Happy Independence Day!

I have a lot of catching up to do, since I haven't posted anything in almost a month: AS's birthday, my parents visiting, Swedelife's family visiting, Midsommar (complete with 3 or 4 maypole ceremonies), and a July 4th party yesterday. I'm going to have to go back and update (with photos) from the past month, but for now I just don't want to get any further behind.

Yesterday we had a July 4th barbecue, which turned out nice in spite of the rain. I really wanted to do something that would be similar to what we would do back home. This means: grilling outdoors, an American flag flying, and beer. (Fireworks would also been nice, but there wasn't much we could do about that.) AS & I built a permanent grill in the yard from stones (of which there are many here!) and concrete, so we had a place to grill outside. For a flagpole, we used an old long piece of wood that used to be used for drying hay, which we clamped to an old cart. Of course, finding beer isn't a problem in Sweden (especially if you don't mind drinking beer that's only 3.5% alcohol). We needed a little bit of extra red, white and blue decoration, so we taped up some red and blue playing cards along with white pieces of paper along the porch railing. Instant Fourth of July party in Sweden!

We invited over a few of our local friends, who even stood politely while I insisted that we play the Star Spangled Banner. We also introduced some customary American games from college (involving plastic cups, beer, and ping pong balls) which were a hit and I'm sure will begin sweeping Scandinavia. The day culminated with a late night dip in the lake.

I think you're never more patriotic than when you're living in another country, so it was nice to celebrate the 4th. When you tell people that you've moved to Sweden, some people think of it as some kind of condemnation of America's policies or something. It's not. Sweden's pretty cool, but I'll always be an American, and I'll always be proud to be part of a country founded specifically on the idea of personal liberty rather than geographical location.

Happy Independence Day!

Some more milestones towards Swedish integration

We have crossed a few more milestones on our way to full integration in Swedish society. Yesterday we visited the Arbetsförmedlingen (the Swedish employment service). Besides the fact that they provide unemployment insurance and help you find jobs, it was also necessary for me to register with them to be eligible for some other services. There was a bit of wait, during which we entered our information into a computer in the lobby and looked at brochures. My favorite brochure was titled "Arbetsförmedlingen är Sveriges största arbetsförmedling" ("The Employment Service is Sweden's biggest employment service"). You don't say? While we were waiting, a guy walked in and figured out that he probably wouldn't get to talk to anybody before they closed. He just smiled and walked back out saying, "I can be unemployed for one more day."

Finally our number came up and we were invited into a small office with plexiglass windows adjoining the lobby. The lady there was very nice and seemed to genuinely be interested in helping us. We set us up for a follow-up appointment next week with a guy to help us in more detail.

I have also now received the codes, papers, cards, and secure USB card reader that are necessary not only for online banking in Sweden, but also to log in for many official government services. Many sites use the banks' card and USB card reader system as the method for digital signatures. It uses a combination of a special card (separate from your ATM/debit card), the card reader, a pin code, another code, and randomly generated numbers. It seems like a pain in the butt, but at least its secure (or seems that way to me). I have the paper from the Migrationverket (immigration service) to send to the state insurance agency as proof that I'm living here legally, and my transcript is on it's way the education agency so that they can determine the Swedish equivalent of my US education.

I'm also getting a little bit better at Swedish. It's still pretty frustrating when I want to say something complicated or have a real converstation, but it's slowly getting better. At the Arbetsförmedlingen , for example, we talked only in Swedish. I didn't say much (except reciting my personnumber), but I could understand just about everything.

Police drama in Dalarna

We had an unusual bit of excitement yesterday, involving fika, theft, and the police.

AS and I were at the local cafe after running an errand at the bank. It was a beautiful day, so we were sitting outside and enjoying our coffee. A local woman (who is known for strange behavior) sat down at the next table, and she and AS exchanged a bit of small talk about the weather. I got up and went inside to get på tår (a coffee refill, another great Swedish tradition). AS was going to wait outside until I got back, but she decided she would just run in and get her refill at the same time. Inside, we got caught up in a conversation with the two ladies working at the cafe, so instead of being inside for just 20 seconds, we were inside for about 10 minutes.

Soon after we came outside, the woman at the next table left, saying, "Have a nice evening!" We continued to sit there for another 10 minutes or so, drinking our coffee and chatting with the owner of the cafe. When we got up to leave, AS realized that her purse was gone. We rushed around, checking the bathroom and all around the table. We had just been to the bank, so not only did we have money and credit cards in there, but also our passports. AS thought to look in the trash bin, and, sure enough, there was her unzipped purse. Inside was her wallet, which was opened up with all of the cash missing. Everything else was still there.

Everybody was fairly certain that the notorious woman who had been sitting at the next table had brazenly taking AS's purse while were inside the door a few meters away, but we didn't have any proof. While one of the ladies working at the cafe called the police for us, we stepped back outside, unsure what to do next. The woman we had just talked to at the bank happened to be standing in front of the cafe. When she heard us talking, she realized that she had witnessed the crime. She had seen the woman at the table next to us going through a black purse and then tossing it in the trash can, but she had just assumed that was switching out her old purse for a new one.

The lady from the cafe was still on the phone with the police, so we relayed this new information. It still didn't sound like that the police would show up any time soon, and in fact the police seemed to be suggesting that we go confront the suspect ourselves, which seemed like a bad idea for many reasons. But, by the end of the phone call, it sounded like the police were actually going to show up.

The chances were slim that there was a police car anywhere nearby, and the police are notorious for showing up days later to investigate crimes, so we didn't expect them to come anytime soon. We left on our bicycles to go meet a friend, but when we went to the beach he was out on the lake. We decided to go back to town to ask the cashier at the convenience store if the woman had been in there spending AS's money. I was grumbling for the whole bike ride about how stupid the system was and how the police were going to be no help.

When we got back to town, the police were already there outside the cafe talking to the owner, much to our surprise. We went up to them, and one of the police officers asked AS a few more questions, including the phone number of the witness and the amount and denominations of the bills that were taken from her wallet. The police officers called their chief for permission to search the house of the suspect (who was a "known person" to the police already) for the missing money. The chief immediately gave them permission and they headed off to the house.

We were impressed that the police had shown up right away and seemed to have a good handle on the situation, but we still didn't expect much to come of it. After all, the woman could just say she didn't do it, and it would be a difficult thing to prove in court if she wanted to be obstinate. We started biking home and saw the police outside the thief's house on our way. Before we got home, AS's cell phone started ringing. It was one of the cops, saying, "We have some money for you." The cops drove down the road to meet us. The cop explained that they had gotten a confession from the woman, then reached in his pocket, pulled out the stolen money, and gave it to AS. We didn't even have to fill out any paperwork.

So, to sum it up, AS was robbed, the police came, they went to the house, got a confession, and AS got her money back within an hour and a half. Pretty crazy. I must say I was pretty impressed with the police.

You know you’re living in the Swedish countryside when…

You know you’re living in the Swedish countryside when…

…three moose take up residence in your backyard. Three moose moved into the woods behind our backyard . They’ve moved on now, but for a few days they would come out several times a day into our backyard to munch on the grass and small trees. Having just moved here, I can only assume that this is normal and that all Swedish families have pet moose.

Our moose are named Maja, Kalle, and Pontus. Maja is the mother, and Kalle and Pontus are yearlings (moose that were born last year). Apparently Maja didn’t have any more moose babies this year, so Kalle and Pontus are still hanging around.

Small town living

When we moved here, we not only moved from one country to another, but also from a city (Washington, DC) to a small village. Eventually we’ll probably end up moving to a slightly larger town in Sweden, but for now we’re enjoying the peace and quiet out here in the countryside. Hopefully when we move we’ll still be able to make frequent trips up here.

On my way "downtown".

We jokingly call the nearby town of Furudal “the city” or “downtown”. There’s a small restaurant, a café/bakery/pub, a gas station and grocery store, and a small convenience store. Everybody knows everybody in a town this size, so you’re almost guaranteed to find somebody you know at the café.

Downtown in the big city.

“Downtown” Furudal sits right on a little bridge between two lakes. The lakes are clean, clear, cold, and calm. When the sky is blue, the lake reflects the sky like a mirror. It’s a nice change from urban rivers where you feel like you might get hepatitis if you fall in.

Big, clean, clear (and cold) lake.

The village is surrounded by logging roads and trails that wind through the forest. North of the village the public road ends, and there’s literally nothing but logging roads. Next to town is a series of tracks through the woods for skiing in the winter and walking or running in the summer. There’s a long hiking trail that passes near the village called Siljansleden (Siljan is the biggest lake in the area and “leden” means “the trail”), along with some smaller trails. A friend from town and I have started running regularly on the trails in the area, along with his dog Spikey.

One of my running partners.

It's really nice to get away from the city for a while. It's a lot easier to put things in perspective when you're out in nature on a daily basis and away from the stress of a city where everybody is trying to seem important. I think living out here for a bit is just what I needed.

We have officially "wandered in".

Yesterday was a big milestone: we went to the Skatteverket (Swedish tax authority) to officially immigrate (invandra) to Sweden. Based on dealing with certain government organizations back home you might expect this to be painful process. It wasn't.

The local Skatteverket office for us is in Mora. Mora is a cute town that is probably most famous as the setting for the Vasaloppet, an epic ski race commemorating the trek of King Gustav Wasa in 1520. He stopped in Mora to try to convince the people that they should king him and declare independence from tyranical Danish rule. The people of Mora initially turned him down, so Wasa had to take off again to stay ahead of the pursuing Danes. Then the people of Mora changed their minds, chased after Wasa on skis, and made him King, thus declaring an independent Sweden and creating a really cool backstory for a ski race at the same time.

But I digress. We drove to Mora, took care of some shopping, and quickly found free parking near downtown right next to the lake. We walked to the cute little city center, ate some pizza, and continued down the pedestrian street to the Skatteverket, which was in the bottom floor of a small building. The office was clean and spare, decorated in a typical Scandanavian fashion. A girl greeted us from behind an uncluttered, ergonomic desktop in a modern-looking, Swedish -designed chair, and told us not to bother taking a number since there was no line. When AS said that we were there because we were moving to Sweden, she said, "Oh, how exciting!"

We filled out a couple of simple forms with basic information, she made copies of our passports (AS's Swedish passport and my American one with a Swedish permanent residence permit) and entered our information into the computer. When we weren't sure how to fill out the form, she helped. She also explained to us how to sign up of for the state health insurance after I receive my person number, and printed out the necessary forms for us. We were done in a few minutes.

That was easy! We celebrated by fika, roughly translated as "having a coffee break". We now officially live in Sweden.
PS: Our internet connection is being slow, thus the small picture. We have more photos to upload when we get a better connection.

Talar du engelska? (Do you speak English?)

Asking people in Sweden if they speak English is almost a formality. Almost everyone will say something modest (a very Swedish trait), like, "Oh, my English isn't that good!" Then they'll begin speaking to you in almost flawless English.

Inspite of this, I'd really like to be speaking Swedish as soon as possible. My goal is to be functional in Swedish by the sometime in the fall. By "functional", I mean being able to maintain my end of a conversation, or being able to pick up a newspaper and read it without problems. I'm not starting from scratch; I've heard a lot of Swedish spoken over the past dozen years, and I've even taken a couple classes. Still, it will be a bit of a challenge, which is part of what makes it exciting to me.

I have a few things working in my favor, the most obvious being the fact that I'm living in Sweden with Swedish people. To take advantage of this, we're instituting "Swedish only" time from breakfast through dinner. During this time I'll attempt to minimize my exposure to English (including blogging) and try to force myself to not just listen but also speak as much as possible. That's the really hard part. I'll let you all know how this goes...