What do most Swedes do every Tuesday at 8 pm? Posted by jennie on Jul 6, 2011
Answer: They sing-a-long. Or at least, they watch “Allsång på Skansen” (Sing-a-long from Skansen) on telly. There’s something about Swedes and singing. We love it and we do it especially well in a big group. This love for a proper sing-a-long has resulted in thousands of sing-a-long-events all over Sweden. In the summer, lots of…
Sommar i P1 – a Swedish institution Posted by jennie on Jul 5, 2011
It is as Swedish as the Midsummer pole and pickled herring and the famous theme song – played exactly 1 pm every day between June 25 to August 21 – takes me back to a warm and lazy summer’s day in Sweden within seconds. I’m talking about the radio program and institution “Sommar” (Summer) who has been airing…
The logic behind Swedish noun gender Posted by Stephen Maconi on Jul 4, 2011
When you first start learning Swedish, the whole noun gender thing might be confusing. In Spanish and French, the gender thing makes sense since ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ correspond to human gender. In Swedish, however, the genders are ‘common’ and ‘neuter’. This does not mean Swedes aren’t male or female! 😉 Some nouns, as you may…
Lingonberry, bag-in-box and long johns Posted by jennie on Jun 30, 2011
Do you have a collection of Ittala-glasses with the stickers left on at home? Does anyone in your family own either a Soda streamer or a spike mat? Have you ever had stick insect as a pet? Do you take it as a compliment if anyone tells you that you are “so un-Swedish?” Do you…
Midsummer and holiday season in Sweden Posted by jennie on Jun 28, 2011
Long time no see, dear blog readers. I’ve been on my longest holiday ever, doing it in proper Swedish four-weeks- in-a-row-stylee and it has been absolutely amazing. Visited Sweden for two of those, got married by the sea in Bohuslän (yes!) celebrated Midsummer’s eve (Midsommarafton) on a windy field in Skåne (Click here for my guide to a…
Housing in Sweden Posted by Marcus Cederström on Jun 27, 2011
I cheated when I moved to Sweden. I blame my parents. I have dual citizenship so I didn’t have to deal with any sort of visa or residency permit. No work permit. No student permit. Life was good. But I did still have to deal with housing. And that doesn’t mean life is good. A…
Familjeboken – A Swedish Learning Tool Posted by Marcus Cederström on Jun 21, 2011
I mentioned a few days ago that I spent the last academic year teaching Swedish. I had way too much fun with it and am excited to be teaching again next semester. But I’m always looking for little things I can use in class: movies, short films, radio clips, podcasts, and of course, books. And…