Jag talar Svenska... sort of.

Today I was at the grocery store, gathering ingredients for our not-so-traditional Thanksgiving dinner: basil-tofu lasagna. This whole unemployed thing means I am fast becoming an amazing cook. But, at the grocery store, I'm trolling the isles a bit confused as usual and an old lady walks up to me and asks me a question.

Old lady: Blahblahblomkvistblahbjörklundblahsvenskablahåöäblah...??? [In Swedish.]
Me: Umm, uhh... Uh, jag talar svenska inte! [I don't speak Swedish.]
Old lady: Ja, du talar svenska!...asks question again...[Yes, you speak Swedish!]
Me: Um, jag vet inte! [I don't know!]

She smiled and walked away, apparently believing that I really didn't understand her question. I was ecstatic. It was my first public conversation in Swedish! And I survived! What an incredible development! And to top off my great shopping trip, I found tahini and then successfully repeated back my price total (trehundratio) to the cashier! In other words, these Swedish classes are really paying off.

I started on Monday, and now every week day I go from 9-11:30am. It's great to have some structure and social interaction built into my day. So far it's quite enjoyable.

The class is as international as could be: there are folks from Greece, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Iran, China, France, and the UK. I am the lone American, for better or worse. Just today a group of us were walking to the coffee shop across the street during our fika (coffee break typically had at about 10:15 in workplaces etc) and I introduced myself to the Iranian gentleman. Then the people we were with sort of oohed and aahed, joking that our countries really don't like each other! That hadn't even occurred to me. But then we had a brief discussion about the politics of Iran these days, and how people are liking Obama in the US. It's great to be able to talk about the things I usually just hear about on NPR or read about in Time.

Then there is our teacher, whom I will call Hans, just for anonymity. He is an older gentleman, Swedish of course, who has a slight speech impediment. His "s" can be a bit muddled. Hans is also quite silly. For example, he has already taught us the Swedish words for sexy, shit, poop, and the f word too. He quotes Shakespeare and MC Hammer. He has explained how he lost half his finger (infection), which health issues he struggles with (diabetes!), how many wives he's had (2), and that cats really shouldn't drink milk, despite the popular misconception. He regularly gets off topic, but hey, I have some really interesting vocabulary!

To be more serious, he is very easy going and encouraging. In past language classes, especially Arabic, there just wasn't a good atmosphere. I think students should be allowed to make mistakes and mispronounce with gentle re-directions. Really you want the student to practice and get comfortable, and that road is certainly rocky and sometimes embarrassing.

The downside is that he is quick to explain things in English. Of course, practically, I am glad for this, because it's my native language. But I feel bad for a few people in the class who really don't seem to know English that well. Nowhere on the sign-up for this class did it say that the base language was English. Those folks are clearly more confused and at an unfair disadvantage. Most Swedish classes in the region are taught in 100% Svenska, which can of course be difficult but I think it's probably the best way to learn quickly.

For now, the class is great. It was expensive, so perhaps after the first level I'll continue in the free government "Swedish for Immigrants" classes. I am on my way to knowing Swedish and having many more opportunities open to me because of it!

A Review of Week Two

Here we are, having almost been here a full two weeks! It feels like longer. We are both settling in quite well, perhaps even better than expected!

Here is a picture of our house, which isn't labeled in any way and doesn't really look like a house:

And inside, here is Dan:

This is one of the streets I walk down almost daily, with cobblestone and old architecture:

Our shipment arrived last week, and finally today I had a chance to begin putting things away. I think it's safe to say we shipped too much, but nonetheless it feels so good to have our own pillows, blankets, and artwork too. Our apartment doesn't need much else and it's really growing on me in the way that a new home does.

We've had a few adventures, like accidentally buying Swiss cheese instead of cheddar, and buying whey butter instead of sour cream. Or the endless search for tofu which is actually kept in the cheese section without any special area or designation whatsoever (thank goodness for the guts of a friend of mine finally asking a store employee).

Just yesterday Dan and I decided to play the tourist and take a day trip to Malmö. We successfully boarded a train and walked to the old castle, which was mostly burnt down a long time ago and now looks more like a factory.

Here is a view of the front:

And the entry way:

And the place where they shot arrows/bullets/cannons from:

Inside there were a ton of museums, including an aquarium, a natural history section, art, textiles... It was huge and we got lost.

Afterwards we saw a bit of the city of Malmö. Dan described it as a "poor man's Copenhagen," because it had a similar cosmopolitan feel but wasn't quite as large and costly - although the dinner prices were still frightening.

I got this picture of the governor's residence in the main square of town before it got too dark:

Speaking of dinner: Dan and I got to that hungry-cranky point and dived for the first reasonable restaurant we saw - which, embarrassingly, was TGI-Fridays. Yeah, yeah, pathetic. But we were strangely curious about it since we saw one in Stockholm. We went in, and sat ourselves, as you do in most Swedish restaurants. We waited. And waited. We gave the servers looks, waved, everything, to no avail. Maybe 15-20 minutes later, a couple next to us was seated by a server with menus and silverware! Things we hadn't yet seen! We realized perhaps we weren't supposed to seat ourselves. Wandering around the restaurant, I couldn't figure out where to find the host! I asked someone and she escorted us to an entirely different side of the restaurant with a typical dining room. Finally we had made it!

As we waited for our cheeseburgers and french fries, we watched the way everyone else ate. There was a gentleman who got a huge burger (TWO PATTIES!) and proceeded to dump ketchup on it. Then - get this - he ate the patty by itself with a fork and knife, French-style. What the heck! What are you doing! Get your hands dirty and dive in, dude! Then he ate the bun, finally with his hands, but plain and all by itself! Super strange.

Our food came and it was pretty good. We of course ate it with our hands, ketchup dripping almost to our elbows... A little different, not quite the same flavor, but nonetheless satisfying. We definitely paid the price. That food made both Dan and I totally sick. We did not have the greatest evening afterwards. Karma for stooping to American lows, I guess!

The Goings-on of Stephanie

"What on earth do you plan to do with yourself in Sweden, Stephanie?!"

Good question people, good question. I did address this a bit before I left, but my ideas are gaining clarity and I'd like to share them with y'all (apologies for any information you already read/know).

Currently, my most concrete plan is to pursue a masters degree (called "second cycle" here) in Welfare Policies and Management, which is a little like social work administration. That would take two years, keeping Daniel and I here for a total of 2 years and 7 months. I haven't applied yet, because the first date the application is even available to view is December 1st.

However, Dan found online that there is indeed a "School of Social Work" in Lund. Most of their website is in Swedish, which explains why it has taken us so long to find out about it. It says that they have masters programs, and a syllabus for a class I looked at was in English. This indicates to me, unofficially, that the masters is in English. I have to admit, I would prefer this program, but either degree - especially at no financial cost to me - can't hurt me in the least. I am now waiting to hear from the adviser of this social work program to gather more details.

On the job front: without Swedish, finding employment is very difficult. I hear the same sad refrain about the difficulty on forums, talking to Swedes, and especially talking to other foreigners around here. I won't lie, it was discouraging from the moment I heard it back when we visited in May. Until I know Swedish, only the most basic jobs are available to me, like cleaning or stocking. While everyone here does know English, their absolute default is Swedish. I am searching though. I have been trying to network through the American Women's Club (more on this later) and have inquired into a couple jobs. No interviews yet, but I plan to continue trying.

Just today I signed up for an intense Swedish language course through Folkuniversitetet (unfortunately abbreviated FU) that will, for 4 weeks, have me in the classroom 5 days a week for 2.5 hours each day. Perhaps it shows my geeky side that I am totally excited about this! These classes cost a bit of money, as they are through a sort of open people's university - sort of like adult community education - but I think the payoff will be great. As I mentioned, swiftly learning the language here could open me up to all sorts of jobs, including ones in my field eventually.

I suppose the last front to elaborate on is my social life. The American Women's Club, or AWC, is my starting point. It's an expat network for mostly American women, although so far there are dudes and folks from all over. They have all sorts of activities, plenty for families, but also book clubs, Thanksgiving dinner, holiday cookie exchange (nom nom), julbord (a special Swedish holiday buffet) sushi nights, lunches, and so on. It seems like a great starting point. Unrelated to the AWC, I've also had lunch with a woman from St. Paul who is at Lund University! Who lived just a couple blocks from where Daniel and I did! Whoa! Small world, and I'm happy to be building a new social network from scratch.

All in all, I feel like on all fronts I am adjusting and making progress. It's a great challenge and very exciting. I'm sure at times I'll be bored and a bit uncomfortable, but this experience is totally worth it.

Little Adventures

An exciting benefit to moving to Sweden is the newness of it all: every little task is a big adventure and subsequently a great success if didn't make a fool of yourself.

For example, Daniel and I went to get groceries on our first night here. Scary? Yes, but we needed dinner and breakfast! We weren't sure where the market was, although we sort of remembered. We stumbled across a different grocery store than intended, and were able to find some basic foods without too much trouble. We didn't even make a fool of ourselves. Our mini-fail occurred when we got completely lost on our way home. No map, no luck.

But the next day was filled with yet more new adventures! As I reported in the last entry, we had to report our immigration and apply for a personal ID number. Again, we surprisingly didn't really make a fool of ourselves. On that same trip we also visited some stores we found on the way, including an appliance store. We were able to find a dish-drying rack, a blow-dryer, a beard trimmer, and a toaster! We were on our way to a complete household (added bonus, my hair looks fantastic again)!

Yesterday also felt productive, despite some minor setbacks. We went to the bank and took a number to designate our place in line (this is the only way you "queue" for something here). We explained our situation to the teller, who informed us we could not have a bank account without a personal ID number. Hmm, but that might be an entire month! She informed us that since Daniel has already received pay checks, we can take out cash in about $2,500 chunks. I suppose that's not a bad last resort, plus I'll feel like a European gangsta.

Today Daniel and I are planning to go to Ikea - there is one only 20 minutes away in the neighboring town of Malmö. We think we can figure out how to get there, but who knows! I am bizarrely excited about this trip. I am imagining it to be laid out just like the one at home, with hotdogs and cinnamon rolls at the end to reward you for not freaking out at the hugeness and busy-ness of it all. I expect this to be true here, in the country of Ikea's origin, as well.

And it's real-adult-working-hours for Daniel on Monday (in this case, about 8am to 5:30pm). Last week he was in lab half the day for meetings about his new projects, and at home with me the other times, unpacking, rearranging our given furniture, and going on said errand-adventures.

Actually, I feel like I have a big to-do list too: wish fervently for our shipment of personal items to arrive on Monday, somehow take the bus all the way to the place I sign-up for Swedish for Immigrants classes, and be a good temporary housewife by cleaning the apartment and cooking a wonderful meal. The adventure continues... (next post on my job hunt and school plans)

Part II of the Apartment Tour

Sorry for the delay in this second update! Now we have internet in our apartment, which is absolutely amazing. I'll be on Skype quite often, and I'm even considering getting voicemail for my Skype so that family members can call anytime.

Well, on with the apartment tour!

Here is one view of our kitchen. To help you imagine, this is what you would see to your left when you walk into the room. An electric stove with a small bit of counter, then right in front of you, a microwave and a table for two.














Then to your right, a small refrigerator/freezer, more counter space, and a sink. The kitchen even came with one of those neat things that boils water for tea (perhaps called an electric tea pot?)










This is our dining room! A rug, a nice expandable table, a big window, and a bureau-like thing that we might move to the bedroom.

































And last but certainly not least, our bathroom: It's small and has zero storage, so we are going to go shopping for some tiny shelves to hold things. Unfortunately, the bathroom was kind of moldy and we had to do some heavy-duty cleaning. I nearly passed out from the fumes, but I think it's a little cleaner now.












All in all, it's been a successful first couple days. We went grocery shopping right away, and were able to find some basics. Unfortunately we both forgot to bring a map and on the way home, in the cold darkness, we got totally lost. It took us three times as long as it should have to get home. Just one of many mini-adventures I'm sure...

Yesterday, we had to go register at the "skatteverket." I have no idea what that means, but we had to go there to report our immigration, and hopefully this will give us the all-important "personnummer," which is similar to a social security number. We can't get a mobile phone or a real bank account until we have this, and they reported that it takes up to four weeks (although I've heard of people getting them sooner). The woman who helped us barely spoke English, and she really only muttered and didn't say any real words... Perhaps we were supposed to get a receipt, but I guess we'll never know!

Later on I had a very successful grocery shopping trip, which made me incredibly proud. Funny how the tiniest things can feel so good! Today was also productive, as I learned how to purchase postage and mail a letter. I am on my way to being a good Swede!

Part I of the Apartment Tour

We safely arrived in Lund on Tuesday afternoon. To our happy surprise, our apartment is large and gorgeous! Perhaps a bit dusty, but we're working on that. Here are about half the photos:

This is our living room. It's big! The house is completely furnished in Ikea - and I mean everything - dishes, silverware, desk, sheets, towels, rugs, etc. The floors are these wide wood boards that you don't see too often in the US.









Here is a desk in the corner of the living room. There are pictures on the wall in this apt, but they are weird! There are also nice rugs throughout the house, which makes it very homey.










Here is a very small part of our bedroom. Let me start by saying that the bedroom luckily has plenty of space for storage. There is a big beautiful window that looks out into our garden. And there are TWO king-sized beds. You are looking at the main one. In the corner, there is another. Perhaps it's for guests. Daniel and I figured we could put it in the living room for visitors (in other words, get here in the next 6 months for free lodging in Sweden! Now you may be asking, why does it look like two tiny beds pushed together? Oh yeah, because it is! Every hotel bed we had last time we were here was this version - two twins meshed together, creating a dangerous crack you can fall into at any moment. When Dan and I visited, it drove us nuts. Perhaps this is TMI, but we are cuddlers, especially in the winter. This here crack prevents the nighttime cuddles and it really sucks. On our Ikea outing, which we hope to do on Friday or Saturday, we might look for a "crack filler," if such a thing exists. Anyway, what does this say about the Swedes? Do they not cuddle? Does this merely fulfill the stereotype that they are cold, laughter-less people?!

Here is some of the storage in our bedroom... Quite a bit!












I will have the second part to this email in the future - the uploading of pictures takes forever.

On Our Way

In 24 hours, Daniel and I will be in the Minneapolis Airport, getting ready for our move. First we'll fly from MSP to Chicago O'Hare, then have a 4-hour layover (for extra safety at a crazy airport) before flying to Copenhagen. We'll arrive in Copenhagen at 1:20pm local time (they're 7 hours ahead of us). From Copenhagen, we'll take a 45-minute train to Lund, then a taxi to the lab where the leader of the lab has our apartment key and will presumably walk us to our new place! This trip is really planes, trains, and automobiles!


Last night we had a going-away party with our families.













Everyone had a great time and got along well.













We're finally excited and looking forward to our own place and a new environment. We have some idea of what our first week will be like: First, we might try to get a personnummer, which is like a social security number. That will allow us to get a bank account, a cell phone, etc. We will of course need to have a crash lesson in Swedish to allow us to get a full house of groceries and even cleaning products.

If you want to contact us, our phones will be out of service in the next couple of days. In the mean time, you can contact us on Skype. My Skype username is "stephaniespayne," while Daniel's is "dr.danwolf." If you see us online, feel free to message or call to see if we're available to talk. Or, email us and set a time for us to chat. Once we get cell phones again, that may be an option for calling/texting us.

I'll update from Sweden once we arrive with a photo tour of our apartment!