God Jul!

Merry Christmas! Or as we say here in Sweden, God Jul! (pronounced: Good Yooool)

I spent this special holiday with the Brandts and their family on the island of Gotland. I had such a wonderful experience, and now I get to share a piece of it with you!

Swedes celebrate their biggest moment on Christmas Eve; this is when the whole family comes together to eat, watch Disney cartoons, sing and dance, and this is when their Santa comes to greet and give gifts to all.  

Christmas Eve we took a walk around the historic village of Visby. I hadn’t been there since this summer and it was great being able to see it again but this time with Christmas decorations out, (but unfortunately, no snow). We eventually came to a church, where the feeling of holiday spirit was at its highest for me. I lit a candle for my grandfathers among other relatives and hoped that somehow they were able to enjoy this day with me. After about an hour spent in town, we headed back to Mormor’s (grandma’s) to watch Disney cartoons and fika. Those both are serious Swedish traditions. The watching of Mickey and the gang is a part of Christmas here, and if you haven’t watched it, it’s not truly Christmas. They have a special Christmas program at 3 o’clock and it shows a collection of the classics. It was great watching those again, most of them I haven’t seen since I was an itty-bitty.

When it was time for the big celebration, we all headed to the farm house and joined in the rest of the family for a big feast and for merry-making. They had set up a big, long table in the dining room and all 18 people were able to sit around it. The Christmas table was filled with all sorts of fun food; hard boiled eggs and caviar, red beet salad with egg crumbles on top, hard and soft bread with cheese, all sorts of herring, Johnson’s Temptation which is composed of potatoes au gratin and anchovies, ham, potatoes, home-brewed ale, shnapps, Julmust, and many other things that reminded me dearly that I am in Sweden for this holiday. (And recipes that I plan on bringing home with me for next Christmas in the states)

As you can see from the videos I have posted, during dinner there were several songs sang and cheers made. This part of the dinner really reminded me of the crayfish feast that I had attended this summer!

After dinner we participated in singing and dancing traditional Swedish songs! I have also posted a few videos of this, I found it quite fun and amazing that they do these things… I have never experienced anything like this before, and I would love to do something like this again! 

Christmas morning was quite a difference for me. I woke up with the urge to run downstairs and conduct the usual Christmas morning ritual of seeing what's in the stocking, and what is under the tree. It was a strange realization when I remembered where I was, so far from home, and that we weren't going to be doing the typical American celebration. 

For a moment or two I was saddened by the fact that I wasn't with family back home, but that I remembered that I had such a wonderful time the night before and that I need to enjoy every moment I have here. 

Christmas Day was also spent with family and loved ones, but the focus on the holiday was gone. I took a nice walk with Alicia and her cousin Isabelle, we walked along the coast and walked on a pier. I still can't get used to living on the water, it amazes me with every sight! 

Hope your holidays went well, and wishing you the best for the new year! 

Mon ami, Paris

Paris- a city of culture, history, fine cuisine, fashion, and romance. That's where I found myself this weekend. 

By the time Maja, Greta, and I found our way through airports and metro stations to our hotel the first night, it was dark and time for dinner. Our 'camp' for the next few days was located in a cozy corner right off of St. Michael's Boulevard, and it was surrounded by a multitude of cafes, restaurants, shops, and movie theaters, (Not to mention how centralized it was compared to all of the big Parisian monuments).  

We went to a restaurant that was very close to our hotel, and to our luck it was exactly what we were craving for! Total French cuisine- veal liver, steak tartar, escargot, and many other mouth-watering dishes. I split a plate of escargot with Greta, I had never tried snail before and I was sort of worried about how it was going to go down. I was imagining snail to be all slime, and to kind of take on the texture of an oyster. Greta was telling me before the dish came that she used to work for a restaurant and jokingly said that the snails were going to be alive when we were going to eat them. She let me panic for a few moments and then told me the real story of how the snails were long-dead before hand and that they are seasoned with garlic and re-stuffed into the shells. 

As our plate of mollusks arrived and the sweet smell of garlic filled my nostrils, a certain excitement rushed through my veins. We were given two cutlery tools, a fork and a clasp. I smiled, dug out a snail, and plopped it into my mouth like a candy. It was DELICIOUS! No slime, no grit, just garlicy perfection in a shell. I was pleasantly surprised and greatly enjoyed gobbling up the rest of the platter with Greta. 

The rest of the meal included freshly-baked bread, local wine, I split a plate of veal liver (YUM) and a plate of lamb with Greta, all three of we girls shared a chocolate mousse, and ended the perfectly rounded meal with a black coffee. If this meal is all that I would have had in Paris, I would have still been 100% satisfied. Have I forgotten to mention that our waiter had the stereo-typical French mustache? 

The next morning we awoke to rain. Nothing better to break the gloom of clouds in my opinion than a nice, bread filled French breakfast! With appetites curbed, Greta, Maja, and I started our short walk to the famous Notre Dame Cathedral. The inside and the outside of this church are simply magnificent. The colors emitted by the intricate stained glass and the pure height and size of this structure is breath-taking. The feeling of this Gothic cathedral really does put off an essence that there is something 'bigger' out there. It amazes me that architects and engineers hundreds of years ago could construct such a long-lasting, massive, artistic feat.   

After some time spent in awe in the Notre Dame, we headed down several shopping streets in the surrounding area. Unfortunately things in Paris are a bit pricey, and we did not do the Christmas shopping that we thought we could. 

A few hours spent browsing through high-fashion designer specialty shops, and we were ready for a nice cup of tea. We took the metro to the Mosque of Paris, (built in 1921), where we were not allowed in due to it being the day of prayer, but instead dove into the cafe located on the other side of the structure. We drank honey tea in a room crowded with all sorts of people, but with the interior design taking us to somewhere else... completely different from what we had been experiencing lately. I almost half-expected it to be blazing-hot outside when we stepped out of the cafe. 

We then ventured into more small streets in search of a special market street. We found it, and bought supplies for an indoor-picnic. Browsing through the meat-deli, I was surprised to find pheasants and chickens plucked from the neck down, but with their heads still feathered and completely in-tact. I suppose that either people use the head for cooking, or it is simply for style. With grocery bags filled with good bread, cheese, olives, wine, and other food items, we found our way back to our hotel. 

After our picnic we decided that it would be fabulous if we went to the movie theater next door and watched an old film. 

This theater had a few retro movies playing, we watched Henry Adams and the Million Pound Note with Gregory Peck in it! It was adorable, I love old movies! 

We woke up to a gorgeous blue-sky day on Saturday. Once again, pleased with a bread breakfast we three girls took a train ride to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica. This beautiful place of worship was perhaps my favorite thing I saw in Paris. The shape and the colors were so pristine, and the view of Paris from the top of the hill was to die for. There was a harpist playing on the stairs nearing the entrance, to add effect to this magical place. When we got inside, there was a service being provided. Nuns were singing and as the lights shone in from the stained glass, a priest said his service. We sat in on the service for awhile, and then walked around a Christmas market which had placed itself conveniently alongside. It was at this Christmas market where we purchased nutella crepes and vin chaud (hot wine). We browsed our way along the market and eventually found ourselves in a artist square. Artists had placed themselves all around this square and were painting, and selling their art. It was neat to see them in progress, and I was reminded that I was truly in Paris. 

Greta had had her heart set on eating couscous at a specific restaurant for several weeks, and this was very close to the Basilica and the artist square. We eventually found it and once again delighted our taste buds and pleasantly bloated our stomachs. 

After lunch we did a little more store-hopping but due to a change in the weather, headed back to our hotel for the day. 

We didn't have to venture out too far from camp to find a hopping restaurant filled with 'young' people. This is where we had our last dinner. Our hotel was also located in the so-called 'student' area of Paris, and we witnessed this Saturday night. I have a feeling that this crowd of students were ones who were more into the arts, and perhaps the movies because they were all going to the theaters later, which were filled with very artistic, indie, and retro movies. 

Sunday morning, once again we woke up blessed with a sunny day. Our flight didn't leave until 3 p.m. so we decided that we could indeed make a trip to the famous Eiffel Tower. Just as everyone imagines, this famous landmark towers over everything around, and it is the final step in creating the feel that you are in Paris. 

I had a wonderful trip to Paris, and I hope to all those who are reading this will have the chance to experience this interesting city like I did! Don't leave anything out! (Especially the escargot, you HAVE to try it!) 

It's a week before Christmas, start the countdown! 

'Till next time! 

"The Living Moment Is Everything"

This weekend I had the chance to explore the wonderful city of Helsingborg again and also to show someone else the wonders of this beautiful area I can temporarily call home. 

Helsingborg has so many things to do! I really appreciate how centralized the town is so everything that you could want- from shopping streets to many different restaurants and cafes- is all in very close range and easy to walk to. Not to mention the fact that each street and alley has a cute European design that I am still not getting used to seeing, and the sea is almost always in sight. 

Ivar came down to visit this weekend! We did tons of things, the question is where to begin! We spent the weekend touring the streets of Helsingborg, finding picture perfect places, dogging in little cafes for a fika, going out to dinner, seeing and participating in the night life, figuring out bus and train tables (to a fault) and generally having a good time. 

One problem with taking the bus all the time is that unfortunately the bus does not always cooperate with the times that you want. But this fact ended up a plus for us, because while waiting for the next bus home, Ivar and I went into an ICA (a grocery store) and spontaneously bought a gingerbread house set! As you can see from the picture below, it turned out wonderfully!  

Maria Park (where I live) is a very special area. It is just far enough out of town to where I'm not bothered with the noise of the city, but it is also close enough to where we aren't secluded. 

About a 15 minute walk away from my house, is Sofiero Castle. It must have been a summer getaway for the royals, and at one point a certain king put a lot of thought and effort into a most beautiful garden surrounding the building. Unfortunately the inside of the castle is closed off for the season, but all year round people can explore the expansive and intricate gardens. 

Even though it is December, the garden is still green and somewhat full of life. It's must be magic... or am I really in Sweden? 

Blessed with a sunny day, Ivar and I took a long walk along the beach into town. Along the way, we saw many cute houses and properties... what a great place to live!

All and all, it was a fabulous weekend. This weekend starts off many other fantastic weekends to come! Next weekend is Paris, the weekend after that is Christmas which I will be returning to the island of Gotland with the Brandt family, and the weekends after that is the start of 2012 and I will be off to the Canary Islands! I'm very ready for what is ahead but I am also thankful for what I am experiencing now. "The living moment is everything" after all. 

Good Times

December is a month that brings homesickness to many whom find themselves traveling abroad. I've experienced that with a few of our foreign exchange students so I'm mentally preparing myself for this horrible feeling. Luckily for me, I am going to be able to keep so busy and I am going to soak up so many new traditions that hopefully I can keep my mind off how far away from home I am this holiday season. 

This weekend was full of fun! Friday night I went out with my friend Caylie and a few other friends. First we went to a pool hall that was decorated in the American Western style, and they even had Chicago Bulls Basketball Jerseys! What I want to know is how in the world do these Swedes find this stuff? After a round or two of pool, and a few tequilas later, we all headed to a dance club. Apparently this weekend was some kind of transvestite party at the club we went to... That was a shocker to find! Ha! 

Today was actually the second advent... but due to hazardous weather conditions last weekend, the winter festival celebrating the first advent was moved to this weekend. The Helsingborg advent festival included the crowning of a Lucia, (which is the girl with the candles on her head singing in the movie above),  a light show, and food. 

Traditional Swedish foods around this time of year are lussekatter (saffron buns), glogg (a kind of .... warm grape juice.. not wine.. and it has hard alcohol in it) , gingerbread cookies, julmust (Christmas soda), and rice pudding. 

I went downtown and met up with Martin and Caroline, we sat in a cozy cafe and drank some glogg while waiting for the Christmas light show to start. 

After the exhibit, we walked around the market... and we ran into Caylie and Eric! (As seen in the video below)

I ended the evening excursion at the Brandt residence, sitting cozily watching a Christmas T.V. show (I could understand it!!!) And eating those delicious traditional foods mentioned above. 

I think I'm really going to enjoy spending the holidays here, but of course I miss everyone back home and I love you all! 

This week is my finals week for the online classes I'm taking, but thank goodness I'm not stressing too much, I think I'll be just fine! 

The rest of this month will be filled with excitement, including going to Paris, back to Gotland, and then of course the start of the new year and heading to the Canary Islands! Can't wait! 

Winter Darkness Made Light

With barely eight hours of light a day and that time diminishing every week, it is easy to feel the darkness of winter overcome everything else.
The way Swedes combat this issue is with strong alcohol of course, and also by celebrating many different festivities with light. Every house here has a star, representing the morning star, and advent candles displayed in the windows. It seems magical when walking through the streets at night here, so many lights are adorned through the streets and of course with every window filled with at least a candle, the light makes its way through the darkness.

Today was the first day of advent. I have never celebrated advent before so it was interesting to learn. To learn what each candle represents, click on this link:

http://www.msgr.ca/msgr-2/ADVENTwreath_01.htm

Looking forward to seeing more and more Christmas time celebrations, including attending a Lucia ceremony, which will be mentioned again later on!

Thanksgiving

We can draw the conclusion by this comical Swedish Chef YouTube clip that Swedes obviously don't know much about the American holidays, so I am here to change that! 

This is actually going to be the first Thanksgiving dinner I have been in complete charge of. During previous years, the most responsibility I had was setting the table and making the mashed potatoes so this year I’m taking a huge step up!

The first thing I had to do was to make a menu. The ambassadorial meal consisted of turkey, a sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy ,stuffing, a green bean casserole, a spinach casserole, strawberry and banana jello with marshmellows on top, corn, cranberry sauce, a nice loaf of bread, a green leafy salad, and for desert, a scrumptious pumpkin pie. Once I put all of these delectable foods on paper, then I had to make a grocery list including all of the items I would need for each and every one of those dishes, and also to translate some of the names into Swedish!  For instance... turkey... can anyone guess what that is in Swedish?... (it's Kalkon!) I had a pretty fun time running around the grocery store trying to find things like sweet potatoes and artichoke hearts! 

The next task on my list that makes my Thanksgiving just a tad more difficult than the norm is the fact that after I got all of the ingredients, I had to convert all the measurements, including size, weight, and temperature! Lots of work but when we were eating it was totally worth it! 

Finally, the big day was here. After a week of planning, watching video after video and reading page after page of how to cook a turkey and keep it moist, and more planning, my test was upon me!

I started preparing the turkey at 10 a.m. on the day of our Thanksgiving. I decided to go with a pesto dry-rub, (it was delightful by the way). I prepared a bed of veggies for the turkey to rest on, and then it was time for the dirty work. (The rest of this paragraph is not for the faint of heart!)  I stuck my hand in and took out the giblets and washed the turkey off, which actually wasn’t too bad. After I made sure that the blood was gone and then the turkey was dry, I commenced with the seasoning. I watched a few videos, like I said before, and the advice I got from them was that I should peel the skin apart from the meat, and rub the mixture in there! After a nice coating of pesto on the meat, I put the excess around the outside of the skin. After THAT Maja helped me brush melted butter over the bird to get a nice crisp skin. I set the oven to 246 degrees Celsius (475 degrees Fahrenheit) and put the turkey, covered, in at that temperature for 20 minutes to crisp the skin and keep in the juices. After that twenty minutes I turned the oven down to 121 degrees Celsius (250 degrees Fahrenheit) and slow-cooked the turkey for 20 minutes per pound. Our turkey was 5 kilo, (Approx 11.5 pounds) so it was in the oven for 3.6 hours!

The turkey being taken care of for a few hours, I had time to prepare for the rest of the evening. I cleaned up the kitchen, decided a place to have the table so that all nine eaters could sit together, and set it all up.

I had written down all of the recipes for the casseroles and everything else on paper, with the converted measurements to ease up the process a bit. I found dishes for each item, and started finding the ingredients and putting them together to again, ease the process. The turkey was going to be ready around 4 pm, so I wanted to start preparing the casseroles so they could be put right into the oven after the turkey came out.. that way the turkey had 30 minutes to rest while the casseroles had 30 minutes to cook. 

When Caroline and Alicia showed up, that’s when I started feeling a little pressure, it was coming down to the final hour and I would now see if all of my planning had paid off. All the women worked together on the finishing touches, making the salad, completing the casseroles, warming up the stuffing, peeling and mashing potatoes, it was a beautiful sight I’m sure!

Time was up for the turkey, now was the scary part! I was sure that something horrible was going to happen, like in the movie Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase and how when they cooked the turkey and it got so dry that it exploded! I was positive that was going to happen to me! Anyway, I couldn’t find out how it was until 30 minutes after it had rested so I waited painfully for that time. With the casseroles in the oven and the turkey resting, the only thing left to do was to wait. During this time I called everyone into the kitchen and told them the story of Thanksgiving. First I told them about the Pilgrims and how they didn’t know how to grow food to last in America, and they were all dying of starvation and sickness that first winter. Then I told about how the kind Native Americans came and showed the Pilgrims how to grow corn. When the Pilgrims had enough to eat, and they survived happily that next season, they decided to throw a feast, Thanking the natives, and God for being alive and well. Then I went on saying how nowadays we celebrate Thanksgiving with the same kind of attitude, how we celebrate what we have, where we are, who we are with, and how thankful I am that I can be in Sweden this year celebrating it with them. 

When everything was done at once, my head was spinning. First we took out the casseroles and set them on the table, then everyone gathered around to watch me cut the turkey. I had also watched a few videos on how to do this properly, and unfortunately for me I was the only one of the group that had any kind of knowledge on how to do this. Before I started, Greta came to me and told me that I could use these BEAUTIFUL knives that’s handles were made of elk antlers. I felt so proud at that moment! My first cut was into the leg. It was going fine until I hit the joint, which I could not for the life of me cut through. Goran stepped in and also tried to cut it but it was impossible, so I took the drumstick in my hand and twisted the leg off! It probably wasn’t the prettiest sight but it got the job done! Then I sliced half of the breast off and started cutting that into small pieces, I snuck-tasted a piece and to my relief it was PERFECT, tasty and moist! With the turkey sliced up and on a platter, we all came to the table and sat down. I told everyone that this is when traditionally we would say a grace and I asked Goran to read off a paper that I had written down a thanksgiving poem on. The ‘grace’ been said, we started filling our plates! Everything was absolutely wonderful, and I think everyone enjoyed… everything! 

And after we started to slow down on the actual meal, round two came with the pumpkin pie, which everyone also enjoyed thoroughly. 

All and all, this was a very successful first, (first for the Swedes, and my first Thanksgiving put on all by myself) Thanksgiving! I'm so happy that I could enjoy my favorite holiday with my Swedish family, and I am so thankful that I have them here with me, and that I have gotten the chance to meet them! 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

International Weekend in Malmö

This weekend I was invited to come and stay with the au pair that lived last year with the family I am living with now, Alexandra from Poland. She is living in Malmö now with her fiancé. The last time I was in Malmö was when I had to go down to the migration office to get my Swedish work visa done. I had not seen much of the city then and I wasn't there for that long so being able to come again and spend a few days was awesome! 
I left Helsingborg by train a little before lunch, and 40 minutes later I was in Malmö! (Not too far!) I lucked out with a beautiful sunny (but brisk) day and after I met up with Alexandra and dropped my things off at her apartment, we took the bikes and started off on a tour of the city! 

Malmö is the third largest city in Sweden, and since it is so far South, there has been a lot of international influence on the city. Besides being constantly changed from Danish to Swedish, since it is so relatively close to the other countries of Europe, it has been exposed to different styles.. etc.

 On our tour around Malmö, Alexandra showed me all sorts of things. First we went to the shopping streets which were bustling in preparation for Christmas and then we biked around different squares and through cute alleys. We passed by a castle and the Maritime Museum, and we stopped by a quaint fresh fish market! (Pictured above) Then we went out to the waterfront to look at the long bridge that connects Sweden to Denmark. I love looking over the water to Denmark, Even when I'm in Helsingborg and it's a clear day it really makes me smile to know that I am in a foreign country, so close to another! 

Saturday night we were invited to an International foods Girl's night. When Alexandra and I were in the shopping area, we went to the Polish shop so she could make a Polish cheesecake, and then we went to the American Store where I bought white bread, peanut butter, and jelly (for sandwiches of course). We met up with some friends and we all took a yellow bus just outside the city to where this night would take place. In total there were four ethnic groups represented. There were girls from Kenya, Poland, Iraq, and then there was me representing America. We all cooked together and listened to fun music, and interesting conversations, and even did a little dancing! It was so much fun, I loved every bit of it! 

After a fantastic evening with wonderful company, Alexandra and I headed back to her apartment and went to bed. The next day Alex had to work, but I was able to sleep in a little. I took the bike out again and tried to tour some more of the city on my own but I was afraid of getting lost so I didn't venture too far. Then I went to the gym where Alex works, at a gym/water park! It was really fun! After she got off work we both biked home again and we made homemade sushi for dinner. All and all this weekend was a ton of fun! And very international as well. 

All Saint's Day

This week I noticed a pretty big difference between Sweden and America, and that difference is how we celebrate Halloween. Halloween to me is October 31^st, celebrating the seasons of fall and the spirits that come with it, acknowledging the deceased and their spirits, dressing up, trick or treating, candy, scary looking food, and scary movies. Even though Swedes do (kind of) celebrate Halloween, this was not a traditional holiday in Sweden until the 1990’s. I asked a few Swedes if they were celebrating Halloween, and all of them replied with “When’s that?”  In Sweden, the major focus this time of year is a traditional holiday called All Saint’s Day.

This weekend I went up to Varberg to join Ivar and his family with celebrating his 19^th birthday. On the night of his birthday we went to the cemetery to visit deceased relatives. At first I didn’t understand why we were going there that night, but I soon learned that we were going to honor them due to the special holiday of All Saint’s Day. As we walked through the graveyard I noticed that many graves had pine branches covering them and candles lit. It was a very beautiful display! But there is more meaning behind the decorations from what I just saw on the surface of course. I looked All Saint’s Day up online and I found that,

 “From the 11th century, 2 November was dedicated to all the dead, of whatever standing, and was called All Souls’ Day. It was widely observed by the populace, with requiems and bell-ringing, but was abolished with the arrival of the Reformation. In 1772, All Saints’ Day was moved to the first Sunday in November and in 1953 to the Saturday between 31 October and 6 November.

In olden days, graves were decorated at Christmas time, when small candle-lit Christmas trees were placed on the graves of young children. In the 20th century, however, people began putting lighted candles on the graves of the departed on All Saints’ Day. This custom originated with wealthy families in towns and cities. But after the Second World War, it spread throughout the country, beginning in the Stockholm region. Churches also began holding services of light to mark the day.” (Agneta)

I also chuckled when I read this:

“In southern Sweden, outdoor work is nearing completion, while in the north, All Saints' Day marks the first day of winter and the traditional start of the alpine ski season.” (Tidholm)

Here is the website that I looked up to find exact facts about All Saint's Day:

http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Traditions/Celebrating-the-Swedish-way/All-Saints-Day/

I really enjoyed being able to experience this holiday, and it is something that I wish to bring home with me as a new tradition for my family. This almost reminded me of Dia De Los Muertos in the Hispanic culture, but less of a party and more simply paying respects towards the deceased. 

Tidholm, Po, and Agneta Lilja. "All Saints' Day." SWEDEN.SE - The Official Gateway to Sweden — Features, Facts, Music, Film. The Swedish Institute, 2004. Web. 06 Nov. 2011. <http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Traditions/Celebrating-the-Swedish-way/All-Saints-Day/>.

Swedish For Immigrants (SFI)

As some of you may have read, I have started taking SFI classes, (Swedish For Immigrants). I've only been to six classes now but I have already passed my first test which was over introductory and elementary things, and I am now learning all about shopping, clothes, and food. I go to class every Monday and Wednesday night from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

In class, the first two hours are spent on self-study. I bought a book (the +46) and I spend my time going from page to page, learning words and doing the exercises and practicing by myself... or with my friend Caylie who is also taking these classes with me. If I need help or have a question, my teacher, Mrs. Gunilla, comes over and helps me out. Like I said, I have already learned how to introduce myself, tell where I'm from, how long I've been here, how old I am, I can tell the time, say the alphabet, count to one million, say all kinds of foods,  talk about the weather, talk about family members, colors... and some other things I'm sure but I'm not recalling them at the moment. 

The third hour is spent talking together as a class about something. Today for instance, we talked more about clothes and played BINGO but in the past we looked through newspapers and had small discussions (mostly the teacher talking and we students smiling and nodding), learned about verb congregation, and even how to change a word into it's plural form (there are FIVE different ways in Swedish)

I took Spanish for four years in High School... and I have to say that by comparing this class to my years in Spanish, I have blown through 2 years of studying in just six class periods. I can't help but ask myself how that is but the answer is very simple. The first day in this class, the teacher didn't speak hardly ANY English to me. The class was taught in Swedish, to Swedish. The common language was Swedish and by god that is what we were going to speak. The reason, for me why I am learning so fast is that I am not having to translate in my head from English to Swedish. By just knowing this is the word for that object or this thought, that's what I say and don't worry about translating it in your head.  

My class is mostly composed of Middle Easterners and Asians, but there are also a few Eastern Europeans in the group as well. It's interesting to ponder how and why these people move here for jobs, or to move away from the war.. if I could have a better conversation with some of them I'm sure their stories would be pretty amazing. 

Another benefit from this course besides learning the language is that I can observe how a class like this is taught. My first career goal is to be an ESL teacher (English as a Second Language) so this is almost like practice for me to be in this class. I thought it would be very difficult to teach someone else a language when neither of you have a common language to describe and explain things with... but the common language is the one that you are teaching! Never would have guessed it. 

Visit to Varberg

This weekend I retreated North to the wonderful city of Varberg! Upon my arrival I soon noticed that I'm really going to have to start pulling out my warm sweaters, hats, gloves, and scarfs... it's FREEZING! With temperatures in the forties and dwindling with a blowing wind and a humidity in the 90% range, it's going to be an interesting next few months! If you can't tell from the picture above, we've already had our first frost. 

Every time I go to Varberg, I have a genuinely great time. Not only am I surrounded by wonderful people but I also love being in the "small" (compared to Helsingborg's city feel) town by the sea. AND I really enjoy watching this summer town's population change with the seasons. This summer, Varberg was bustling with tourists and a lot of shops and cafe's were open longer, but now as the season is cooling off I can see that things are closing up in preperation for winter and shops aren't open as long for the locals. 

In Harry's Bar watching the Varberg BOIS Soccer Game

This weekend was an important one for Varberg's city soccer team, the Varberg BOIS. They are in the #1 spot for their division, and they were being challenged by the #2 seat. This game would determine if Varberg would win the division and be able to jump up to the next highest one! Ivar and I went downtown to Harry's Bar, one of the only places where you could watch the game on t.v., to witness this exciting game. Happily, Varberg won 3 to 1 and now they are the best in their division! It was a very merry celebration at Harry's, and it was very fun for me to witness that!


Funny story of the visit:
Walking home from Harry's, Ivar and I ran into this guy who was dressed up in traditional Western (cowboy) clothing, the vest, the silk scarf, the hat, in my opinion it looked pretty darn good! Anyhow, he was feeling a bit on the tipsy side and asked Ivar if he had a light, then Ivar bounced the attention onto me by mentioning that I am from America!  WELL This made the man very happy, it was probably the highlight of his day showing me the tattoos on both of his arms that were of Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. He loves the Western United States, he asked me if I was a "cowboygirl" and I replied that I have horses and yes I am a cowgirl and he was thrilled! He and I shared a secret handshake and he offered me the beer he had in his hand but I shook my head and told him that I had to leave but it was nice meeting him and I liked his style. He had the biggest grin on his face as he waved goodbye and headed downtown probably to cause some sort of shenanigans. I'm really regretting now that I didn't take a picture with him, but that happens I guess you get too caught up in the moment and forget to take photographic evidence.

That's all for now! Next weekend I head back to Gotland with Alicia and her family to pick up a new horse!

Who Knew?

My sister Alicia who filmed this video approximately a year ago showed me this video today... and now I can't help but laugh and think how unpredictable life is and how I'm so happy that this idea that was "a silly idea and I don't know how it would work but would be cool" is really happening! I could never have imagined what would happen in the year ahead of me, and it's nice to  be reminded of how lucky I am to have this opportunity to be in Sweden for a year!

This year instead of driving to PPHS every morning I am taking online classes like I have said in previous blogs, and I have finally started going to Swedish classes! The course that I am taking is SFI (Swedish for Immigrants) and I am taking night classes, every Monday and Wednesday from 5pm to 8pm. I've only been to one class so far, but I have already learned quite a bit! I'm taking this class with my fellow American friend Caylie, and other fellow students in the class are mostly Middle Eastern, which is interesting. This SFI class is taught from Swedish to Swedish, which is an interesting concept for me. two main reasons; One is that because I am not thinking "okay.. so my name is Cori.. hmm what is that in Swedish.. oh yeah! I...Jag..my name is... I call myself.. heter? yes.." and so on. We are learning what to say in situations in Swedish, without having to translate it through our heads first. I believe this is much more of a natural way to learn a language therefore I should be fluent in no time! (HA!) The second reason is because I feel like I just have to figure it out when I can't understand the teacher, there's no cheating, and it always helps just to listen to the language and try to understand the most of what you are hearing. The first two hours of class are focused on studying by ourselves, making our way through a book that we are supposed to buy and learning things on our own.. and then the teachers are there if we have questions. The third hour is spent working as a group talking about different situations... last class was focused on stores... reading the signs saying what time the store is open, how long it is open, if something is on sale, do you have this in my size.. etc.

Never thought a year ago that I would be taking Swedish for Immigrants.. or even be considered as an immigrant... who knew?

Autumn Days... More Like Summer

                     It has been quite a great week in the life of Cori.

Not only has the weather been exquisite, but I have also been enjoying it! I have been able to wear a t-shirt and shorts for the past week, it's amazing! This doesn't feel like it's October now!
I have spent this beautiful week by going on a few very nice horseback rides, and some of the most memorable things about those is the cold and eerie mist coming up from the sea and casting a white blanket through the forest while I'm riding; and as I pass through the clouds of white I hear from a distance foghorns of boats passing by the water which is relatively close to where I am trotting around.  I've never experienced anything like that before, it was really nice.

One disadvantage to the weather being warm and sunny is that I'm prone to wanting my bedroom window open. By leaving this gateway to my living quarters ajar, I allow the #1 enemy in to attack me at every moment. The dreaded mosquito. I have bites ALL over me, and it's quite painful.

Funny story of the week:
Well, Wednesday after I got done having Hilma being trimmed by the horse-shoer, I got a craving for a jelly filled doughnut. I realized that Swedes don't eat that kind of thing very often, if ever! Well, after having this horrible realization I knew exactly what I had to do. Make some home-made jelly filled doughnuts! I've never attempted to accomplish such a feat but it had to be done. I looked up a recipe online and started to bake. I was heating a pot of oil so I could fry the doughnuts and while I had that warming up, I was working on the dough. Of course, I made the stupid mistake of leaving heating oil un-monitored and soon it began to steam like crazy! It steamed so much that it set off the fire alarms! I was SO SCARED! I ran the steaming pot outside to cool off, brought the dog outside and tied him up so he wouldn't die from the smell of burning oil, zoomed back inside in a panic and opened every window in the house. It took what seemed like forever for the alarms to go off, and I was very nervous that the fire department would come because it would be very difficult and embarrassing to explain what had happened. But, they never came, and soon enough the alarms did go off. The only things that remained from this was the horrible smell of oil, the humiliation of my mistake, and after I made them correctly, delicious jelly-filled doughnuts.

This Friday was Mira's birthday! She just turned 9 years old. We woke her up in the morning with breakfast in bed, (I kind of liked this tradition) and presents before school. I gave her a cute warm hat and a necklace. That night we had a dinner party, and that was really fun as well. Ivar was able to join in on the festivities and meet the family so this made the occasion even more special.

I got to Skype with my Aunt Lynne, Uncle Paul, and Grandma Joan today! It was great seeing them and being able to talk with them while they are on their trip in Poland. I was very delighted being able to do that, and to hear that they are having  a wonderful time.

That just about sums up the week. Next Wednesday I'm starting with my Swedish classes! I'm pretty excited for that :) 'till next time,
Cori