Signing up for Swedish classes and discovering a "hidden" bakery

I finally got a Swedish social security number which I was waiting on to be able to sign up for Swedish classes.  I had to show up in person to sign up so after I took the boys to school Monday morning, I rode my bike across town (about 15 minutes) and found the adult learning center. 

CVL stands for Centrum för vuxnas lärande or Center for adult learning...now you've learned Swedish too!

 I met with the administrator and he filled out the necessary paperwork then told me I would have to wait until October to start since the beginning class is about a month long of 15 hours/week 4 days a week and the September letters already went out for people to begin then.  I asked if I could please begin earlier since I would be riding my bike there mostly and it would start getting so cold in October and he obliged and said I seemed so nice.  (I told him I wouldn't be a trouble maker in class).  

Then he informed me of this incentive program the government has to try to get more people to learn Swedish fluently when they come here. I guess depending on how much education you have prior will depend on what program you do after this initial class to learn basics.  And I'm not sure about the details yet, but it sounds more independent after this initial month with two more steps.  If you complete all three of these steps within a year, the Swedish government will give you 12,000 Swedish Kroner (almost $2000) tax free!  I asked what is the quickest time you can get it done and he says he has seen it done in 6 months, but typical is 8.  (I have a pretty open schedule in the days to do so I am going for the record...but I'll keep you posted on that:))

On the way home I found a delightful surprise. Over the weekend, our neighbors hosted us at their cabin and Catherina had this crusty sour dough bread that was so delicious that I asked her where she bought it. She said it was a very popular bakery that was essentially "hidden" down in a basement of a building but that originally when it opened it wasn't doing so well, until it developed this particular bread and now people line up at 5:00 AM to buy it daily. It sounded complicated so I put it in the back of my mind as a place she could show me sometime. Well while I was riding back from the school, I smelt the most delicious bakery smell. I didn't see anything but a building in sight. 

When I rounded the corner, I found a sign with an arrow pointing down this stairwell...

 

It had to be the one!

That is the view from the corner (the tin walls are hiding the stairwell down)

The stairwell into the bakery.

I asked for the bread they were known for and she gave me a loaf...

It was so delicious!!!

A Swedish Weekend! Swedish Crayfish Party, Parents vs. Kids Soccer Match, Boating and Berry Picking!

This past weekend we were lucky enough to be invited to spend the weekend with our neighbors away at a cabin home they have on an island south of Stockholm and have a special dinner there with crayfish.  It was an amazing experience and we feel so lucky to have met friends so quickly in Sweden not only for our kids, but for ourselves as well.

The drive was quite a journey (taking about 6 hours including a stop for dinner since we hit some Friday afternoon traffic going through Stockholm, but the kids were excited when we stopped for a taco buffet dinner followed by picking out candy from a store that contained over 700 different kinds!  It is typical in Sweden for families to have candy allowed only on Saturdays, so after our kids got to pick out the candy, we had to make them wait until the next day...all part of blending with the culture:)

Their cabin is located on one of Sweden's many islands on the eastern boarder on the Baltic Sea.  In Stockholm alone there are 30,000 islands called the Stockholm Archipelago of which 1,000 are inhabited.  This picture on the map shows approximately where we were in Sweden.  We drove from the Gävle area which is where we live and Stockholm is about 2 hours drive.  

Many people in Sweden are quite handy as I have learned and a lot of people build houses for themselves (it is the best way in Sweden to afford nice houses because labor costs are so high).  This is the case for our friends that took us here this weekend.  Häkon and Catherina bought this piece of property with a tiny cabin on it (that eventually became the guest cabin), and then from the bottom up, Häkon built the cabin with his father, only hiring people to help with the wiring and plumbing work and sealing the walls and roof.  The island has about 50 houses on it, but they are fairly spread out and very private.  Also, there is no sewer system on the island and although running water and electricity are in the house, there is no bathroom inside.  There is an outhouse (it is a pretty nice building complete with lights).  Currently they are still working on an indoor bathroom, so the only place to shower is outside too.

The guest cabin...

The outhouse...

The view from the balcony of the house...

Even a trampoline of course...

And a treehouse!

Häkon had to take us by boat to the island along with luggage and groceries, etc.  He keeps a boat in a marina close so it was about a 5 minute boat ride.  We arrived late the first evening so settled in for the night so we could get an early start on the next very full day.

The next day was great weather.  We started out the day by playing a soccer game, kids vs. parents, on a soccer field on the island.  Two 25 minute halves and parents were up 3-2 after the first half I believe, but they must have wore us out, because they won by one goal at the end, and we weren't going easy!

The champions after the game! (We will have a rematch!)

After soccer, a few brave people (myself included) tried a dip in the water a cool 19 degrees Celsius, or 66 degrees for my fellow American friends...it was shockingly cold at first, but then I think you get really numb because after a while, it felt great! 

After a shower to warm back up, Häkon brought the kids one by one on an inner tube ride by boat.

Alex...

Ben...Häkon said he didn't stop smiling once!

Then Häkon took us on a tour of their island and surroundings.  It was beautiful!

A view of a quiet natural harbor where boats camp out for the day or night. 

Then it was my kids favorite time of day...Fika!!! Fika is a Swedish name for coffee and a sweet treat time and ever since we arrived it was one of the first terms they learned and everyafternoon, they beg for Fika (minus the coffee of course) and I usually give them a couple of cookies or something.  This treat was homemade from the kids' grandmother and was particularly delicious!

Those are rasberries in the wholes...mmmmmm!

So continuing on with a very Swedish day (I say this because these seem pretty typical activities to me from what I know so far about Sweden), we helped Häkon assemble some Ikea furniture.  He is getting the bathroom put together soon and so we helped assemble the bathroom sink cabinetry so it will be ready for the installers when they come.

Thomas and I were extremely good at supervising:)

The day got even better as a traditional Swedish summer dinner of crayfish was prepared complete with decorations, hats, Aquavit and typical Swedish drinking songs.  

Crayfish (aka crawfish taste just like little lobsters). 

My hat is on, you must wear it all night!

Everyone toasting at dinner or as they say, Skål, pronounced Skole. 

Aquavit is a Swedish drink described to me as flavored vodka.  

They even had this song book that was made by Sandvik for the propose of enabling English speaking people to sing-a-long at a dinner and if you look in the following picture, the first paragraph is the song in Swedish, the second is the words you could pronounce in English to make the same sounds as the Swedish words, and the third paragraph is the direct translation:)

The next day Catherina and the boys and I went into the woods picking berries.  They had many blueberries and also they had lingonberries (very similar to cranberries) which are typically cooked down and made into a jam and served with Swedish Meatballs.  They even have special tools for scooping up the berries and then after sifting out the dirt and leaves.  We scored 2 buckets full of lingonberries and one of blueberries.  I will be attempting the jam today and having it with meatballs tonight.

Alex picking berries...

Ben cleaning them...

Our stash and the special handle scoopers that grab the berries. 

It was a fabulous weekend and it was great learning even more about the Swedish lifestyles and cultures.

Lifestyle differences in Sweden that I find interesting

I have been keeping track of the things that I find are different here and things I find interesting.

You might be surprised to know that I find the USA flag is a pretty popular style here.  I see the pattern in various places from women's, men's and children's shirts, kids shoes (I saw a pair of converse style shoes on someone with the american flag design).  I think it is quite popular in home goods as well because I've seen it on blankets and decorative pillows...

Maternity/paternity leave in Sweden:

From what I understand, maternity/paternity leave in Sweden is for 16 months.  For the entire leave, the country pays you 80 percent of your salary.  You can divide up the time between parents anyway you like so you could both take 8 months or one take 10 the other 6, but either way,  each parent has to take at least 2 months of the 16 so the father has to be off as well as the mother at some point.

Which brings me to my next topic, who is around during the day?  I have heard most women and men work in Sweden and I have found this to be very true.  It seems some people don't work too late in the afternoon, maybe home by 4:30 each day or earlier, but I believe from talking to people that this is by choice that both men and women equally want fulfilling careers and they still have plenty of time for family life (you may think its because things are so expensive that two people have to work but that isn't what I've heard).  So when I shop at the malls, I notice many men with babies or toddlers, women with babies or toddlers, or retirees.  It seems I am in the minority here. Also during the day the surprising thing you see around grocery shopping areas especially if there are convience stores associated or nearby, are students.  Ranging in age from 13-18 because they all have open campus meaning that any free period at school or for lunchtime, they can leave school.

I am not the only one who rode my bike to the grocery store on this day...

Also, some children might go to a school in the next town, specifically the English speaking school, and instead of parents driving, they would take a city bus (or two).  I met this family that has a 4th grader that is 9 years old that has practiced all summer taking the city buses to Gavle (the next town over).  He even has to change buses on the way and the entire commute takes 45-50 minutes each way.

The school day has been so very different here for Alex's age than what I am used to also.  Ben has a set schedule and punctually at 1:40 everyday (except Friday's its 12:30) he gets out.  But Alex literally has a different schedule every day and it is pretty set, though teachers seem pretty flexible to change it for various reasons.  Alex gets out anywhere from 1:10 to 3:00, but today I was out and about and I got a call from him that he was home already at 12:30.  This was because his music teacher wasn't there so they didn't have class and the teachers let them go home after lunch.  It is so very different than in the states where the students are accounted for every minute and especially in elementary school a teacher must know how they are getting home and see the parent pick them up or hand them over to the after school program where you need photo identification to take a child with you if they don't know you.

There is quite an emphasis on sports here.  For instance, I mentioned that Alex has P.E. twice a week, but in addition, the one day Alex is staying to 3:00 at school, it is because he must spend 1 hour training in a sport of his choosing, (unfortunately basketball isn't an option because it has to be a sport that is available in this town.  So he chose soccer for the fall, but others chose hockey in winter and other sports as well. If you do not play a sport that season then you have an organized P.E. class of various sports.

The soccer teams have been very inclusive and have welcomed both my boys.  They each train twice a week then games on the weekends.  Since it's a small town, there are many away games where you travel to neighboring towns, but to make sure everyone has a ride, you always meet before the game at the fields you practice at which is almost always a bike ride away so there is never anyone left out.  Tonight there is a major soccer game between our local professional team and one of the best professional teams in Sweden, so both of my children's teams are meeting outside the game and going with their teammates to watch the game.  It is close to the house so we have worked out that we will bring them and when the game is over, we will walk down to pick them up.

So there are gyms like we have back in the states, but  I don't think it is as common to join to lift weights.  Rather, people prefer "training" as they call it outdoors or taking classes that are functional workouts, spinning, cross fit, boot camp, etc., but not using weights as much it's more resistance training.  I looked up joining a few gyms that seemed to have fitness classes I would like, but since most people work, all their training classes are either offered first thing in the morning, or a few at noon, or mostly in the evenings which aren't optimal for me since I would like to get my workouts in before the kids are out of school.

When I say training here is functional, one of the most unusual to me is the roller cross country skiing.  I often see people on the pedestrian paths doing this instead of running for exercise...

First day of School

Ben and Alex had their first day of school yesterday. They both came home smiling and made friends. 

They rode their bikes to school...

Here's Ben...

Here's Alex. Right after he locked up his bike, Samuel his neighbor and an acquaintance Issac met him and they took off toward the school to wait for the bell...

Ben let me walk him to the entrance door where at his age they change into inside shoes, then said goodbye. 

I was told Ben would be getting out of school at 1:40 except on Fridays it would be 12:30, and that Alex's school day would shift daily...I thought he would be out at 1:40 also on the first day, but I got there at 1:20 and Alex was headed out of the building. I guess there wasn't a lot going on and the teachers said if they didn't want more recess time they could leave. 

That is the same three that walked in together:) Alex then Samuel in the middle then Issac. The boys ended up coming over for awhile after school and played basketball...

So all I know about school is what they have told me (and remember they don't get the whole story, just what gets translated to them:)).

Alex says he is friends now with all the boys in both classrooms of 6th grade. He thinks they are all super friendly! Even in 6th grade he gets two 45 minute recesses/day. 

Ben has met a cool boy Matt who is from England and has been learning Swedish for a year now. Also a soccer buddy Nils can speak some English and his neighbor Anton too, but I don't think too many others can or feel comfortable talking to him yet. He seems very happy though and loves many things about the school. 

For instance, all children eat the school provided nutritious hot lunches (one choice) daily. Nobody brings in a lunch from home. 

There is plenty of recess at school in addition to the two 60 minutes of PE per week. Ben and Alex have to shower after PE.

They also have sewing, cooking, workshop, art and music where they play instruments. 

Alex gets out a different time each day, anywhere from 1:10-3:00 and next Monday, they get out at 12:30 because the teachers are playing a field trip. (They will be hiking 12 kilometers to camp ground and spending the night).

All field trips are free, they are not allowed to ask parents for money in case they don't have it it could make them feel bad.

So where do kids go after school?

Up to 9 years old they can go to an afterschool program only if their parents are working. Even at 9 though and all children after the age of 9 go home without parents there.

Alex says that starting in 7 th grade he will be allowed to leave the school during recess time and lunch if he wishes. That explains all the kids I see outside the grocery shop area where there is a convience store. 

PE could be a number of different places, including an indoor swimming pool downtown. The kids Bens age will be escorted by the teacher and even get a bus when it's at the pool, but Alex's age must get there on their own. Bike is the easiest way there and there are tons of bikes outside the school because that is the most common way to get to school. 

Alex and Ben will have about 1hr 15 min per day learning Swedish, not sure about Ben, but Alex has math 50/day only 4 days /week.

I'll keep posting more interesting things I find out along the way:)

Last day of summer vacation!!!

Today is the last day (except for this weekend) before school starts so we enjoyed it! We started off at Ben's favorite place to go, a skatepark near our house. He is dying for a special scooter that all the kids use there that is much more stable then our Razor scooter. It's called an MPG scooter and its expensive here, so we are holding out. 

Then after the skate park we decided to go to the park with basketball and feed some stale bread to the birds and Samuel came along. 

We rode our bikes there...

They played first at the playground. It's fun to see bigger kids still enjoying the equipment:)

Then it was time to feed the birds

And finally on to Basketball. Alex showed Samuel some moves...

Then tried a game of two against one. Of course Ben and Samuel lost to Alex but they had lots of fun!

Hockey

Last night Thomas took us to a hockey game in Gavle,  that's the larger city

 near us. Their team won the national championship last year so they are the best in Sweden. 

The Arena is sponsored by Läkerol which is a brand of licorice. 

We brought along Ben's friend the neighbor Anton and he is sporting the team jersey. Notice how tall he is, he is Ben's age, but his father is very tall 202cm 6ft7.5inches. 

They were playing a Finish team last night. There were fights during the game like NHL, but I was surprised because I thought it would be more peaceful I guess. But the fight weren't violent and they seemed to calm down right after. 

Here is a picture of Ben and Anton before candy and soda...

And here is a picture after candy and soda...

I think Ben and Anton had a great time. Anton understands our English pretty well but doesn't talk too much, though he is getting more comfortable each time he hangs with Ben.