Today I'm Gonna Talk About School

When I was in the B class, our classroom was situated in an adjoining building that is taller (by one floor) and facing a different direction so the move from A class to B class was an extremely pleasant one seeing how great a location my classroom had. It was on the top floor of the taller building and I believe faces south so we don't get the rising morning sun shining right into our faces. Plus of cos the teacher I had, Klas, is the nicest and most fun teacher in the school. At least he jokes around with us, shows an active interest in our lives and is sympathetic to any difficulties we may have.

That is something strongly lacking in Anita, my teacher now. No jokes, no interest, no sympathy. And the classroom faces east so it's blindingly bright during the morning lessons.

But back to my B class. The classroom is much airier and brighter (in a not blinding kinda way) which psychologically speaking creates a better environment for learning. I sit right at the back next to Knut who's from Germany. That's him in the far left of the classroom picture. I sit there too but he gets the window seat. Damn...

See just how wonderful the view is from all those windows? The view overlooks the way to the outskirts of town so one sees more of the train tracks, older style houses and wide open fields.

The view below is what I can see from my window. Interestingly, this picture was taken in the Spring on easter week. It must have snowed more in that one week than it did in the entire month of January!

We had a little of an impromptu feast in class on Wednesday before Easter. The day before, Som, the Thai lady who lives in Askersund as well, came over to my apartment so we could bake cinnamon buns. And since we had to wait so long for the rising of the dough, we decided to bake muffins in between as well. So the next day we brought the buns and muffins. Vlasta, the Slovenian lady who sits next to Som, brought a loaf of traditional Slovenian nut bread and Klas had brought a large bag of Easter goodies for all of us. So I guess it was perfect timing that everyone brought all that food on the same day.

The B class was the biggest class in the school at the time I was in it. And it was made up of very interesting characters. The guy to the far left is Latiff and he is from Malaysia but unfortunately wenever got the chance to really chat to each other. Our longest conversation was on that day when I handed out the muffins and he asked me, 'Is this kek pisang?' and I said no. And we both laughed. And for those of you interested to know what Muthana looks like, he is the guy with the beard and hat in the far right of the picture.

In the spirit of introducing the sights and people of school, I now present to you, Leif, my teacher from A class. He is also the man who gets called the slow talker cos he talks oh so slowly which is a direct opposite of Klas who talks like a speeding train. It's quite funny that Klas calls Leif a super slow talker and Leif jokes that Klas talks too much and too fast. I do have to agree with what someone said before about my classes, I have a lot of 'Mind Your Language' moments be it with the teachers or the students. It's fun!

For those interested, I am not planning on ever taking a picture of Anita simply cos I don't want to go thru having to actually ask her. Ugh...it's too intimidating.

Sussie Thaws..

Sussie's new favourite spot has changed from under the sofa in the livingroom to a corner in the kitchen under the short stepladder we have. Therefore, I moved her bed from the livingroom to that spot in the kitchen and she finally began using it. I also moved her litter box from the livingroom to another corner in the kitchen which had been our plan all along.

It's become almost a ritual now every night when I'm in the kitchen and Sussie's in there with me, I will start playing with her or feeding her a treat that she loves. She gets that treat once almost everyday cos her 'mummy' is such a softie and can't bear to see her without it. Sussie is no longer as afraid of me or Mathias as she was before. I think she's starting to feel comfortable in the apartment and has finally accepted us as her owners although she is still too afraid for complete submission and has to be coaxed before she will let us pet her.

But the great news is that we can finally pet her! Her trust issues with humans, having been abandoned when she was young and later being captured in a trap had really made her afraid of people so her being at this level of affection with us is just fantastic progress. One can tell that she really craves the affection and petting from us but she's afraid to come close so it takes time but she does come. And I think she actually knows her name cos she turns when we call out to her but not when I'm calling Mathias or talking to him.

She's such a smart kitty!

Her favourite game now is for us to throw her favourite toy to her onto the bed so she can play catch with it among the pillows and quilts. It's funny how among all her toys, her favourite is the cheapest thing that Mathias just put together. It is actually a newspaper page that he folded into a small rectangle and tied to the end of a long piece of cotton twine.

She absolutely loves it! She especially loves string and chewing on it. It's oh so cute when one watches her trying to hold on to the string between both paws to chew on it while attempting to remain upright on just the back paws. And she is funny to watch when she's busy chasing her own tail on our bed, running like a kitty on ecstasy back and forth in the livingroom and when she's trying to decide whether come close and let us pet her. She literally walks back and forth trying to decide if she feels good enough to come close to us. But she's a cute kitty with a small face, big ass ears and a long body.

Sometimes I wonder if she'll grow into those ears. One never knows.

The Heat Is On

The heat is on in school now that I'm in C class, which pretty much takes the fun and sucks the life out of school. The schedules have changed which means that I now have afternoon classes for 3 of the 4 days of school each week on top of my morning classes. To be honest, I really wouldn't mind that so much if I liked my teacher more. I really don't like Anita. She's intimidating, very strict, never really understands when we ask questions and pretty much only hears what she wants to hear.

Anita got really frustrated today with one of my classmates, Muhammad. He's from Iraq and has trouble with his pronounciation especially with the vowels cos most of them sounds so alike that sometimes one can't really hear the difference. Of course when one is just starting out to speak the language and speaks it slowly and in broken sentences, the teacher can catch bad pronounciation a lot better. And catch she did! She spent a good 10 minutes just trying to get him to pronounce between 2 vowels to the point where you could tell she was getting so frustrated with him.

And it all started with an innocent question posed by oh so silly Muhammad of what that particular word (that he couldn't pronounce right) meant. After the 10 frustrating minutes, Anita asked him 'Förstår du nu?' (Do you understand now?). And Muhammad smiled and said, 'Ja, jag vet. Jag vet. Men vad betyder det?' (Yes, I know. I know. But what does it mean?). And we burst out laughing cos those 10 minutes didn't really affect Muhammad as much as it frustrated Anita. Plus the fact that the word was bloody difficult to explain. What's the word you ask? Well, it is RÅKAR which means IT HAPPENS in English. You know, like when someone drops a plate sending it crashing to the floor and all you can say is, it happens. Yeah, how does one explain that to another who doesn't speak any language you speak?

Ha ha! Serves that wicked witch from the West right!

And I just got bad news from her. It appears that we most likely have to attend about 10 weeks of C class before we can move on up to D class. Damn...9 more weeks of her...ugh! But a large part of me knows that it is for our own good and I accept that. I'm even relieved that I have so much time before moving on to the final level of school. At least I'll learn more and get more used to the language. But in C class it is more about building up our vocabulary and understanding longer pieces of text which is great but one gets so so tired of flipping a thousand times through the book for every piece of text. I really do feel mentally and physically exhausted when I get home from school.

Today was my 2nd day in my new 3rd level class. The majority of the class (11 out of 13 actually) came from my 2nd level class so we know each other and everyone's idiosyncracies which makes lessons fun since the teacher, Anita is pretty strict and rather rigid. She reminds me of my discipline mistress in secondary school, Mrs Veronica Siaw. Well at least Anita is not mad about Rocco Barocco and doesn't wear nightgowns to school.

We aren't allowed to talk or help out classmates who are stuck in a question. She keeps saying, 'Jag prata inte på dig, eller hur? Jag prata med honom. Bara honom.' (translated: I'm not talking to you, am I? I'm talking to him, only him.). Oooh..tough lady. Not to say that she doesn't smile or laugh but just like Mrs Siaw, the smiles and laughs come from her own jokes (which other people don't necessarily find very funny).

There is an Iraqi man in my class called Muthana and he was the source of all our humour today. I would say that Muthana is a special sort of man, found mostly in the Arab world and certainly amusing to the common man (unless you're his teacher). Muthana is a man who will tell you things whether you want to know or not. He wants you to know he understands and he adds on to whatever the teacher says just to show how clever he is. Unfortunately, he is not all that clever and most of the time, his additions are inappropriate or simply do not make sense. I'm not sure if it's his thick accent when he speaks Swedish or just that he can't put a proper sentence together but I honestly can't understand 80% of what he says. And he usually repeats what he says (which are usually singular words or 2 word sentences) twice in a row.

Anita was trying to go through a piece of text and explaining difficult words to the class but of cos Muthana being the way he is, cuts in so often that Anita has learnt to ignore his sudden bursts of something, which hasn't stopped him. He likes referring to his dictionary and showing Anita the word she was trying to explain to show that he got it. Hai...at least he's the comic relief in class.

During one of our breaks, I was sitting with Vlasta, Knut and Nadine in class when Muthana came up to us with textbook in hand asking what the answers are (at least that's what I think he was asking). We tried to tell him that he's not allowed to write in the textbook and we haven't done any of those exercises cos it's not even the right chapter. But all he said when we told him he has to write his answers on paper and not in the book was, 'Jag vet. Jag vet. blah blah blah....' (translation: I know. I know. ..gibberish..). Then finally Khaldoun, another Iraqi in our class (whom I think is pretty attractive looking), stepped in and told him in Arabic that he can't write in the textbook. Guess what? Muthana still kept on saying, 'Jag vet. Jag vet...arabic blah blah...'. Finally Khaldoun couldn't take it anymore and went off saying he didn't understand what Muthana was saying either. And once again he flew down on us and once again we tried telling him to write his answers on paper (more people got involved this time) when finally..I think a lightbulb went off in his head and he turned to us and asked, 'Jag kan inte skriver här?' Jag måste skriver bara där?' (translation: I can't write here *points to textbk*? I can only write there *points to workbk*?)

Finally the man got it!! And he went away.

After the break, Anita went on to a different exercise where we had to fill in the blanks and she called upon us one by one to give her the answers to the various sentences. But everytime she called on Muthana to give the answer, he not only gave her the answer to his question but also the rest of the answers which of cos made the rest of us laugh since Anita had reminded us at least twice before to answer just our own question. One could see the exasperation rising in her eyes but even though she got even more strict with us, at least she doesn't raise her voice...well maybe just a little.

Once Muthana gave her the right answer but pronounced it wrongly. Anita tried correcting him but standing in front of him and getting him to repeat what she said which in itself is a challenge.

Anita: Titta på mig. Pen-väs-sare. Sa pen-väs-sare. (translation: Look at me. Pe-cil-shar-pener. Say pen-cil-shar-pe-ner.)

Muthana: Jag vet. Jag vet. Pen-vas-säre. Jag vet! (t: I know. I know. Pencil-sher-pa-ner. I know)

Anita: Nej Muthana. Väs-sa-re. Inte vas-säre.

Muthana: Jag vet. Vas-säre. Pen-vas-säre. Och rak-nä-re *answer to the next qn*. (t: I know. Sher-pa-ner. Pencil-sher-paner. And culcalator.)

Anita: Sigh...Muthana (by this time the rest of the class have started laughing and some tried helping.), pen-väs-sare. Titta på mig. Pen-väs-sare.

Muthana: Jag vet. Jag vet! Pen-vaas-säre!

Anita: Hai...Nasta fråga, Tatsawan *girl sitting behind Muthana*? (t: Sigh..next question, Tatsawan?)

Muthana is a man in his own little world where his way is the best way and everyone should just accept that that is the way Muthana is. Not many things in whichever language can really go into him cos he's so stubborn and sure of his answers.

So we let him be. So long as he doesn't write in the damn textbook!

A friend once asked me to show and tell my new home. How my apartment looks like, how the town looks like and just how everything is like here. It definitely is very different from Singapore in almost every way but that doesn't necessarily mean something negative.

The conveniences found in Singapore and especially in Holland Village where I had lived all my life certainly cannot compare to Askersund. But the charm found in both places are certainly fight for top place in my heart. Holland Village has the rustic charm of a small, hip estate with its small streets and numerous restaurants and cafes (something I absolutely LOVE about HV). And while Askersund is FAR from hip and its small streets are not cramped with restaurants and cafes, it does hold its own brand of charm. It has a natural charm accentuated by the lake and sudden bursts of forest every now and again.

But I do love the location of our apartment and largely bcos of that I am not planning on buying a house anytime soon. And husband agrees with that (thank goodness!). Our apartment is just behind the town district building that faces the town square so we are really close to the pulse of town. I really like the town square with its cobble stoned streets and old style buildings. The middle of the square is now a large parking lot and it's also where the town places its Christmas tree...a huge, tall thing that reaches up to the tallest building on the square.

In the summer, there is a fountain with a big statue in the middle of it spewing out water right in front of one of the 2 town bakeries, the bookstore and a hair salon. But in the winter, they remove the statue. I didn't even know that one could do that! So now it just looks like a huge tub in the middle of town. I think they'll put the statue back come summertime and then I'll upload a picture with the fountain fully installed, water and all. We live to the right of the fountain and husband works in a store to the left of the fountain so that makes things very convenient in terms of travelling to work.

Husband dear works in an electrical appliance store called Åhlins and for such a small town, the store actually does quite well. And even though it means that he works slightly longer hours and on most Saturdays, I still like the fact that he works so close to home and he doesn't need to drive so much now. We save money AND the environment! They wear a uniform there which is the same colour as the front entrance, blue. But he and another colleague of his, Anton, choose to wear a bright red fleece jacket over the nice blue polo t-shirt which I frankly think makes husband look a tad too gay for my taste. For some reason Anton seems to be able to carry it off a little more manly-ish than Mathias can. Hmmm...I wonder why....?

Every once in a while, there is an old guy called Ova who comes in who works at the local recycling plant. He's famous or rather infamous in town and many of the stores and cafes use him when ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. Ova used to work as a trashman but he's retired now and works part time at the nearby recycling plant. In his spare time (which he has a lot of), he works for some of the stores here including Åhlins collecting all the big and card board trash like boxes and old TVs or fridges. He is a very interesting character for oh so many reasons but mostly cos he's not the cleanest man in town (with horrifically gross blackish nails), his one of a kind greeting to anyone he deems deserving which sounds more like a muppet with a stuck nose and his oh so unique sense of humour.

He can go up to someone and as a form of greeting just show them his thumb and index finger like one would measure how much is an inch apart. And if that someone foolishly proceeds to ask him what that means, he casually explains that that is the distance between a woman's anus and her p**sy. And then he will laugh and walk away. Why anyone would find that funny is anybody's guess but since he (like bugs) is so vital to the everyday running of the town, he gets away with it. But nobody really wants him in their store, especially the cafe owner who quickly makes Ova his usual cup of coffee and a bag of pastries (work benefits) when he sees Ova's car round the corner. The cafe owner would then proceed to walk out to Ova even before the fellow has come out of his car to pass him his coffee and freebies. The old man thinks it's respect but everyone knows it's for the sake of their own health. Heh heh.... In the picture, he is bald and clean shaven but please do not be fooled. He is usually scruffy with messy hair under a dirty hat with a long dirty looking gray beard. Mathias found out the reason why he was so clean shaven that day he took the picture (as evidence that Ova can look relatively clean) is bcos he had some rash on his head and shaving everything off just made it easier to put the cream on his head. But that is just a temporary thing, he assures. And that is his false teeth sticking out cos when Mathias told him to pose, he ask 'Teeth in or teeth out?'. And like any normal human being husband had thought he meant to smile or not to which the man foolishly says 'Teeth out'. So of cos, with his brand of humour, Ova the trashman pulled out his false teeth and let it dangle for the camera.

Next time I will tell you about 2 other interesting characters of the town, Fat Lena and Dottie. And also feature the best part of town, its harbour! Till then....

When I first started school 7 weeks ago, I gave myself the time schedule of graduating from Class A in 2 months and being moved up to Class B. Who would have thought that I would move ahead of schedule and get to the B class within 3 weeks. And now after spending 4 weeks in Class B I have been told that I will start in Class C next week after the Easter holidays.

Wow...I guess all that studying and headaches of the tests worked out well for me. I have realised that I do much better in terms of writing, reading out loud and understanding written text. But I still have trouble listening to conversations and speaking. And that is frustrating but I know I know..everything takes time. In our last lesson, Klass the teacher wanted to have one last test with those who will be moving to Class C (there will be 10 of us). He wanted to have a one on one conversation with us. Uh oh, I thought. That can go bad. But it turned out quite alright. I am used to the way Klas speaks so I can understand most of what he says. But I did tell him that I do have trouble with conversations and I usually can only understand 75-80% of what is said in class. And of cos he says it all takes time. But I was so pleased when he told me that I learn really quick and according to him am one of the best students in the program. Yay!! Well, I dun really believe that compliment 100% but it is pleasant to hear that.

So anyway, barely 2 months after starting school, I am now gonna start in the 3rd level (there are 4 in total). And who knows, I may graduate from all 4 levels come summertime. I know it will be easier to get a job if I have the certificate from school.

Vlasta and Knut will be moving up with me but Som, the thai lady, will have to stay unfortunately. I will miss Klass a lot cos I think he's such a great teacher and I will definitely miss the classroom that has a wonderful view. On our last day of school before the Easter weekend, it started snowing and the view was just spectacular! Large flakes of snow falling past the windows covering most of the road and trains and the snowfall is so thick I could no longer see the distant hills and fields. This is a view that only those in Class B has the privilege of enjoying. Hai....I will miss it.

In answer to a dear friend's questions, the shelter actually told us she likes prawn cheese so I guess it is safe to give her that. And I think it's chocolate that is toxic to dogs and cats. Anyway, they also told us that she likes ham but since we don't eat pork here, I tried chicken ham and she loved it!

Too bad I still can't pet her yet cos she's still so afraid of people. She was an abandoned kitten that they had to catch using a trap so she's got major trust issues. But she is not too afraid that she will be a difficult pet. Her sister Alana on the other hand, will be a very difficult pet. That kitten is even more afraid of people and hisses everytime someone tries to get close. Either that or she hides away and never comes out. Sussie is a super curious cat so she still comes out to check out the place and smell things.

It appears that Sussie is more of a night prowler than anything else. She seems very inactive during the day time and spends the hours under the sofa sleeping. Actually I heard her snoring away yesterday. So cute!! She is definitely a part of the family since snoring runs heavily in the Sjöberg clan. Grandma Sjöberg can no longer stand to sleep in the same room as Grandpa and Father Sjöberg has to use some Darth Vader looking device when he sleeps cos he snores so bad. Young Mr Sjöberg is just lucky that his wife sleeps like the dead and doesn't even notice his snoring unless she gets up to pee at night. Then she realises the extent of snoring...it's LOUD!

So anyway, Sussie comes out to play and curious after about 6 or 7 in the evening. but she doesn't come out if we are in the room. She boldly comes out from under the sofa if we are not in the livingroom and then once she's out she goes exploring. We leave almost all the doors open so she can explore and feel comfortable and comfortable she is certainly becoming. We found her on our bed last night, happily relaxing amidst the comfy comforters. but of cos as is Sussie, she ran away the moment any of us entered the room. So we left her be as we watched TV in the livingroom.

Husband says that Sussie is in a bit of a dilemma now. She is still very shy of people and will run away whenever we get too close. She doesn't let us pet her and she doesn't feel comfy enough yet to letus play with her. But every now and again she meows out loud for us if she can't find us or she knows that we are looking for her to tell us where she is. Husband says that she so badly wants our attention and affection but she is too scared and shy to come close to us.

Ah..dilemma dilemma dilemma...

She seems to find the computer chair a very comfortable spot nowadays. Last night while I was in the kitchen and husband was in the toilet, I started looking for her but I couldn't find her in all the usual places. Seeing how small the apartment is, I was baffled and wondered where she was. I decided to give her her space and went back into the kitchen. Suddenly I heard a loud meow from the livingroom and when I went out to look, I realised she was sitting on the computer chair. I didn't see her cos the computer chair is black!! All I could see were her 2 bright eyes even though the lights in the living room were switched on...amazing.

Mathias told me that she tricked him this morning after I had left for school. He was sitting in front of the computer when he heard a loud meow from the window. So he went over to check on Sussie when suddenly he heard a scurry and realised that she had run to the computer chair and sat down! But of cos when he came close, she ran away. So he went back to the computer when a few minutes later he heard a loud melancholic meow from the window again. Not knowing that it's a once bitten twice shy moment, husband went over to the window AGAIN to check on her. And AGAIN he heard a scurry across the room and in seconds the computer chair was occupied again. So he gave up and got ready to go to work.

She's so smart right?? Now..if only she'll let us come close.

Despite all the tests, I have had a pretty interesting week and especially weekend.

Husband and I had decided that we will get a cat but we had thought perhaps in the summer when the weather is warmer and we have more time off from school and work. Just so we can spend more time with the cat. But knowing impatient and persistent me, I managed to convince the husband that perhaps getting a cat before summer would be nice. He thought about it and agreed that perhaps instead of June, we can get the cat in May.

Fair enough, I let that one go...for a few days. After that I continued to argue and whine my case to him and convinced him that perhaps looking through the nearby cat shelters wouldn't hurt. He agreed and said maybe we can go look at cats in the shelters sometime in April. I then started oh so subtly chancing upon the websites of the nearby shelters when the husband just happens to look at the computer screen. Of cos all this while whining (subtly and elegantly of cos) about how a nice kitten would be lovely. Husband agreed and we got the address but he wasn't sure when would be a good time to go.

I convinced husband that 2 Saturdays ago was an excellent day. He agreed and we went off to Hallsberg where they had a good cat shelter called Spinnhuset. They had a lot of beautiful and big cats and unlike what I had previously thought, all the cats were very comfortably set up in their own cage or sharing with a sibling with their own litter box, scratching post tower, a whole range of toys and what not. Not a single meow could be heard from the cats who were either snoozing away or lazily looking out the window. It was a very very calm environment and I couldn't even tell it was a shelter except for the fact that there were cage like doors swung shut so the cats couldn't run out since some of them didn't have a great temperament.

And surprise surprise, when we got there, husband pretty much fell in love with a semi grown kitten, Sussie. She's a black kitten of about 7 months and has a small face, is quite lean but a pretty long body. She looks older than 7 months bcos of her long body. And so even though he was the one hesitating all along about when to get the cat, husband was the one who came up to me with a sheepish grin and asked, 'So..shall we sign the adoption papers today?'

The adoption process is to me pretty good that ensured a decent home for each cat. We didn't automatically get the cat but had to wait for the chairperson of the shelter to call us to conduct an interview to see if we were suitable. We paid 700Sek (abt SGD140) when we picked Sussie up but that included all vaccinations and sterilisation. And if the cat is too young to be sterilised (like Sussie), they will give us a voucher to be presented to the vet so that the sterilisation bill gets sent to the shelter instead of us. Good huh? And if for whatever reason, it does not work out between the cat and its new owners, the new owners can always return the cat back to the shelter. The shelter lady told us of one of the cats who had been returned 3 times by different owners cos it didn't work out. For some reason, the cat just refuses to eat when it's at a new home. It literally starves itself so they have to choice but to return it to the shelter where it does eat. Upon filling out of the adoption papers (which we did 2 Saturdays ago), we had to wait at least 5 days in which time we can always change our minds about the cat. But we didn't change our minds about Sussie and barely 3 days later we got the call from the chairperson asking when we can pick her up.

Yay!! So we picked up our Sussie last Saturday and brought her home. She is a very shy and extremely careful little cat and is no longer as small as in the picture. I have been unable to take a newer picture of her since she keeps hiding under the sofa and refuses to come out when we are around. But she is very very active at night and is curious and playful when alone. So I guess we just give her time and it'll work out. At least she eats and has a pretty expensive taste when it comes to special treats cos she likes smoked chicken ham and prawn cheese. Mum in law calls Sussie the luxury cat. heh heh...

This week is gonna be tough. It's full of tests, listening and written. Oral tests, I guess are a daily occurence since Klas, my teacher, speaks in nothing but Swedish and expects all of us to understand. But that is the best way to learn quickly and somewhat effectively I have found. And a good dictionary close at hand is crucial in class. I dunno where I will be without my trusty albeit tiny dictionary. I have a big, satisfying dictionary at home but I can't lug it to school everyday cos it's just too heavy.

So anyway, we had a letter writing test yesterday and this time I couldn't use my dictionary. Oi oi oi! (Swedish expression for alamak!). But I got through it and I must say my letter sounded pretty good too. But I did kick myself at home afterwards when I realised I had spelt lägenhet or apartment in english wrong. I had missed out on those 2 tiny dots on top of the a. Darn! For the sake of just 2 dots I have ruined my letter. Oh well, never mind. I am a lot more relaxed during these tests now cos I don't want to move to the next class. Not yet anyway. I just don't feel ready to move up yet even though Klas did mention to Mathias that he feels that I may be ready to move to the C class.

What?? Again?! No lah...don't want lah. Not yet. If I move again after barely 4 weeks in my B class, then I just feel like I haven't learnt enough. Not from Klas anyway. Plus I heard the teacher in C Class can be quite a witch. Ugh...not looking forward to that. And anyway, my classroom is so pretty, I really don't want to move. But I can tell that my class is getting full. When I started there, there were probably 6 or 8 seats empty and today there are only 2 empty. And that's cos some people are absent today.

Part of the test would include prepositions..and I HATE Swedish prepositions. I hate them almost as much as I hate onions! Actually, come to think of it, Swedish prepositions and onions share the same compartment in my heart. I hate them and I never want to see or taste them...but at the end of the day I know that life is just easier with them around. So I tolerate their existence and use them to the most minimum of my ability. And note that it is SWEDISH prepositions. even though English prepositons can be a bitch sometimes, at least they follow some sort of logic.

Yes, I said logic. Swedish prepositions follow no rule of thumb, logic or anything in between. There is almost no way of intellectualizing it. And if you try, as Knut will put it 'Katastrof!' and 'Hjärnan (brain) explodera!!'. I have tried asking Klas, Mathias and even come desperately close to asking the mother in law to tell me why you use this particular preposition here but not there even though it essentially means that same thing. Example, you ask? Sure! Plenty!

Take for example, Swedish preposition på (paw). It is supposed to essentially mean on. Like on the street, on the table. But it is also used to indicate location like at the library, at the disco, at the store..but not just any store. You have to indicate specifically the store name to be able to use på with it. If you're just gonna use the generic store...then it's a different preposition. Gosh, don't even get me started on that one. Oh yeah, på is also used to tell someone to come on around and say hi to me. And there is just no logical way of thinking when one can use på. One just has to know.

That is the one phrase that I keep hearing over and over here from Swedish speaking people. Some things in the language (esp prepositions!) you can't explain. You just have to learn it, remember it and regurgitate it when the time comes. Ugh!

So anyway, that is my nightmare with the Swedish preposition. But other than that, I think I've been doing quite alright. Except for the fact that I still have a lot of trouble understanding conversations in Swedish. It is really very tiring concentrating so hard trying to decipher and make out words. Especially when the Swedes are famous for either mumbling through words or shortening them. And a lot of words sound so similar that it can be pure hell just trying to figure out which topic of conversation they are on. Double Ugh!!

Tests, tests and more tests...I'm just looking forward to the end of Monday...my last day of all these tests. then it'll just be back to endless writing exercises.

I went for my very first gynaecologist appointment yesterday. I received a letter from the health centre a few weeks ago stating that an appointment has been made on my behalf to go see the gynaecologist (at least that's what I had thought) to get some tests done at the health centre in town.

Since the letter was in Swedish, husband dear had to translate and having the amazing ability to translate everything Swedish as concisely and clearly as is Mathias-ly possible, I do usually get the message but it's probably 3hours later.

Ok fine, I exaggerate. It's only 2 hours, but you get the idea.

Anyway, all I knew entering the health centre was that I was gonna see the doctor, get some test done that's supposed to have been done to most women living in the area to keep track of changes. I have no idea what the tests are, what changes they are talking about and why the need to keep track of it but I went anyway cos isn't it usually good to get tests done? At least then I know...of what I'm not sure but I'm certain I gain some sort of knowledge about my body that I didn't before. And that's always a good thing.

Of cos seeing that it's my first time, I am understandably unsure and downright nervous. Mathias was nice enough to come with me and showed the acceptable level of compassion and understanding. We didn't know whether he should come along into the examination room or not but if the lady doctor (I made sure of that) didn't speak much English I would need help translating and vice versa.

We went into the tiny waiting room and I couldn't sit still (nervouslah). A few minutes later, a lady came in and introduced herself as Monika and said she will be doing the test for me. Ok, so this lady looks nice enough but since she spoke only Swedish thus far, I still didn't know if I wanted Mathias in there with us or not. So I decided to just go with the flow and told him to follow.

We entered the room and to me it looks like a torture chamber. It was a small room with a desk against one wall, a tiny frosted window in a corner, a small gurney in another corner and another gurney looking thing (tho not flat) with big STIRRUPS.

Hmm...I knew there was gonna be the stirrups thing. I've watched enough TV to know what it looks like but damn that looks intimidating. It was not hidden, not stowed away, no curtains ANYWHERE in the room not even a partition to give anyone any sort of feeling of privacy. I turn to Mathias and say, 'Whatever happens, stay close to the head. Remember..the head!'

What had I gotten myself into??

It was a strange first few minutes as she gave us seats and as all 3 of us sat down, we just sort of looked at each other not knowing what to say.

I must say this about Swedes in general. There is a real tendency, I realise, for Swedes to fall into some sort of pause in the middle of a conversation. It is an awkward pause and what makes it worse is that it is usually uncomfortably long. But it happens..a lot...especially among people who have just met or acquaintances who bump into each other on the street. I guess they just need to collect their thoughts but sometimes I just wish I could tell them, 'For goodness sake, man, pick up the pace! Say something! Does every pause have to be this long?'. Reason I don't say anything first is that this conversation is usually between husband and another Swede and it is in Swedish. How can I just butt in right?...heh heh...

So anyway...pause...I look at Monika...pause...I look at Mathias...still pause..and I begin to wonder if I'm supposed to have done something. Then suddenly Monika starts talking and explaining the procedure and such. And it turns out she speaks perfect English. Not extremely smooth but better than some Singaporeans I know which was fantastic news!

Just as I thought things were moving along smoothly, Monika finishes explaining and falls into another pause.

Damn...

So again I look at her, look at Mathias (who is as bewildered as me, obviously) and back at her. And again it is an unbearably long pause. And just as I was about to give up ever getting back home before dark, she stands up and goes, 'so...shall we start?'

Nervous, I swallowed and stood up, looking around and wondering what I'm supposed to do next. I turn to husband and he looks (still bewildered) at me and I tell him to leave. I swear I could hear him sigh with relief and he cleared out of the room faster than a bunny in heat. I turn back to Monika and she smiles at me, points to a corner and says 'you can take off your pants there.'

I look at the corner and wonder HUH?..There? The corner has some sort of partition that is bolted to the wall and pushed back but it looks old and I don't want to risk breaking it or having to waste time pulling it closed. There is also a chair (for comfort? Ease of stripping?) but nothing else. I don't get a gown, a cloth...nothing to cover myself with once I have my pants off.

My God....may He give me strength to get through this. Aiyai yai...

So there I was...naked from the waist down and pulling my shirt as low as it can go to try and cover myself. Let's just say the next few minutes as I walked to the stirrup table to the point I walked back to my clothes had it's moments of embarassment, great discomfort and strange sensations. It is NOT something I or any women in the world look forward to. Ugh...makes me think twice about pregnancy.

But I must say that Monika really helped to ease the whole situation as she tried to distract me by talking about other things as she took the test sample she needed. Turns out she's not a gynaecologist but a midwife. In Sweden, women see midwives and not gynaecologists when it comes to pregnancies, contraceptions and anything that comes up during a normal pregnancy and natural birth. So some women never even ever see a doctor when they have their babies. And to me, that's pretty interesting.

So I will get my test results back in about 2 weeks and according to Monika, this test is done every 3 years for women between the age of 23 to 59. So I guess I will be seeing a midwife in about 3 years or during my first pregnancy...whichever comes first.

I'm not sure which I'm looking forward to the least, to be honest.

It was my first day in the 2nd level (B class) today and it was a surprisingly fun day. I didn't even really realise the time pass until Klas, my new teacher, looked at the clock and exclaimed, 'Oh dear, only 2 more minutes!'

I was quite lucky today as I met one of my new classmates on my way up to the class. Turns out she lives in Askersund as well and she's a really nice Thai lady. She told me to sit at the desk behind her as she already had a desk partner. Som is her name and soon I learnt the name of our desk partners who are her close friends at school. Sitting next to Som is Vlasta, a Slovenian lady who likes to smile and laugh, especially with Som. And sitting next to is a German man called Knut. He is a nice guy and friendly although his German accent is so strong when he speaks Swedish that I have trouble understanding him. But since all 3 of them speak nothing but Swedish (albeit broken sentences), I'm forced to listen and speak Swedish as well which is great for me. At least there are people I can speak Swedish with unlike in my other class where you either speak Arabic or English to get any sort of conversation going.

There is a much better mix of cultures and people in the B class. There are Burmese, an American (who is always the first one out the door for every break and at the end of the day), a lady from Cameroon, Iraqis, Thais, German guy, Slevenian lady and me, Klas' first Singaporean student.

Let me tell you about my new teacher, Klas. He is a very interesting man to me and a big contrast from Leif. Klas is much older with sprigs of white hair sprouting every which way around his head from ear to ear as he is bald at the top. He wears a loud, multi patterned, multi coloured thick cardigan everyday buttoned up to the top. He is a rather small man, shorter than me. As a matter of fact, when he saw me one of the first things he exclaimed as he looked up at my face was 'Oj, oj, oj, you're much taller than I thought you would be.'. Klas is also a really friendly man and very animated in his explanations and even the way he speaks. One of the most significant differences between Klas and Leif is that the latter speaks oh so slowly while Klas speaks like a bullet train. But for some reason, I can understand Klas as well as Leif. I find that very interesting...So anyway, I do like my teacher and he seems really nice so I think I probably will continue to enjoy school.

But one of the most attractive and significantly different thing about my new class as compared to my old one is the view from the classroom window. Class B is located on a totally different building from Class A and it's located on the 3rd floor. While I was in Class A, the windows we had were pretty high up so when we sat down, I could only see the sky. And from that window we could see the main road and the parking lot in front of the school. It was nice but nothing compared to the view I now have.

Knut and I sit by the window and what a glorious window it is. One entire wall of the classroom is covered with windows and it is much lower so the bottom of the window is at my desk level. That means all I need to do to look out the window during class is turn my head left. What I can see from that window is so much more beautiful and everyone agrees. I can see the many train tracks and passing trains through the day. I also see part of the neighbourhood and the roofs of the houses. And beyond that, I even manage to catch a glimpse of the forest. So on an exceptionally sunny day like today, I had a wonderful view of gorgeous scenery.

Did I mention that Spring has officially arrived. I managed to survive winter (albeit it is one of the mildest winters in years), and now a new season has arrived. Can't wait to see flowers spring up and bloom and the trees turn green.

Had a big test at school last Wednesday. And it's probably bcos of the fact that I was born and raised a Singaporean, but obviously I was very kanchong lah. Ask the teacher this question and that and then the day before the test, the worst thing happened.

I fell sick. Darn...

Husband called the school in the morning to let them know that I wouldn't be coming for class and he spoke to Leif. I was still kanchong about the test (obviously) and kept telling husband that I HAVE to go to school cos there were still some stuff I didn't understand and I needed worksheets to practice and blah blah blah. And even though husband dear is a Swede and does not really understand the need for kanchong ness before a test, my kanchong-ness made him kanchong and he got the brilliant idea to ask Leif to fax over any extra material he may have so I can study at home.

Thinking back about it, I guess I might have been a little over doing it. Hee hee...Leif told Mathias to tell me not to worry cos he knows I'll do well for the test since I seem to know my stuff in class. So he said he will NOT send any materials over and told me to just stay home and rest. It didn't help me with my level of anxiety but I guess he was right.

So I did my test and it didn't turn out to be too difficult for me. But like any typical Singaporean, handing the test paper in doesn't mean I stop thinking about the test. For the rest of the day, I thought of all my answers and wondered if I got them right. Mathias and I drove to the supermarket after he finished work that night and as we neared the supermarket, we passed a big sign that contained one of the words that I was tested on.

My eyes bulged and I screamed, 'No! F**k! I spelled CHEAP wrong!! Damn! There's 2 Ls not 1!! Damn!' It's amazing how upset one can get when one knows 1 mark gets cut off for lack of 1 letter.

And of cos that wasn't the end of my rampage. While in the supermarket, I was walking around the vegetable section and I came upon the chiller that held the carrots and without realising it, I looked up at the sign and screamed (once again and without restraint), 'What?! What the h*ll? I spelled carrots wrong! F**k!! I put the damn dots on the wrong O (don't ask)!!'

It was when I had screamed the dreaded 'F' word did I realise an older couple standing next to the carrott chiller. Oops..I hope they dun understand what that word means. I was kinda embarassed but still wanted to kick myself again for misspelling yet another word. So I suck at spelling...BIG TIME.

We got the test papers back the next day and Leif had told us that the test is very important as it would determine whether we can move up to the next level. Even though I had misspelled a few words resulting in 1/2 mark being decudted, I am very super proud to say that I scored 63.5 out of 66, which is a GREAT result, since I only got 1 question wrong (minus 1 mark) and the rest were spelling mistakes (which I still wanna kick myself for).

So I am pleased to announce that after 10 days of school where I was taught for 30 hours, I will be moving up to Level B starting Monday. I am proud of myself since I honestly didn't know a word of Swedish except hello and goodbye and thanks when I first arrived 3 months plus ago and now I am moving up the school ladder a month ahead of the schedule I set for myself. I am nervous though and I don't think I am ready for it yet but since Leif thinks I am, that's where I will be spending the next few weeks learning.

Wish me luck!

Yesterday, school was rather entertaining. All I could do was sit back, enjoy the show and try my very best not to laugh out loud.

Gunilla, the teacher who teaches the other Level 1 class, had the day off so they joined our class. The difference between the two classes is the level of ability to read the alphabet. Or at least that was what I was told by Leif, my Swedish teacher.

Entering our class, I realise that the 2 groups can be divided by countries as well. Except for 1 or 2 exceptions, yours truly included, my class is made up of Iraqis while the other class is made up Burmese and perhaps even Laotians (this is unconfirmed detail). And each group kept trying to assert their presence throughout the day, much to my amusement and Leif's irritation. But seeing that Leif is an exceptionally calm man, his version of irritation is actually what I subject the husband to on a daily basis.

I have tried and managed to maintain some level of acceptance to the idiosyncracies of my Iraqi classmates. I try to overlook the Arabic chatter that sometimes overwhelms the Swedish that's supposed to be what we are there for and the Iraqi girl who keeps poking me in the middle of every exercise for the answers (which I have resigned to just giving her instead of trying to make her understand the answers).

But now for a day, I endure even more idiosyncracies from a different continent which can bring out the worst in a person. I understand that I am now sitting in a middle of a class of refugees. Political refugees who came to Sweden to escape the unstable situation in their own countries. So whatever unpleasant feeling I feel makes me feel guiltier than ever.

But I can't help it!!

I turn and glance at the Burmese students and wonder if they are familiar with the comb. Almost all of them look like they had forgotten to shower that morning but they certainly remembered to cover their faces extensively with white powder (which looks more like smeared flour on their faces). I'm certainly not saying that all of them look unkempt as some of them do look relatively neat, but I had to hold back the urge to get them a comb and wet towel nonetheless. If that was the only thing that bothered me that day, I would say no problemo amigo but of cos there is always more...

I know that the group always eats together during our recess break cos I've seen them. They eat a good proper meal that everyone potlucks together. And it will include rice and a few other dishes so I know it's a good meal. I just wish they didn't have to express it in class as well.

After the break, the women started burping. And I don't mean the oops I accidentally let that one out kinda burp. It's the kind that happens after a good reunion dinner where the men sit back unbutton their pants a little and unceremoniously let loose with the gastric symphony.

Why oh why do these women think that it is ok for them to burp like that in public? In a room full of strangers? And why only the women??!! Ugh...

Apart from the Burmese, there is another Iraqi couple in that class and it turns out that they are the parents of one of my classmates, Nada. What I find interesting about this old couple is that the father always comes to school dressed like a lawyer. I have never seen him in anything other than the full ensemble of crisp shirt, silk tie (I think it's silk), woolen vest, pants and matching jacket. And this is of cos under his very spiffy looking trenchcoat which he takes off in school (thank goodness). And compared to his fellow classmates, his hair is always immaculately coiffed, he colognes and his hands and nails are in short order. The perfect Iraqi gentleman.

I have never heard him speak before until he came to class and everytime he did speak that day, I had to maintain absolute and total control. And the fact that he sat directly across from me made it even more essential. I can tell that this is a proud man, a man certain of himself and a man whom you don't really step on (simply cos his shoes look expensive) so I didn't wanna make any enemies. Plus I'm very polite.

We had a simple reading exercise and it was his turn to read. Let's just say, thank God it was a short passage cos another 2 seconds and I would have burst out laughing uncontrollably. He was called on to read and he held up the paper confidently before embarking on a language journey that only he could understand. It didn't sound Swedish, Arabic or any other language known to the common man. The only way that poor Leif even knew where along the passage the man was, was when he pronounced the word somewhat close to what it's supposed to be. When I say close, it means when someone says 'betty' when he's supposed to say 'bus ride'. But even though I laugh at the little old man (from deep inside of cos), it was still a good effort since his wife didn't even bother to read and just waved it along like traffic.

The old man was quite hardworking compared to his wife who just sat there, honouring us with her presence. He actually bothered to write things down and answer questions posed by the teacher.

We were doing numbers and had to read out the numbers on the board in Swedish (of cos). It can be a tricky exercise as the numbers are in the thousands and we are reading prices of furniture in a store. So Leif asks, 'Hur mycket kostar den soffa?' (How much does the sofa cost) and Majeed (old man) is called upon to answer. With his trademark confidence, Majeed says 'ok' and stands up tall. Which is not too tall as he is a rather short man. You must understand that NOBODY ever stands up to answer. So Majeed stands up, brushes himself down a little, takes a deep breathe and with as much confidence I have ever seen this man produce, he says '3 thousand and 4 hundred'. He then nods, satisfied and sits back down. Leif smiles and gives a little laugh and says 'Det bra! (That's good!) men du maste talar svenska inte engelska' (but you must speak Swedish not English). What can I do but laugh a little myself as I look across me and Majeed looks absolutely self satisfied at his answer.

It was a fun day at school.

She didn't know what she had dreamt about but she woke up that morning with a smile on her lips. Looking over to the man beside her, she saw him smiling right back and through the blinds she could tell the morning sun was already rising.

She knew it was going to be a beautiful day.

She always took a long walk after sending him to work and that day was no different. The chill of the winter morning invigorated her and the quiet serenity of the usually bustling town square calmed her.

Going up the hill, past silent gardens and dimly lit houses, the delicious smell of burning firewood escaped from almost every other chimney. At night the smell of roasting wood in the fireplace is even stronger but the delicate scent of lingering smoke could not escape the quiet air and she loved it. One can hardly tell that the neighbourhood was just beginning to stir.

There was no snow but as she made her way to the lake, the tell tale signs of winter became piercingly evident. There was a stillness in the air that only the winter morning could bring and a stillness in the water that only the winter night could leave behind.

She had never seen ice on the water before and to witness the lake frozen in ice as far as her eye could see took her breath away. She knew it was too thin to walk on but it didn't stop the excitement and awe from bubbling in her.

Just then a flock of geese flew overhead in formation as if heading South, circling the small island that stood alone on the middle of the lake before disappearing from sight as quickly as they had appeared. Resisiting the urge to make herself comfortable on the bank and rest her feet on the ice, she walked on along the lake's edge, marvelling at the stillness of everything one could see and the energy of everything that one couldn't.

She slowly made her way to the harbour where only the big boats remain docked for the winter not at all expecting the picture that unveiled before her.

Approaching the harbour, she caught sight of a flock of birds in the water, looking suspiciously similar to the very flock that had flown by her just minutes before. It was until she stood at the very edge of the pier, peering out to the birds could she tell that they were not swimming but rather sitting around on the ice. Some walked and a few skated across but they looked very much at home, much to her amusement.

Barely having gotten over the surprising sight of the geese hanging out on the ice, suddenly she caught sight of 2 more birds landing right in the middle of the flock. What would usually be a graceful slide into the water and a calm swim around the lake turned into an amusing skid on tail feathers and flapping wings as the bird veered uncontrollable before coming to an unceremonious stop near the feet of some geese. It was then that she realised that both the newcomers were unmistakably smaller than the flock. She watched bemused as the 2 birds, who turned out to be ducks, began moving away from the group with nary a pause. Wings outstretched to make itself look bigger than it really is, the two ducks waddled away as quickly as their tiny feet could take them with what one could hardly call grace and distinction.

The ducks with the identity crisis quickly joined their nearby comrades and managed to blend in quickly and quietly into the right flock this time turning her attention to the ducks resting barely ten metres from the geese. Instead of just sitting on the ice, the ducks had convened around an opening in the ice close to the bank. The ice oasis resembled a busy beach with ducks lounging around on the edge of the ice and some ducks gracefully swimming around in the icy cold water. All that was missing were the parasols, beach chairs and sunglasses.

Staring into the frozen lake, she could make out hundreds of tiny white fish moving about just below the icy surface. With the sun firmly up in the sky shining down full force, she knew this sight would not last long but the short glimpse of nature at its best that she had been gifted with, was enough to thrill the city girl, fill her with wonder and lift her spirits.

Life felt truly beautiful that day.

I was watching an episode of the Ellen Show this afternoon and she always has a few segments that are quite funny or what they would call 'roligt' in Swedish. Well today, one of the segments was a showcase of funny clips from those TV shopping programs I think, and I just HAVE to mention the first clip that she showed.

It was a clip of a bearded man in his 50s showing some invention or some device. I can't really tell what the device is except that it is a small handheld black cylinder but apparently it's supposed to be able to calculate something very very accurately.

The man repeated over and over to the host of the show, 'This device is extremely sensitive and really great. There's nothing else like this and it's truly one of a kind.'
As he shows it off in his hand, the camera does a close up of this black device and you can tell the man is REALLY nervous bcos his hands are trembling and red. Unless of cos he has a hand sunburn and Parkinson's, the man is ultra NERVOUS.

Then suddenly the unthinkable happens...just as he is reiterating that the device is 'one of a kind' and that 'you can't find this anywhere else', he drops the device and it SMASHES to a thousand pieces on the floor! The look of sheer horror on his face as his glance moved from the floor to the host back to the floor was both funny and heartbreaking.

And what else can a man say when something like that happens other than 'Oh S**t..'

Did I mention about the Playstation 2 that we now have on the house? The husband came home on Valentine's Day from work holding a box and smiling like it was Christmas morning. Turns out he had gotten a dance mat!! Apparently he had been clearing out the warehouse with his colleague and they found a bunch of these dance mats for PS1. So since they weren't going to sell them, he brought one home. So now we have buzzer attachments, microphones and a dancemat to play on our PS2 at home.

Cool!

Swedish word of the day: Roligt!

Happy Valentine's Day to all!!

It is a beautiful winter's day in Sweden, with the sun shining like crazy down on us. Husband says this is the Spring sun and it usually comes out around this time. Unfortunately, there is simply no snow when there should be. The snow is supposed to come and stay even until March. But it has hardly come this year. Talk about global warming. Kinda freaky actually.

Anyway, this is the first time that Mathias and I are actually physically together on this day for lovers so it is pretty exciting and fun. I decided that I would not be buying any gifts for the man or even flowers. I mean, I'm the one who's supposed to get the flowers but I have learnt to not expect them...just so I get pleasantly surprised if I do get them.

And yes, I did get the chocolates and flowers from the husband. He couldn't really wait to give me the chocolates so I got them last night and the flowers he had in hand when he came home for lunch. What a nice surprise!
Apparently the flowers don't cost amy different from all the other days. But then again he bought the roses at the supermarket so I dunno if that counts. But then again what counts is always the thought. I bet a woman came up with that saying.

But what I did decide to give him was one of my recently developed specialties. I decided to bake some Valentine's goodies for the husband. I baked his favourite cinnamon buns and something rather new.

I made some lovely cupcakes and frosted them with swirly pink frosting. I also made something I had never done before, heart shaped muffins topped with chocolate ganache and pink heart frosting. It took a bit of time cos I had never made them before but at the end of it, it was truly worth the effort.

Of cos since I had no experience with frosting using the piping nozzles before, you can tell 2 of the muffins were experimental. But I must say I am quite proud of my Valentine's Day goodies and husband is extremely appreciative.

It's so much fun to bake!

In answer to my dear friend's enquiries, yes, there are real life Iraqis in my class...as a matter of fact more 80% of the class comes from Iraq. And refugees attend Swedish classes 5 days a week. So I get Friday off but they still have to attend class. Yippee!!

So that actually makes Friday lunches and dinners even more special for Mathias and me. I would actually have the time to cook his lunch on day so it's fresher and warmer. Since I have school and only reach home at 1pm everyday, I don't have time to cook lunch for husband who usually has lunch at noon. Instead, in line with my wifely duties (heh heh), I prepare lunch the night before and put it in the fridge so he will come home and heat up his lunch. So far it's been working quite well.

It's only been 3 days since I started school but it feels like I've been going for some time. I dunno, maybe it's because the teacher is so nice and patient or that the people are not so scary. Well, not all of them anyway. Plus the fact that most of us can't speak each other's languages helps me to not feel so out of place since I don't understand them anyway. Heh heh...

It's quite interesting my day at school. Even though my day is barely 4 hours long starting from 8am to 11.45am, we are given a snack break. I call it recess time but instead of milk or mee rebus, it's a bunch of adults drinking coffee, eating buns and smoking out in the cold open air. They call it fika in Sweden. Fika, I realise is a very important component of the Swedish way of life. Fika is like teatime or snacktime where you sit down for coffee and a pastry or bun. And although in the textbooks, they identify fika as a night time coffee/snack, Swedes fika all through the day.

Swedes fika usually at about 9 or 10am if they are at work (I'm not so sure abt school tho recess is at 9am). This is very important to take note of especially if you intend on calling someone from the district office or town council. These people take fika very very seriously. Not hail nor state emergency will prevent them from taking their fika. And don't even bother trying to pull them away once they have started to fika. Let's just call that mission impossible.

So back to my day at school. We start our lesson at 8am and before I know it, recess time comes an hour later. I found out that it lasts 30 minutes.

30 whole minutes for FIKA?? wow...they DO take this whole fika thing seriously. I was so surprised to get such a long break so soon after the day starts. So we come back from recess at 9.30am and lessons continue. But I get another surprise today when I realise that we get another break at about 10.30am (you can Fika again if you really wish but that's too much even by Swedish standards) which lasts about 20 min.

My oh my! Such luxury...we can go to the bathroom, eat cookies, chit chat or go smoke and nobody cares. The teacher isn't even there cos he leaves the classroom every break time.

So let's recap... Class begins at 8am including the occasional late comer. An hour passes and we fika 30 minutes away. So at 9.30am, we start lessons again and come 10.30am someone will start whining for a break. If the teacher is actually in the middle of something, he will try to defer the break time for as long as he can but we certainly get it. Lesson will probably start again at about 11am or a little before and my day ends at 11.45am sharp or earlier. Has not been any later and everyone pretty much rushes out of the classroom, leaving me alone with the teacher to pack up slowly and put on my winter things. I tend to do this slower than usual cos I have half an hour before my bus comes. So what's the rush, right?

So you can call my mornings quite full...full of breaks and fika. But the half hour that I do have before my bus comes is quite appreciated since I use the time to walk to the main bus centre instead of te bus stop in front of the school. And I get to walk through the town and enjoy the sights of the small town that seems to have more things to see than tiny Askersund.

I kinda like my little walk through town and my bus ride home where I get to fall asleep if I want to. Maybe soon I may actually go walk through the small shopping mall in that town (town is called Hallsberg, by the way) and even sit down for a fika moment in the town konditori. A konditori is basically a bakery that provides seating or a cafe that bakes its own treats. A fika central! Doesn't that sound nice?

Swedish words of the day: Fika & Konditori

I finally started school yesterday. It was a very exciting morning, in that I'm so nervous I may puke in the bus kinda way. Husband had kindly taken the day off so he can take the bus with me to school and wait for me until I finished. Kept telling him as he made my breakfast that I didn't want to go to school. You know that whiney voice, complaining about nothing since nothing has happened yet.

Well, that was my voice yesterday morning. Was having that sickly feeling in the pit of my stomach and all the worst possible scenarios kept replaying i my sick little head. Husband kept comforting me saying, it never is as bad as you think it will be.

So there I was in a dark bus (it was a coach bus cos we accidentally took the express bus, so like most coaches on a long haul journey, all the lights are out), looking out at the gorgeous countryside passing me by as the rising sun slowly turns the sky pink then orange. That took some of the edge off me plus the fact that I was still really sleepy.

My class is very small with only 8 students including me. There is a German lady and 6 Iraqis, among whom there is just one guy. Some of the ladies can't speak English or much Swedish so there is ALWAYS a bunch of Arab flying across the room. The teacher is a man called Leif with a deep, quiet and rather soothing voice. I can tell just how patient he is and I certainly can see instances of when that patience serves him well. So he seems nice.

And with a lot of Swedish people who don't know me, the teacher was surprised to find out that I was Singaporean and not Thai. And we speak English in Singapore and technically there is no Singapore language. But I did learn a lot in my 2 days of Swedish classes. I also learnt that there are 4 levels in total before I graduate from this course of study. There is no specific length of time for each level. The teacher will just send you to the next level at his discretion and in general, he said that students take about 525 hours of classes to complete the entire 4 levels. But of cos some students can take up to 1000 hours or some as low as 350 hours. And since I am not a refugee, I only need to attend school Monday to Thursday, which is great for me.

Ok, so now I formulate a plan for myself. I want to do well enough in this class to move up to the next level in about 1.5 to 2 months. But since I don't really know what it takes to move on to the next level, all I can do is learn all I can from Leif and make sure I practice speakin Swedish, especially in class. I keep forgetting to do that! Ugh...I can kick myself sometimes.

Heh heh...is that me being too hard on myself again? That's what Mathias always says about me. Well, I just really want to be able to understand what people around me say. It's frustrating not to understand or be understood.

It was the husband's birthday a few days ago and he had insisted that he not have a birthday cake.

What?? No birthday cake??! What kind of sick wife would let her husband of barely 3 months (still honeymoon period apparently) go without a birthday cake on his birthday?

So as I had promised in the last post, here are pictures of the cake I baked.

Here is a picture of the DELICIOUS butter cake I baked before I frosted it. Gorgeous, isn't it?

Well, I didn't do anything fancy with the frosting. Just made a nice chocolate frosting without any further decorations. It was already a lot of work to frost the thing and anyway, it tasted great! No need for anything fancy shmancy.

But I had over estimated the recipe and ended up with 2 cakes. Alamak! I cannot eat 2 cakes...that would just be bad news. So I cut the cake up and gave some to the neighbour. She was actually shocked to see me at her doorstep and even more so when I held up the large slice of chocolate frosted butter cake. First thing that came out of her mouth was...'Varför? (it means why)'. Heh heh.. And I thought caucasians are a friendlier and generous lot. Well, they are but apparently the giving of cakes and such to neighbours are pretty rare. Ok...so I'm different and can hardly speak Swedish but I managed explain myself in badly broken Swenglish.

As much work as it was, I actally enjoyed myself a lot through the baking process. Even the frosting that had frustrated and infuriated me in my teenage days, made me smile and hum in pleasant solitude as I glided the creamy frosting across my beautiful golden brown cake. And my kitchen smelled WONDERFUL!

So of cos that gave me inspiration to bake cinnamon rolls (something very popular here in Sweden) later in the week. They turned out just as gorgeous and they tasted GREAT!!! I can't believe that they tasted so good and they were so simple to make. Huh...all those years of fearing baking breads and buns. No more fear!! Just inspiration...

Such fluffy, soft cinnamon flavoured rols that I had created with my own hands. I'm so proud of me. And I think husband is too. Plus he gets to enjoy his favourite teatime snack freshly baked. Who wouldn't like, right?

And to top off our snack week, the husband took me to a chocolate factory yesterday. That was interesting just to see the building. Even though there's a chcolate factory right in our own tiny town, he decided to drive almost 1 hour away to the factory that produces one of the Sweden's favourite chocolate brand, Cloetta.

Unfortunately I didn't go on any sort of tour around the factory whic I would have loved to see but we did go to the factory store that sold all of its products...we were like 2 kids in a candy store..literally. Especially Mathias. He loves his chocolates.

So of cos we left with a big bag of goodies. Thank goodness we're having a birthday party tomorrow, so at least there's some form of distribution in the chocolate consumption, regardless of what husband says.

Today is Mathias' birthday and unfortunately he has to work. He had been so tired last night that he had gone to sleep by 8pm but for some strange (but lovely) reason, he work up 3 hours later and stayed up to welcome his birthday at midnight. I guess we both realise that this is special for us cos we have never celebrated each others' birthdays together before. We have always been in 2 different parts of the world so it held great significance to us.

5 min to midnight, I snuck away to the kitchen to make up something cos silly me didn't think to prepare a birthday cake. We didn't even have birthday candles. Silly me...

So I took one of the vanilla cupcakes I had made on Saturday, plopped a round scoop of vanilla ice-cream and spritzed whipped cream on top. I then drew an outline of a star with chocolate sauce around the little vanilla tower of sin I had made. Too bad I didn't manage to take pictures of it cos it was pretty. But husband liked it so much that he quickly ate it up. Simple yet he appreciated the gesture so much. So sweet.

Imagine our surprise as we were eating that little cake, I switched the TV on Mtv and a minute later, they started playing that JayZ song, Birthday (or is it 50 cent?? I can't remember). Mathias was so surprised and I started singing along. How appropriate!! And right after that song, they played 'Pretty Fly' which was just as appropriate seeing how nerdy and silly the husband can be. Ha ha! Just kidding...*wink*

For lunch today, he got to decide and he wanted to eat garlic prawns with rice. I had never made that before but I found the recipe and made 2 dishes for his birthday lunch. Stir fried garlic prawns and Spicy Chicken with cashew nuts (but without the cashew nuts). It turned out FANTASTIC! Especially the chicken dish. The prawn dish could have used more garlic and a little less vinegar but all in all, it was SUPERB for a first try. No pictures again cos it was so good that we couldn't wait. Ha ha!!

And who can have a birthday without a birthday cake right? Baked my first full sized round butter cake with chocolate frosting. I still remember the last time I tried to make frosting. I was in secondary school I think, and for some strange and crazy reason, I decided to make it blue. Let's just say, I've regretted some of the things I've done in my life and that blue frosting is one of them. Horrible colour and horribler taste! But this time, the cake turned out great and the frosting was fun to do. Even though it took a little more work, I had fun baking the cake and making the frosting and actually frosting the cake which is a lot harder than it looks. But the cake is full sized and seeing that there's just the 2 of us at home, I decided to send the cake to his workplace. Today it is an all boys' working day seeing that the only lady who works there has her day off today. So I think the cake might be enjoyed a lot more there. Will post the pics soon.

Praisie says I'm such a homebody now and in most ways, she's absolutely right. But I really enjoy cooking so much. My talent for cleaning has not improved an iota, I tend to forget to do laundry until the basket is over spilling with dirty clothes and don't even talk about the toilet with me (I've decreed cleaning that to be husband's job) but damn if my food isn't good. My kitchen is usually spotless and the cupboards brimming with things I've baked.

If only my friends and family could be here to enjoy the baked goodies too. I miss being surrounded by the people I love. But at least I'm next to the one I love the most. So I guess that's a great consolation.