Happy Sunday after Thanksgiving!
I made a mistake! I told you that there was nothing new in Älmhult, well I forgot that we have a brand new IKEA store, a new traffic light and another traffic circle. Funny thing about the traffic light, it has been up for a month now and I have actually only seen it on once and had to stop. All of the other times it is off. Not sure why, but it is what it is. Älmhult is starting to get with the late 20th century. No they have not yet made it to the 21st century since they are still backwards on so many things.
The new IKEA store is nice, it looks exactly like the new store in Colorado. Everyone is so excited by it. I had the opportunity last week to go to the store at 7:00 am while Country Managers and their colleagues came to tour the new store. I was amazed at how many people found it so cool. They were running around taking pictures with their phones and such. I guess I am a bit cynical, but all the IKEA stores look the same, yes, some are smaller and some are bigger, but the concept is the same. I think it is pretty neat that I have had the opportunity to have visited both the newest stores in Sweden and in the States. However, when people ask me what I think about the new store, again I say it is nice, but it looks the same as all the others. Sometimes their response is that they have not seen anything so big. However, there are stores in Helsingborg and Malmö that were built in the last two years and they look the same as the new store in Älmhult. I cannot figure it out, both places are not that far away from here and many had to go to these stores to get merchandise that the Älmhult store did not carry before November 2nd. I cannot explain it. Here is a picture of the store opening. I also just found out that the store has the very first escalator in Älmhult. Pretty amazing!
Yesterday, we went to Thanksgiving Dinner at another American's house. There was 14 of us with 4 children. Most everyone was from the Philadelphia area since that is where IKEA's Service Office is located. We had a very nice time and dinner was excellent. Yes, there was turkey, ham, lots of vegetables, including the famous green bean casserole, cranberries, and pecan pie. No, I did not eat the turkey or the ham and no green bean casserole, but David was happy to have some turkey, since he never gets it at our house and said the green bean casserole was good.
I was also happy to hear that many of the people we were with are experiencing the same struggles and fighting boredness as we are. Again, it is difficult to live in the middle of the forest when you are used to the bigger cities in the States. Right now, we are all struggling with the lack of daylight since the sun is not coming up until 8:00 am and it goes down at 3:00. Then add gray and rainy to it and it feels darker yet. By the time the Winter Solstice comes on the 21st of December, the sun will be coming up at 9:00 and going down by about 2:30ish.
David and I booked our trip for Christmas today. We are going to spend 5 days in Rome. Since, we live in the middle of the forest, we will have to leave the day before and spend the night in Copenhagen, since on the weekends the first train out of Älmhult is 8:53 am. There is no way we can make it to the airport for a flight that leaves in the morning. Always, an extra cost in time or money, but at least we get a vacation! We have never been and are looking forward to seeing some new sights and being in Rome for the Holidays. I think it will be pretty cool. Not sure yet, if we will join the millions at the Vatican to hear the Pope speak, but I will let you know if we decide to do it.
Talk to you soon.
Have a Happy Day!
Hi and Happy Thanksgiving to all of my family and friends.
I cannot believe another year has passed and again we are celebrating Thanksgiving in Sweden. Actually, David is at work and I am at home. On Saturday, we are going to celebrate Thanksgiving with some people from the US. That should be a treat! At least it will give us an excuse to get out of the house.
Nothing much has been going on lately. My contract ended last Friday, so I have been at home this week, catching up on things I was not able to do since I was busy working. A couple of weeks, I worked 56 hours! I am glad to catch up on my rest and everything else.
At this point, I do not have another contract. There is a headcount problem, so there are not any jobs available at this time. This is a bit frustrating, because I really do not have anything to do unless I work. Hopefully, something will happen on the work front soon.
I started teaching Conversational English two weeks ago, tonight will be my third class. The class is going well. I was surprised that I have two Swedish students, one gentleman from Lithuania and a young girl from Thailand. I think it is quite amazing to be living in the middle of the Swedish forest and have the opportunity to meet so many people from different places. What a bonus! They all speak English, but at different levels. I am having fun learning things from them and I believe they are having fun as well.
David has been really busy with work, luckily he has not had to travel too much lately. I am happy about that part!
We decorated our house for Christmas last weekend. Decorating took about 15 minutes total. We do not have too many decorations here, but we did find a couple of table top trees to decorate, so it looks kind of festive.
We do not have any snow, yet. The last two weeks have been very foggy, damp and grey.
I think we are going to make plans to celebrate Christmas in Rome this year. We really want to come home, but Christmas is not a good time. Perhaps we will make a trip in the spring.
I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving and I will write again soon. I hope something exciting will happen soon, I would love to share happy news with you.
Much love,
Bridgette
(I thought I has posted this, but apparently, I did not. I will update you with a new post shortly. My apologies.)
Hi Friends,
No, I have not forgotten about you or my blog. On Tuesday, it will be 6 weeks without Internet, Television and Phone Service to our house! I am back to using my mobile broadband device, just so I can do a few things, like check my mail and keep up with the U.S. news and election! It has taken 5 weeks just to convince Telia (the Swedish provider) that a cable was cut somewhere and that they need to fix it. Well, on Tuesday, they finally confirmed that a cable was cut. Then they proceeded to tell us that by Thursday someone would be out to fix it. Well, it is now Sunday and we have had two more phone calls to Telia asking about the situation. Supposedly, it will be fixed tomorrow. I do not hold my breath that this will happen. The worst part is that David has to explain the whole story again and again, everytime he calls and he has called nearly 20 times in the last 6 weeks to get it fixed! No amount of getting upset or requesting to speak to a supervisor works here, everyone is the same and you will be tre Yes, I am still receiving my bills to pay and paying them, I do not want that to be a problem as well.
Anyhow, this incident has made us feel even more isolated and alone here in Sweden because we cannot talk to family, we cannot watch television (we cannot even get Swedish television. We use a VPN and are able to watch Netflix, ESPN, Hulu.com, NBC and CBS), and we have nothing to do, especially on the dreary, rainy days of the weekend. Luckily, I have a friend who likes the same type of television shows that I like (Downton Abbey for example) and she has the capability to record the shows from Britain and then she puts them on a memory stick for me to watch at home on my computer. Yes, I am already watching season 4 of Downton Abbey and it is off to a good start! I have taught her how to find and watch shows from the U.S., so it is a good mix. No, she is not Swedish, she is Australian, so we are on the same page about our Swedish experience.
Our fun meter is getting full in Sweden. Yes, it is a very nice place, but there is not a lot to do and our idea of fun is something completely different from theirs. No, it does not excite me to walk through the forest in search of mushrooms for my dinner. Sorry, but I can think of other things more satisfying. I have to tell you, we were excited last night to actually go to a special Lebanese dinner at our favorite restaurant in town. We were able to dress like humans, I wore a dress and David slacks. We live in blue jeans and our rain coats here because we get rained on all the time, so your hair does not even stay nice. I know, it is a little thing, but what a difference it can make.
Another frustrating thing, people are always amazed by what David and I eat for lunch. We continuously get teased for coming home for lunch to have a sandwich. The idea of a sandwich to the Swedes is half a roll buttered with a slice of cheese and either some sliced peppers or cucumbers. To have meat on the "sandwich" is a special occasion. Again, this is what they eat for "fika". The other day someone was surprised that I would eat a sandwich (an American sandwich with meat and cheese) for lunch and also have potato chips with it. They asked, "Don't you get lightheaded?" They are used to eating a big, hot lunch and are surprised that we do not do the same. They then asked if I put the chips in my sandwich and told me that to them chips are a Saturday afternoon snack. The Swedish people seem to always have rules and ideas when you can eat or do certain things. We are not that regulated. They would be surprised to know that sometimes I actually eat a sandwich for dinner! Sometimes it is strange that I always feel that I have to defend myself and my actions. I do not ask them why they do certain things, I can see it is part of their culture and I just accept it. Why do I have to defend what I do in my culture?
I believe I have told you before that the Swedish language has words that they use everyday, which are not nice words in our language. For example the word "slut" we know what it means in English, but in Swedish it means "end". There are many more, I just cannot think of them all at this point. Well, I came across this headline from the IKEA newsletter that comes out every month "Full Fart i varuhusen", this means that it is full steam ahead for the new IKEA in Älmhult to open. However, the headline to someone who does not understand Swedish would appear that someone had gas in the warehouse. Yes, we are getting a new IKEA on November 2nd. They are planning to make a human chain from the old store to the new store, which is about 2 kilometers. I will add information about it after it happens. They are looking for volunteers now. Anyone interested?
I also was catching up on my Vanity Fair reading and came across this article that completely defines what it is like to live here in Sweden along with the Swedish people. This article confirms that I am not out of my mind, that I am a reasonable person, but things in this society are not always what it seems. Making Swedish friends here is difficult because you cannot trust that you are getting their true feelings. Here is a link to the article, which will explain why you cannot trust that you are getting the full picture.
Right now, I am not sure that I am going to be able to make it another two years here. I really want to come home! I miss my family very much, I miss my friends, and I miss going shopping and out to eat where ever and whenever I want and even just going to the movies.
I will write again soon. Hopefully, my Internet will be up and running soon.
Love,
Bridgette
Hi,
I have been without Internet for over two weeks now, but I am borrowing another signal, just so I can make you all smile.
I am sure you all remember the theme song to Green Acres the television show from the 1960s. If not here is a link to the song. So I took this theme song and made my song using things from Älmhult and Sweden. I hope you will think it is cute for something different. We have been in Sweden for just over one year now and we are both homesick. Here are the lyrics to my song Älmhult:
David starts:
Älmhult is the place for me
IKEA livin' is the life for me
Forest and mushroom pickin' so far and wide
Keep Chicago, just give me that countryside
Bridgette responds:
USA is where I'd rather stay
I get allergic to smelling pine
I just adore the penthouse view
Dah-ling I love you, but give me Michigan Avenue
David: The FIKA
Bridgette: Target
David: Fresh Air
Bridgette: Gino's East
David: You are my wife
Bridgette: Good bye city life
David and Bridgette: Älmhult we are here!
Yes, we would rather be in the States.
Have a great day and I will write with a better update as soon as I get my Internet back.
Love you all,
Bridgette
Hello Friends,
I know it has been a while since I have written. David and I had a very nice trip to the United States. Colorado was absolutely grogeous like always, it was a bit hot, but looking at the beautiful blue sky and the ability to sit outside in the evenings is worth it.
Had a great time at the Rockies/Pirates baseball game, yes, the Rockies lost but Coors Field is a wonderful place to watch a game.
The day we went to the NHRA drag races, it was 102 degrees! Hot, but the show was awesome!
We are now back in Sweden where the weather is again fluctuating between rain, clouds and sun. Yesterday was beautiful in the morning, sun and a light breeze. My Swedish teacher, Christine and I headed out to Malmö for a day outside of Småland. Malmo is about an hour and half train ride away. Well, we had a good time, walking through the town and enjoying the sun. Ate lunch outside at an outdoor cafe and did a lot of window shopping. Towards the end of the day, the clouds and rain came in. We decided to get on the 3:48 pm train home. We did not get home until 8:00 pm! What happened you wonder? There was a power outage between two towns. Here is an article about it. We had to disembark the train in Höör, then get on a bus and go to Hässleholm and get on another train. Sounds easy right? Wrong! There are several hundred people on the train, many with luggage, strollers and kids returning from their summer vacation and there are no busses waiting. Finally one bus comes and it is a mad dash to try and get on, then this repeats several more times. Many of us waited for an hour and a half trying to get on a bus. We were finally successful about 6:20. Then we had to ride the bus for a half an hour to catch the train. By this time we had missed two trains (the trains only come once an hour), so we were planning to wait until 7:40 for the next train. Lucky for us, because of the trouble, there was a train that was leaving about 7:05 and we were able to run and make the train. Bad news, the train was filled with many of the people who had got on the earlier busses and the train was completely crowded. Then they told us, we were going to have to wait because there were taxis coming with people, so we really did not leave until 7:30, yes, earlier than we expected, but we were hoping for the extra half hour. If you are wondering, this is a common occurence in Sweden. The trains are not so dependable. We usually take a train at least one hour earlier than necessary so we do not ever miss our flights in Copenhagen. No, the Swedish people do not know how to queue and to be polite. (Just found this article on what the Swsedes think about others and queuing) I was amazed to see the rudeness exhibited to people with babies and strollers trying to get onto the busses. There was one woman who was by herself with about a 6 month old baby in a carrier, a stroller, car seat and luggage and no one would help her to get her stuff stowed under the bus and then let her get on. Finally, someone from the train company held the people back! She was actually the most patient and easygoing person I have ever seen in that situation.
We have to get on the train tomorrow morning to head to Stockholm for our Intensive Swedish lessons. Next week will be a 40 hour week learning Swedish. I am looking forward to seeing Stockholm, not sure how I feel about the lessons. We are trying to be eager and thankful for these experiences, but we are really starting to miss home.
Another little ditty, I was so excited to find cherry peppers at the store this week. Well, I opened them at lunch today only to find out they remove the stems and seeds! That is the best part of the pepper, getting the spice from the seeds! Really, it is hard to describe how things are so different here, even when you think things cannot be that different.
I finally got the courage up to find out how to use the self-scanning feature at the store, (our lines are alway long, they do not have express lanes at the grocery store - everyone is equal), anyhow, I found out that the store card that I had been using to get the sale prices was only a temporary card. I did not realize that the cards they sent to me several months ago was the card for the discount. I thought it was a credit card that I was not asking for! So, when you get the discount card at Kroger or whatever grocery store you go to, in the US that is your permanent card. Who would know that in Sweden, they send you another. Crazy and it seems like a waste. I will have to go back and get set up for self-scanning another day. I will let you know how that goes.
I guess this is enough information for one day. I will let you know how the trip to Stockholm turns out.
See you in a couple of weeks!
Much love,
Bridgette
Hej,
As of June 20th we have lived here in Sweden for 10 months now. Wow, time goes fast, but somedays it does seem like it drags on, especially when it never really gets too dark here!
Yes, we live where the sun stays up for about 19 - 20 hours a day. We do not live far enough north in Sweden to experience 24 hours of sun, but the 19 - 20 hours is plenty. The sun does go down, but there is still a glow in the northern sky, so the sky is not really dark. The only time it does seem dark is if it is cloudy due to rain. If you get up around 3:00 a.m. the sun is already starting to lighten the sky. When you go to bed around midnight, the sky looks basically the same as it does at 3:00 a.m. It really is a strange feeling. We have to have room-darkening shades so that we can go to bed at a normal time. When we go to bed at around 10:00 p.m. usually, it is still bright outside. I even had to make a black drape to cover the glass panel into our room because the sun comes in from the windows in the hall to wake us quite early. We have managed to live with this and survive. However, our cat Tiqui is not doing so well with it. For the last several weeks she has been coming into our room around 2:30 or 3:00 and starts meowing wondering why we are not getting up! We cannot get her to sleep or be quiet past this time, therefore, we are not getting the sleep that we need. We have to put outside our room and shut the door trying to keep her from patting us with her paws, licking our faces and walking across the bed. However, putting her outside the room does not stop the constant meowing and pacing she has been doing! If you know Tiqui she is not a quiet cat and can make an abundance of sounds all echoing with the high ceilings in our flat. I am hoping that our neighbors cannot hear her. I do not want to upset anyone. Does anyone have any ideas? She is healthy and I try to keep her from sleeping too much during the day, but no matter, she is up at 3:00!
That is the other thing, if Tiqui is not waking you up, then the sun wakes you up early and by the time you get up and start your day, the sun is gone because the clouds have moved in for the day! Then when it is time to go to bed, guess what, the sun comes out again! The weather has not been the best this summer, cloudy, rainy and not so warm.
With our ten month anniversary here, we missed the Swedish holiday called "Midsommer." Yes, we could have participated and stayed in town, but we decided we would rather spend our time in London. Midsommer is a pagen holiday and there is a lot of drinking that takes place. We prefer to spend our time off exploring and taking advantage of the time to see other parts of Europe, while we have the opportunity. Do not get me wrong, I like to learn about other cultures and such, but when so much drinking is involved, I would rather do my own thing.
Since Midsommer has occurred, the mass exodus to go on vacation has started. Most everyone gets 5 weeks of vacation and pretty much takes the month of July and the first week of August off. Literally, businesses close, so I do not know how they make money during vacation season. The business model is not the same here and the one we understand in the States and other countries. Since I returned from London last week, most of my neighbors are all gone and we basically have the neighborhood to ourselves. What does concern me though is the fact that everyone goes on vacation at the same time, so do the thieves know this is a prime time to break into houses? Already, in May, one of our neighbors in the lower section of the neighborhood had their house broken into while they were gone for the weekend. That is the other thing, when summer starts, everyone leaves on the weekend for their summer home and it is quite easy to tell that they are gone. Many times, they do not have timers on their lights and if you watch enough, you know that they are gone. Perhaps watching them pack their cars every Friday afternoon provides enough information that they could be a prime target. Who knows?
Anyhow, that is the story from here, not enough sleep, not enough sun or warm weather. We are excited to get back to the States, but we understand that it is really hot and lots of fires. Nothing like going from one extreme to another! :)
Have a very happy day!
Love,
Bridgette
Dear Friends,
Sorry it has been awhile since I have written. I made a quick trip home to help Allison with her new baby boy, Tristan. He is a real cutie! I then returned to Sweden and worked for a week before heading off to London for a long weekend.
We will be heading back to the States in two weeks. We will spend a week in Colorado, hopefully the wildfires will be contained by then. In Colorado we are planning on going to a Rockies Baseball game with my parents and then find some awesome Mexican food for dinner. Then we will head up to Vail to see Niq and return to Denver on Friday. Saturday it is a day at the NHRA races, so looking forward to that. It has been 29 years since I have been to Bandimere Speedway. What a great location for the races!
Anyhow, back to the topic - Chilvary is Not Dead! I have observed living in Sweden that there is a lack of manners and respect of your fellow man. Many Swedish people are nice, but if you observe long enough, there are not really any manners. When I was in London, it made it more evident that there is a lack of manners in Sweden. I actually saw people get up on the Tube and offer their seat to the elderly. People held doors and were polite to others. This is something that is hard to explain unless you experience it. Yes, in the States, you do have some manners that can be appalling, but when it is more like 80% of the poplulation that only thinks of themselves it is very apparent. Some of this comes from living in a society where no one is more important than anyone else. Being in London was a breath of fresh air, not only for the manners, but the action and busyness of the city. One does not realize how quiet their world is, until they head off to where there is action. Am I happy to be back in the land of the quiet and the forest trolls? Not really, but until we leave in two years, this is where I will be. However, it does make you appreciate the times you can go to the big cities and explore.
We are going to Stockholm the beginning of August for our Intensive Swedish Lessons. I am certain that I will have a lot more to talk about after that.
Have a very nice summer and I will write again soon.
Love,
Bridgette
