Can't Sleep

I know what you're wondering - what does our backyard look like at 5 a.m.?

Well, wonder no further:

The sun rose a while ago, the birds are singing, and with an open window in the bedroom, it's impossible to sleep. Welcome to (almost) summer time in Southern Sweden!

I wish I could record the sound of the birds, because it's an amazing sound. Kind of like a rainforest, but with smaller birds. (Disclaimer: I've never actually been in a rainforest, but I did visit Rainforest Cafe once if that helps.)

The birds are quite busy here in Sweden, and don't seem to get much rest with all that chirping, flying, and whatever else it is they do in the daylight hours. Today, according to Google, the sun rose at 4:24 but I can attest that it was light earlier than that. The sun plans to set tonight around 10 p.m.

It's one of the best times to be in Sweden - the strawberries are out, the flowers are in full bloom, and the ice cream truck plays its melody through the streets at 8 p.m.

Welcome summer!

Anniversary

Today marks my 14th anniversary of visiting Sweden for the first time. I remember as the plane descended towards Malmö, and I saw the southern coast of Sweden and the rectangular green fields that glowed under an intense sun, complemented by dark grey clouds in the background.

Right now I sit in my garden, and the journey from then until now feels unbelievable. Then, a 23-year-old graduate student searching and waiting for "real life" to begin. Now, a 37-year-old mother and wife, looking forward to cultivating her career, and asking for guidance to do her part in creating a happy, healthy, and peaceful family, community and world.

Although warm sunny days are wonderful and needed, my favorite weather is sunny with rain clouds approaching. Everything is so much more intense- the colors, smells, and light. And I love rain, especially when it comes in the evening and leaves by morning, just like it did last night.

Here Henrik practices his sprints while rain clouds approach.

Swedish Spring has Sprung

I was beginning to wonder if the leaves would ever appear - I'd never gone so long without greenery. But the last three weeks we've had beautiful sun-filled days here, California weather I call it, though it's really a Swedish spring.

And just like that, there were leaves. And blossoms. And birds. People are smiling, coming out of hibernation, and queuing for ice cream. Or maybe that's just us.

Three weeks ago, our backyard looked like this:

And today:

Beautiful Vitsippa flowers carpet the forest near my in-laws' home, only to disappear after a week:

And here are some pictures from my neighbors' yards:

Happy Spring everyone!

Easter Witches

Easter (Påsk) is a big deal here in Sweden. Good Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays, with many people taking a half-day off on Thursday as well. During lent, my mother-in-law gave me branches with bright feathers attached to them. I asked her if this was traditional, as I'd never seen anything like them before. They are common here during Easter, and I've now seen them outside stores, restaurants, and in people's homes.

Here are some for sale at Lund's Farmers' Market:

When a friend called and asked if my boys wanted to be Easter witches with her son, I had no idea what she was talking about. Legend has it that on the Thursday before Easter, all the witches fly to Blåkulla, a magical mountain somewhere, and have a party with the devil. My Swedish teacher spoke about the witch-burning days in Europe, but assured us that no witches (also known as female healers) have been burned in Sweden for 300 years.

Anyway, it's now a tradition that during the Easter week, kids dress as nice witches (scarves, rosy cheeks, and freckles) and ring people's doors and give them little hand-made Easter crafts. The people, in return, give a coin, candy, or fruit. In other words, it's similar to Halloween, but not as specific a time, and everyone dresses as the same thing. (Halloween is celebrated here also, but it's more a new thing, not traditional.)

So, our boys dressed as witches on Thursday and went around the neighborhood, which gave me an opportunity to say hello to some neighbors we hadn't met yet. The kids got mostly candy, but when a woman gave them an apple, Henrik said, "I guess she didn't have any candy, so she gave us fruit."

Snödroppar

I find myself so much more tuned into nature here. In the south of Sweden, there are many trees, but most are deciduous. For months, the landscape shows only dark, barren branches awaiting spring.

When the first bulbs start to bloom, it's a big deal. The schools talk to the kids about the spring flowers, people smile and remark on the new blooms, and the newspaper reports on which flowers are coming next.

In February or March, the little white snödroppar (Snowdrops), said to cheat winter, are the first to bloom.

On the second day of spring, Henrik's preschool opened. His class is named "Snödroppen," which seems fitting as the school opened just as the flowers were appearing. Here he is, riding his bike to school with Mats on his first day:

He really likes school, and his teachers say that he's understanding Swedish well, but still speaks to them mostly in English. With the kids, however, I hear him starting, just like Lucas did, to speak Swedish. "Look here," "Stop it," and "Come here" seem to be some of the first phrases kids learn. This past week it seemed that some magical language piece clicked in, and now I hear him switching between the languages like Lucas does.

Along with the flowers and trees, I look forward to watching Henrik's Swedish bloom this spring.

Haircuts

My boys' hair was getting shaggy - I'd put off finding a place to get haircuts long enough. One mom said her friend cut her kids' hair, but recommended a cheap place if I didn't mind it not being very fancy. I called, and Henrik's cut would have been $40 (280 crowns), and Lucas' $50 (340 crowns).

When I told people here, they all agreed: haircuts are expensive in Sweden. (Random side-note: college education, aside from books and lodging, is free.)

I asked another mom, and she said her mom cuts her son's hair. I was seeing why people had friends or family cut their kid's hair. But she said there was a cheap place ($20) by the train station. I Googled "hår tåg Lund" (hair, train, Lund), but couldn't find it - I'm not very good at searching the internet in Swedish yet. But I found a place that, when I called, said kids' haircuts were $30, so I made an appointment, same-day.

The place was nice, but seemed more oriented towards older women compared to the kid's haircut place back home with the plastic castle and toys everywhere. Neither boy wanted to go first, so I told them they'd have a treat at home.

Lucas finally went, but Henrik hid under the antique chair saying, "I don't want a haircut!" Eventually I persuaded him, and he sat on my lap. We shared the black cape that's supposed to catch the hair, so we looked like a two-headed blob.

The woman looked at me and said with an accent, "At last, we're done. That wasn't easy." I agreed. I realized I didn't know if I needed to tip. I asked, and she said it was included, no need to pay more. I appreciated her honesty, and then gave the boys five crowns (80 cents) each to give her, just in case.

I'd like to learn how to cut my boys' hair - it can't be that hard, right? But then again, I found out a woman's cut and highlight is cheaper here (by at least $50) than at home. So I guess it all equals out.

Swedish Tooth Fairy

Lucas' tooth was so loose. Drove me nuts, I wouldn't be able to handle a floppy tooth in my mouth; but he let it get looser, and looser. It was the bottom right one, his second loose tooth.

He lost his first about a month before we moved here. It "just popped out" one day at school. He literally lost it for a few minutes, and then one of his friends found it on the floor under his desk. His teacher, used to her pupils' teeth falling out, had a cute little tooth-shaped necklace thing to hold the tooth.

When he woke up the next morning, there was a dollar bill under his pillow from the tooth fairy. Seemed to be the going rate. But she'd left his tooth, and this confused Lucas since she's taken his friends' teeth when they lost them. He looked at me and said, "Did the tooth fairy really come, or did you just put this under my pillow?" I asked him what he thought, and something on the TV distracted him, and that was the end of that conversation.

Two weeks ago he finally lost his second tooth. He had been crying earlier that day because every time he bit down, it hurt. With my urging, he tried to pull it out, and a few minutes later, he ran to tell me he'd lost his second tooth.

"Lucas, you're going to get a dollar!" Henrik said, evident that he wished his teeth were falling out.

"No, Henrik, we're in Sweden now, so it will be in crowns," Lucas replied. "Maybe I'll get 500 crowns! That's the biggest bill!" Then he started dancing and singing, "Money, Money, Money, must be funny, in a rich man's world!" (ABBA)

I laughed. "Lucas, 500 crowns is like $75, I don't think the tooth fairy gives that much."

"We'll see!" he said, still optimistic.

The tooth fairy came, and this time took his tooth. Lucas got a gold-colored coin - ten crowns. Seems to be the going rate. She wrote a little note in Swedish that said, "Welcome to Sweden Lucas!" (She used the plural vs. the singular form of "welcome" but that's OK, her job is collecting teeth, not writing after all.)

Happy Valentine's Day!