fika.

SFI, Allsång and Eurovision

Hej allihopa! Idag har jag avslutat C-provet för SFI. Or, today I finished the test for Course C in SFI. Back in February I was placed in the C/D course of SFI, which was the highest level. I decided this month to take the big test for course C, and I finally finished it this morning. Last week, those of us taking the test this month, we took the computer portion of the test which consisted of listening/understanding and reading/understanding. Yesterday I completed the writing portion, and this morning I finished the speaking portion. It's such a big weight off my shoulders! Never has it taken me over a week to complete a test. Only in Sweden, as some of us would say.

I have a pretty good feeling that I did well on all of the test, if not perfectly. I already know I did quite well on the computer portion, the teachers have already let us all know about that. We'll see how quickly they give the results for the rest of the test! I can't wait to hear how I did. It would be so nice to move on to D and then finish SFI!

As for a belated mention of Eurovision, I rather liked partaking in the tradition. America has nothing like it, except for maybe American Idol. But that isn't the same, it's just within the country. I had such a feeling of unity while watching it because you know the entire continent with like 40 other countries are all watching and participating in the same thing you are. I have no idea why Azerbaijan won. I didn't think it was that special and actually preferred Ireland's fun little song. I'll definitely be tuning in next year!

Tonight J and I plan to go to a local bar/pub/club with my friend M and her sambo to participate in the first allsång of the year. You can open the link in Google Chrome and it'll translate to English for you English speakers, or just copy/paste it into Google Translate. Oh the wonders of Google.

In a nutshell, allsång is where a live band will sing songs that practically everyone already knows so that everyone can participate. They do this at this local bar apparently twice a month, or maybe even every Friday, during the summer months. In the paper last week they listed all the songs that they will be singing and I was pleasantly surprised with just how many English songs there are. I am also surprised that the general Swedish population knows the words to this song and this song from King Louie in the Jungle Book. I'm beginning to suspect a giant love the Swedes have for Disney! In any case I'm excited to go relax and have some fun singing with some friends at a bar! What a great Friday night event.

There is a massive Allsång that happens in Stockholm each year in Skansen. I think maybe I would like to go to that sometime, it would definitely be something to remember. Apparently they have it several times in the summer, too.

On another note, it seems I must make my comments about the weather in each post. So without further ado, I must say I wonder where all the warmth went here in Västra Götaland! It's been around 10C or so most of the day and then maybe it gets up to 15C. The wind has been absolutely awful and it's been constantly alternating between sunny and cloudy several times in a day. It's as if it tries to tease us. I will say it's rather strange to have the sun rising at 4:30 each morning and not setting until 10 at night. I like having all the sun, but sometimes I wake up at 5am from the sun and birds and it already looks like it does at 9am in Ohio. I won't complain, though, because soon enough fall and winter will be coming back. I can't believe it's almost June, and with that comes Midsommar! I'm sure I'll have my fill of herring and the like. I'll take any excuse to get together with friends!

Hope all is well with those of you outside of Sweden! Let's hope this Iceland volcano doesn't cause nearly as much disruption as the one last year did. And well wishes to those of you who may know anyone in the U.S. who has been affected by all those crazy storms and tornadoes. Until next time!

Swedish Sweet Tooth

I never used to be a huge fan of candy. Sure, when I was a kid we used to love any time we were allowed to pick out a candy bar at the checkout line. But in America you just kind of grow out of the candy phase. "Candy is for children." I never looked twice at the candy aisle in stores in the States.

Not so in Sweden.

I sit here writing this post eating a few pieces of candy from our lösgodis bag we happened to snag last night when we made a quick run to the store. Translated, it means loose candy. I remember getting a bag or two like this when I was way younger with my grandma, and I really do mean it when I say a time or two. I can't even count, having lived in Sweden for 6 months now, the number of times J and I have bought a bag of lösgodis. It's as if every store has its selection and you just go at it. Kids, adults, anybody. Swedes even designate Saturday, or lördag, as candy day. All children get to have candy one day a week, on Saturday.

On another note, the weather has been absolutely beautiful lately here in Västra Götaland, or more specifically (and a now extinct name) Skaraborg. For those of you who don't know, Sweden is divided up into 21 (I think?) "counties" or "landscapes". It's difficult to translate. Think of them kind of as states, those of you from the U.S. Anyway, there have been unending amounts of sunshine and temperatures have been in the low 20s C (aka low 70s F). After such a long, harsh, cooold winter, it feels glorious! And dare I even say it, hot. I'm almost having a hard time adjusting to not wearing a sweater or anything. It makes me feel almost naked. I'm not complaining!

J and I have taken to walking around town more frequently (partly due to his job having a "step competition", or they wear pedometers every day and whoever gets the most steps within 5 weeks gets bragging rights.) Here are some shots I've taken of the lovely town of Skövde:


The main church right next to the main town square downtown.


Right behind the church is a several hundred years old cemetery - there are about 15 quite old headstones that you can just walk up to.


This was the oldest headstone - placed there in 1662!


Pretty flowers and fountain in the park behind the church and graveyard.


The main square downtown.


One night last week we decided to skirt the giant Volvo plant area in town, it was creepy at this time in the evening! It was like being on Mars, it was so deserted everywhere.


This is a picture I took of our apartment building. The sky was so blue that day!


Beautiful springtime in the big park across the street. I love walking there.

It's been nice to be able to go outside and not have to put on five layers. It's nice to see everyone else out and about, too. The winter by no means kept people from going about life as usual. But suddenly now I see things like old people riding bikes to and from the store, or kids in the music high school sitting outside under trees and just playing music together like new-age hippies. Not to mention all the Swedish girls laying out in the park in a bikini sun-tanning. Swedes will take advantage of whatever nice weather they can get, because let's be honest, it won't get much warmer than it already is all summer. We'll probably be lucky if it hits 30C (or mid 80s F).

Nothing else is new in the world of blue and yellow. Good weather, still attending SFI, still working my part time job, still volunteering to help kids learn English, and still meeting an older Swedish woman once a week to help her with her English. Nothing too crazy. As the Swedes say, "Lagom är bäst!"

Easter, fashion, and summer on its way

I'll start off with some pictures of the past week, before I forget. =)


Just two of my Easter decorations - I posted a pic in the previous post of the bushes in the big square downtown. These two pictures are my own renditions for a party J and I hosted this past Saturday.




We went into a nearby little wooded area to pick up some twigs for my decorations and I was just so enchanted by the grass being covered in these charming little white flowers.


Last week my friend M and I decided to get some fika at one of the cafes on the main town square, it was so lovely and warm out, I could almost get a tan!


More public Easter decorations.


I felt I had to post this shot just to show how many, if not most, people in Sweden appear to be straight out of some catalogue, like H&M or something.

Living here has made me so fashion conscious. I wear pretty much only skinny jeans now, and nearly cringe when I look at my American-made boot leg style jeans sitting in my closet. This is pretty much my signature look these days. Which is also many of the Swedes' signature look as well. Me being of European descent, I blend right in. Until I open my mouth, none of the Swedes would even know I wasn't one of them!

The weather has been lovely, to say the least. With some sadness I might even venture to say that it would actually do us some good to have some rain. It's been weeks since we had our last truly rainy day. I'm sure all the new leaves and green grass would love some rain. But for now, I'll take all the sunshine and warmth I can get. I still feel almost naked walking outside without a real jacket on. Earlier today J and I rode our bikes downtown and back. It was so nice, it reminded me of being a kid.

This past weekend was both fun and tiring. You would think a four day weekend would mean a lot of rest, but no, J and I just had to throw another party. We booked our apartment company's festlokal and had a barbecue/themed Easter party with some good friends. Needless to say it was a bunch of fun. The next day was spent recovering. And then Monday came along and we did a whole bunch of nothing. I suppose you could say we did get some rest, although the first half to 3/4 of the weekend felt busy and hectic. Planning parties and throwing them takes a lot of effort! Who knows, maybe we'll even get one together in a couple of months for midsommar. For those of you who don't know what it is, the Swedes celebrate midsommar, or the summer solstice by throwing large barbecues and just having parties, or so I hear. It's probably a lot like the 4th of July in the States, except without fireworks. But with giant poles that people dance around. To get back to our Easter weekend, it was good fun, but I'm glad to keep moving forward towards summer. It feels like winter just ended and yet summer is nearly here, the temperatures have been near 20C each day, and I've been told Swedish summer usually hovers around 25C. Spring and fall seem to get the shaft on length here.

J and I have been throwing around the idea of attending Peace & Love, basically a giant music festival that lasts for five days at the end of June/beginning of July. If you visit that link, you'll see they've got some pretty big names booked. It could be a lot of fun! Plus a couple of our friends who live in Stockholm are considering going as well. I'll let you all know if anything develops on that front.

Well I can't think of anything else truly exciting to entice you all with further. I think I've included enough Swedish culture tidbits to keep you satisfied for now. Hope your Easter weekends were relaxing and enjoyable! Here is a belated Glad Påsk! (or Happy Easter!)

The grass is turning green

And the trees are beginning to have buds! I know, I know, you guys might all be getting sick of my mention of spring in every post I do now. But spring is apparently a slow, slow process here in Sweden. Right now in Ohio I'm sure all the blossoms have bloomed on the trees and little leaves might even be all on them. Here, the grass is finally starting to not look utterly dead, and the trees have the tiniest of buds on them. It's exciting. Not to mention the weather being anywhere from 10 - 17C this past week or two. That's low 50s to low 60s Fahrenheit for you folks across the pond. Yesterday J and I walked downtown to have some ice cream because it was just such a nice day outside. I didn't even have to wear my jacket.

This past weekend my friend M and I went to an SFI classmate's home out in the middle of nowhere to ride horses and just hang around. It was great to be able to spend time with someone outside of class where you only get to see one side of them. She showed us the farm/whatever you would call it that she lives on. They have horses, alpacas, chickens, a rooster, and even some peacocks. Not to mention she showed us a pond with a boatload of frogs in it!


One of the frogs was jumping about in the dusty road, and my friend M decided to screech and shove me aside like she was saving me from a cobra. Then I saw this cute frog trying to hop out of the dust.


I mentioned J and I walking yesterday, and I saw such a pretty lonely daffodil. I tried to get a nice shot, but apparently phone cameras still aren't very up to snuff.



Not much else is new in the world of Sweden. Spring really is the biggest happening. All the bikes are coming out (although they never all went away, crazy Swedes ride their bikes in the dead of winter). When I look out at the playground from my kitchen window, there are almost always children playing in it. I never knew how many kids we had in the neighborhood until now.

This coming weekend is Easter weekend. The Swedes get "Long Friday" off and "Second Day Easter", aka Easter Monday. They actually have names from Wednesday through Monday.

- Dymmelonsdag is the first day, the Wednesday before Easter. Dymmel doesn't have a direct translation, but it comes from dymblar, which are wooden sticks that were placed in church bells on this day starting quite some time ago. They replaced the metal at this time to create a quiet, discreet sound rather than the normal loud clanging.
- Skärtorsdag is the second day, the Thursday before Easter. This is known by some as Maundy Thursday.
- Långfredag, which is translated to Long Friday, instead of Good Friday.
- Påskafton, the Saturday before Easter Sunday, which roughly translates to Easter Eve.
- Påskdagen, Easter Sunday. It translates to Easter Day.
- Annandagpåsk, or Second Day Easter.

Here is a picture of typical Easter celebrations. I took this shot in the big town square downtown.


Not only do they have these in public spaces, but live branches with synthetic feathers glued to them are for sale in all the flower stores, and even normal stores. While grocery shopping yesterday I noticed many on display and for sale. It's a very colorful and fun way to celebrate spring/Easter.

The Swedes apparently throw tons of parties or get togethers over Easter weekend. And why not? It's the first weekend of the year where the weather is bound to be pretty good, and it's a four day weekend. Who wouldn't want to throw a good barbecue with friends in the warming weather? J and I are tentatively planning to throw one of our own, and hopefully we can book the apartment company's festlokal. A festlokal is kind of like what in America we would call a clubhouse. The apartment complex has a big area you can book for an evening to throw a party of any sort. Ours isn't in our building, but it is somewhere nearby in the neighborhood. Swedes tend to use them a lot more than Americans, I think. I've never heard of anyone actually ever using the clubhouse of their apartment complex for a party. But maybe that's just me.

I should probably study and work more in my SFI textbooks. I want to start picking up my pace a little bit, and it simply requires discipline at home. In class we rarely get time anymore to just work through our books. On Friday we didn't even have real class and went to the local stadsteater (city theater) and saw a local high school's music production. I thought it was rather good/entertaining for high school kids. What got me thinking was how talented they all seemed to be. In my high school there could be people who were pretty terrible at some instruments or in choir, but this whole show (90 kids) was great, talent-wise. I think it's because here in Sweden you begin to specialize in high school. When you attend gymnasiet (high school) you choose a track to take. For instance, J took the track that dealt specifically with science and math because he wanted to go into engineering when university time came around. It's an interesting way to approach education. On one hand, I think it's great that you can begin to hone your skills so early. And yet the other part of me thinks "I still don't know what I want to do with my life, how is a teenager going to know?" But apparently the system works. To get back to my original thought, all the kids were probably so great because they go to a specific musikgymnasiet, so they all focus on singing, playing an instrument and the like.

This Friday is Långfredag, so no class there either! Two short weeks in a row. One could perhaps say I'm finally getting spring fever. I really hope there isn't a surprise dump of snow in our near future, as I've heard threatened from J. He's told me it can even snow in May. I've got my fingers crossed!