Solo in Sweden

Christmas market in Copenhagen. Mulled wine here has raisins and nuts in it,

which was unexpected but delicious.

This year I am spending Christmas in Malmö, where my cousins live. The plan was that I would arrive as soon as my classes ended, several days before my cousins´family actually returned from their trip abroad, then they would join me a few days later. This would give me a few days of peace and quiet in their lovely suburban home, and I could also act as a cat sitter. Due to various errors and misfortunes, however, my cousin's family is arriving two days later than planned, so we will only have two and a half days together before I return to Spain. As a result, this has turned into a mostly solo vacation - not quite what I planned, but Sweden is absolutely lovely and we all know I can't get enough of cold weather, so I am not complaining. Plus, today they are returning home, so I know that we´ll cram lots of holiday fun in the next few days.

One of my daily duties is proof of life photos of the cats.

Above all, I have found the Christmas decorations here extremely tasteful - almost all white lights and cut paper stars shining in windows. This is very different than Spain´s perspetive, where it seems impossible to have too many colors at the same time, preferably flashing.

I know three words in Swedish: hej (hello), tack (thanks) and fika
(a traditional coffee break, often with buns). I am fika-ing as much as possible here. 

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(Sorry, no Spanish today but it´ll be back soon.)

Achievement unlocked! // ¡Logro desbloqueado!

This week I got my flu shot. In the US, that would mean that I had walked into my local pharmacy, paid a small amount, and got a vaccination. Or maybe I would have gotten a free shot at my workplace, as used to happen. But here, like many things in a new country, it works differently. And it was just different enough but when I tried two years ago to get one, I gave up. My language skills simply weren't sufficient navigating this part of life.

I've realized that I now have enough skills to do things like this. I made a phone call to the insurance company, and the lady there explained, in Spanish, how to do it. I made an appointment with the doctor, and came prepared with my arguments about why I wanted to get the flu shot, since I had encountered resistance last time. Then I made an appointment with the nurse, who would give me the shot. Finally, I adjusted quickly when she told me I was supposed to procure the vaccine on my own, and ran over to the pharmacy to fetch it and bring it to the nurse. Achievement unlocked!

It is situations like this that make me realize how far I've come. I don't understand everything that people say to me, but I can navigate most interactions without undue stress. It is utterly shocking how complicated life is when you don't know the language and the culture, and how a huge weight lifts off you when you can. It's definitely something we take for granted most of the time if we live in our native land.

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Esta semana recibí una vacuna contra la gripe. En EE.UU., significa que fui a la farmacia más cercana, pagué un poco y recibí la vacuna. O quizás la reciba en el lugar de trabajo. Pero, aquí, como en muchos otros procesos en un nuevo país, esto funciona de manera diferente. De hecho, hace dos años era todo tan diferente que desistí. Mis habilidades lingüísticas no bastaron para hacer lo que necesitaba.

Recientemente, me he dado cuenta de que hablo mejor ahora y podría gestionar situaciones así. Llamé al seguro médico, y la compañera me explicó lo que pasaría. Pedí una cita con el médico, y llegué con los argumentos necesarios para recibir la vacuna, porque la última médica me preguntó si la necesitaba. Después, pedí una cita con la enfermera que me administró la inyección. Finalmente, cambié rápidamente mis planes cuando descubrí que necesitaba recoger la medicina yo misma, y corrí a la farmacia y luego de regreso a la enfermera. ¡Logro desbloqueado!

Situaciones como estas me obligan a darme cuenta de que avancé muchísimo lingüísticamente. No entiendo todo cuando las personas me hablan, pero normalmente puedo interactuar con ellos sin demasiado estrés. Es completamente sorprendente para mí lo complicada que es la vida cuando no entiendes el idioma ni la cultura, y cómo se te quita un peso de encima cuando puedes. Algo que di por hecho cuando vivía en EE.UU.

Lyon

At my language school, there is no vacation time during the fall semester, unlike spring when we get Holy Week. However, I wanted to take a trip, so I spent a week in Lyon (France) recently. The real reason for going was to understand a little bit about what life would be like if I could live there.

I visited Lyon for a day last May, with my friends when we were finishing our bike trip. During twelve packed hours, we saw the cathedral, the radio tower that looks like the Eiffel tower, another important church, and a mural of famous citizens. In addition, we soaked in lovely river views and ate the best Italian food I've had for years. This time, I didn't want to visit tourist attractions. Instead, I wanted to experience everyday life. So I sought out lots of opportunities to meet with people who live in Lyon, stayed at an Airbnb with a kitchen, and traveled to the end of bus snd tram lines to see what the entire city looks like.

At the end of the day, I really liked the city. I have realized that cities of about a million inhabitants are exactly the right size for me. Similarly, with two rivers and double the rain of Madrid, it is a green and relatively verdant city. However, I'm not sure that I can live there, mainly because of financial and legal limitations. In any case, it was a delightful trip.

Proof that I was there. // La prueba de que estuve allí.

I love French desserts. // Me encanta la pastelería de francesa.

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En mi escuela de idiomas, no hay tiempo para las vacaciones durante el trimestre de otoño, en contraste con el trimestre de primavera, que incluye la Semana Santa. Sin embargo, quería hacer un viaje, y por eso pasé una semana en Lyon, Francia. La verdadera razón de mi viaje fue entender un poco sobre cómo podría ser la vida si fuera posible vivir allí.

Pasé un día en Lyon el pasado mes de mayo, con mis amigos cuando llevamos a cabo nuestro viaje en bici. Durante 12 horas, vimos la catedral, la torre de radio (que se parece a la Torre Eiffel), otra iglesia importante y un mural de ciudadanos famosos. Además, disfrutamos de muchas vistas de los ríos y la mejor comida italiana que he probado durante muchos años. Por otra parte, esta vez no quería visitar los sitios turísticos, sino experimentar la vida cotidiana. Por este motivo, quedé con habitantes de Lyon, mi albergue fue un AirBnb con cocina y utilicé los autobuses y tranvías para ver las zonas de la ciudad más lejanas.

En conclusión, me gusta muchísimo la ciudad. Me di cuenta de que una ciudad del tamaño de un millón de personas, más o menos, es perfecta para mí. En la misma línea, cuenta con dos ríos y el doble de lluvia que Madrid, es más frondosa y verde. No obstante, no estoy segura de que pueda vivir allí por razones legales y económicas. En cualquier caso, fue un viaje muy divertido.