Monthly Archives: October 2008

Is There Halloween in Sweden?

October 31, 2008 – 4:01 pm

It snowed a little bit today, and it was fun to watch drivers and bike riders genuinely surprised that their cars and bikes were sliding sideways out of control. You’d think that people in a Nordic country would be more used to the fact that white stuff on the roads means slippery surfaces. But no… [...]

By Anna | Posted in Culture | Comments (5)

Vinterdepression

October 29, 2008 – 1:23 pm

Returning to Sweden after we changed to winter time last weekend was a bit harsh. Suddenly it gets dark at 4PM here. And it will only get worse. That’s one of the joys of living in the North. I like winter, don’t get me wrong, it’s the darkness that kills me.
So, to make sure that [...]

By Anna | Posted in Culture, Vocabulary | Comments (7)

The Wash Post

October 25, 2008 – 5:47 pm

I am still away and still receiving calls for help from my dearly beloved. Last night it was the wash that required five urgent phone calls to get my urgent attention.
We don’t own a washing machine. Actually, our apartment is not even set up for one. Instead, there is something in our building called “tvättstuga.” [...]

By Anna | Posted in Culture, Vocabulary | Comments (7)

The Diary of Dairy

October 23, 2008 – 5:30 pm

I am out of town for a while, actually I’m out of Sweden for a week, and I’ve been gone for only one day and my dearly beloved already managed to call me four times.
“I need milk,” he says, “I’m at the store and I don’t know what kind of milk to buy.”
Errr… normal milk, [...]

By Anna | Posted in Culture, Vocabulary | Comments (15)

Hej Kära Peter!

October 19, 2008 – 2:13 pm

Peter’s comment on the post below made me think. I don’t write that many letters in Swedish. In fact, I don’t write that many letters in whatever language – I’m probably the world’s worst correspondent, as my friends no doubt can tell you.
So, in order to properly answer Peter’s question I had to dig deep [...]

By Anna | Posted in Culture, Vocabulary | Comments (8)

Varor Du Brukar Köpa?

October 16, 2008 – 12:18 pm

I’ve been down with flu for quite some time now, and needless to say, I got bored. So bored in fact, that I actually started to read the stuff that the Ica supermarket chain sends us in the mail. Yeah, I was THAT bored. But I’m glad I read it, because now I’m thinking whether [...]

By Anna | Posted in Culture | Comments (5)

Åka or Gå?

October 12, 2008 – 11:29 am

Today’s topic is one that confuses many Swedish learners – those pesky verbs that are deceptively similar, have pretty much the same meaning in English, yet in Swedish are used in a completely different context. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
Actually, Swedish has quite a few such verb combinations. But today we’ll start with the one [...]

By Anna | Posted in Grammar, Vocabulary | Comments (6)

The 2008 Nobel Prizes

October 8, 2008 – 2:02 pm

As you’ve probably noticed, it’s the 2008 Nobel Prize (Nobelpriset) time right now. Today the prize in chemistry was announced. Yesterday it was physics, and the day before – medicine. Too bad these days each prize has to be split among three people – 10 million kronor per prize is not that much to begin [...]

By Anna | Posted in Culture | Comments (3)

Jante Something or the Other

October 4, 2008 – 3:08 pm

Sooner or later when you write about Sweden you will have to address the topics of “lagom” and “Jantelagen” and I’ve been mulling over how long I can practice avoidance and not talk about them. Why? Because I don’t know what the big deal is all about. Really. Two goofy phrases that supposedly “define” the [...]

By Anna | Posted in Culture | Comments (4)