Hello 2007

Mood: Pretty Good

Well, cheers to the new year of 2007 to everybody. I hope that January is starting off well for all of you. Mine is gonna fly, I just know it. With full days of Swedish, studying said Swedish, and then wedding planning of all sorts for a great and fun party in Chicago suburbs in August, I just know that 2007 will be a fun a super busy year, gone in an "ögonblick." (That means an eye blink.)

I also look forward to keeping y'all posted a little more frequently, whether it's the "un" winter weather, the wedding planning/meltdowns, or the Swedish progress reports. I want to send a big thanks to everybody back at home. I had such a wonderful time driving in Jay's VW Deisel Golf to meet up with so many bunches of folks, happenings, and tea parties! Those were so much fun. Ted's New Year's Eve Eve party was super fun as well... I loved the jam session. I'm wondering about coordinating those boys, instruments and Otto in the mix to have a little fun at our wedding shin dig. Teddy, what'd'ya think?

Anywho, I've just begun the craft of making my own paper. I must admit to a wonderful first try. I started with a load of newspaper and I think I made a very successful 4 sheets of paper, varying in thickness of course, but marvelous light grey with specks in there. Oh, I'm unbelievably excited to keep that up for my crafting efforts.

December Greetings

Isn't it great when time flies? I'm there. And as these holidays are fast approaching, I thought I'd remember to post a little announcement to all you out there who read my posts.

Doug and I are traveling into the Chicago area for Christmas. We'd love to see as many folks as possible. We both arrive in late afternoon of Saturday Dec. 23rd but we have different departure dates. Doug's leaving on the 31st of December and I'll be leaving on the 10th. There's 2 groups of folks that hang out quite a bit and I'd love to swing them and help arrange something. Ladies' night and Check Please.

As for other news, I do have some more, but I'll wait a little for the holidays to share it. As for Lund, Sweden, the holidays are closing in and St. Lucia will be celebrated next week. The holiday originated in Spain or Italy but the Swedes have totally adopted it. You may be familiar with the little girls that wear white dresses, red sash belts and wreaths/crowns with candles in them. (I can't help but think about the fire hazard) None the less, it's such a huge tradition here and stems back to the 1700s when time was evaluated a little weird I guess. They thought the 13th was the darkest day of the year, so that's when the "festival" takes place. As a big celebration to welcome more light to the world.

Treats that are festive and very popular are saffron breads with raisins in them called lussekatter, pepparkakor - a thin gingerbread type cookie... a lot like the thin Annas cookies you can find in supermarkets or IKEA and they definitely have the Swedish flag on the box, and glögg - a dark spice seasoned alcoholic beverage served warm.

We're going to have a pot-luck little party on Wednesday to celebrate St. Lucia Day in our class. Children will be coming through our adult education school to sing the Lucia songs as well. So, I'm meeting up with my new British friend to make the lussekatter. Way yum! (She makes them almost weekly, so I'm quite familar with them now.)

Swedish is going really well. I've started to get a clear handle on basic grammer and verbs and sentence structure. So, my writing skills in swedish have vastly improved. My speaking skills are a little on the slow side, but no worse than anybody else in my class, really when it comes down to it. Doug's been the best coach too.

Well, anyhoo, I'm working on a few Christmas presents for my grandmas, so I best be off. Talk with you soon. I'm thinking about a New Year's resolution of writing at least weekly to y'all. What d'ya think?

Thanks-giving

Mood: mild, recovering from nasty lingering cold
Music: KEXP Seattle Radio
Weather: Dark now, but was so beautifully sunny! Yay!

I'd like to take this post to give thanks, in a traditional observation of the American holiday, Thanksgiving.

First, I want to say that I thanks all those wonderful people in my life. There are so many people that make life so sweet, add a unique flavor to the spice of life. From my brothers whom I can never send enough hugs of gratitude out to and my parents for always being there for me.

For the friends that weave the delicate bonds of support and sharing through days, nights, troubles and joys. For my extended family back in the States who continue to support my being, whether near or far. And for my new extended family here in Sweden, for reaching out to their son's girlfriend through hugs, suggestions for cold recovery and appreciation for talents I have to share. My "old" coworkers from various institutions that have continued to keep in touch because work doesn't just stay at work; we create interwoven lives with all the people we encounter. Thanks for being in the mix too! (CCR, Caribou girls and family, GJ ladies too)

Secondly to God. Hardly a second place, but that without Him, I wouldn't even be here to say thanks to all these other great things that I enjoy and appreciate in life, not to forget the little things that I don't quite consciously notice that contribute to such great things!

And then a generic one to encompass the beautiful things all around us. Even the wet cold Swedish weather has it gorgeous moments, like today, it was magnificently sunny and the blue of the sky is unlike any I have seen in the States, truly. Not to forget these pretty pics from this autumn. I mean, I've never seen so many blueberries; it compared with the wild blackberries of Seattle, that grow wild everywhere, and I mean everywhere... and totally edible! I wasn't sure if these were, but they sure looked inviting!!

I'm even thankful for the Swedish language. I'm still just grasping this language, but it somehow feels empowering. I mean, I can relate in a new way to how Thanksgiving must have been founded. Immigrants taking a time out to feast with friends and enjoy what they have. I can truly relate with the new found struggle of being that immigrant. You really do have to be above par to get anywhere. You need to have skills, practice, experience, both languages... fluently! and you need to want it more. I'll save that for another post.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!!

Little Holidays

Weather: grey, still
Sounds: the hum of the laptop

Thank goodness for little vacations! Don't you just totally love those random days off from work or school. Those little bonus days to just do whatever your body needs. Sometimes we get sick and just have to sleep. Sometimes we get to go somewhere. Sometimes we play. But even if we do absolutely nothing, there's something so relaxing or enjoyable about it, isn't it?

I happen to be in one of those vacations. (Won't see another until Christmas though) None the less, I'm so enjoying this week. We had Wed-Fri off and it's been a lot of fun. From a little computer gaming to catch up on a few projects, like I just finished up a few pages and sent them to my wonderful and adorable niece, Cadence; I'm reading my totally fun novel; we're watching the third 24 season and just about done. We toyed with the idea of going to Scotland to visit Doug's brother, but it sorta dissipated for no great reason other than it's tough on Otto to just ask him to help us out. Not really a treat for him. So, I'm trying to push a little care package. This guy is truly a world traveler, however, this is his first time "away" for college. He's the guy in the Marimba band. Incredible music, absolutely fantastic. I mean, just this past summer alone he went to Botswana for 6 weeks, came back to Sweden, then in just 1.5 days, went back out with the Marimba band to Zimbabwe and yet another place I can't remember where. Now, he's in Scotland. Truly, the world is his oyster!

Anywho, the weather took a fantastic dip to be in the low 30's and 20's at night, but what makes that so lovely? We had 2 luscious days of fantastic blue skies and sun and even snow flurries! Oh, I had such a huge smile.

To celebrate a little of Halloween, Doug and I carved up a sweet snack ending in a deluxe rather tasty little orane ice cream sundae. Halloween isn't really all that celebrated here, but I understand it's growing. It's still pretty much just a kids' holiday. But I do think that we got the holiday off of school for some reason for the all souls day in this week; even though they don't actually do anything special for it.

I've already been asked what am I going to do for Thanksgiving and seeing that it is only an American holiday, I may throw us a small version of the traditional turkey day dinner. Get my hands on a turkey leg and make up a couple potatoes and some lingon sauce, I mean cranberry sauce! *heh heh heh* Actually, I do like lingon way better than cranberry sauce. Yeah, it's sweeter, without just being sugary and such. Mmm, lingon, good stuff.

Anywho, I ought get to a few things. Doug and I just got a how-to book for Photoshop and I'd really love to help him out with his business, from an art/design perspective on the website creation stuff... .so, I gotta put some time in and learn about the program, eh?

Oh, also, I applied for a barista position with a company called The Espresso House, but no word yet. Frustrating, but I understand that's very typical for Sweden. It's okay, I'll keep trying.

Cave Bear

Weather: cold, wet and darkish

Swedish of the day: Jag kan förstå en liten mer svenska! = I can understand a little more Swedish!

I was super proud yesterday when Nils (Doug's uncle) called and I answered the phone. Of course, answering with something like, Lauren here. But then of course, he breaks into the Swedish, like I do English. He asked, "Hur mår du?" I proudly answered, "Jag är bra, och en liten trött." He was pretty excited that I actually answered with confidence and said some more about the day and did we go shopping, I said, "Nej, I have been studying." (in english) where he responded that I need to study a lot? and did I understand him? I said, "Ja, jag förstår du." I could hear him smile and he responded with saying that I'm learning very fast. I said, "Ja, det är snabbt, mycket snabbt." Again, he was smiling, I could totally tell. Then, he asked to speak to Doug, mind you, all his was in Swedish. I said, "Ja, javisst!" I was so proud, even if my responses were really short, I actually understood the small talk and could respond back to them!!! Yay yay!

In a nut shell, here's a translation of our comments:

• "Hur mår du?" = How are you/How do you feel?
• "Jag är bra, och en liten trött." = I am good/well, and a little tired.
• Nej = nah, no
• "Ja, jag förstår du." = Yes, I understand you.
• Ja, det är snabbt, mycket snabbt." = Yes, it is fast, very fast.
• "Ja, javisst!" = Yes, of course!
• Hej då! = Bye!

So, about 2 months in and I can really begin to show for all my hard work. I even held a little chat with Doug's mom and her classmate during our pause from our classes today. (In swedish) I tell you, it's been really boosting to see a little shape from all these efforts. I really believe I'll be saying stuff by Christmas now, not just a hope.

As for the Cave Bear. That's part of the title of a novel I just finished, suggested by Doug's dad, The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel. This is an absolutely delightful period piece that takes place between the Neanderthal and the Cro Magnon era of "man" around the ice age. Jean is a Chicagoan and the story takes place pretty much in Eastern Europe or bits of Russia. This book is actually the first of 6, and I'm now on book 2, The Valley of Horses.

The story revolves around one particular Cro Magnon woman who is sort of adopted by the Neanderthal people and the obstacles she faces into young woman hood. I understand in this second one, she may actually meet some folks of her own kind; but how she gets there is written really intelligently and beautifully. You feel the cold or the beauty of the plants they see. You can see that knowing the environment for herbs, cures, nutrition, remedies and much more are available if you just care to learn about them. Very cool stories. I'm definately diving into the second one now.

Chilly Weather's Arrived

Weather: Chilly! Mornings are about 8C or 47F and by tomorrow, that'll just be the high in the afternoon. With the winds and overcast, it honestly feels much colder.

I officially have my first head cold here. I'm battling it well I think. Loads of drinkable Vitamin C, tea and soup, and sleep. Took a nap yesterday, translated a Swedish article for class and then just sorta slept not too long after that! Ah, the wonders that sleep can do. I'm just hanging in a dreamy state this morning, but at least the symptoms of pressure in my sinuses is way down.

So, yeah, I translated this article from a study done in France about people whom are more overweight actually lose more memory brain cells. They're calling it the Homer Simpson-effect. Evidently from the 2,223 people they studied over 5 years, the more overweight folks couldn't remember as much! 20 Body Mass Index folks could remember 9 of 16 words, but those at 30 could only remember 7 of 16. They say that the arteries in the brain get fattened and that reduces quickness. They even say that in the USA, it's already a dubbed name of the Homer Simpson effect. Can anybody vouch for that? I'm not sure that I can, but oh well. I don't really have to.

Whoop, it's that time; gotta head out for class.
Catch ya soon.

Reflections

Weather: sunrise and thin sheets of clouds most everywhere; chilly: 52 degrees.

I was captured by a lovely blog my sister-in-law wrote about her baby girl. She mentioned a little about her connection with God and I must say she put it so well; at least for me. I find that I agree with the simplicity of her belief. That I know I can't control everything or watch everything, and that's where trust in God comes in to help soothe the parts that would otherwise feel or go crazy if we had to deal with them by ourselves. I was also touched by wordless prayer. I feel that way sometimes. That words don't express it or the pain to God; like when you hear about something tragic; but that God can understand what your meaning is anyways and words aren't always necessary.

A special thanks to Sarah; I appreciate your words.

I don't really have news on the Swedish front. Learning Swedish has truly taken over my days. I was kind of enjoying my class when all of a sudden, it decided to accelerate to the fast track of learning and boy, was I overwhelmed. I couldn't take it. Fortunately, it only lasted last week and into this. We should slow back down a bit. (I'm in a class that's kinda progressive anyways; much faster as it is than a few other classes for less educated immigrants and such)

What's cool about it, is that our teacher's taken an initiative with my and others' concerns of going too fast to pull aside the few that the class is too slow for them and is constructing a super fast paced lesson plan for them. Good! That way, they're not dragging the most of the class with them in the dust and non-learning. I'm just spilling these thoughts; I apologize if they're a bit scattered.

None the less; I trudge on. With this small separation of the more easily learned folks; I feel like I'll be able to gain some confidence again. I swear, it got grim last week. I'm still piled to my ears in homework that I haven't gotten to because there's just not enough time in the days for me to complete it! Hopefully, this week, it will thin a bit and become more manageable by next week. Phew!

Shortly here, I will be able to add living situations to my repetoire of words. Last lessons were discussions of the body and doctor/patient scenarios as well as customer/cashier situations from changing rooms and sizes of clothing to ordering a sausage or cheese in a deli. Mmm, cheese.

Sunny Days

Mood: relaxed
Music: the wind outside
Swedish for the day: engelksa, spanska, svenska = english, spanish, swedish
Sverige = Sweden

We've now had a whole week of sunshine! I really cannot believe it. I think... oddly enough, my U.S. homeplace is experiencing autumn weather, with a cool down and quite a bit of shade? Crazy how opposite that can be. It's been so beautiful all week, warm even... in the afternoons. I'm so taking advantage of it. Being productive with my projects and going for little extra bike rides... even enjoying ICED teas. (Crazy, huh Sarah?)

Swedish is a crazy thing. It's got some huge similaries to english... but then there's words that are so obtuse... it's discouraging. But... I can tell that over-all the grammer has a lot less rules and verbs have less formats; but the organization of it all is still a huge challenge. Remembering words is equally difficult. I'm definately gonna start increasing my study time during the week. Swedish is my main thing right now... in order to get into this society... so I think I feel like I gotta learn it... and the more I can stay on top or even ahead of class, the more confident I feel over all. It's tough though. I mean, my memory isn't so flash as it was just 5 years ago... so I think that's surprising too; on top of wanting to learn a whole new language A.S.A.P.

None the less, Doug's truly my best supporter and cheerleader. I cannot thank him enough for that. He helps me keep it real and not get too lost in trying to learn the language too fast, too frustratedly, and/or too self criticized. Instead to pace myself, relax once in a while, just take it steady... I can't help but feel like I need to put in that time though. By the end of an almost 30 hour study week, I truly am burnt by the weekend. I always have ambitions of staying at the same pace... like 3+ hours a day, but I just don't. It ends up like 1-2 a day for up to only about 4 for the whole weekend. Ah, I'm getting by though. I really am very hard on myself. I mean, as Doug pointed out... what could I say before the class started? and now? how well am I deciphering sentences? pretty good with the exception of past tense verb forms and a few vocab type words. In celebration of my progress I'll might write a little passage for ya... and then of course, tell you what it means. Good practice too.

Keeping the nose to the books. phew!

Cramming the Swedish in

I guess I'm in the thick of learning Swedish and being just about entirely surrounded by it; with the exception of Doug, but even then, he's been a priceless resource in my learning and understanding what I got from class.

Swedish of the day: att arbeta - to work.

I tell ya, the 3 hours and then up to at least 3 more later? I'm already exhausted. But my class... I have mixed feelings. It's a self propelled class, yet still encouraged by the teacher (en lärare). Oh the plus, the class is a bunch of immigrants from all over the world. And I mean all. From the Americas: Peru, Brasil and El Salvador and the USA; from Europe: England, Romania, and well, Russia, not quite Europe; from Arabia in Lybia and Iran I think; from Africa in Zimbabwe; from Asia in China, Thailand, and Vietnam. So, from the diversity angle, it's incredible to meet people from so many places.

From a work ethic perspective, the class is a bit imbalanced. Some really want to learn it or are just young, so they can handle it; others are a bit less interested or a little elder, and thus aren't catching on as quickly. Most of the class is there for love; for a romantic connection that has thus brought them here... and well, need work to keep their brains and bodies bus; so they, like myself, need to learn Swedish.

I recently have been sent to a link by an american friend... I think it really does sum up Swedish culture and tendencies... Feel free to check it out. Been in Sweden Too Long

Last Saturday (lördag), Doug and I went to Copenhagen to visit Nance. She'd been working on a really unique art project. Here's some of her work as she learned about migration and the stories that made people who the unique that they are. and making tacos without the solar energy she planned on and using a small custom oven made of cans. Incredibly resourceful!

Anyhoo, I gotta go to class... keep cramming that swedish in! phew! (already feel like I need a break, but that's why I gotta keep going right? keep it sinking in?... something like that)

Grey Days

Grey days are already abundant in our well established autumn season. When the sun comes out, I now understand the efforts to flock and bathe in it. Tanning is still a mystery to me, but enjoying the sun, that's a different story.

Swedish has become my biggest thing. I spend 3 hours in class in the mornings Monday through Friday, and then from 1-3 hours practicing and doing homework in the evenings. I'm starting to be able to say a few basics like: My name is Lauren. I come from the USA. I have 4 brothers and many relatives, a mom and a dad, ... and well, that can go on a bit. I speak english and a little spanish and now a little swedish. My relatives live in the USA. I have lived here in Sweden for 3 months. I study Swedish. Yeah... you get the picture. Not too shabby for only a week and a half!

As a result, my other readings have taken a back seat and a much lessor time invested in them. However, I'm gradually getting through the ever so entertaining life of cadavers in Stiff. I have to share a passage (in fact it's a footnote) with you; just made me chuckle.

People have trouble believing Thomas Edison to be a loopy individual. I offer as evidence the following passage on human memory, taken from his diaries: "We do not remember. A certain group of our little people do this for us. They live in that part of the brain which has become known as the 'fold of Broca'... There may be 12 or 15 shifts that change about and are on duty at different times like men in a factory....Therefore it seems likely that remembering a thing is all a matter of getting in touch with the shift that was on duty when the recording was done."

This footnote was added in reference to a chapter about the search for the human soul and where it resides in the body; using cadavers to research that in the brain, heart, or liver which have been top choices over time.

Anyhoo. More praise when I'm through with that... and more swedish to come soon too. Hopefully I'll get to see Nance, from Chicago tomorrow, if not, there's next Saturday. She's in Copenhagen doing somthing with solar energy and a taco stand. I really have yet to find out what all that means. Feel free to visit her website and her photos for more about her nature loving sprit.

Swedish for the day: Hej då! This is pronounced sorta like hay-doe. It means bye bye/goodbye.