My Swedish Gone Wrong

At a recent house (or rather, apartment) party, I found myself standing by the door welcoming some new arrivals as they walked in, shedding their winter layers. As one does in small talk, I asked one guy how he knew the host and hostess, to which an answer came out that I didn't really hear. Instead of asking this guy to repeat himself, I just laughed, loudly and overtly, my go-to reaction when I'm not sure what to do. It usually works out.

But not this time.

The guy looked at me like I'd just asked him if I could take a bite off his ear.

Why is that funny? he asked me. I said I went to university with him.

Uhhhhh ..... b a c k a w a y s l o w l y a n d a v o i d s a i d p e r s o n f o r t h e r e s t o f t h e e v e n i n g

awkward door guard

Of course, the problem was my level of Swedish in this - and many other - situations. The hum and blare of a 70-person party doesn't help either. Still, I was disappointed by my level of Swedish. After 4.5 years, I'd hoped to be a Swedish-language master, nearly native. No such luck. Although I have my moments. And I do get complimented a lot for how well I speak this crazy Nordic language. But I still struggle with simple things. Like what did the guy say on the announcement on the metro? And what is that news broadcaster reporting? Aren't news broadcasters supposed to speak clearly? I'm sure they are speaking clearly, but it's still a struggle for me.

I was recently asked by someone how much Swedish I understand, and I answered 90%. That's on a good day. Other days it might only be 50%. I do have relationships with people that are entirely in Swedish - and it feels strange to speak English with them. But with other people, I can't seem to even get into the flow.

Either way, as someone who's terrible with new languages, I'm proud of what I've accomplished so far, even if it's taken me awhile to get there. But learning a language never really seems to be over. It's a life-long process, like so many other things, and that's a good thing since I've got some more learning to do.

It's that red crustacean-eating, hat-wearing, song-singing time of year again

If you're thinking Maryland blue crabs, you're close. It's Sweden's version of a crab feast: crayfish! They're messy and delicious. Dill instead of Old Bay, snaps instead of beer... or maybe both. And singing, of course! 

Saturday night's tunes ranged from the traditional crayfish party melodies to Pocahontas' Colors of the Wind. Why not? 

snaps drinking in action

If there's one thing that makes the end of a Swedish summer bearable, I'd have to say it's a crayfish party, or kräftskiva in Swedish. The days are still long and there's still time for a cocktail on the terrace before heading inside for the main event.

The main event involves tiny tongs and knives to crack the red shell and dig deep into the crayfish's small crevices. But it's really all about the tail, which has a big chunk of meat waiting to be inhaled. Be prepared to get covered in smelly crayfish juices and maybe get a few cuts on your fingers in the process - a small price for such a delicious delicacy. 

Our evening continued with charades (thanks MMD!) and more wine and later on, me slipping away for a cat nap in the early hours of the morning. 

A wonderful evening to end a gorgeous Swedish summer...

Along the belt

Do you ever examine other people's groceries as they line them up on the conveyor belt? I mean, you're standing right there waiting for them to finish anyway, so you probably at least have a look. But do you make observations? Judgements? Conclusions? Frozen pizza and 1L coke: home alone tonight. Kale and Coke Zero: on a diet. Mini juice packs and Cheetos bags times 30: snacks for the football team.

I always think it's interesting to see what other people are buying. What will they do with that combination? Sometimes I almost ask them.

...

When I first moved to Sweden, I dreamed of starting a food blog. I love food and I love writing, so it seemed like a perfect match. Swedish food is exciting! And strange! Despite what you may have heard, I've discovered lots of delicious treats over here, of both the sweet and salty persuasion. Some I was hooked on from the start, others took months and years to grow on me (ie salt licorice aka getting a mouthful of chewy ocean saltwater). Regardless, my food blog never took off - or even started - but food is still often on my mind. 

As much as I love to eat, my experience behind the stove is quite limited. There is always something else going on, or something I need to get done - and since NS has a lot of experience in the kitchen, it's much easier to throw the reins to him instead. His specialties (read: full extent of his repertoire) are meatballs and pasta, hamburgers and pasta, fish fingers and pasta, and best renowned, his meatsauce and pasta. Do you see a trend? 

Now I love a good bowl of pasta as much as anyone, but day in and day out pasta is not my forte. Nor is the ketchup garnish that so many Swedes resort to. Ketchup instead of tomato sauce is not okay. 

Which is why there's been a gradual change in the Syk household. I go through cooking kicks and occassionally get sudden urges to create something tasty, but now it's becoming more of a habit. Tonight, it was this crustless broccoli and cheddar quiche, last night it was this cannelloni with goat's cheese. Last week, I discovered this incredible salad: kale salad with sweet potatoes and apples. A-m-a-z-i-n-g! 

What are you cooking right now? Where do you get inspiration? What's your newest favorite meal to make?

Getting to know Hasselhoff

Last night, I was one of a couple hundred Stockholmers who ventured out into the harsh winter elements (on a Sunday!) to meet the one and only David Hasselhoff.

that's his back just above my head!

What on Earth is David Hasselhoff doing in Sweden? you may find yourself wondering. No obvious Swedish connection, as far as I can tell. And honestly, after sitting in the first row of his new Swedish talkshow's studio audience for over 2 hours, I still have no idea. It seems he was just kind of struck by the idea that things are happening in Sweden and he should be part of them. Well, why not?

From the start, Hasselhoff was pretty upfront and relaxed, at least as far as I could tell. He introduced himself before the taping started, polling how many in the audience had been in a studio audience before and admitting that, as most of us, he's new at this whole thing too. 

Which was obvious, but in a good way I'd say. Hasselhoff did his best to eloquently pose questions to each of his 3 Swedish celebrity guests, even if he didn't know much about them. His signature question was So why are you famous? - and for each one, I was wondering the same thing. Sometimes he was eloquent, and sometimes there were long pauses while a certain "Mr. Happy" directed the Hoff from backstage through a hidden earpiece. 

Being part of a studio audience requires a certain degree of discretion when it comes to keeping details of the show under wraps until it's aired, and I'm not one to ruin a good surprise so I won't tell you who the guests were or any other exciting details. But I will say that sitting in the front row with the only signs - We heart The Hoff - in the house (thanks GK!) pays off if you want to be famous on national Swedish television. Which naturally we do. And so we shall be! Check it out and laugh with us at the ridiculousness of The Hoff in Sweden.

Starting the new year right

What do you miss about the States? 

It's a common question for me here in the far north, and one to which I always answer - after family, friends, and hot summers of course - orange chicken. One of the main dishes of American-style Chinese food, I simply can't get enough of it. Every time I'm home, I make a point to eat orange chicken at least once, ideally from Panda Express, America's Chinese fast-food of choice. The small pieces are completely engulfed in the gooey orangey goodness so each bite is extra flavorful. I'm undoubtedly taking 10 years off my life with whatever chemicals are used in the concoction, but it's totally worth it. 

My cravings for orange chicken have always been limited to my visits to States... until yesterday, that is. On the international hangover day of the year, NS and I dragged ourselves across the street - a struggle in itself - for Chinese takeout. I was preparing myself for the disappointment I always feel as soon as I take my first bite of Swedish Chinese food - a meaty lump doused in salty sauce at best - when low and behold, I discovered this amazing sign:

"Orange chicken, comes from America" - eureka! What luck! The greatest moment in Swedish culinary history since princess cake. And I have to say, it was pretty good. A bit of salad strangely added into the mix, but otherwise, grade-A orange chicken. I have a feeling it's gonna be a good year.

28 Years Young

I have to admit, 28 has been pretty swell so far. 

my birthday party, photo by Heini

I woke up to NS singing me happy birthday with breakfast in bed (a Swedish tradition) - a cheese and marmalade sandwich with dried mango slices on the side (not a Swedish tradition) - and a birthday candle to blow out. No matter that I could only manage 1 bite; not used to eating until I'm at my desk at work. 

Lunch at one of Stockholm's best Thai restaurants (there are many), Koh Phangan. An incredible fika at work of raspberry white chocolate cupcakes, directly followed by the Swedish Fat Tuesday pastry called semla (see below). How convenient (and appropriate, given my love of food) that my birthday fell on such a day. 

And in the evening, a lovely book club meeting to discuss The Kitchen House, an amazing, albeit depressing book. With heart-shaped chocolate cupcakes with chocolate cream-cheese frosting. No wonder my nickname is Kakie.

On Saturday, I threw myself a birthday party with about 30 of my nearest and dearest. I don't imagine our neighbors were too happy given the increasing music volume as the evening progressed into morning - but we didn't mind. And hey, no one complained. 

And on Monday, I started my annual bikram yoga marathon, this time for 10 days. It's the new studio discount, and fortunately for me, a new studio just opened up. Not sure what I'll do when this one's done since I'll have used up my newcomer deals at all of Stockholm's studios, but I'm feeling amazing for now. Hurrah 28!



semla (1), semlor (many!)

Opening Night at Friends Arena

Svenska Ögonblick - The Swedish Blink of an Eye

Stockholm's new Friends Arena opened last Saturday night with a show of probably more artists than I've seen in the last 5 years combined, all Swedish. Icona Pop, The Hives, First Aid Kit, Eagle Eye Cherry and Tomas Levin, to name a few. And a finale by the infamous Roxette. 

The arena, by far the largest in the country, seats up to 65,000 people. We sat in a corner, pretty high up. In these massive stadiums, I always feel like with one wrong step, I'll topple head-over-heels through the rows of seats to the bottom, which would have been a pretty long fall on this occasion. Fortunately, there were no casualties that I know of. 

The invigning [inaguration] was a mix of pop hits of today, classics from years past, and a few traditional Swedish songs from musicals and the like. Overall, the show had a low tempo, broken by a few performers, but I think the idea was to appeal to all ages. And there certainly was something for everyone. Although I'm not sure there needed to be 3 songs in a row from the Swedish musical Duvemåla. Perhaps you need to be Swedish to appreciate it. 

At one point, the beloved crown princess Victoria appeared to welcome everyone to the spectacular show, and stood on a small stage right below us. All around, it was a pretty cool performance, and a glimpse into Swedish culture through the decades.

The Splendor of Västervik's Archipelago

Serene and beautiful, Sweden's archipelago - the skärgården, they call it - is truly magnificent. During our week-long holiday in Västervik, we ventured out to one of the islands overnight - my first true island experience, you could say. I visited to tourist-riden Fjäderholmen, just 20 minutes by boat from Stockholm, 4 times last summer - and promised I'd go further than that first stop-off this year. And now I've done it - beyond Stockholm to Tjust skärgård!

The island was small - enough so that I could leisurely swim around it in about 15 minutes (Michael Phelps could probably do it in 5, tops). We spent the afternoon lounging on this dock (see photo), soaking in the streaming sunshine on one of the few gorgeous days this summer has brought, and taking a dip before we ever completely dried off.

In the evening, we re-located to the westward-facing dock, perched on a small cliff above the water, from which we sat with bar-b-qued pork and boxed wine, watching the sun set and the moon rise.

When the sky was nearly dark - around 1030pm - and our mosquito spray could no longer ward off the swarming bugs, we took a late-night swim before crawling into our bunk beds by candlelight (no electricity or running water on the island). Ahhhhhhh the Swedish summer!

The Game of Kubbspel

Kubbspel = horseshoe + bowling a la Viking style

Kubb is the ultimate Swedish summer game, as I discovered last Saturday at my first Birthday Bender and first experience playing Kubb. Basically, the kubb 'court' is made up of 2 rows of wooden blocks with a tall wooden 'king' block in the middle. Each team tries to knock down the blocks on the opposite side using wooden sticks [note these can also be used to vent frustration by throwing them at opponents rather than at blocks]

The game of Kubb is sometimes referred to as 'Viking chess,' although there is no real evidence that it goes back that far in time. Regardless, Kubb became popular in the 1990s when sets were made in the masses, and can now be found in almost any Swedish gas station all summer long. Apparently, the game is also gaining international recognition - there's even a World Championship, started in 1995, on the Swedish island Gotland. 

kubbspelarna [the kubb players] / birthday bender partakers

Although my team lost both matches, I still enjoyed my introduction to Kubb. And I have to say, its pretty convenient for relaxing in a park: drink in one hand, stick in the other. 

A1 - Check!

Folkuniversitetet. It's a tough word to spell - try saying it. I can't seem to get it right. Like seemingly most Swedish words, the pronunciation is a killer. But for the last month, I've spent 2 1/2 hours a day, 5 days a week there, on the 3rd floor of this beautiful building. It's located on Kungstensgatan in central Stockholm, just across from Observatorielunden. And as of last Friday, after 60 hours spent in the classroom, I have graduated from my first Swedish A1 course.

If you don't take into account the fact that my teacher was present less than half the time, making every day a guessing game of who would actually show up (there were 3 in total, each one having a completely different method of running a class), then I would say it was a great experience. I have never appreciated to such an extent just how important teaching methods can be.

Regardless, I learned so much and have built a great foundation for my future Swedish courses, which will start in January. For the time being, however, I plan on teaching myself the 2nd half of my textbook (A2) aaaaaand...

speaking only Swedish with Nik.

We started this little endeavor on Monday. And today is Thursday. In the last 3 nights, we've probably spoken an average of 70% Swedish. Not bad for a first week, eh? However, my vocabulary is still so limited and after a long day at work (that is, Nik's long day at work, not mine - yet), it's difficult to use so much energy in trying to convey the simplest information, like how was your day at work? The answer could take anywhere from 1-20 minutes. So, we've amended this undertaking and have decided to speak på svenska until 9pm, then switch to English. For now at least.

I'm still waiting to have a dream in Swedish, which I think is the true marking of really learning a language, but that could be some time from now. Until then, I'll be working hard to eliminate the recognition of being a foreigner the second I open my mouth. And will carry around mini vocab flashcards in my pocket wherever I go.