Day 9

Election Day in Sweden! It's interesting to me that they always vote on a Sunday, and we always vote on a Tuesday, don't we? Their reasoning is that most people aren't busy on Sundays. I think that makes sense. Also, they don't have to vote at a particular location. The government knows where they live, so they just show their ID card and it registers where they live. I guess our government doesn't keep as close tabs on us, since we have to vote at the polling place closest to our home.

Once at their polling location, they take a small piece of paper (maybe a quarter sheet of our normal notebook paper) that corresponds to the party they want to vote for. On the paper are the names of the people whom the party will place in open government positions (like parliament) if that party is voted in. Before turning in the paper, they can choose to check a box next to one or more names, which would be a vote to move that person up to the top of the list. All votes are counted by hand, and the election results are not officially known until approximately Wednesday.

Lena left the apartment early Sunday morning to vote, and after a nice breakfast we left for the train station. I checked my bag into a locker and we were off on our Sunday adventure. The day was again cloudy and wet, but we were in good moods as we traveled about an hour by train, then maybe 20 minutes by bus to reach the ferry dock. By the time we arrived, the clouds has thinned and for the first time since my arrival in Sweden, I missed my sunglasses.

The ferry ride was maybe 5 minutes long, and we landed in the quaint little seaside town of Marstrand (marsh-trand). Apparently a popular place for Swedish celebrities to vacation, it was fairly deserted so we quickly climbed the hill to fortress, stopping only to take a peek into the little church (of Sweden) as the service had just let out. We paid our entrance fee, and wandered through the dark and gloomy stone rooms that served as a prison for the worst criminals over a hundred years ago.

One famous criminal, Lasse Maja, is well known to most Swedes as the charming conman sentenced to life at Marstrand. Discovering that he could cook, however, he was promoted to cooking for the warden and let out after only 25 years. During his stay, he earned money by standing where visitors could see and hear him, and telling stories of how he conned people out of their money. He would stop half way through the story and announce that he would continue only if the spectators threw him coins. Entering the tiny cells that were cold and dark even in the middle of a warm fall day, you could imagine what they would have felt (and smelled) like in the middle of winter, crowded with unwashed prisoners.

We decided to walk up the steps to the top of the tower. The design of these steps is typical, from what I have seen, of Swedish architecture, both residential and commercial. Unlike our rectangular steps, these are nearly triangular in shape, so that only one side actually feels wide enough (to me) to safely walk on. Lena told me that it is customary, when coming upon someone going in the opposite direction, to allow the person descending to take the wide side, while the person ascending must negotiate the very shallow steps on the other.

At the top of the long flight of steep stone steps, we were discouraged to find a locked metal door. As we turned to go back down, a young man was coming up and said his sister had given him the key and sent him to open it for us! Though the wind had picked up and the clouds had begun to roll back in, the view was spectacular. Sea on all sides, the grassy tops of the fortress walls and battlements, pastel-painted houses, and many sail boats. We even talked the young man into taking our picture before he disappeared back down the steps.

A quick back walk to the town, a little shopping in the cute seaside-themed shops (!) and it was time for fika. I wasn't sure why Lena called it fika since it was maybe 1:00 by then and we both ordered sandwiches. Mine was typical of a Swedish smorgås (smore-go-us) with lettuce, a wedge of tomato, some brie, salami, sprouts, cucumber, and a little sundried tomato. They don't seem concerned that one get some of each ingredient in every bite. It was really delicious.

Back on the ferry, to the bus, to the train, which was standing-room-only since many people were head to Göteborg for a big soccer match. I have to admit that after so much walking, standing on the train, even for just 20 minutes, was tortuous. Off the train, and a quick stop in a bookstore for a gift for Pär. I really love that almost every store (even grocery stores!) have a little self-serve gift wrap station stocked with wrapping paper, scissors, tape, and ribbon. Can you even imagine something like that in the U.S.? There would be complaints about the color of paper, and lawsuits involving people cutting their fingers off with the scissors. Oh well, I can appreciate them here.

Soon enough we were off the train and headed for a short walk to the opera house. On the way, Lena fretted that I would be hungry before I could eat again. "But we just had sandwiches for lunch an hour ago" I protested. "Lisa. When will you learn that smorgås is never considered lunch in Sweden?" Seemed like lunch to me!

Pär and Lena had purchased us tickets to see the Stravinsky opera called "The Rake's Progress" at the beautiful Göteborg Opera House. Shaped like a ship, it sits at the harbor between a skyscraper nicknamed the "lipstick" and a new ferris wheel. The opera was sung in English with Swedish supertitles and was delightful. Great costumes, lovely music and a fun, easy-to-follow plotline kept me awake and focused (though the coffee at the train station contributed to Pär commenting on my being a bit "pigg" ... loosely translated as lively or spry. At intermission we had snacks and beverages at little tables with white cloths that looked out over the sunset-colored sea. A rather magic evening with two really wonderful Swedish friends.

When the opera finished we went to fetch my overnight bag from the locker. "Is it in the train station or the bus station?" Pär asked. Ummmm...it was downstairs? I'm so hopeless. Where was Dan and his super-power sense of direction. I had no idea what building the bag was in. Fortunately we found it after a relatively short search and were on our way home. I like that the opera started early enough that it was done by 9pm. Doesn't it seem like our plays and such always start at 7 or 8 and run until 10 or 11? Since I am definitely a morgon pigg and not a natt uggla, this way worked much better for me.

Another magical day in Sweden. Only three more to go.

Day 8

I think we need to re-think breakfast traditions in our family. At least during the week. We are so inhospitable compared to the Swedes. We might set out a box of cereal, a banana, and some bread for toast. Here, every morning, they set out a decorative tin of corn flakes (not the box,) a jar of muesli, a basket of a variety of breads, cheese, butter, vegetables, jam, fruit, ham, yogurt, juice, coffee, and milk. I don't even do all that on a weekend! Of course I'd probably weigh 300 pounds if I ate all that, but that's another issue.

This morning we had a special breakfast that included a mushroom omelet and bacon. Pär said, "Would you just come live with us please? When you are here I get to eat foods that Lena doesn't usually cook for me." I think you might be able to twist my arm :)

Pär and I then hurried to the train station where I just caught the train to Göteborg. An hour of beautiful scenery later, Lena met me at the station. We stowed my bag in a locker and off we went. We shopped at the indoor mall that was busy with both shoppers and people voting a day early in special kiosks set up for that. We even saw some of the politicians we had seen on television the night before. There was a huge crowd trying to get a look at them and hear what they had to say, and a lot of police. I snapped a quick photo, then we had fika (coffee) at Cafe Kronhuset.

Most restaurants have several "self-serve" options. One is that there is usually a table set up for bread. If you buy lunch, you can help yourself. I don't think this would work in the U.S. First, I don't think it would be considered sanitary to leave food out for everyone to touch, and second I think people would either eat it when they weren't supposed to or stuff it in their purse and take it home. That's a sad commentary on us I guess. Think it's true?

After fika we went to the Röhsska Museum of design. When we stepped up to buy our tickets, the machine was apparently not working. I said something flip like, "Do you sing while we wait?" The woman smiled, reached behind her, and brought up a guitar. She sang some lovely Swedish song (at least I think it was lovely - didn't sound like one of Scott's drinking songs,) then told us we should go on through. There were bizarre fashions, sleek furniture, and, Katherine, I don't believe I've ever seen a Mickey Mouse quite like this one. Shall I bring one home for you?

Lunch, more shopping (I don't think this brand would make it in the U.S., and even McDonalds tries to be healthier by telling you the organic origins of its ingredients,) ice cream, then we retrieved my bag and took the bus to Lena's place. She lives in an adorable apartment that has a balcony where she has a garden full of potted plants, herbs and vegetables. We put our feet up for a bit (OK I put MY feet up for a bit) then we walked to dinner.

It's no wonder the Swedes are healthy and trim - they walk EVERYwhere. That part I don't know if I'd survive, but it's no wonder I always come home a few pounds lighter, even with all the fika! Dinner was in a lively, noisy pub. I really wanted a margarita, but it was beer and wine only so I ordered a pear cider. Oh my. I actually guzzled this thing. I really need to find a way to get Kopparberg's Swedish pear cider in the U.S. At least I could pretend I was drinking beer with the big people. Soooo yummy, especially ice cold.

A long walk back home and a long chat about stuff, and I'll sleep like a baby, I'm sure.

Hej då (hey doh-uh) - good bye for now :)

Day 7

Now that's what I'm talking about. Twelve straight hours spent with the students who will be coming to California in March. It's why I'm here! Even though I was exhausted by the end of the day, it was the perfect way to get to to know each student.

They broke themselves up into 4 groups, and each group had 2 hours to spend doing something fun with me. The first group took me to have coffee at Tant Grön (something like My Old Green Aunt?) I also had a very small cinnamon roll which was delicious but not too big. I did not overeat today. I did not! Anyway, we sat at a little table and the four of them asked me all their most worrisome questions about their trip to California. What are the families like? What sports/PE classes can I do at the JC? Will the weather be nice (to us, weather in spring is variable, to them the answer is always yes when I tell them the temperature spread)? Will I have to live in a family who has snakes? Will they make me eat hamburgers all day? Will we get to ski, watch football on TV, or see a live basketball game? The other people in the cafe tried not to stare (actually they didn't try very hard) as we talked and laughed in English. A lovely 2 hours.

They walked me back to the school where the next group met me and walked me back into town for lunch. We ate at the Viskan Cafe (I only ate HALF my sandwich, because I just ate a cinnamon roll.) The 6 students in this group and I sat and talked, and they asked me all their most important questions about coming to California (see list above and add questions about local shopping meccas.) This cafe contained mostly young people, so no one stared. After lunch we walked back to the school where the students voted. Apparently it is a national policy to poll all gymnasiet (high school) students to see how they will/would vote in the election which takes place on Sunday. The votes are counted and the results are published by school, I think.

I sat for five minutes before the next group came and we walked to the bowling alley in town. What fun! We had 2 teams of 3. I'm a terrible bowler; hit nothing, hit 2 pins, strike, hit nothing, hit one pin, strike, etc. but we had a great time anyway. There were a few difference from American bowling. First of all the shoes were help-yourself. Second we were asked to change our shoes in a locker room where there were actually showers. Third all the ads on the scoring machine were in Swedish, very strange. Other than that, I felt right at home! The students were great. We laughed, teased and encouraged each other, commented on the other bowlers, and generally had a good time. I don't think anyone in this group had any questions for me...OK with me! :)

By the time we walked back to the school, my feet were toast. So when the fourth group announced we'd be walking several kilometers to someone's house, I revolted. They finally managed to find a driver and we arrived at a beautiful home in Borås. Our job was to bake a kladkaka (chocolate cake) for dinner that night. I ate the other half of my sandwich from lunch so I wouldn't be tempted to lick the beaters, then we got to work. I remember when I was on a missions trip in high school a woman commented that many of my friends had obviously "never walked through a kitchen." Yep. The cake turned out lovely. The frosting ended up being a very nice sauce we poured over the top. It was all good. These students had only a few questions for me, mostly asked as I sat with my feet up in the living room while the cake was baking. Can I play American football while I'm in California? Can I ski? Will someone take me to San Francisco to shop? Will my family be able to feed me enough? (Actually, this last question was mine and I have my doubts that this student ever actually has "enough" to eat.)

A new chauffer/student drove us to the next stop which was another student's beautiful home. All of the students were there (except one who had a soccer game.) Now, I have heard many times from Swedish students that the Swedes are much more equal in their gender roles than we Americans are. So when I entered the home I was a bit surprised to see all of the girls working hard in the kitchen and all of the boys sitting on the sofa playing video games. Uhuh. Tell me another one.

We sat together and ate tacos (actually we would call them burritos.The ingredients were the same ones we would use with a couple of exceptions, namely cucumbers and pineapple. Interesting! The tacos were great, and we had good discussions about The Swedish Chef, American Idol, and how much time they would be able to spend sunbathing in California. Then we had some staring contests, complete with lewd tongue maneuvers, followed by the amazing dessert we made earlier. As I was contemplating calling it a night, I noticed some of the students were doing karaoke. I'm not sure if I've ever witnessed this strange phenomenon live, but I for darned sure never did it! However, for those of you who know my motto when in Sweden, you won't be surprised that I said yes when asked to join in. I sing badly, and when nervous (like when a room full of Swedish teenagers are watching) even worse. But after finding the only song I knew in the list (Stand By Me,) I did my best, and actually had fun! Who knew?

Only a short drive back to Pär and Lena's house, and a little time watching the politicians give it their last best shot on TV, and that was it for me.

God natt!

Day 6

Although the jet lag has nearly faded away, I still appreciated a bit of a "lie in" this morning before Malin drove me to school. I worked for awhile in Lena's office, then had lunch with some of the students in the cafeteria. We took our time, then walked to the Aula (hall - like our auditorium) to see the election debates. Since there is a major election that's going to take place on Sunday, the television, radio, and newspapers can talk of nothing else.

The political parties here are very different than our own. "Right" and "left" are reversed in terms of liberal and conservative, and in actuality there are no "conservative" parties at all. They go from what we would consider middle-left to waaaaay left. They also don't elect particular people for positions. What they do is vote for their favorite party (there are about 7,) and the majority party then decides who they will install into the positions available. They choose from a list of their favorites, and you can, if you wish, check a box suggesting that a particular person be moved up or down on the list. It's an interesting system. So today the students watched as local politicians debated the merits of their respective parties. I, of course, understood none of it, but Niklaus sat next to me and tried to whisper the important points. It was great to just pick out the words I know, and look some others up in my Swedish/English dictionary app.

A little more work and it was time to go home. Then Viktoria arrived to take me home with her for dinner. Since we were a little early, she drove me around Äspered a little which is a beautiful small town with lots of trees and a big lake just outside Borås. There is a nice little resort right on the lake with green lawns, barbecues, etc. that is owned by the government and can be rented out for events and such. The buildings can sleep maybe 50 people. Wouldn't it be fun if all my family and friends could come some summer and hang out at the Swedish lake for a week? A girl can dream :)

Viktoria's family was so lovely, as was their home. It was a place you walk into and immediately feel comfortable. Like many homes I have been in here, it is on several levels, so is roomy. I loved that Vilma, Viktoria's 9-year-old sister, allowed me to see her room, and even to take her picture in it.

Dinner was pork in mushroom sauce over rice, salad, red currant jelly (made by Viktoria's mom,) and olives. Then there was red currant crumble with vanilla sauce for dessert - yum! The whole meal was really delicious. And while we ate we talked of what each of us does; work, s. Vilma brought me her Engelska workbook, and we practiced together. She also showed me how to make a boat/chicken out of our napkins - Swedish origami :)

On the way home, Viktoria tried valiantly to teach me to say the sju sound. I think I almost have it. You wouldn't think a single syllable could be so difficult, but when I make them think about it, they admit that there are actually three distinct sounds in that one syllable. It's all about where you put your tongue and how you form your lips as you force the air from the back of your throat to the front. Do we have sounds like that? Not that I can think of.

In bed by 10 and asleep by midnight. Alarm set for 6 am. God natt.

Day 5

I have such a fun job here in Sweden. My main responsibility is to hang out with and get to know a bunch of really nice teenagers. Today I met with the students who will come to California in 2 years. I met them all a year ago when I went to Stockholm with them on their field trip. They have great personalities. Lena arranged for us to play games together. One was "Guess that TV/movie theme song." I'm really terrible at that, but I was very impressed with how good the students were. They knew the theme songs from House, CSI, Scrubs, 2 1/2 Men, Avatar, Star Wars, Superman, and many many more. These are not media deprived kids, as Dan would say :)

Then I met with the students who will come next year. We talked about how I will match them with a family, what they can expect in terms of food, school work, and spiders. These seem to be the 3 main concerns for students each year. For some reason Swedish students believe that Americans eat fast food 3 times per day, and that we live with monstrous spiders roaming through our homes. They also think that if they go for a walk, it's likely that snakes will jump out and bite them. I'm not sure where they get these ideas, but I try to reassure them that we will feed them healthy food and try to keep the spiders and snakes at bay. I have to admit that occasionally I tire of hearing how fat and unhealthy Americans are. Maybe because, as Garfield would say, I resemble that remark.

Lena and I had lunch in the cafeteria. The students all eat in a big room together. They use a special card to get their plate from a machine, then they can eat anything they want. There is usually one main dish, a salad bar, flatbread, and drinks. We ate in the teacher's lunch room. It's usually the same food, though the side dishes might vary slightly. Lena, like some of the students, has a special diet which is always accomodated. Today's lunch was fish, boiled potatoes, rice, salad, and flatbread.

I have been trying hard to keep up with my classes at home as well as email, Skype, etc. but it's been hard. I'm generally at school from 8am to 3pm, then home for a couple of hours before the next activity begins. I find myself staying up late to get things done.

Last night I helped Lena make a delicious KräftaOst soup (kreft-oost = crayfish/cheese). While I would like to say I'll try to make it for my family when I get home, I probably won't since the main ingredient is a cheese that has crayfish in it, and I don't remember seeing anything like that in our local markets. When we were done eating it, Lena, Malin and I, along 2 of Malin's friends piled into the family car and drove to town. We parked in a store parking lot, crawled under two fences and found ourselves in the parking lot of a factory where a stage had been set up, along with a small sound booth.

After awhile a man in bright green pants came onto the stage saying hurdy-gurdy things and then introduced a man in a suit. He spoke for maybe 20 minutes about a new water storage tank that had been built (you can see it behind the girls) that would provide heated water to the town in some eco-friendly way. This was the the grand dedication for the water tower.

After the suit finished speaking, a famous singer named Peter Johanson came out and, along with a guitar player in a very groovy blue-flowered suit, began singing rock and roll; Kiss, Queen, Lady Gaga, etc. He was really good! We were standing very near the stage since the ladies wanted to be sure to get a good look at this handsome guy. When I turned around I realized there were probably 300 people there! And then it started to rain. We put up our hoods and kept watching.

Then it began to pour. The umbrellas came out which made it hard to see, but we stayed put. Until the power went out. Then the singer asked us all to come closer to the stage, he went and got his acoustic guitar, squatted at the edge of the stage and kept singing and playing. The power came back on and they went back to having lights and instruments. After about an hour and a half, the show was over. But wait! Green pants returned, and then the suit along with several other guys who looked important. We all moved to where we had a better view of the water tank and the light show began. "Now the tower is red, symbolizing the fact that the water will be warm! Now the tower is ..." You get the idea. By now my feet were too numb to hurt any more. Half an hour later, we left. Cold. Wet. Tired. But happy to have seen the grand unveiling of Borås' new water tower. A night to remember!

A few short videos from the performance :)

Day 4

There's something about being treated so kindly by such lovely people that makes me sort of shuffle my feet and question why I would be so blessed. I'm in this beautiful country, half a world away from my home, and feeling like I am home, in a sense. Yes, I miss my family and friends, but there's something about the Swedish lifestyle that allows me to take a deep breath and relax into their world. Something I find I'm less able to accomplish in my world these days.

Today the school principal, Maria, offered to show me a little of her neighborhood. She lives in a really lovely suburb of Borås that used to be a major textile producer. A large factory still stands, but has been converted into a museum. She treated me to lunch at a cute restaurant called the Gästhuset (Guest House) where the menu was three options: fish, ground beef patty, or vegetable gratin. I chose the beef and it was really good, served with boiled potatoes, tzaziki, roasted red pepper puree, bread, and a salad bar. Afterwards we toured the museum which was enormous, and still contained much of the equipment used to spin cotton, wool, and other fibers.



We stopped into the gift shop at the end of our tour and Maria bought me a tomte! So far he hasn't caused me any trouble :)

I walked around the town of Borås a little, re-familiarizing myself with the plaza, the park, and the little shops, and exchanging some dollars for Kroner (ouch.) I decided I needed a cup of coffee, so stopped in at the Espresso House. I ordered a large latte with no foam. What I got was probably an 8 oz. cup that was maybe 3/4 full, and I paid 33 kroner ($4.65) for it. Yikes. It was good coffee but...









I tried to stay awake when I got home, but Pär said I had a "power nap" sitting up on the sofa. Our lovely student, Viktoria, and another student from this year, Axel, came to pick me up for dinner. They surprised me by going to Jessica's house where 11 students and I all had Taco Tuesday! It was really wonderful to catch up with what everyone was doing; studying, working, dating, learning to drive, etc. Jessica and her family live in a beautiful, 3-story home that her father has added a lot to with his artistic carpentry skills. After dinner I handed out gifts that some of the families sent along for them. There was laughter and tears as they were reminded that there are people in America who love them.

It was so hard to say goodbye, again, to these kids. They still feel like they belong to me (or I to them?) Hopefully I will see them all again next year.