Whithersoever thou goest

The director of JTH, Hans, invited me to go with his mentor’s group to a city about a 2.5 hour road trip to the northwest. This JTH tradition gets students into various EFS churches. (The EFS is a subgroup under the Church of Sweden which comes from a pietistic tradition out of the Scandinavian Reformation of the late 1800s with an emphasis on lay leaders—but also with ordained clergy—and global mission.) I figured this would be a chance to connect with Hans, students, another EFS congregation, as well as see a bit of Sweden.

It ends up that there is only 1 student along, the one who will be preaching. He was my student last fall, and I know he has some good thinking, but now I get to hear more of his story. He comes from a line of carpenters and farmers in a central crossroads area in Sweden between large lakes. He says that before IKEA, his family made furniture that filled the farmhouses in that area. But now, there is less demand because of the expense of hand-crafted furniture. I asked of what he thought of IKEA. He wasn’t as negative as expected, as his family has chosen diverse professions, and he is pursuing the vocation of a pastor.

The city, Borlänge, is in the Dalarna region, which is literally “the valleys” in Swedish. Many know the Dala Horse, and we passed a very big one!

This area is higher and has rolling hills, with one that is steep enough to have some downhill skiing. (Not quite Washington state’s mountain skiing!) The area looks quite like northern Minnesota with pine and birch forests. This area used to have a big steel mill. Now they are specialists in rolling steel. The iron is mined in other places in Sweden and cast into semi-finished casting products which are sent here by train. The specialized production here converts the semi-finished casting products into finished products, big rolls of steel, that are shipped all over.

The evening plans included a congregational gathering. There were about 40 or so in attendance. Hans did the main presentation looking at Finnish hymns in the Swedish hymnbook, as he is Swedish-Finnish. (There are parts of Finland where Swedish is dominant, while all students learn Swedish in school, which is part of the remnant of the Swedish empire days when they controlled of Finland. The student introduced himself, and there were many questions about his experience at JTH. This congregation has had one of the professors come on several occasions for preaching and teaching, so there is a pretty good relationship with the school. I gave a little homily as part of telling a bit about who I am (I prefer to point to Jesus), and the student translated. He spent a year in England volunteering at the Walsingham pilgrimage center, so he has a distinctive British pronunciation of his English.

My host family were kind. I slept very well with a great view of the a partially-rural area out my bedroom window.

I was in their son’s room, who is now in university in Gothenberg. However, I discovered a book in his bookshelf from his younger years. I think I might have to find me a copy!

The Sunday morning service, went well for the student preacher. I said it went very well, for what I could understand (though it wasn’t much!).

There was also bilingual content for the Ethiopian children.

After the service, we had a lunch with some of the international men that are served by the congregation, including from Pakistan, Syria, and Ethiopia. They have international Bible studies in 5 languages at the church: Arabic, Spanish-Portuguese combined, English, and Swedish. I helped the Syrian young man, who is studying at the university, find an online New Testament in modern Syriac, which is similar to the Aramaic that Jesus spoke. (The first Syriac Bible was probably translated in the 2nd century AD!)

Really, there was an amazing spirit and warmth. Even though at the beginning of the trip I wondered why I had agreed to come, by the end, I was enriched and blessed.

We took a bit of a scenic route on the way home and stopped by a very old church from the 1300s.

Yes, I did make good connections and see a bit of Sweden. And one of the retired women who is volunteering to teach English to immigrants and refugees, told me that she was impressed with my Swedish speaking for being here 7 months. I was encouraged.

For those who are worried about immigrants and refugees, I wish they could have joined me to see how this Swedish church has opened up their hearts and homes to welcome the sojourner. This is the real beauty of churches.

With blessings,

Beth

There is a palpable buzz when the sun is shining in these early spring-ish days after a dark, cold winter.

I biked to the gym, and I actually had two conversations in Swedish! One amazing factor is actually talking with strangers, as it rarely happens, and the other amazing factor was that I used my basic Swedish! One conversation was rather short during the entrance to the gym, as I helped a woman in a head scarf enter through the door. The other conversation was longer but a bit strange, as it started as we were naked coming out of the shower room, but our lockers were next to each other. She was patient with my beginning Swedish, and now I have a recommendation for a dentist, as she is a retired dental hygienist.

As the gym is 98 steps from work, I stopped in to print out the 2nd year essays that were due today. I then biked to my Swedish lesson with Lennart. He said he would be willing to work with me in reading a bit of the essays. We got through about 2 pages carefully. I am able to get many words, but there are many that are not yet in my vocabulary. There are also words that have dual meanings, so it is helpful to talk through these. The huge blessing is that as a theologian, he knows the theological language. Did you know that there is only one word in Swedish for our two English words of reconciliation and atonement?

So, how am I going to get through 4 essays of 8-10 pages each written in Swedish by the end of Tuesday? Well, the reading won’t be this careful, as this is a language-learning-lesson-quality engagement. I will probably cut and paste into Google translate to get a faster–though rough–translation, and check where things don’t seem to make sense. Fortunately, there is a “defense,” so all the students have to read the other 3 essays. They each get assigned one that they must read very carefully and be the “opponent”, but I am calling it a respondent. So, I will get other perspectives on the paper. But the saving grace is that I only have to determine if the paper is unsatisfactory, a good pass, or a very good pass. For this first time, I’ll do the best I can under the circumstances. I hear that my essay-course students have appreciated my guidance and help, in spite of the extra effort for them speaking in English.

Today, I also am working on the discussion on online-learning that I will facilitate on 29 March. I’m reading a book, developing a survey, and working on a PowerPoint presentation for some talking points.

Then I took a break and biked to the mall to get a carbonator for our Soda Stream thing. That’s the closest place, but it also means that it gets a little crazy on a Friday afternoon. However, I did get a pulled pork roast for dinner and some things that aren’t in our neighborhood store, like water chestnuts and pistachio ice cream.

This evening, I worked on some Swedish with Duolingo. I now reached a 54% fluency, according to whatever metric they use.

I actually think I’ve been hovering at 53% for several months, even after completing all the lessons. I just have to keep on keeping on.

Keeping on,

Beth

 

For those mathematically challenged, March 14th is Pi day; 3.14 = π. However, in Sweden, the date is written 14 mars 2017, so it is 14.3. No pie. But I still see semla buns around!

Anya is not mathematically challenged. She is mathematically excited. A book she ordered came today.

There is no Amazon in Sweden, but shipping rates from Amazon UK are not bad at all.

I’ve been reading pedagogy books in addition to books about the minor prophets, as I’ll be teaching a class on Thursday. I haven’t ever taught the minor prophets before, so I’m reviewing these 12 smaller (that’s why they are “minor”) books for a very brief overview; 12 books in 90 minutes. At least there are some groupings for similar contexts and similar themes.

Today, there was a little shenanigans on campus.

Kind of fun! I’m trying to find out if there is something more behind this, because there were similar, real sized party hats on the faculty door bulletin boards this morning. Hmm, I sense owls in the moss. This is a literal translation of the Swedish idiom, “Jag anar ugglor i mossen,” which has the same meaning as “there is something fishy is going on” for Americans. In the Tanzanian context, owls are omens of bad luck, and if one lands on your roof, it is believed to indicate that someone is going to die. So much for wise owls in different contexts!

With blessings,

Beth

It was a Bob Dylan Sunday service! With Dylan receiving the Nobel Prize in literature, he has gained more attention recently in Sweden. My colleague, Tomas, used Dylan’s life story and Christian songs, sung by a live band, to preach a powerful message.

Then Anya and I headed to Stockholm, where a Bible school friend, Michael K., met us and hosted us for lunch at a nice Italian restaurant. He and his wife were just a year behind me at LBI, so we had fun memories of our time. He told Anya that I was really “serious” in those days.

Michael works for a Canadian company that bought a Swedish company, so he will be here in Sweden 50 days in the first 3 months, going back and forth every 2 or 3 weeks for 2 or 3 weeks. (What a lot of jet lag!!!) Then Anya took off to the library, while Michael and I went to the free History Museum, which focuses on Sweden’s early history, especially the Vikings through the beginning of the Reformation. Since Anya buzzes through museums at a walking pace, it was nice to be with someone who reads some of the information!

It was a nice visit, other than the little technological glitches (a bank card wouldn’t read in one ticket machine, so we missed our planned train to Stockholm, and my phone isn’t set up to pay by my bank card, so we ended up taking a train 10 minutes later with a few more stops). Fortunately trains run several times an hour.

Anya heads to be early and is up early (between 4 and 5 am!), because she likes the productive mornings. I had a good Skype conversation with my folks, to check in with them. After a little Swedish language learning, now its off to bed.

With blessings,

Beth

The big plan for the day was to go shopping. I don’t like shopping, especially at busy times. However, I needed to get some things at the “Clas Ohlson” store, like printer ink and paper; Anya wanted dry-erase markers, and I wanted a micro-fiber gym towel, as it is smaller and can fit easily in my gym bag. I also had my 10% off grocery store reward coupon, which is only redeemable at the mall, with their larger “Kvantum” store. (Reminder: I not only needed a personnummer [like social security number], but I also needed a Swedish ID card–not just a residence permit card–to get the store membership card.)

However, Anya is using my bike with the studded tires, and while her bike has studded tires, it isn’t as good to ride as the “Elenn” or guest bike, and I don’t really know if my tightening of the handlebars on Anya’s bike is adequate (there is an problem with tightening the hexbold on the headset). With all the extra weight for a shopping trip, I wanted to take the Elenn bike. So, yesterday, I strapped a plastic crate on the back of the Elenn bike for all the stuff, as the bike paths were clear of snow and I could take the non-studded-tire bike. But it froze overnight and the slushy puddles and wet areas could be a bit slick. So, I waited for the temperature to get above freezing and for Clas Ohlson to open. In other words, the mall was very busy.

During my first week in Sweden, when my host, Christina, took me to the Kvantum grocery store, she commented how so many people make it a Saturday family event to go grocery shopping. So, there are a bunch of kids adding to the congestion. Yesterday, one kid wanted the Star Wars cereal. (Anya likes this cereal too!) But shopping is a bit crazy in a busy store where I don’t know my way around.

In my wanderings, I saw the transfer of semla pastries onto the shelf. So, yes, the Fat Tuesday delight is now available during the fasting time. even though Lent here is called the “fastan” time.

I still can’t find tapioca. I couldn’t find any barley, as I was going to try to make a beef barley soup. That just sounds good right now. I made two trips through all the varieties of toilet paper, varieties of paper towels, and varieties of baby wipes looking for facial tissue; nothing. Don’t Swedes blow their noses? I went to the cosmetics section and found one kind of boxed facial tissue with small shelf space. They also have the travel packs of tissue, but again in little shelf space. This makes me curious, but it is an awkward question to ask. I supposed I would have to start, “Do Swedes blow their noses? If so, how–as in–into a tissue, cloth, or else-wise?” Swedes are very pragmatic, so perhaps toilet tissue makes sense. It is quite readily available.

With my 10% off coupon, I stocked up on a few things. Sales tax is 12% on food and 25% on non-food items, but 10% off is nothing to sneeze at. So, I stocked up on Nutella and shampoo, as well things that are not carried in our small, neighborhood grocery store. I have to prioritize, so everything will fit in my backpack and bike baskets. With about 15 pounds extra in the handlebar basket, I had to be more careful steering and navigate around some puddles that didn’t quite look melted, but I got home safely with my cautious pace.

I did some piddly fixing (finally fixed the spice drawer bottom) and little tasks, like putting paper to “file” in binders (Swede’s don’t use file cabinets, they put everything in ring binders). These are not 3-ring binders, but I think they are called a four-ring “fork” binder, with two wide prongs on the left and two narrower prongs on the right. The pages have 4 holes. When you close the binder covers, the prongs on each side have to align with the holes on the other side. It seems a bit inefficient, but perhaps there are some benefits I have yet to figure out.

While there were some things accomplished, like paperwork, boots waterproofed, laundry put away, and clean sheets and duvet cover on, (we are going Swedish with just a duvet–no top sheet), but it was a rather low key day. I did some Swedish, but I know I could have done more. I usually try to have a “carrot” at the end of each lesson, such as watching a 6 minute episode of “How Its Made” in British English on YouTube (I find these fascinating), but yesterday I had more episodes than lessons.

In the back of my head was all the things I should be doing, as I think that things are going to get a bit crazy now with work. There is the crunch of getting all the literature revised for all the syllabi for next year. There are always more books to read for my new courses. Soon, there will be lots of essays to read (in Swedish) and grade. Fortunately, I only have to discern between unsatisfactory, good pass, and very good pass. I should be able to do that adequately evaluating the content (not the Swedish grammar), but very slowly!

My musings today are just on the stuff of life, nothing dramatic. But these are part of what takes energy here.

With blessings,

Beth

My Fridays include a morning conversation time with Lennart. The snow is mostly melted on the paths, though leaving some large puddles. So, I could take the “Elenn” bike, the extra used bike we bought when Elenn was here. It doesn’t have studded tires, but I like it better than Anya’s bike. Anya’s bike had a loose handlebar, so she has been taking my bike (with studded tires) to her school these past few snow-laden days, as her school is a bit farther. The Elenn bike has 5 speeds, and it pedals smoothly. The rear fender needs a larger flap, as I arrived at Lennart’s apartment with a little splatter on my backpack.

I bring a chocolate bar every time. While he says I don’t need to, it is good Swedish tradition to bring something, and it shows that I am appreciative of his time. He makes tea and has a little plate of something, perhaps some of previous chocolate, and today some saffron scones that he baked.

Lennart helped me know which Psalm is in the lectionary for next Sunday. (Swedes don’t use the Common Lectionary.) I have the faculty-led chapel service this next Wednesday, and we are using the Psalm from the lectionary. I read to Lennart in Swedish, and then I translated it. Finally, Lennart helped me with the half a dozen words that are not in my vocabulary yet. Some are words that are from a previous era and not commonly used except in Scripture and prayer.

On the way home, I stopped by a bike shop and picked up a metric Y-shaped allen wrench for bikes and a bike bell for the Elenn bike. Then I raised the bike seat (Elenn has shorter legs), fixed the bell and a light, then fixed lunch (not with the allen wrench).

After lunch, I went to the gym and read about the pedagogy of distance learning while on the recumbent bicycle and prayed while I pulled on the rowing machine. Again, this is Scandinavia, as evidenced by the biathalon competition on the flat-screen TV.

I met Rebecca for språk cafét. (This blog has now reached 200,000 words with the word cafét! I started it on 18 January 2015, so a little less than 100,000 words a year!) Rebecca has great patience to listen to my belabored speaking, and she gently corrects me if I don’t correct myself. We talked over Swedish health care (they call it “sick care”). We talked about this, because Rebecca has some lingering respiratory infection, so while you read this, would you add a prayer for healing. We also talked about the Meyers-Briggs temperament indicator and favorite movies.

Recently, I asked colleagues what Swedish movies I should see, but I don’t want movies that are dark and will leave me depressed. They said that it will be a short list then. I’ll have to check out a couple recommendations, and see if they are available somehow. We don’t have TV; we just stream movies for the little we watch.

So, for the evening, when Anya went to youth group, I streamed one of the episodes of Sherlock that she has purchased.

Off to bed, and hopefully no gory images from Sherlock will dance in my head.

With blessings,

Beth

I learned something new today. The faculty do not have any authority to make any curricular or policy decisions. Surprise!

No wonder there is no voting in the faculty meetings. It is not just because the Swedes like flat organizational structures and working toward consensus. In reality, the faculty can discuss things, and even make proposals, but they have no authority to adopt proposals or make official decisions. These rest completely in the hands of the recktor.

So, I’m learning the systems, or lack there of. However, there are still possibilities to influence what goes on. It would help to understand Swedish to know what really is being talked about in the faculty meetings.

Fortunately, I’m having good conversations with the students outside of class and some good engagement with the Bible school lessons. In the Bible school, the instructors can make confessional faith statements. In the accredited academic classrooms, the instructor, by law, cannot make any confessional faith statements. This next fall, I will be inviting students to join me for lunch weekly to continue the conversation after class.

With blessings,

Beth

I decided that rather than use my full free trial week at the gym, I would start my membership right away. The trial was helpful to give me a better sense of what the gym had to offer, but the trial was only available when the reception area was open, starting at 9:00 am and through the evening. However, I wanted to get going earlier in the day and be at work before 8:30 or earlier. This requires a member’s tag and key code to unlock the front door.

So, with my membership, it was a good–somewhat early–beginning at the gym today. There are less people in the morning. Though, I did get on the one recumbent bicycle (reading is easier on a recumbent), and my cycle was placed quite close to a standard exercise bike which had a guy on it. I could have probably touched his hip with my elbow, if I stuck it out (which I didn’t), as the machines are a bit close together. However, he soon left. This would be how I interpret the Swedish way, “Ooh, that is too close to a stranger. It is time for me to leave.”

The other benefit from an early morning work out is that I walk the 98 steps from the door of the gym across a square and to the door of Johannelund. I don’t bicycle, which means the bicycle helmet doesn’t mess up my hair. Yes, I’m not high maintenance or too concerned about how I look, but perhaps now I will try out a bit of vanity.

My day was mostly revising syllabi for next year. I’m going to use an English-medium grammar textbook to teach Hebrew. I just can’t swing teaching Hebrew in Swedish as a native English speaker!

The other note to pass on is that yesterday, I submitted an abstract for consideration in the Contextual Biblical Interpretation section of the Society of Biblical Literature conference, which will take place in November in Boston. If my proposal is accepted, then my travel expenses will be paid.

With blessings,

Beth

Fridays are back with my Swedish lesson with Lennart. We are reading through the history of the Swedish Evangelical Mission’s work in Ethiopia. One important part of the story influencing the growth of the church was the indigenous leadership. Today, we read about the Bible translation into the Oromo language by Onesimus and his colleague (a woman!) Aster (there is a literacy center named after her). This helped the Oromo people realize that they didn’t have to change their culture to follow Jesus.

In the afternoon, I met my Johannelund-student Swedish conversation partner, Rebecca. She is wonderfully patient with me. I am so grateful for both of these two gracious helpers! Fortunately, they both seem to enjoy the time we spend together, so I don’t feel like a burden.

In between, I went for my first work out at a gym very close to work. I finally am getting around to making this happen. While on the exercise bike, I’m reading one of the text books (in Logos format, on my Kindle that Anya gave me as a gift).

You know this is Scandinavia when looking at what is on one of the large TV screens at the gym: cross-country skiing! Unfortunately, Sweden took third with Norway winning!

In local news and discussion, Sweden is reinstituting the draft. I think this is actually part of the ripple effect of a Trump win. Because Russia has done some provocative military exercises recently and Trump seems too cozy with Putin, there doesn’t seem to be the same American deterrent to Russian posturing.

On another note, I’ve been a little irritable lately. After half-a-year of learning this new context, I’m a bit bewildered about the procedures for developing academic policies on the faculty council. I don’t recall that there have been any voting at our 3.25 hour monthly faculty meetings! Yes, there is a cultural value of consensus, but it seems unusual to not have a clear process beyond discussion. This issue is coming up as Jim and I are discussing some tweaks to the delivery of the curriculum for a more developmental pedagogy and integrating biblical study software. We laid out some ideas on a whiteboard yesterday.

So, with an insight from my friend, Scott, I will also engage a Lenten practice of gratitude. That should not only help keep my irritability in check, it will spur on my prayers of thanksgiving.

With blessings and gratitude for you!

Beth

Because the semla looked good…

Here are Scandinavian bakeries in the Seattle-area as listed on the Swedish Club website:

• Danish Bakery. Danish pastries, specialty breads, decorated cakes. 206-242-5111. 825 SW 152nd St., Burien.
• Larsen’s Danish Bakery. Family-owned bakery serving Ballard since 1974. 1-800-626-8631. 8000 24th Ave. NW, Seattle.
• Nielsen’s Pastries. Delicious Danish pastries. Marzipan cakes, desserts, etc. Info: 206-282-3004. 520 Second Ave. W., Seattle.

Curiously, they did not include a Norwegian-heritage bakery! The rivalry seems to spill over from cross-country skiing and into pastries!

• Byen Bakeri. A Scandinavian bakery nestled in Queen Anne. 206-218-1000 or email customerservice@byenbakeri.com, 15 Nickerson St, Seattle.

With blessings,

Beth