God Jul

Merry Christmas!

The tree is lit and the family is out finishing Christmas shopping as Alex (Victoria's younger brother) has an old SNL show on in the background and I am using their internet.  It is nice and quiet.  We have decorated ginger cookies, tasted Glögg, tasted Jul Must, and are going to begin baking tomorrow.  Not to mention, we watched their family favorite "Jingle all the Way" with Arnold Schwarzenegger last night.  I can't say that I liked it (the juxtaposition of a governor and a father desperately searching for toys in a hyperbolic Christmas slapstick rather confuses my hopes in humanity), but their enthusiasm was nice.  The Rogers have certainly shown me lots of Swedish foods and activities. 

The first day here Victoria and I walked around the lake that their neighborhood is built around.  Things looked just as she had explained them and shown me pictures of in high school.  I am not sure what to compare the terrain to.  There are mostly birch trees with lots of little birds.  The sun is not out very long here, it rises around 8:30 and starts to set at 3!  It has made the days feel very short, and right now at 5 it is pitch black.  The neighborhoods are very modest, small homes that are close together and well kept.  Because it is Christmas time, the windows are lined with candleholders that look like manorahs but are typical Swedish decorations.  There is a cozy feel to the neighborhood and the town too.  Today, Victoria took me around the town.  Just about everything is within a long walk or biking distance, so we circled the town quickly.  It is hard to describe without using the adjective Scandenavian.  My hair has been growing recklessly, so I ventured to get a hair cut when Victoria had to go to work.  Almost every Swede speaks English fluently so it is not hard, just a little embarassing to break the flow of Swedish converstaion with a hesitant, 'Hello, I do not speak Swedish'.  It worked out well and now I feel a bit more presentable.  

Then, I took the bus home which was perhaps my greatest accomplishment of the day.   Something about navigating a foreign city fills me with a sense of invincibility.  There was a group of little girls in front of me, and I figured if they can do it, I certainly can.   It seems to be an expected quality to understand foreign transit, so no one is as impressed as I am.  Therefore, I am bragging to my fellow unsavy public transit riding American friends.  I hope that is not insulting.  

I am not sure what we are doing tonight, maybe another Christmas movie, but the 24th is when all of the festivities happen.  Christmas day, is a time for sleeping in and going to the movies while Christmas eve is a full day of activities.  From morning to night, they say.  We are going to have quite the feast.  

I have finished yet another book that was supposed to keep me until the end of the trip, and the English section of the book store had mostly Nora Roberts and crime thrillers, so I picked up To Kill a Mocking Bird from Victoria's shelf.  I think I'll give it a second read tonight.  Victoria and I are trying to store up on rest before we depart for a wide eyed 9 days!