Archive for October, 2008
Is There Halloween in Sweden? Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 31, 2008
It snowed a little bit today, and it was fun to watch drivers and bike riders genuinely surprised that their cars and bikes were sliding sideways out of control. You’d think that people in a Nordic country would be more used to the fact that white stuff on the roads means slippery surfaces. But no……
Vinterdepression Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 29, 2008
Returning to Sweden after we changed to winter time last weekend was a bit harsh. Suddenly it gets dark at 4PM here. And it will only get worse. That’s one of the joys of living in the North. I like winter, don’t get me wrong, it’s the darkness that kills me. So, to make sure…
The Wash Post Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 25, 2008
I am still away and still receiving calls for help from my dearly beloved. Last night it was the wash that required five urgent phone calls to get my urgent attention. We don’t own a washing machine. Actually, our apartment is not even set up for one. Instead, there is something in our building called…
The Diary of Dairy Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 23, 2008
I am out of town for a while, actually I’m out of Sweden for a week, and I’ve been gone for only one day and my dearly beloved already managed to call me four times. “I need milk,” he says, “I’m at the store and I don’t know what kind of milk to buy.” Errr……
Hej Kära Peter! Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 19, 2008
Peter’s comment on the post below made me think. I don’t write that many letters in Swedish. In fact, I don’t write that many letters in whatever language – I’m probably the world’s worst correspondent, as my friends no doubt can tell you. So, in order to properly answer Peter’s question I had to dig…
Varor Du Brukar Köpa? Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 16, 2008
I’ve been down with flu for quite some time now, and needless to say, I got bored. So bored in fact, that I actually started to read the stuff that the Ica supermarket chain sends us in the mail. Yeah, I was THAT bored. But I’m glad I read it, because now I’m thinking whether…
Åka or Gå? Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 12, 2008
Today’s topic is one that confuses many Swedish learners – those pesky verbs that are deceptively similar, have pretty much the same meaning in English, yet in Swedish are used in a completely different context. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Actually, Swedish has quite a few such verb combinations. But today we’ll start with the…