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.

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.