Tvätt = laundry: Yes, I did laundry during breaks from working from “home.” Anya had been oriented to the washing machine, so she did that part. I hung the clothes out to dry, because that’s the preferred method here. (Also because I couldn’t figure out how to work the dryer!)
While I was ready to bike over to Johannelund after breakfast, Jim said that I could work from home. I think I would be more productive here, so I revised a paper and worked on translating the Johannelund website. I figured I could not only work on Swedish but also learn more about the programs.
I’ll have a growing role in the Bible school, so I started there. There are two tracks: one has sports activities and Bible courses, which also includes an option to travel to Africa (Hmm, who could lead a group to Africa?!?). The other has Bible courses and mentoring opportunities for service in various ministries. This one also includes an option to visit Oxford. The courses are free, but there are modest fees as well as food and apartment expenses, as well as the cost of travel. I’m looking forward to getting to know the students.
During one break at lunch time, I went to hang up tvätt on the clothesline. When I got back, my cheese sandwich had disappeared!
Does Caleb look guilty? (Caleb means dog-clan in Hebrew.)
After dinner, I had my orientation to walking the dog. I went with Kristina on a nice walk around the neighborhood on this cool and breezy evening.
It is a low picture day as I thought pictures of laundry and me on the computer are a bit dull, so here’s a picture of my new (to me) wheels.
It came with two locks. One is at 10 o’clock inside the back tire. A metal pin goes between the spokes and locks the back wheel. This is sufficient for most places. I haven’t used the heavy-duty cable yet.
With blessings (och ren tvätt / and clean laundry),
I love a church where several long bike racks are full! (Yes, we biked to church.) I love a church where the pianist fills in with jazz riffs while the congregation sings and plays soulful arrangements of Pat Metheny’s jazz for the postlude. However, I then hear that there isn’t a jazz pianist all the time. Well, at least a great introduction.
Worship at Lötenkyrkan
The enthusiastic preacher, originally from Uganda, spoke fluent Swedish and so quickly that someone asked him to speak more slowly. Jim was asked to translate into English for other Ethiopian guests, so Anya and I each had a wireless earpiece to help us understand. We both have some basic capacity to understand the basic themes, but there is till too much vocabulary at too fast a rate of speech to track well.
After church, I met my cultural mentor, Donna. My Johannelund colleagues asked her to help me get oriented to the culture, and she didn’t hesitate to say yes. She is from the USA but spent a year as an exchange student here. She later married a Swede and has lived and worked in Uppsala for many years. Through prior connections on Facebook, I realized that her youth director is someone I know from my college networks; it is a small world!
Jim and Christina, my hosts, then invited several over for fika after church. There were nine of us enjoying coffee, tea, and a variety of treats. We talked and laughed for about two hours. Much of the conversation is in Swedish, where I can often understand the topic and some aspects of the conversation, but there were several times the Swedish speakers were laughing while Anya and I weren’t. Obviously, we didn’t get it.
Fika (coffee/tea and pastries) time! What fun!
However, it seems easier for me to understand Swedish when spoken by a woman. Is it because my Swedish tutor in the USA was a woman? Does it just happen to be these specific women around the table who enunciate in a way that is easier for me to understand? I’m not sure, but I’m sure I’ll have plenty of opportunities to test these hypotheses.
The conversation included Donna’s representation of the unwritten rules about fika, food, and being a guest. These traits are often just assumed by the Swedes who don’t know that they are not part of American culture. It was also fodder for much laughter.
After a Sunday afternoon nap, we said goodbye to Jacob (our host’s son), who is off for his final year in a master’s program in architecture in Stockholm. Then after dinner, Anya and I biked back to church to join a knitting and handicraft group which Donna has started. Once a month, people (mostly women) gather for two hours to chat and work on some knitting or other project.
Yarn, pie, and conversation makes for a good evening!
Anya impressed them with her sock knitting, while I worked on Swedish language with some gracious women and helped Donna untangle a massive yarn knot. Donna had baked a fresh red currant pie which was very tasty.
It is a good thing that I’ll be biking all around town to balance out all the pie and pastries at fika!
I can’t buy a Swedish SIM card until I have a person number. Yesterday’s trip to the tax office was the first step, but now I wait “a couple weeks” for the person number to arrive in the mail. This means that I don’t have GPS on my phone to help me get around a new city yet. When I was in Norway, I walked 14 km (8.7 mi) to the airport with my map app on a path I had never walked before. (Yes, you can walk right up to the airport in Stavanger!) I have to figure out another way to get around for now.
This morning, I was up about 7:30 am and ready for a nice walk. I knew that a very important historical site was not too far from my host’s home, only 2.1 km (1.3 miles). I mapped the walk on my phone.
My walking path
Then I took several screen shots, zooming in on the route to be able to view landmarks on the satellite map image. I was out the door before the others were up (at least out of the bathroom).
It was a beautiful morning with lots of blue sky and the perfect walking temperature with a very light jacket. There are plenty of green spaces around, including football fields (think soccer).
The path leading up to the grave mounds of viking kings
I arrived at Gamla Uppsala (See the Old Uppsala link on Wikipedia), where viking kings are buried. It is one of the most important historical sites of Sweden. It used to be the center of Norse religious worship, complete with sacrifices. When Christianity arrived, the temple was destroyed an a Christian church was built upon the very site. The first church was burned by a fire, moving the cathedral south west across the river (which distinguishes the city’s landscape). Another church was later built again on the spot.
The Old Uppsala church with portions from the 11th century
There has been archaeological studies of the area which confirm the old Nordic temple foundation under this area, with burial mounds from at least the 5th century. Wow, that’s old!
After my walk, a shower, and lunch, Kristina drove Anya and me to the airport to pick up her wallet. She had lost it somewhere between Arusha, Tanzania, and Dubai, UAE. I filled in an online form for Emirates Air, and indeed they found it and sent it to the Emirates office just 20 minutes away. Except for some US cash, it was all there, including Anya’s new driver’s license. We are glad to have this back!
Along the way, I was talking in my beginning Swedish with Kristina. She is so patient and helpful! I think my Swedish tutor from Sammamish would be proud of my efforts. (Thanks Catharina for a great foundation!) As Catharina says, “There are always more words!” so I’m working on vocabulary as well as improving my understanding of Swedish grammar.
Kristina and I then went grocery shopping. I love international markets! This one was very new and large!
An amazing mall and grocery store is pretty close by. (Yes, it even has a Starbucks!)
There is much new to me!
A whole isle of knäckebröd (hard tack)!
Another new thing is the locked shopping carts, which is an effort to keep shopping carts from being pushed away from the store.
A plastic “key” unlocks the cart from the line of carts. Returning the cart means locking it back up. (Note the reuse of bags!)
The afternoon allowed for a nap before studying more Swedish. However, the beautiful weather mean a nice time outside with my grammar book.
This lovely patio surrounded by flowers is a pretty nice to study Swedish.
Other than the trip to the airport to get Anya’s wallet, there was nothing else I HAD to do today! This was the most relaxing day in many months.
I decided to change the date format to match the format I used today at the Swedish tax office. I’m in Sweden now! And to be honest, it makes a lot of sense.
London’s Heathrow airport only has two runways! No wonder there was so much traffic that my flight was put in a holding pattern for 15 minutes or so prior to landing. I rushed as fast as I could and was permitted in the “Fast Track” line through security, but security stopped both my bags and carefully searched the contents. My two external harddrives were unpacked again along with much other computer gear. I ran to the gate and arrived just a few minutes after the gate closed, even though they held the plane 5 minutes for me. (Wow, the whole plane waited for little me–but only 5 minutes.)
So, I spent 5 hours in the airport waiting for the next flight that had an available seat. At the airport, I switched my phone over to Swedish language, while I used my £10 voucher at Starbucks for dinner and chai.
If I have to waiting in an airport, Heathrow terminal 5 is a good one.
I arrived about 10:00 pm and had no trouble at customs with my copy of my work permit approval letter. All my bags arrived, and I was greeted by Anya and Jim.
Jim is my colleague at Johannelund. He clarified that he is not my boss, but he is the head of the Biblical Studies Department, within which I teach. I will primarily teach Old Testament, but also some spirituality courses in the Bible school.
Early this summer, we were told by the Swedish immigration department that they wouldn’t even look at my application until October. So, the apartment that had been designated for Anya and me was extended to the present tenants through the end of August. Thus, Jim and his family offered to host us for a month. Jim is American and his gracious wife, Christina, is a Swede. His eldest of two sons, Jacob, is home for the summer until he returns to Stockholm to complete his last year in an architecture program.
I did a bit of unpacking but soon went to sleep. I slept well and was greeted by Jacob at breakfast.
After breakfast, we went to a neighboring colleague’s home (Tomas teaches systematic theology), to get a bike that was left by a friend and has been passed on to me. It is red, and it even came with two different locks and a basket that attaches to the back rack.
Jim and I biked to Johannelund, which is just a short ride away. I was introduced to colleagues again, as we arrived just before coffee/break. Only a few are around in the end of the summer, but I was able to get an electronic key, a computer login, and a temporary place to serve as office space. I will share an office with the other Old Testament person, LarsOlov, who is gradually retiring and will finish this year. I have had few nice connections with him. Both Jim and LarsOlov came to my PhD dissertation defense in Norway in May, which was a wonderful support of me, a future co-worker.
Lunch was back home, where Anya and Jacob joined us. We had fun stories to hear and tell. It is great to see the obviously wonderful relationship and humor that father and son share.
After lunch, Jim, Anya, and I biked to the tax office. This is the first step in getting registered as a resident in Sweden. The 2.5 mile/4 km bike ride on a beautiful day was a nice way to see the city. Jim had taken Anya and me around in May 2015, but now it was on bike, except for the few blocks in the shopping district where bikes aren’t allowed.
Jim pointed out one medieval-era building, the home of Celsius, the guy who established the celsius/centigrade temperature scale.
A plaque notes that this is Celsius’s home
After the tax office visit, we biked back next to the river and had “fika,” the traditional Swedish coffee (chai for me) and pastry time.
First fika for our move to Uppsala.Yum! Everything looks so good.
I love biking in a place where everything is so flat! The only ups and downs are overpasses or underpasses! A three-speed bike is plenty!
The rest of this beautiful day had some unpacking and organizing, as well as a lovely dinner on a patio surrounded by flowers. The Swedes love the summer and seem to celebrate it by surrounding themselves in flowers.
I end the day with this post, which I’ll follow with some Swedish language learning, as the twilight of dusk hangs even at 9:45 pm.
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Sigh! When I first started this blog in January 2015, I had no idea that “whithersoever” would be such a poignant concept. I have gone beyond my original whithersoever concept, especially with this week.
On Monday, I said goodbye to Anya in Dubai, as we were returning from Tanzania with our church’s mission team (more on this later). She went directly to Sweden. I came back to Bellevue to finish up many tasks, pack a bit more, but primarily to retrieve important things like birth certificates and computer equipment that we didn’t want rattling around Tanzania for 2.5 weeks.
These past two days of frenzy while oriented to a different time zone were crazy! Fortunately, my sister, Elenn, flew out from Michigan to help me. She will drive my former car to Minnesota, as my parents have bought it from me. She has many friends to visit on a wandering road trip back to the Midwest. Her expertise with international moves and travel were strategic to help me fill in some gaps. I now have dental records and medical records secured and ordered.
Marv was again a gift as I needed a place with secure WIFI to do all that last minute online account stuff.
Marv and Elenn to the rescue!
I had a conversation with Marv about how it was humbling to realize how many people rallied around me and some who almost carried me in the most stressful times. I said that perhaps this was one of the silver linings of Eric’s cancer and passing; I had to learn to accept help. However, I am looking forward to the time when I will again be more on the giving side than on the receiving side.
Yet, I realize that it won’t be in the near future. I’ll be dependent upon new colleagues to help me get oriented to a new job, a new culture, and patiently endure my limited Swedish as I learn little by little with my 52-year-old brain.
Elenn took me to the airport. Anya and I hope to welcome her early spring 2017 in Uppsala!
Sisters in ScottEvests! Yes, we love them!
So, why doesn’t my Global Entry work with British Airways!?! I’m still going through TSA security in the USA! Fortunately, the lines weren’t too long, but it is discouraging that my investment isn’t paying off!
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be including two sections in my blog posts. The day’s discoveries in Sweden will be juxtaposed with my last 2.5 weeks in Tanzania. We had so little internet connectivity and with my responsibilities facilitating the team, it was not possible to keep my blog going. It was another powerful and transforming experience, so I’m eager to share some of the stories.
This post was written in the air on the way to Dubai. It was posted in the Dubai airport. The WIFI is slow and I’m not able to get photos off my phone–yet–so hold on for some images!
Marvin said that on Thursday morning he saw “The Look” in my eyes for the third time in all the year’s he’s known me. The first time was at Tarangire Safari Lodge. We had friends visiting, so we all (Jean, Marvin, Eric, Anya, me and our guests) went on a short safari. I came up to the others of whom someone was taking care of Anya, who was then just about two and a half years old, but I looked around and didn’t see her. “Where’s Anya?!?” We all shot out looking for her. I ran straight to the swimming pool. There she was at the edge of the pool on the far side, looking down into the water. I ran and hugged her. Still to this day, this brings me to tears at how close I was to something tragic.
Marvin continued that the second time he saw “The Look” was when we all (same core group and with our Aussie friend, Sarah) had been at the Pangani beach on the Indian Ocean. We came back in the evening, and I took Anya from having fallen asleep in the Land Cruiser to her bed, a foam mattress on the floor. When I pulled the mint green blanket over her, a black snake about the size of a wooden drum stick slithered out of the blanket! I snatched her up and ran up our spiral staircase to the loft. I yelled out, “Eric, there’s a snake! Get your boots on!) We learned from our Friday-evening-end-of-the-week dinners at the Snake Park that most snakes can’t really lunge high, so wearing boots reduces the risk of bites (this excludes spitting snakes). I then ran two doors down to Jean and Marvin, whose Maasai guard came and skewered off the snakes head. (We hadn’t told the grandparents about this until now!) We scooped up the carcass in a glass jar and took it to our next Friday Snake Park dinner. Lynn said it was just a wolf snake, like a garder snake and harmless. But when she heard it was in Anya’s bed, she said she could see why we would kill it. That was the second time Marvin saw “The Look” in my eyes.
Thursday morning, I had “The Look” again. Granted, the circumstances were very different and no imminent danger, but there was a helplessness. After three weeks of not being able to sleep and living in the chaos of packing with a week of frenetic packing, I was exhausted. I had no short-term memory and kept misplacing my keys, glasses, and phone. Emotionally, I had to downsize life to 100 cubic feet and 200 pounds of checked luggage for or move to Sweden. I’ve also been dealing with weeks of tennis elbow in my left arm from demolishing the tree house and zip line (thanks again to Janet and Mark for their help). Sometimes I can’t even hold a glass or scratch my head, but I had to keep on. (I’m typing now with one hand, because typing aggravates it.) I really wondered if I was going to lose it.
This is why I’m SO grateful for all the help that rescued me! Yes, Jean and Marvin are neighbors once again, living less than a mile away as the crow flies. They have painted almost all of my living space of my house and countless other tasks. Greg and Carol came down from Anacortes twice to help. Carol and Leslie D. tackled the kitchen and cleaned out the fridge, with amazing help from Leslie’s daughter and Anya’s friend Hannah. Leslie U. made probably 8 trips to Goodwill and Half-Price Books. Several others made these trips too, as well as other trips for recycling or the dump. My in-laws drove up from the Bay Area for a short goodbye, but made a huge contribution in packing up books. Friends loaned a power washer and a hand truck. I am again convinced of the life-giving and vital need for community.
While in comparison to refugees fleeing war and terror, this is so drastically less. In terms of my life, this has been in the top three stressers (Eric’s cancer/death and leaving Trinity; the PhD writing in Dec and Jan is 4th).
Anya was a trooper, but I knew that she also needed some special times of farewell with her friends before leaving.
I also had a couple heavy goodbyes with a friend who is in stage four cancer and my elderly neighbor. Will that be the last time I see them on this side of eternity?
Even though there is much goodness in this move, there is a mounting pile of little losses. I passed on perhaps a thousand books. So many things that aren’t extremely important or are too big to take with us were passed on to friends or strangers. A niece of a friend now has the piano. Her friend who helped to come and move it now has the large living room rug! Craig’s List Free Stuff and Freecycle were ways to pass on the bigger things quickly. For you LBI’ers reading this, I finally chucked almost all of my notes into the recycle bin (except Pat’s Livin’ Forgiven/Galatians notes and Mark’s Greek songbook). Sigh.
Yes, this is an opportunity toward traveling lighter through life, but right now, I’m in the loss stage and a bit of unsettledness about a major transition to a new country and especially a new language. Heavy sigh.
I’m now flying to Tanzania for 18 days, where I help facilitate a group from church. At least life in Tz is mostly living in the day, and I’m quite comfortable with the way life works here (sometimes).
Anya was feeling better this morning, and Donna made us a classic farm breakfast of bacon and eggs with the addition of more of her wonderful lefse. Deanna came by with her fiancé to introduce us. Boomer (the first, as Anya’s dog was named Boomer after this one) snuck inside the house and was spoiled with petting and scratching from Anya.
Anya with Boomer the First
Jim and Sue hung around to help get us sent off with one last opportunity for Anya to drive Jim’s four-wheeler.
Boomer loves to run around with the golf cart and four-wheeler!Anya in Jim’s four-wheeler with the new cap given to her by Jim
We made arrangements to be back next summer, because I’m now on the Mount Carmel schedule for July 1-7. Anya is eager to have more time here, and especially time when she isn’t sick. Jim will put her to work on the farm, so it would be a great experience.
We’re trying to figure out whether Anya is 5th or 6th generation on the homestead.
So, we hope to see some of these folks in Sweden, but at least we’ll be back again soon for more of Donna’s amazing hospitality.
Saying goodbye to Amazing Donna
Rallying Help for July 8 & 9
The next 12 days will be very full. Fortunately, there are some local folks who have offered to help with some of the tasks. If you’re in our neck of the woods and available to help with some moving furniture, painting, cleaning, and general tasks, I’ll be rallying helpers for July 8, Friday afternoon and/or evening 1:00 – 8:00 pm); and July 9, Saturday, from 9:00 am and beyond. Send me an email at mamaanya [at] gmail.com and let me know when you can come and if you have specific skills (painting, cleaning, etc.). This will be a great help!
Aunt Donna is amazing! She is the matriarch of the family who seems to be able to care for others more than I thought was possible. She verged on spoiling Eric when he was here on the farm, and she is trying her best to do the same for Anya. I get a good share too!
Fresh made lefse just for our visit!
Unfortunately, Anya is still sick and cycling through fevers, so she’s laying low. While Anya slept in, Donna and I talked and talked. She showed me her last hardanger project.
Donna’s hardanger is absolutely beautiful!
We were able to enter into a deep conversation together that centered on loss. She has lost a husband, a son, and a cherished nephew in addition to parents and brother and other extended family. There were tears that welled up several times, but we shared the gift of empathy and the invitation to be with each other without any discomfort of experiencing tears. Through my journey of losing Eric, I have learned that shared tears are a precious gift.
When Anya was feeling better, she was able to take the golf cart around the farm.
Donna’s wonderful flowers!
We had 10 minutes of playing farm girl, helping out first cousin once-removed, Jim.
Helping switch out hopper boxes on the planter
In the afternoon, we had cream puffs that Donna made in the morning. Afterwards, I went with Donna to water the flowers on the graves.
Eric’s resting place
We were last here for the interment in 2011, but the stone was set in later. We had seen pictures, but this was the first time seeing the stone in place by uncle Duke and cousin Dave.
Donna also had some photo albums with pictures of little Eric, coming out to Issaquah for our wedding, and pictures of our several visits out here.
Eric did love dogs. It began early on the farm.
Eric was also known for eating popsicles, and Donna made sure that plenty were available for Anya too. In addition to memories of Eric, the cold popsicles felt good on Anya’s sore throat.
My evening was spent sitting around the table talking with various family members. The kitchen table is the center of heaven on earth here.
Anya developed a bit of a sore throat at camp. It wasn’t too bad during our drive from Alexandria, MN, to Danbury, WI, so she could quiz me on Swedish vocabulary from my Anki (intelligent flashcard) app on my iPhone. This is a great app for building vocabulary.
Anya also continually searched the satellite radio in the rental car for the best song currently playing on dozens of favorite stations.
We arrived in the late afternoon in Danbury, and Ed and Karen took us for a pontoon ride up their river. They are close to undeveloped land, so it is a peaceful ride.
Karen, with a glimpse of the river and woods surrounding us
Their cabin is a beautiful and restorative place that they have put a ton of work into.
Ed is great with construction and story telling.
I enjoyed hearing stories from their 40 years of work in Pakistan. It was so good to see them after the two years we spent together at Trinity. Ed and Karen were our Missionaries in Residence and were wonderful gifts to the community.
Anya’s sore throat was worse and she was cycling through fevers. This made the road-trip miserable for her. I just made a quick stop at my uncle and aunt’s condo in a retirement complex in Madison, as I didn’t want to get others exposed to Anya’s contagious state or extend Anya’s misery in the car.
A quick visit with Auntie Karen. She has a great view of the lake from her condo.
Her fever got up to 104, so I gave her some ibuprophen. Fortunately, she was feeling better enough to eat when we arrived at the Hanson farmstead in Union Grove, WI. There was an amazing dinner with 8 of the family here. The pork chops were the biggest I’ve every seen! Eric’s cousin, Jim, is masterful at grilling them. Donna cooked all day, including fresh lefse! Deanna, cousin-in-law, hosted the meal with her two young men sons, who are Anya’s second cousins. The oldest is starting well in an engineering firm as an electrical engineer. The youngest is in the last couple years of university but working this summer in the business his dad started.
However, it was a bit heavy to realize that of the 8 of us, there were 3 widows and 3 fatherless young adults. Eric passed in 2010 and his cousin, Dave, passed in 2012.
Anya got a ride back to Donna’s across the road on the golf cart.
Anya would take the golf cart all around the farm the next day. This is great joy!
We are on the farm! Eric spent many of his summers growing up here. This was heaven on earth for Eric!
The largest group of our family together at Mount Carmel with 13 of us.
We went to Sunday services in neighboring Brandon, Minn., in the church where my dad grew up. There were many distant cousins, as it seems we’re related to all the Stroms in town. The drive to and from church passed the farm where my dad grew up.
The Elness farm
I have memories of being here with my grandparents during the summers from 1971-73. It was an amazing time of running around the farm, making a tree house (sort of), playing in the hay mow, getting black mud layers on our shoes playing hide-and-seek in the corn fields, and where the corn seemed to be twice as tall as us. Then there was Mama Jo’s (grandma’s) sugar cookies and Koolaid, called by the color – red eye, green eye, etc. The farm was sold after they both died in 1974, but the wonderful memories haven’t.
At Mount Carmel family camp, we spent quite a bit of time playing games and doing puzzles, including playing games while doing puzzles.
Jenga was good, but the games “Things” is my favorite. We laughed and laughed!
Other events included Elenn cutting my hair and me cutting her hair.
Elenn’s surgical skills and humor applied.
A camp friend, Dean Swenson, and I put some time into studying Swedish.
Swedish anyone?
His son and I were at Lutheran Bible Institute at the same time, so Dean is about my Dad’s age. Dean and I get along famously. I was able to hear some wonderful stories from his days working in Tanzania. So, while we were studying Swedish, I think he actually talked more Kiswahili. I understood the Kiswahili better than the Swedish, which isn’t encouraging!
Our cabin had thin curtains which let in too much light at this mid-summer time and 5:30 am sunrises. Anya and I kept our eye masks handy for a better night’s sleep.
Eye masks make wrestling more interesting too!
Mark your calendars for July 1-7 and come to Mount Carmel and enjoying a good time with family. I’ll be there, as I was asked to be a Bible teacher. I’d love to see a whole bunch of LBI folks come. We’ll be doing some applied inductive Bible study methods together.
It was a good time and tough to say goodbye, but because I know we’ll be back soon, it was easier to go.
