Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am very sad that no one in this country recognizes the beauty of a holiday where all you are supposed to do is eat all day...and be with the ones you love of course. I have been daydreaming of turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes and stuffing, and of course pumpkin pie!
I am sad to have missed out on the food and the company of my wonderful family and friends back home but I have not missed out on the other most important part of Thanksgiving...being thankful.
November 27, 2008
November 24, 2008
The Year's First Snow
The first snow storm hit this weekend (and it hasn't slowed down since). I am still like a little kid when it comes to snow, so I was quite excited when I woke up and looked out the window on my way to the kitchen. It was a winter wonderland outside! Naturally, I forced Klas to go outside with me to take a winter walk and tons of pictures. Poor guy...he has to deal with a California girl who never even saw snow until the age of 18, when he has been around it all his life.
November 20, 2008
The Big News
Okay, okay! I know it's been a whole week since we got back from London and I still have not posted anything about our trip. But it has been one whirlwind of a week and I have been too busy soaking it up to write!!!
Klas and I had the most wonderful time in London. It was more than either of us could have ever imagined...especially true for me, who was unaware of what Klas had planned to do while we were there :)
As most of you already know... Klas proposed to me in London and I said yes! We're engaged! I can still hardly believe how lucky I am to have found the man of my dreams and that he managed to completely surprise me with something so incredibly important and special. We couldn't be happier about being engaged and really appreciate all the love, support and congratulations we have received from everyone.
Clearly, the engagement became the highlight of our trip but we also managed to visit the British Museum, Tate Modern, Hyde Park, and Harrods. We saw Wicked in the West End and attended a concert at the London Jazz Festival. Of course, we also did our share of walking around the city to visit all my favorite neighborhoods and see all the famous sights including Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminister Abbey. We ate great food, talked to some friendly Brits, oh yeah, and we saw Prince Charles and Camilla coming out of a party and getting into their car (no, I'm not kidding). What more could we have possibly asked for?!
It was somewhat surreal walking those streets again and thinking back to who I was and what I thought of the world when I lived there four years ago. Although London seemed to be just as I remembered, I sure have changed a great deal. I think we won't wait four years to go back. Now, London holds an even more special place in my heart.
Klas and I had the most wonderful time in London. It was more than either of us could have ever imagined...especially true for me, who was unaware of what Klas had planned to do while we were there :)
As most of you already know... Klas proposed to me in London and I said yes! We're engaged! I can still hardly believe how lucky I am to have found the man of my dreams and that he managed to completely surprise me with something so incredibly important and special. We couldn't be happier about being engaged and really appreciate all the love, support and congratulations we have received from everyone.
Clearly, the engagement became the highlight of our trip but we also managed to visit the British Museum, Tate Modern, Hyde Park, and Harrods. We saw Wicked in the West End and attended a concert at the London Jazz Festival. Of course, we also did our share of walking around the city to visit all my favorite neighborhoods and see all the famous sights including Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminister Abbey. We ate great food, talked to some friendly Brits, oh yeah, and we saw Prince Charles and Camilla coming out of a party and getting into their car (no, I'm not kidding). What more could we have possibly asked for?!
It was somewhat surreal walking those streets again and thinking back to who I was and what I thought of the world when I lived there four years ago. Although London seemed to be just as I remembered, I sure have changed a great deal. I think we won't wait four years to go back. Now, London holds an even more special place in my heart.
November 11, 2008
London town here we come
Who can fly to London for the eqivalent of $50???? WE CAN on Ryanair!!!! Klas and I are going to London tomorrow for what feels like pennies in comparison to what I paid for my first plane ticket from SFO to Heathrow 4 years ago. I haven't been back since I lived there, as hard as it is to believe. London has a special place in my heart since moving there is what started all the craziness leading me to where I am today...Stockholm, Sweden! (yeah, there are some in-between parts to that story for sure)
We are staying in Kensington, close to Hyde Park, but you can bet I will be heading to Bloomsbury to check out my old hoods. We have a busy schedule planned and I will certainly be posting more about our trip when we return. We will take lots of pictures too! I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight...
We are staying in Kensington, close to Hyde Park, but you can bet I will be heading to Bloomsbury to check out my old hoods. We have a busy schedule planned and I will certainly be posting more about our trip when we return. We will take lots of pictures too! I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight...
November 9, 2008
Political ponderings
I was living in London during the 2004 presidential election. I remember that the university where I was studying made it easy for all the American students in my program to fill out our absentee ballots and I remember that all the Brits where pretty bummed when Mr. George W. won. Crazy enough, this was my second time going through a presidential election as an expat. Only this time, I can say that it was quite a different experience and there was quite a different (and more joyous) reaction to the outcome. I suppose one could argue that the world we live in is a different place all together.
It was incredible really, how much coverage the election got here. It was on the cover of every newspaper and on every tv news station for weeks. People were also unusually interested in talking to me about politics. It's not really surprising since everyone was aware that the outcome would greatly affect the entire world, but I was still moved by the pure realization that I come from a country with such influence and power. It is a realization that makes me feel honored and patriotic but I must be honest and admit that sometimes it worries me too.
The word expatriate is defined as someone who has withdrawn themselves from residence in and/or allegiance to their native country. I may have withdrawn myself from residence in but I have not withdrawn myself from allegiance to America. Living abroad has certainly given me a new perspective on the country in which I was born. However, I think maybe that is a topic to bring up again in a future lengthier post. One thing for sure is that I will always be proud of where I am from.
I hope and pray for positive change in America just as strongly as I wish for the same all over the world. Let us all hope for the sake of the world, and not just the sake of America, that Obama will lead the United States of America with honesty and integrity and that he will be the catalyst for change that is so desperately needed.
It was incredible really, how much coverage the election got here. It was on the cover of every newspaper and on every tv news station for weeks. People were also unusually interested in talking to me about politics. It's not really surprising since everyone was aware that the outcome would greatly affect the entire world, but I was still moved by the pure realization that I come from a country with such influence and power. It is a realization that makes me feel honored and patriotic but I must be honest and admit that sometimes it worries me too.
The word expatriate is defined as someone who has withdrawn themselves from residence in and/or allegiance to their native country. I may have withdrawn myself from residence in but I have not withdrawn myself from allegiance to America. Living abroad has certainly given me a new perspective on the country in which I was born. However, I think maybe that is a topic to bring up again in a future lengthier post. One thing for sure is that I will always be proud of where I am from.
I hope and pray for positive change in America just as strongly as I wish for the same all over the world. Let us all hope for the sake of the world, and not just the sake of America, that Obama will lead the United States of America with honesty and integrity and that he will be the catalyst for change that is so desperately needed.
November 3, 2008
Cereal in your hair?
Learning the Swedish language has been one of the most fulfilling and rewarding aspects of living in a foreign country for me. It was an incredible thing when the pieces, or should I say the words, started coming together and all of a sudden I understood the people around me. Slowly but surely I could answer simple questions with one word and then I could even ask some. I am now at a level where I read, watch television and listen in on the conversations of the people around me without translating everything in my head. I am fluent by definition, but it is definitely one of those cases when the more you know, the more you realize you don't know. I still search for words that don't come to me, mix up past and present tense and sometimes I say ridiculous sentences without meaning to. I am proud of how far I have come but I still deal with the daily frustrations of trying to take it to the next level.
I have good Swedish days and I have bad ones; days when I stumble over every word and say crazy things and days when I can fool some people into thinking I am actually Swedish (okay, maybe not but I like to pretend I am that good). Lately, the difficult days have been more frequent and there never seems to be an end to the "funny things Cami says wrong in Swedish" anecdotes. All of my friends have them. I thought I'd share a few:
Yesterday was a bad Swedish day. I woke up and started calling some hair salons to try and make an appointment to get highlights. Most places were closed so when someone picked up, I was caught a bit off gaurd. This is exactly what I said in Swedish to her over the phone: "Hi, my name is Camille and I would like to make an appointment to get cereal in my hair." See, the word for highlights is slingor and the word for cereal (or corn flakes more accurately) is flingor. In the heat of the moment, and probably because I use the word cereal more often, I told the poor girl at the salon that I wanted cereal in my hair. Needless to say she was silent on the other end for a few moments before I realized what I had said. I laughed and corrected myself and successfully booked an appointment in the end, but not without embarrassing myself first.
Later on that evening, I was letting one of Klas' students into our apartment building because he was staying in the guest apartment for a few nights. (He lives in another city but comes to Stockholm to take lessons from Klas and needed a place to stay for some school thing he was involved in). Anyways, Klas is out of town and there is no room for him in our place so we offered up the super cheap apartment in our building that you can have guests stay in. I took him up to the room, made some small talk and then wanted to make sure he had everything he needed. I realized there were no sheets on the bed so in Swedish, I said to him, "Do you have everything you need? Do you have your swim suit?" The word for bedding is sängkläder (which literally translated to bed clothes) and the word for swim suit is badkläder (which literally translates to bath clothes). So you can see how a girl might get the two mixed up, but he looked at me like I was a crazy person. This is probably because it was below freezing outside and he was pretty sure we weren't going swimming any time soon. Once again, I tried to laugh it off and corrected myself so that he understood but I'm pretty sure he had a good laugh at my expense when I left the room.
As you can see, I have a long way to go with the whole, mastering the language thing. For now, I guess I will just have to laugh it off, accept that I am going to make mistakes and continue to entertain those around me with my attempts.
I have good Swedish days and I have bad ones; days when I stumble over every word and say crazy things and days when I can fool some people into thinking I am actually Swedish (okay, maybe not but I like to pretend I am that good). Lately, the difficult days have been more frequent and there never seems to be an end to the "funny things Cami says wrong in Swedish" anecdotes. All of my friends have them. I thought I'd share a few:
Yesterday was a bad Swedish day. I woke up and started calling some hair salons to try and make an appointment to get highlights. Most places were closed so when someone picked up, I was caught a bit off gaurd. This is exactly what I said in Swedish to her over the phone: "Hi, my name is Camille and I would like to make an appointment to get cereal in my hair." See, the word for highlights is slingor and the word for cereal (or corn flakes more accurately) is flingor. In the heat of the moment, and probably because I use the word cereal more often, I told the poor girl at the salon that I wanted cereal in my hair. Needless to say she was silent on the other end for a few moments before I realized what I had said. I laughed and corrected myself and successfully booked an appointment in the end, but not without embarrassing myself first.
Later on that evening, I was letting one of Klas' students into our apartment building because he was staying in the guest apartment for a few nights. (He lives in another city but comes to Stockholm to take lessons from Klas and needed a place to stay for some school thing he was involved in). Anyways, Klas is out of town and there is no room for him in our place so we offered up the super cheap apartment in our building that you can have guests stay in. I took him up to the room, made some small talk and then wanted to make sure he had everything he needed. I realized there were no sheets on the bed so in Swedish, I said to him, "Do you have everything you need? Do you have your swim suit?" The word for bedding is sängkläder (which literally translated to bed clothes) and the word for swim suit is badkläder (which literally translates to bath clothes). So you can see how a girl might get the two mixed up, but he looked at me like I was a crazy person. This is probably because it was below freezing outside and he was pretty sure we weren't going swimming any time soon. Once again, I tried to laugh it off and corrected myself so that he understood but I'm pretty sure he had a good laugh at my expense when I left the room.
As you can see, I have a long way to go with the whole, mastering the language thing. For now, I guess I will just have to laugh it off, accept that I am going to make mistakes and continue to entertain those around me with my attempts.
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