Prologue

Scene: Copenhagen Inernational Airport, waiting in line at the entrance to the security check point.

Security Guard: (Scrutinizing a gentleman’s ticket. Peers at him over her reading glasses, squints a bit, looks back at the ticket. Glances at the clock.)
Sir, your boarding pass says that your flight leaves at 8:25am.

Gentleman: Yes…?

Security Guard: It is 9am. I believe you have missed your flight.

Gentleman: I’m sorry… I have no concept of time.

Security Guard: Well when you have a plane to catch time is very important.
(The guard steps back to use her walkie-talkie to, presumably, check on the status of the flight.)

(The man teeters around, looking sort of stunned, then sees me.)
Gentleman: Why hello there.

Me: Hi!

Gentleman: It appears I’ve missed my flight. (Words are slurred, and he reeks of alcohol.)

Lazy Sundays

This is one of my many upsides to my unemployment: we have leisurely and fun weekends because we're not rushing around arguing about housework. It's already done. All that's left is to enjoy each other's company, be tourists, and attempt random cooking experiments. Here is a short documentation of one of those such experiments:

Dan and I decided to attempt to make bagels! I got up early and made the dough, then let it rise.

The trademark of bagels is that you have to boil them!

Then we rolled them in toppings, such as cinnamon sugar, or rosemary, or basil.

And of course you bake them. And drool while you wait.

Then, enjoy. (They're actually best after they've cooled.)

Here is the recipe, if you're interested.

Winter Break

Yesterday was the last day of my Swedish class after about a month of classes. I learned a lot: I can tell you a little about myself, ask for the time, ask for directions, order coffee, understand most numbers... It feels good to have that base, even though everyone speaks English so well here.

I'm on break now! After the holidays, I plan to enroll in the free government-provided Swedish for Immigrants classes. They don't publicize when the new classes begin, so I just have to enroll and then wait to receive an assignment by mail.

I've heard a lot of bad things about SFI, like that the move too slowly, or they're racist in the way they pitch Swedish culture. The most frequent complaint I've heard/read is that in the beginning classes there are so many people with different learning styles and levels that it's difficult to learn. For example, in the beginning levels there are a number of people who do not know how to write the Latin alphabet, and so time in spent on writing and sounds that other people in the class may find too simple.

However, the classes at Folkuniversitetet weren't good enough to warrant paying for them, especially without having at least tried the SFI classes. The FU (haha) classes moved a bit slow to me, and the teacher wasn't the best at motivating us. There was no assigned homework, and no tests. Sounds like SFI to me, so I might as well try the free ones!

I'm glad I took the first level at FU though. It gave me structure each day right from the second week we were here, which I think has been very helpful for me while I have adjusted to not working and my new home. I made friends, and had contact with all sorts of interesting people all over the world.

In other news - only one week until we depart for Italy! Dan and I are very excited. We will be leaving on December 23rd, and returning January 4th. I hope to bring back beautiful pictures and funny stories.

The Bed Project

Stupid separate beds! We're always falling in the crack! Something must be done about this serious issue...

After weeks of brainstorming, the solution came to us: we could use the Christmas ribbon to tie together the bed posts!


Dan channels his inner boyscout in order to use a complicated tying technique supposedly called "lashing."


Don't forget to tie the other end!

Problem solved! Our family of stuffed animals can now live without fear of the crack!


And we lived happily ever after.

My Everyday Adventures

It's been an interesting few days. Living here makes every little thing interesting because it's different. For example, paying rent can be a huge accomplishment when you had no idea how to for the first month. But just last week I had my first experience of being frustrated by all those little differences.

Things just weren't going my way. I couldn't find a jeweler to re-size my ring, because soft gemstones aren't often used here and the laser welder needed to make my ring smaller is sort of hard to find here. I was told I would need to find a jeweler in a nearby city, and even then the ring might need to be sent away for a few weeks.

However, the most frustrating is the intense paperwork necessary for my master's program. They won't even accept my basic application until I have thoroughly documented my immigration status. (I can only imagine how much more difficult it is for immigrants in the US.) They want certified copies of my diploma; transcripts sent directly from the US (I have official sealed copies here but they're not acceptable); certified copies of my visa and passport; no paperclips or staples; no double-sided pages, and I can't get a hold of anyone to ask a simple question. Well, I suppose they weed out quite a few confused foreign applicants this way!

We've also had some trouble with our sink, which was incredibly backed up. It was taking multiple hours to drain after a simple hand wash, and becoming slower by the day. Over a week ago I asked our landlord to fix it, with no response. Finally, when I was gone, a plumber was supposedly here and said there was no problem. Perhaps he went to the wrong apartment! Just yesterday Daniel realized he could pull apart the piping and unclog it himself. Woohoo!

Most of the time, small difficulties are hilarious. For example, discovering that chili powder here is sweet. Or perhaps having no idea how to get a Swedish ID. All these things get fixed in time, and make us laugh.

This week I also went to a yoga class at the gym we just joined - completely in Swedish. I was nervous as heck, because I never got a tour or anything so I had no idea where the changing room was, or what it would be called. After wandering around awkwardly, I found the locker room and the gym, and settled in for class.

As she began to narrate, she said in Swedish, "welcome to yoga class. This class is 55 minutes." Then I understood next to nothing. I heard her say foot and shoulder, and something about closing our eyes. But that was it. I understood the sanskrit names of the asanas more than the Swedish directions. But I didn't make a fool of myself, and was able to follow along because of my past experience with yoga.

After a couple frustrating days, things are back to normal, with our fun and at times hilarious adventures in movie going, and a Swedish spin class. Hopefully we can keep our sense of humor as we continue to settle in here.

Swedish Field Journal: 1st Edition

We have been living in Lund, Sweden, for a full month now. It feels longer to me. I feel fairly settled: I have made a couple friends, my Swedish is progressing quickly, and I can easily navigate around town. I have gathered important master's information and I will apply to both the Welfare Policies and Management program as well as the Swedish Social Work program. In the meantime I am applying to jobs. All is progressing well...

I can't fully speak for Daniel, but my impression is that he is really enjoying his job. He likes his co-workers (as do I!) and his project. He works hard and seems to be adjusting really well.

Life here isn't terribly different than in the US. Our lifestyle is a bit different, in that we almost always eat at home, and walk everywhere, but it feels quite familiar. But there are small funny things here and some subtle cultural differences that are interesting to discover.

In one month, here's what I can (confidently enough) report:

One of the things we've learned about in my Swedish class, and that I've noticed in my day-to-day life, is the Swedish desire for equality and parity in all regards. For example, we have always called our Swedish teacher by his first name. Once we students asked how to say Mr. and Mrs., and he (a 60+ y/o man) didn't even tell us, only explaining that it is old-fashioned and that such titles are no longer used. We asked about doctors, or professors, and apparently it's not fashionable to point-out hierarchy. He commented that he is glad Swedish society has lost the formal "you" and other titles, that he thought they were bad.

Along the same lines, Swedes don't want to seem different or better than other people. To be normal is good. I haven't had enough first-hand experience to fully compare this to the viral American individualism, but that's the first idea that comes to mind. I've also been told that on resumes, or during a job interview, one isn't supposed to brag about oneself. I can't imagine a job interview in which my task is anything other than to convince the potential boss that they can't live without me.

On a less serious note, the attitude towards fashion here is markedly European and of course, quite classy. It's very rare to see even a new mother in sweatpants. In the block surrounding the gym, perhaps you'll see some comfortable clothes, but still I see that rarely. In my opinion, most people here are fit and fairly good looking. Men are much more metrosexual than American men - there's a lot of gelled hair and ankle boots for men. (I like a man who can dress himself, but if he takes longer than me to get ready, that's ridiculous.)

My plan is to have more "editions" of cultural differences, as I experience them and learn more about it.

Tivoli at Christmas

Dan and I took a trip yesterday to Copenhagen to visit Tivoli, the second oldest amusement park in the world. Tivoli is supposed to have an amazing Christmas fest, with craft/gift stalls, traditional Danish holiday foods, and lots of beautiful lights.


Here is Dan, waiting at the train station in Lund, eating some weird Swedish gummies.
















When we arrived there was a huge line outside the park, stretching down the block, even though it was below freezing, with an even colder windchill.















Inside there were lots of beautiful things to see, even though the park was smaller than expected: perhaps 3-4 city blocks.


There were two individuals doing ice carvings - what an amazing process. From the first time we visited this station, to the time right before we left, this woman had finished her fish carving and moved on to a new one that was just taking shape.













A huge, gorgeous Christmas tree...
















A lit up castle...













I'm not even sure what to call this.













Other sorts of lit-up trees.

















Rides for all ages (although we did not partake, the ticket was expensive and the lines were long!).











This is the closest thing we could find to the St. Paul Winter Carnival. Our assessment: It's definitely worth seeing once in your life. The lights were really gorgeous, and it was cool to see an amusement park in winter. The downsides: it's really really cold! My feet have never gotten so cold. Scandinavia doesn't so such a good job at shoveling (possibly because things are so packed in, there's nowhere to put it), so your feet are immersed in snow all the time. Another downside is how incredibly busy it was. Every restaurant was booked until 9:30pm - apparently you make reservations for the restaurants inside the park! Nonetheless, if you're in the area, head out for a festive evening.


Happy holidays everyone! We miss you.