a partial brain download post-Sweden!

first, a quick lament: the last 2 weeks since I came back have been chaos (interspersed with some good stuff, mind you) but basically I have let myself get too busy and until today have really been suffering the consequences (poor sleep, lack of prayer, temporary losses of sanity.etc...oh and not doing knee exercises so now my knee has gotten worse too.)
anyhow this weekend I have found a bit of that time and space; have spoken to Sofia on the phone too, it was really bothering me that I'd just not spoken to either of the girls since I flew home, but it's been great to hear what's been happening lately and about my swedish friends' hopes for January / onwards.

At the moment I'm still having a lot of miscellaneous recollections from our visit, different things at different times, such as how whenever JR and I were asked what our band was like, I would always end up telling it differently from the previous time, and it really amused him how many variations I came up with. Another example is all the little things that impressed me about Swedish homes and buildings, from the advanced recyling facilities right down to simply the light switches, bath/shower taps and so on..

Overall I loved our visit. My highlight was the quality social time at the girls' flat. Talking, cooking, eating, socialising with S & E and J and friends. Even our first night, arriving late--nearly midnight--we had a great welcome round the kitchen table. Their hospitality was great throughout; I think that just comes quite naturally ;). During our stay we took our time wandering around Malmö, not really sightseeing but just absorbing everything in general. I also visited Emelie in Halmstad, and had a wander into Småland by train, where I stopped off to explore (only for a day, sadly). Jon and I had also visited Copenhagen on the Friday. I did enjoy seeing Copenhagen (and we did our best to not be slavish tourists but rather wander round some of the less-fanfared neighbourhoods and sights), however it was an unexpected feeling of relief when I got back to Malmö: in the back of my mind it felt like a sort of home rather than a visitor's destination. I'm sure it helps that the language was becoming familiar; and this was in contrast with the bright Christmas lights and bustling shops of what is after all a capital city; nevertheless, I have been pondering that feeling since I got back.

Something about Sweden generally.. in some ways, it seemed to live up to its stereotypes: calm and orderly, the cities were tidy and had good public transport and cycle paths, English was spoken widely (and very well), the weather was cold but the houses were warm (and yes, tastefully decorated). However, some of my main observations are things that nobody had led me to expect: the warmth and friendliness of the people I met, or e.g. the good and inexpensive food. When I was hitch hiking or asking people for help, the helpfulness of Swedes stood in contrast to my experiences in France or Italy where people were generally much less forthcoming. And whoever was leading me to expect high charges and poor choices for food and drink must have visited either long ago or else some faraway parts of Sweden.. (I know this isn't the deepest cultural observation I could make, but it certainly helps when you don't have to worry about wasting your spending money on overpriced meals!).

I'm sure, being the 'slow processor' that I am, that I'll return to the topic of Sweden in future posts..
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