Sailing the Seas of Swedes: October 2010

Got Scarf?

Okay, I'm not a fashion expert. I'm the last person on earth who is qualified to be commenting on European fashion trends. Most of the sharply-dressed women I see walking around Sweden make me feel shamefully shabby, frumpy, and uncool. I've been more than happy to embrace the stylish and practical Swedish look of skirts with tights and tall leather boots for winter. But, what the hell is up with the GIANT scarves, ladies? As soon as the weather gets cold, the women here pile on scarves that look something like this:

From what I've seen, the thicker and raggedier the yarn and the longer and more cumbersome the scarf, the better. Are we going for some kind of head-slimming effect here? How can your neck possibly get so cold that you need a scarf that would effectively warm a family of five? Doesn't it get heavy after walking around in the rain and snow? Is there some kind of new neck-strengthening workout regime going on that I don't know about? Does it pose a safety risk to your head-turning abilities when you constrict yourself with a huge woolen neck brace? Am I really that clueless about fashion to think this is possibly the silliest look a grown woman could go for? Can anyone out there fill me in on why someone needs to wrap the equivalent of two entire sheep around their face?

Snö!

It looks like winter isn't wasting any time in showing up to Sweden this year...last night it was -5 Celsius when we went to bed (or "five degrees cold" as they say here) and the ground was all frosty and sparkly. We've had our big kakelugn (tiled woodstove) burning off and on for the past few weeks now:

Once the fire heats up, the whole tower section gives off heat for the next day or two, even if the fire goes out.

Last night it got cold enough to light a fire in the old kitchen oven as well.

This morning we woke up to a white, soggy winter wonderland and it's still plopping down as I type. I've had a love/hate relationship with winter throughout my life, and this is the most snow I've seen since the winter of 2005. But, I'm a northern girl at heart and I was a little surprised to find myself getting totally excited for the snow:

I've been lucky enough to live in hot, beachy, tropical places (Guatemala, Guam, and the Gulf Coast) for about 7 years of my life, but I never realized how much I missed the changing of the seasons. Much like the upper Midwest of the US where I grew up (Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota), the seasons here in Sweden blast in and out in a way that's anything but subtle. It almost seems like every single week here is different in some way, and it has a much bigger impact on the way you create memories and remember years past when it was a dry summer or an early winter or an extra-wet spring. It's no wonder Swedes are so connected to nature, and forgetting to check the weather forecast here is as unthinkable as going without coffee or wearing your shoes inside the house.

It's still snowing like crazy outside, which makes being inside with a cozy fireplace that much more enjoyable. I feel like I've come full circle back to the wintry north now, and even though I'm on the other side of the world, it feels like home.

***** Snow Update, six hours later *****

After I posted this the power went out and the snow kept dumping down...so instead of the wussy little dusting above, we now have this:

Six months in Sweden

I can't believe it's already been half a year since I passed through customs at the Stockholm Arlanda airport with my shiny new residence permit. After an absolutely gorgeous, sunny, and even hot summer followed by the most beautiful crisp fall imaginable I can say it's been much better than I expected so far. Not only does the beautiful view outside my doorstep remind me on a daily basis of how lucky I am to live here, but it's been much easier to settle in and find productive things to do than I imagined. Before I moved here I made the mistake of reading some expat discussion boards online where everyone constantly whined and complained about the impossibility of finding jobs, poor treatment of foreigners, coldness of Swedes, dark winters, rain, high cost of living, difficulty of learning Swedish, and generally how much they hated Sweden. Reading posts from these crybabies was a really bad idea as it only made me nervous and doubtful about moving here. I've been pleasantly surprised and relieved to find out that Sweden is wonderful and most of the expats who feel the need to go online and grumble and complain about their lives would most likely be doing the same thing regardless of where they were living.

So, six months later and I am getting more and more comfortable understanding and speaking Swedish, I have two part-time jobs that fill up my schedule give me something interesting to look forward to, I've moved up through several levels of Swedish classes to the point where I'm being challenged and enjoy my class, I've made lots of wonderful friends, and I can finally say enough words in Swedish to get a giggle out of M's super quiet, zero-English-speaking father. Life is good and I even feel up to the challenge for the cold, dark winter ahead.

My Swedish classes have been moving along quickly and now I'm finally in the correct class for my level of Swedish. The typical language-learning path that most newcomers to Sweden take begins with Svenska för Invandrare (Swedish for Immigrants), or SFI. This class can be good or bad, and I was lucky enough to have enough Swedish under my belt to test out of the class after one week and move up to Svenska som andraspråk (Swedish as a second language), or SAS, which has three levels (Ground, A, and B). It all gets a little confusing if you're not in the system yourself, but I'm in SAS A now which is basically high-school level Swedish. I just started SAS A last week, and my new teacher is excited about teaching and challenging her students rather than just sitting around and chatting about current events. I have class once per week for 4 hours and I'm really happy with it so far.

My two little jobs have been fun and although they're not the most economically lucrative choices in the world, I feel that right now it's more important for me to get comfortable speaking Swedish and making new friends and being happy and content here than it is to leave for another five weeks at sea in the middle of trying to settle in. I've been babysitting for a few different families which has been by far the most fun way to learn Swedish. The little girls I watch are quick to correct me if I say something wrong and love to teach me new words and meticulously help with my pronunciation. I've also been hired as a native language English teacher for kids who speak English in their homes (most of the kids in my classes have one Swedish parent and one parent from an English-speaking country). The kids range in age from 5 to 9 so it can be tough to find activities on a level that everyone can enjoy together, but I've come up with a few good ideas and right now I'm reading them one of my favorite childhood books, Charlotte's Web.

Having M home for the whole fall has been wonderful as well...he has been working on his 12-meter steel workboat that he built himself. I've been helping him paint and pick out carpets and colors for the inside, and it's starting to look fantastic. There will be several beds, a small kitchen, and a toilet/shower area inside so we'll be able to use it as a little floating guest house when we have visitors. I can't wait to take it island-camping next summer!

The autumn has brought an abundance of food, so all of our meals are usually around 80% locally harvested wild game and vegetables. There are potatoes and sweet corn grown here on the farm along with wild mushrooms in the forest and huge piles of apples on the ground. Last week we picked 120 kilos of apples and dropped them off at the Värmdö Musteri (local cider mill)....now we have a stack of boxed cider in the cellar that should keep us from buying any type of sugary drinks for at least the next year. M always keeps our freezer full of deer, moose, fish, duck, and whatever other creatures he manages to capture, so I am definitely getting spoiled by high quality meat and doubt I'll be able to stomach gross US factory-farmed beef and chicken again.

Mushroom-O-Rama!

Unfortunately my little garden didn't fare so well this year (I think our yard is too shady since it's right next to a rock cliff), but I did get lots of dill, lettuce, parsley, carrots, a few green beans, and some basil out of it. M's parents gave me some pumpkins from their neighbor and I introduced M to his first roasted pumpkin seeds and pumpkin pie from scratch. I was nervous about making pumpkin pie for the first time for a group of Swedish friends who had never tasted it, but luckily it was a hit. Everyone said the pie tasted like gingerbread cookies (which are a huge Christmas favorite here) so I was glad that I managed to represent and give everyone a little taste of authentic American culture.

So, that's my six month Swedish update...so far so good! I would say "bring on the winter," but I'd rather keep this bright sunny autumn weather for as long as possible.

The perfect fall weekend

We just spent a long weekend out on M's parent's island with M's best friend, wife, two daughters, and a total of four crazy little hunting dogs running around. Our friends were visiting from Göteborg on the western side of the country, and they brought us fresh lobster and a huge bag of shrimp. The weather was unbelievably gorgeous...bright sun, the water was like a mirror, and just a little fall chill in the air.

This photo was taken just a few hundred meters up the road from our house.

The bay where we live, headed out toward M's parent's island.

Island sheep

Island ponies

This pony is so teeny, he looks like a dog.

One of the best things about M's parent's house is their wood-fired hot tub out on the dock. There's something about soaking in hot salt water and then jumping back and forth into the chilly sea that makes you feel like ten pounds of dirt has been scrubbed out of your skin.