kärlek er alla

I hope everyone is enjoying my blog.  Honestly, this is my first one, and I know there is no "right" or "wrong" way to do a blog, I am just trying to keep track of the interesting information I find on Sweden, and document my feelings on what I find.

 I am going to be taking a few days off from writing on here because I am going out of town.  It is a spontaneous trip decided completely last minute, but those are my favorite trips!  should be a blast. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend!! 

Alla mina vänner är superhjältar & Kanelbullar

Tretorn - Today's Swedish passion is TRETORN.  Tretorn.  A swedish shoe company that has been in existence since 1891.  I LOVE their shoes.

My fave.   They are ordered, and I can not wait until they get here!!  I love how they give a history lesson about each shoe also.. for instance.  The Reva women's shoe was inspired by Tretorn joggers from the 1980's. This sneaker was made modern and feminine with relevant colors and materials.

They also give Swedish language lessons every Friday on their facebook page, but every lesson I have checked out, I already knew.. :)  so I'm ahead of the curve!  I also learned, in Sweden, it's bad luck to put your keys on a table. That's how hookers used to identify themselves at bars, so Moms told their kids it was bad luck so they wouldn't do it, too.   That is good to know.. I'll keep my keys off the bar when I visit :)


Moving on....

I have ADHD.. and of course with ADHD.. distractions pull me in every direction...  Todays distraction was some very random videos...  strange, interesting, funny, RANDOM videos..  That really didn't assist me in learning anything worthwhile... just a fun distraction...

Before I completed this blog, I wanted to add a helpful video I found.

It is interesting to learn how different their personalities are than Americans, but definitely helpful to know before a trip over because something we may consider "rude" here is just lifestyle there.

Couch Surfing to Sweden & kräktes

Found amazing website today...  well, actually, I think it has a great CONCEPT; however, I don't know if I would EVER use it.   It is called Couch Surfing and at first I'm thinking that it is where I watch tv with international people and learn from it. haha NO.  It is a website FULL of world wide travelers that will actually allow you to jump from city to city and stay at their place, and you can give them full references, and I can't believe how many people actually use this.  Some of these people have had over 50 people stay at their apartments.  It is CRAZY.

What I do like about it though, is that these people actually embrace world travelers, and they themselves, are world travelers.  So they have a TON of worldly advice, and what to do, what not to do.
I am still working my way through their website because I'm a little confused by it, but I HAD to blog about it, because it is so intriguing.

Swedish Midsummer for dummies (or Americans same thing)

It is almost 2:00 in the afternoon, and I just woke up due to the medicine they gave me at the hospital last night.  I actually got a huge amount of sleep, and felt pretty good when I woke up, but as I logged onto my computer, and signed into twitter, I had this amazing video waiting just for me, and it made me feel GREAT. AND I realize more than ever, that THIS is something I MUST be a part of.   I'll start working on my de små grodorna now.  :)

I am assuming that Swedish "midsummer" is what we refer to as summer solstice here, which is nothing exciting whatsoever, except the fact that it is the longest day of the year.  Which actually surprises me, because American's tend to make an event out of anything that they can, and definitely if it will give you the day off of work! :)

Dag 1

I have decided to document my new found Swedish ... obsession...  intrigue... PASSION.. basically for myself, but as I have been looking around on the internet, I have found myself on other blogs of many people like myself that have found this kärlek for Sweden, and therefore, I shall make it public, who knows, maybe I will inspire someone someday.   :)
  
I have found SO many links that my book marks are endless, and my Facebook feeds, i'm sure to those not interested, are a bit tedious. to say the least. 
  
First and foremost, I have to put Aaliyah Weston's GO SWEDISH  videos for youtube and iphone apps.  She has an amazing voice, and she makes learning Swedish enjoyable, interesting, and she doesn't rattle it all out like the "Swedish Chef."  I started watching her videos and following her on Twitter.  She does not have a lot of videos out there, but it is DEFINITELY a great place to start, and every time I get discouraged, or need to hear a pronunciation a little clearer, I always go back to these videos.  I also have a lot in common with her, and LOVE her outlook on life, so that helps too :)

I am also following The Swedish blog on Facebook/Twitter, and I go to their website frequently, as it usually has some information that you can't find just anywhere.  For instance today, they had 10 Swedish words you won't find in English.  Definitely helpful, and some were good for a few laughs. :)

Swedish Flash Cards is a great website, I try to do an hour of these a day.  

and once I learn words, I like to go to 

The Swedish Virtual Keyboard and try to type what I have learned.




I suppose this will be all for my first post.  I am under the weather, but I am dedicated, and someday, I will be able to type this in Swedish.