Best language tutor has to be immersion. And a perfect way to learn a culture is learning the language.
Category Archives: expatriate
Attitude is everything #4
A little bird told me … #blogg100 #3
A little bird told me spring flowers are the best.
Read about Swedes craze for tulips here. Not to be mixed with a tulip craze.
#2 Embrace the cold! #blogg100
A visual reminder to embrace living in a different climate – it´s a lot easier if you dress accordingly! “There´s no bad weather, only bad clothing” is one of the proverbs we grow up with in Sweden. I know expats who hate this saying, but truth is I guess we need it to survive! 🙂 Swedes are usually outdoorsy people; we need good and proper clothes for snowy, cold, rainy, windy, wet days. The first winter I spent back in Sweden after several years abroad I was constantly freezing. I had a winter jacket, right? The following winter I bought a new winter jacket – a Swedish one! Thick, fluffy and a fake fur lined hood. What a difference it made! I had failed to see the climate from the right cultural perspective.
One of the ladies in my expat network told me it is so easy to spot Swedish people in the alps – it´s the ones with the most appropriate winter wear! And not only in the slopes.
100 challenges #blogg100
#1 Saturday Jan 26
What have I done?! 😉
#1 Decided to join the challenge #blogg100
#2 Decided to go to an outlet center on a Saturday. An outdoor mall mind you. Freezing cold and a strong icy wind.
Well, the second decision of the day – check! Safely returned home in time for a late lunch. I like the concept of outdoor malls. Just not in combination with the Swedish west coast winter wind. There was a small outdoor mall where I lived in the US when I was an expat in Michigan. Loved it. Starbucks, GAP and Bodyworks. A grocery store and some restaurants. A small green area with a tiny playground and a fountain with a bench next to it to enjoy an occasional ice cream. Perhaps 20 stores all in all. The outdoor concept with a “main street” gave it a European feeling. I believe it was called The Village. Only missed one of my favorite stores; Target. Come to think of it it wouldn´t really have been a “village” with a Target in it.
Decision No.1 I´ll have to live with for the next 100 days. Good for me! Love the idea! Found the challenge only this morning, so starting 3 days late. Just need to finish 3 days later. Since we´re on twitter, my business and I, and Facebook, Instagram as well as on Google+ and Youtube, the project should be perfect for providing my different media channels with content. And vice versa. Want to join?
Let´s go!
The headaches of an expat
The headaches of an expat can be surprisingly heavy
My head felt heavy as I woke up. For once it wasn´t the tck baby but a throbbing headache that was calling for my attention. Bright light found its way through the a bit uneven blinds in our American apartment, giving away that it was already morning. I felt as if I hadn´t slept at all.
It was really something else that had forced me out of my sleep. The smell. A heavy odor that shouldn´t have been there. It was all over our new expat home. Like sulfur; gas; a bit like rubber. For an instant I was tossed back to Swedish high school where the boys constantly opened the gas taps in chemistry class to upset the girls. Or should I say to impress them, speaking boys’ language.
The apartment was on ground level and raising the blinds I was welcomed by the sight of the lush green foliage outside our master bedroom, and – immediately to the left – the natural gas cabinet. It didn´t take long to make the connection smell and gas leak. Impressively fast, considering the condition my head was in.
I called the natural gas company and explained – a little bit cautious as Swedes tend to, not wanting to be such a hassle in case there was nothing to it. Apparently the smell was not good at all. Someone was to be sent over immediately. “Gas leaks are not to be taken lightly. Right, and that´s why I made the call in the first place.
Before long there was a service minded maintenance worker on the patio. He wore sturdy shoes and had a dark blue overall on, as well as a concerned look. It didn´t take long though before he burst out into laughter.
“Seriously??” he said. ”Have you never ever smelled a skunk before??”
What? No, I hadn´t. His reaction left me feeling relieved yet a bit wronged. There are no skunks in Sweden.
I thanked the highly amused man and made a mental note. My list of new experiences, ever growing from living in another country and being exposed to cultural differences, had been added to. Again.
Share your story! I know there are many situations out there that deserve to be shared! We all have problems and headaches as an expat. Surviving expatriate life is a lot easier if we´re able to laugh at ourselves. And believe me; it´s not as if there’s a lack of situations where things can be misunderstood …
This post has also been published in Swedish, go here if you´d like to read that version and the comments!
Online Swedish language-tutoring
Online Swedish language training
Language is part of a culture. When you learn a language you also learn the culture connected to it and vice versa. It’s fun and valuable to know different languages. Now Swedish isn’t exactly one of the most influential languages in the universe but it might still be important to you.
I have studied and learnt several languages in my life. The methods and situations have been different, depending on the teaching institute and the teachers, as well as me and my current situation. Looking back, the most valuable and rewarding classes have been the ones where I constantly practiced speaking. It goes without saying that this was easier when I had private tutoring, or was in a smaller group of students.
As an expat, language studies have often proved to be the first social networking for me, and a routine in making a new life for me and my family. Yes, it involved breaks for diaper-changes and preparing a bottle. Sometimes we took the tutoring outside, to enjoy the weather and to accommodate the needs of a toddler longing for the garden swing.
Talking, talking, talking!
To really learn how to speak a language I think it is important to have enough opportunities. And to seize them, of course. The more you speak the easier it gets.
In order to make it interesting and motivational the learning should also relate to topics of the students interests or learning needs. Perhaps reading poems is not on the immediate priority list.
Learning a new language should be fun and without stress! For many it is hard to fit in language training in a busy schedule. Online tutoring can often solve that problem. The Swedish classes I offer are usually half hour conversations and it works well. I am flexible when it comes to timing and recurrence, and my students can choose if and how much work they want to do in between our sessions.
Taking the first step can sometimes seem hard. But guess what, that first step is just an e-mail or a phone call!
Why not make this year the year of learning or improving your Swedish!? In the comfort of your own home.
contact charlotta@globatris.se
Fredagsmys for non-Swedes
Say the word Fredagsmys and every Swede knows what you are talking about. An easy Friday evening get-together, to mark the end of the work/school week and the beginning of the weekend. Family or friends, easy cooking, snack and a TV-screen are ususally involved. Tacos is a classic, as well as chips/crisps and dip; at least that´s what the commercials want us to believe. Fredagsmys is part of our modern culture, probably substituting the Sunday dinner family gathering.
The reality TV-show “Allt för Sverige”, brings “Swedish” Americans to Sweden for a chance to discover their roots. One of the episodes exposed the group to Fredagsmys. http://bit.ly/YizCDAI
Leave our pancakes alone!
As I´m making pancakes for dinner I think about how this is one of the easy dishes that has followed us around the world. No matter where we have lived there has always been milk, flour and eggs for pancakes. We almost always make the thin ones. Sometimes a thick version in the oven, and occasionally American with baking powder. You say the word and everyone has their own perception of the dish in their mind. In Switzerland I remember inviting an American family over for an afternoon playdate. I made pancakes. Oh, the disappointment in the eyes of the visiting boys as we sat down to eat. Their mother tried desperately to explain how exciting it would be to try Swedish pancakes. But no. It just wasn´t their kind of pancake. To them the relocation to Europe was probably enough at the time. “Leave our pancakes alone!” #TCK
Do you know we use pancake in some Swedish idiomatic expressions ? Literal translations follows.
Upp som en sol ner som en pannkaka – Up like a sun down like a pancake
Himmel och pannkaka – Heaven and pancake
Det blir bara pannkaka av alltihop – It will all just be pancake
Marsch pannkaka! – Off you go, pancake!
Falling for fall
Fall is here. The beautiful, rich colors and the crispy air. And, oh yes, the rain. But let´s just forget about the rain for now. It doesn´t go with the picture. The leaves are turning my garden into an explosion of nuances. It´s like a firework leaving confetti to nurture eye and soul, as well as the lawn. The last brave rosebuds stand strong in the wind, and the blueberries … well, why haven´t they been picked by now?!
Indoors the colors tend to follow the nature´s. Summery shades and patterns are replaced with warm orange and deep reds. Burgundy. Candles, textiles and decorative items add to the luxury of warming up in front of the fire place after a forest walk. A glass of red. Memories from expatriate postings come to life with tiny crafted hedgehogs, autumnal recipe books from overseas and … ahem; the inflatable pumpkin.
