Oh yea! It snowed too!

It was raining Friday morning and then I didn't hear the rain anymore, so I looked out the window to notice it was snowing! It was really beautiful, and not cold enough to stick, but still...it's October!



"snö" means "snow" and is pronounced "snuh"

ja må han leva!

The birthday weekend was really great. I had a really good time meeting more of Fredrik's family, and it was really nice to just sit around in the living room joking with each other, talking and eating good food. We ate "halv special" which is a Swedish specialty. Toasted hot dog bun, with a "korv", better known as "hot dog' to us, with mashed potatoes on top. Usually you put mustard and ketchup, but I don't! And as you can see, you can also put other kinds of "toppings" on. Here in Sweden, they have some weird salad type thing you eat on bread. I don't really enjoy them, but the Swedes sure do like them!

Also, Swedes love to sing to celebrate. They all sing at the same time, really loud, and at their own pace. As you can hear, it doesn't sound like our traditional "Happy Birthday to you". This is a song titled "Ja må han/hon (depending on the sex of the person) leva." You can see that everybody is standing up, singing however they want, and people are sitting down, and still standing, and still singing! It's chaos, but it's really funny! When I heard this the first time, I laughed, I laughed hard. THEN we sang it a second time, since we were celebrating 2 birthdays. And at the end, you can hear somebody should "skål!" which is "cheers!".



The Swedish word of the day is "skål" which obviously, means "cheers" and is pronounced "skoal!" I really dont think, in Sweden, you can say this word enough. It gives you a reason to drink!

long ago birthdays

This weekend, Fredrik and I will head up to his parents cabin for a fun filled weekend of birthday celebrations. We will be celebrating Ann's and Fredrik's. Even though they happened in September. Haha. But as we say in my family, it doesn't matter WHEN you celebrate, as long as you are all together to celebrate it sometime. So finally, we can all be there. So I will be meeting a few more members of his family I haven't met before! Yikes. And last night, I made enchiladas for 8 people in my tiny kitchen, for tonights dinner. Hopefully they go over well!

Today, on my way home from dropping Tara off, I heard an interview on the radio, and it was in English! They were interviewing Jordan Sparks, who is in Sweden to be on tonights episode of "Swedish Idol". I don't even like Jordan Sparks, but listened to that interview as if I have never heard English before! It's so funny that I do that. I speak English all the time, with my family here, with Fredrik, his family and on the phone with my own family. But when I hear English outside of the realm, it's so weird and exciting! If I hear people on the street or in a store, I want to ask them where they are from and what they are doing! It's so stupid, cause really, I should be practicing my Swedish!

The Swedish word of the day is "grattis på födelsedagen" which means "happy birthday" and is pronounced "grattis poa fudelsedagen". Directly translated this means "congratulations on your birthday".

Måndag

It's Monday, and my first day, after 4 weeks of class, that I have A LOT of time to relax. It's nice, but it might get old fast. We will see! I already have all my "chores" done.

Since I have so much time, I thought I would upload some of the pictures from recently!

The rings, together!


Ice cream for Grandma Fran

This was a really gorgeous road on the way to a "castle" Fredrik and I attempted to see. But it turned out to be a mansion that wasn't that great looking, and we had to pay for everything!

The Swedish word of the day is "ice cream" which is "glass" and pronounced as it looks. But this shouldn't be confused with "glas" which means "glass" :)

Oops

It's been a bit longer than usual. But it's always discouraging to want to write when nobody leaves comments! Come on people! :)

Regardless, this week has been great. Fredrik and I joined my classmates on Thursday night for a really wonderful dinner. We all met, about 11 of us, and went and searched for a place to eat on Linnégatan. This is one of the busiest streets in Göteborg, with tons of café's, restaurants and bars. Here in Sweden, it is a bit more difficult to find a restaurant, on the fly, who can seat 10 or more people. So we were standing in front of various places asking the head waiter if it was possible, when we were standing in front of a nice place and a lady walked out and TOLD us to come in. There was nobody in there! That always makes you a bit skeptical to eat there, but none the less, it was delicious and was a really good time. I love being in Göteborg at night, it's so exciting to me!

Yesterday, Fredrik and I made a trip to Alingsås, which is a really typical Swedish town. We just walked around and looked at various things, and came home and I made a really delicious lasagne!

Also, yesterday was what I like to call 'Grandma Fran Day'. 10-10 was my grandmothers birthday, and since she has passed away, we have always celebrated her life by eating dessert before dinner. I upheld this tradition, even in Sweden! Fredrik was a little put off, as Swedes NEVER eat sweets before a meal, but I explained that I HAD to! Pictures to come, I promise. This day was also a bit more special because my mom has sent me my grandmothers wedding ring and band, and that is what I will be wearing throughout my life married to Fredrik. We were looking for an antique, gold, simple ring, and my mom had this great idea, that I should wear this one. I am so happy. The ring is beautiful and I'm incredibly honored to be wearing it. It was worn throughout 47 years of happiness, and I hope it does the same for me. Again, pictures to come!

The Swedish word of the day is "förlovningsring" which means "engagement ring" and is pronounced "furlovningsring". Don't forget to roll your R!

And it only seems appropriate to add "grandma" to the list. In the case of my mothers mother, she would have been "mormor". Fathers mother is "farmor" fathers father is "farfar" and mothers father is "morfar" I won't go into it now, but all your relatives, in Swedish, get special titles based on what side of the family you belong. It's a little confusing, but actually makes sense! I hadn't realized when you talk about your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, you always have to specifically specify which side of the family they belong!

Jag hade en gång en båt

In my Swedish class (which, sadly, ends this week), we get a new Swedish song on Fridays. This past Friday we got a song I really loved.

Jag hade en gång en båt-I once had a boat

Jag hade en gång en båt
Med segel och ruff och köl
Men det var för länge sen, så länge sen
Svara mig du
Var är den nu?
Jag bara undrar... Var är den nu?

Jag hade en gång en dröm
Jag trodde att den var sann
Så väcktes jag ur min sömn och drömmen försvann
Svara mig du
Var är den nu?
Jag bara undrar... Var är den nu?

Det fanns en gång en soldat
Han kysste sin mor farväl
Han sa till sin flicka; du, jag kommer igen
Svara mig du
Var är han nu?
Jag bara undrar... Var är han nu?

Det fanns en gång en stad
I parken där lekte barn
Så släppte man ner en bomb och staden försvann
Svara mig du
Var är den nu?
Jag bara undrar... Var är den nu?

Jag hade en gång en båt
Jag drömde en dröm en gång
Men det var för länge sen, så länge sen
Svara mig du
Var är dom nu?
Jag bara undrar... Var är dom nu?
Jag bara undrar... Var är dom nu?
Jag bara undrar... Var är dom nu?

I realize this is all way too much for you all, but just listen and read, and you will feel kind of cool, cause you can pronounce some things!

TRANSLATION-beware non Swedish speakers! This song is actually really depressing!

I once had a boat
With sail and cabin and keel
But that was long ago, so long ago
Answer me, you
Where is it now?
I just wonder ... Where is it now?

I once had a dream
I thought that it was true
So I was awakened from my sleep and the dream vanished
Answer me, you
Where is it now?
I just wonder ... Where is it now?

There was once a soldier
He kissed his mother farewell
He said to his girl, you, I will again
Answer me, you
Where is he now?
I just wonder ... Where is he now?

There was once a city
In the park where children were playing
So let it down a bomb and the town disappeared
Answer me, you
Where is it now?
I just wonder ... Where is it now?

I once had a boat
I dreamed a dream once
But that was long ago, so long ago
Answer me, you
Where are they now?
I just wonder ... Where are they now?
I just wonder ... Where are they now?
I just wonder ... Where are they now?

Kanelbulle!

Although they look good, they weren't! We threw them all away! How sad. It's quite difficult for me to either translate a recipe, convert "our" measurement into "their" measurement, or figure out all the ingredients i.e. yeast! Sheesh. Regardless, it was fun to cook with Fredrik! :) And the reason we did this was because here in Sweden it was Kanelbulle Dag! Cinnamon Roll day! Lucky us! And even though ours didn't turn out, Fredrik woke up nice and early and went and bought us some good cinnamon rolls!

The Swedish word of the day is "kanelbulle" which obviously means "cinnamon bun" and is pronounced like it looks! For English speakers, don't forget to say the "e", there aren't silent "e's" in Swedish! :)