Anya wanted to go to Stockholm again. Since this may be the last Saturday before things get quite busy, I agreed on the condition that we would try to speak Swedish the whole time.
We have our train system figured out now. This time, we were on the top level of a double-decker train.
We did more walking around in the main shopping and tourist areas. Here are some views.
We decided to do a Seattle-style fika (“coffee” break).
We also did a bit of shopping. Anya needed some school supplies. She will eventually get a student allowance from the government of about $130 per month, so she said she would pay me back! Anya also needed rain pants for biking to and from school and pole vaulting practice. We plan to just bike and use public transportation, so we need to have rain gear. It was an exceptionally nice day, so we kept the rain gear in my backpack.
We did speak quite a bit of Swedish to each other. I spoke my phrase and repeat it in English to not only have Anya understand me but also to check my grammar. On the train rides, Anya did homework, and I worked on Swedish vocabulary, especially the verb tenses. Ugh!
We and our hosts were invited over to Donna and Lennart’s for a barbecue in the evening. We are fortunate to be so welcomed. It was a fun evening.
When it was asked if anyone wanted a beer, Anya jokingly said “yes!” Lennart immediately disappears and soon comes back with an alcohol-free German beer for her! She said it was an experience, but it wasn’t her “cup of tea.”
After dinner, we played a fun card game. The interpersonal dynamics of negotiation made it lively and interesting.
Everyone in the group is quite fun and funny. It was great to see Anya engage so well with this group of adults.
We biked home in the dark about 11:30 pm. It seems a bit weird to leave a place so late and everyone bikes home. It was a great day!
Sunday morning meant bicycling off to church. The “parking lot” was quite full. We parked our bikes in the furthest rack.
The service was nice. I had a translation earpiece, but I try to listen to both the Swedish and the English to strengthen my comprehension.
The guy that helped Anya get oriented to the Kathedral school was there too. It was nice to have another connection with him and other youth in the school.
I was invited with Donna and Lennart to visit the English bookstore after church. There are enough people in the area, especially at the university, who are English speakers and keep this shop going. Our host, Kristina, is fluent in English. She said she also prefers to read a book in English that was written in English, as she feels that much gets lost in the translation. Since so many Swedes are fluent in English, they also are reading English books.
I will be focusing on learning Swedish, so I won’t be a patron of this store for quite a while!
My afternoon is filled with emails and Swedish. A “sound proof” music room in this neighborhood is not very sound proof with the windows open. There is a local heavy metal band that practices a few times per week. We are about 100 meters/yards away and can still hear it though the windows and doors are closed!
For some unknown reason, the Nordic countries have the highest percentage od heavy metal bands per capita!
Off to more Swedish.
With blessings,
Beth