August 2009
2 posts
You know you had a successful vacation when...
Poetry was written about it!
—
Though the wonders of Heaven are legion, Only two of them, mountain and sea— One by height, one by depth—suit a region To a fancy unboundedly free; And in only the Landscape Norwegian Did God suffer BOTH marvels to be. Where the Bible says, “Who is like thee, Lord?” I would add: “—Who created the fjord.”
—Ben...
At least for the time being, this is the link to... →
July 2009
6 posts
Because everyone likes to blog about what she had...
I have been generally underwhelmed by the variety and freshness of the produce in Stockholm. No Bartlett pears, only Bosc?!—Ok, ok, you know you’re a yuppie when… Anyhow, I’m not going to defend my love for and bizare preferences on produce. My basic understanding of produce in Stockholm is that Sweden is not a particularly good climate for growing vegetables and therefore...
June 2009
7 posts
Corsica is wonderful
Sara: How is it over there?
me: It's paradise
Sara: Protein paradise
me: Well yes, though i think the lipid people here might take issue with that
Sara: Fat fantasy?
My top 10 things to know when trying to navigate...
On the street 1. Almost no streets have names in Tokyo. When trying to find your destination, the address is a code of three numbers, X-Y-Z. X is the ward number Y is the square block (all 360 around it) Z is the house number 2. There are lots of informational maps on the streets to help you navigate. The maps are oriented such that up is the direction in front of you as you look at map, NOT...
“Tonight I went to an onsen (Japanese hot spring bath). Can an onsen function as...”
WatchTokyo fish market, 6am, Friday, June 5, 2009.
May 2009
3 posts
Swedish children learn Yiddish folk songs
A couple of my friends here have told me that children here learn Yiddish folk songs. Specifically— though perhaps not exclusively— “Oyfn Pripetchik”, “Tumbalalaika”, and “Bei mir bistu shein”. The friends who learned these songs are not all Jewish and did not all grow up in urban metropols like Stockholm. So, though difficult for me to believe,...
April 2009
5 posts
Watchpart 1
Watchpart 2
Sill vs. Strömming
Swedish has two words for herring, and until I went back to the US I was unable to find someone to tell me the difference. (Not that I’ve asked everyone I know in Sweden, not even a small percentage really, but whenever herring would come up in conversation, I would ask.)
I was visiting my cool cousin Cynthia in Cambridge. She had dogeared a couple of pages from Mark Kurlansky’s Salt...
Just wondering
Question: Is there any relationship the Swedish name for Easter, “Påsk”, and the Hebrew word for Passover, “Pesach”? I guess that sounds like a stretch, but the tradition here seems to be to eat påsklamm— Easter lamb— and my mind immediately jumped to paschal lamb. I guess they eat lamb because Jesus was G-d’s lamb, but Jesus was G-d’s lamb because...
“Act 152 of 2002 prohibits us from issuing or renewing driver license products...”
– My Pennsylvania driver’s license expired. I can’t get it renewed because I’m no longer a resident. This is inconvenient because it means I can’t rent cars when I’m traveling and can’t drive my friend’s cars when in the US. Swedish licenses are very...
March 2009
10 posts
On week 14 I learned about vecka.nu
Q: What week is it?
A: vecka.nu
Swedes plan things based on the week instead of day. i.e. “Should we meet sometime during week 7?” or, “Would you prefer the delivery on week 15 or week 16?” For me this elicits an embarrassed “Um, what week is it today?” Now I can look it up myself. Easy shmeasy. HT Mateusz
Swedish waffle recipe (Våfflor)
In response to food-blogger extraordinaire, Kosher Camembert’s request: a waffle recipe.
Last May, Amy and Jon gave me a Swedish waffle iron! I searched the internet, and made an online Swedish waffle recipe that had so much butter the waffles tasted deep fried. Then Erika gave me this recipe. It’s in metric— don’t be a wimp, the pyrex liquid measuring cup you use has...
Anatomy of a Swedish waffle
1. Each section of the waffle is heart shaped. 2. They are served with whipped cream 3. and a jam that is thinner than the jam we have in the US— at work we were given raspberry, at home I use both lingonberry and a blueberry-raspberry mix. 4. Much thinner than american waffles and very crispy.
WatchWe went dogsledding at night. It was like a wonderful really long roller coaster. The guide even briefly let us each drive!
Kiruna!
I went up to the arctic circle with Susan. We saw the ice hotel
and the northern lights (Sorry, no picture. They were too faint) and even went dogsledding.
WatchThe best part of coming to work late— adorable children on the bus! A few weeks ago they were playing rock paper scissors. But no one had told them it was a two-player game, so three or four would play together and then they would just make up a new way of evaluating the winner each time.
Snowy Purim
It’s been snowing intensely all day. My first thought when I woke up to it was, “Snow? On Purim?” And then the idea grew on me. Blizzardy Purim is not what I’m used to. And it’s certainly not what they have in Israel, or perhaps more relevantly, Persia. But looking at it, I think that changing the landscape so that it seems different than normal is very much in...
February 2009
11 posts
“I moved to Stockholm a year ago today. I’m glad I did.”
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
Today, the New Yorker arrived in my mail for the first time since November (apparently I’d been having addressing issues. Again). It’s the February, Eustace Tilley cover and I actually caught myself speaking to it and calling it “sweetie”.
Renting in Stockholm 101 (and why it stresses me...
On Friday, my landlord wrote to me with the exciting news that she is engaged and pregnant. I am very happy for her. But this news put me in the frame of mind to discuss Stockholm’s rental market with you. Or perhaps write a series of posts about housing here. I haven’t decided yet. What we can know for certain is that today’s topic will be: The Swedish housing rental market is...
Wait 'Til She Learns Sweden Also Has Universal...
Jersey girl #1: And then she was like, "What's a Guido?"
Jersey girl #2 (blissfully): I like to think there's a world where people don't know what Guidos are. I bet there'd be unicorns.
--Manasquan, New Jersey
From overheardeverywhere.com. Thanks, Steve!
Adventures in the Swedish medical system are not...
(my local medical center, 1 km away and an easy bus ride from my apartment)
I have been sick more and less acutely for almost all of January. I was still figuring that I should just continue to get lots of sleep, drink lots of tea, and wait it out. But lucky for me, my dad is visiting. He insisted that I get a doctor’s opinion. Also lucky for me, I have an amazingly helpful...
Do these handcuffs make me look fat?
me: the police are looking for me.
L: you should put that on your jdate profile
me: does it make me sexier?
L: yes. absolutely. you should try and get a picture of swedish police handcuffing you
me: i just got this email from [my former landlord]. hi i'm in sweden for a bit. the police have come by looking for you a few times. and you are still getting mail here, can you fix that?
L: P agrees with me - he says he thinks its sexy
me: well then maybe i should parlay this into a boyfriend before i turn myself in. think of the conjugal visits
L: absolutely
“The thing is that my boyfriend who is living in the apartment mentioned that the...”
– from an email I got from my former landlord here in Stockholm. I have no idea why they are looking for me. I’m so grateful my father is here. This would be much scarier if he weren’t.
January 2009
17 posts
“The old database had many gaps in it, which was largely a consequence of the...”
– from Haaretz on the old settlment database. The new database revealed that “in the vast majority of the settlements - about 75 percent - construction, sometimes on a large scale, has been carried out without the appropriate permits or contrary to the permits that were issued.” File...
Nice Jewish guys calendar-- I am amused. →
Happy MLK day
reblogged from Josh
“That’s the question before you tonight. Not, “If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to my job.” Not, “If I stop to help the sanitation workers what will happen to all of the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?” The question is not, “If I stop to help this man in need, what...
sick!
I caught the flu. I’ve slept for most of the past 3 days. At first I was concerned that they don’t have the same fever reducers here that they do in the US. But it turns out they do, Swedes just use different names. Here is what five minutes on wikipedia taught me.paracetamol (in alvedon) is acetaminophen ipren is ibuprofen. The more you know…
love potion #9 or the best post-breakup pill ever?... →