Learn (useful) Spanish in 30 days or your money back!

Learning a language is more than just conjugating verbs, confusing the polite and the familiar form of the second person singular or figuring out how to recognize and properly use the subjunctive. It is about communication and it is about saying -and knowing- the right words at the right time.

So Mg got a wonderful present from his sister: a Spanish 'word/phrase of the day' calendar for 2012 and a Spanish language course. Already we are ripping the benefits since Mg has just learned his first truly useful phrase for someone who is planning to tour Guatemala. What is it, you ask?

'¿Dónde está la estación de policía?' (where is the police station?)

A phrase that a white European tourist will surely need in the land of everlasting spring :P

Something I will never forget again

Two weeks ago I was trying to figure out what to take with me for a month in Norway. I already know you don't wear that much stuff in the winter since basically you wear the same thing all the time. A few sweaters would do the trick... pajamas for staying indoors and woolen socks to keep my toes toasty would surely be enough.

My problem now was a different one than when I was packing to spend the summer on 'the continent', where the sun is hot and I could indulge in wearing pretty dresses for weeks and weeks. When I packed my bag in June I wanted to take every single piece of clothing that wasn't made of wool that I owned. Now I only wanted to take a few things, but they were so bulky that I had to go for my bigger suitcase. So the morning of the trip I took out a few things and decided against taking sweatpants with me.

That was a mistake. I am sitting here in front of a nice fire and all I have are jeans. I 'yearn' for my old sweats and promise to never leave them at home ever again!

Things you pick up along the way

It was exactly a week ago today that I came to Geneva and started living in the house of a nice family that puts up with my French and find my sock-knitting amusing. I really like it here and were it not for the fact that I can't seem to find a walking-distance supermarket, I would not mind staying for the rest of my three month stint.

But I digress. The real purpose of the blog is to say that in Switzerland, people keep their shoes on when they go into a house, which is not the custom in Scandinavia... and having my shoes on in the house feels weird (This despite the fact that the first time I went to Umea it took me forever to get used to it).

So while I'm home alone here, I'm instituting the 'no shoes indoors' rule... both to save me a little cleaning time and to make me feel a little more like home (away from home).

A much needed brake

After all the worries and problems in Guatemala, and before I start stressing about turning my fieldwork into a thesis, I decided to come visit my boyfriend in London. It's been a great week so far, and time has gone by really fast with all the gap-minding in the tube and looking tot he 'wrong' side of the street before crossing it.

The days have been really nice: not that much cold and hardly any rain. I also got a bit of sunshine for my birthday, and got to welcome my 29th year of existence with a whole day at the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. Magnus has gone with me to so many amazing places and even though he has to do his fieldwork, I know he's taken extra time off to be with me :)

Today, I took the day off from London and decided to catch up on a little work. The day is clear and sitting in the sun with my computer is so nice that I haven't managed to work that much anyways!

Four days

Its only a few days until I have to grab my suitcases and travel half-way around the world...again. I've been in Guatemala for about ten weeks and it has been quite an interesting ride. However, I am really ready for a change. I miss being in Europe and riding my bike, but most of all, I miss my boyfriend. It's been really hard to be apart for this long.

On being in Guatemala:
Being 'back home' has been a strange experience. It doesn't feel like home anymore. My family is here, but most of my friends have moved away. My house got taken over by my roommate's decorating sense (which is not necessarily a good thing) and I already moved the stuff I won't be carrying with me to Sweden to my parents' house.

Traffic has been something awful, and the ever-pending fear of being mugged seems to have escalated (whether the violence here is really higher or people are more hysterical about it, I don't know... but it sure stuck with me) to epic proportions. On the other hand, I got to spend 10 weeks in shorts and sun dresses and sandals, a luxury I could have afforded for myself in the north of Sweden (nor in Bergen, where Magnus lives).

I also have to say I missed my mom's rice. Having it almost every day has to be the highlight of my trip here.

On packing:
I hate packing. I don't know why I take so much stuff with me. I keep thinking I will only take a few things but then my suitcase is almost at the 'Mam, we'll have to charge you extra' level. To avoid this, I made a 'draft' (or several ones) of my suitcase but its still too big. I will have to go through it again tomorrow and take out half the stuff. I know I can do it, but leaving behind a pretty dress or a shirt I've had forever is hard :)

On leaving:
Honestly, I can't wait to go! Not because of school, certainly not because of my thesis (that I can always cry over later). I can't wait to go to London and spend two weeks walking around the city with my boyfriend. I plan on spending my 29th birthday 'in town' and I'm so excited to go and celebrate with him!

So...
In conclusion I feel like my time here is up, and I'm happy its only a couple of days until I have to make myself squeeze into my coach travel arrangements and walk off T5 at Heathrow and see Magnus waiting for me!

I do not look underage!

During my looong journey home, I had a 24 hour stopover in London. Since it was over Christmas, there wasn't that much to do 'in town' and I decided to simply go to a hotel and catch some sleep before my other two flights.

As I was going out of the 'duty free' area, a nice young man came up to me and asked if I wanted to try a free sample of Bailey's. He was offering everyone, so I guess it was a pretty mechanical motion by the time me and my bags rolled by. As he was approaching -and asking- me to take a sample glass, he takes another look and goes 'oh! Too young! Sorry!!!'

I AM NOT TOO YOUNG. I am 28 and well over the age limit for free drinks in duty free shops. However, I take my compliments where I can find them and assume that looking under 21 is a good thing... right?

Under the sea!

I'm going to Copenhagen on Saturday. I have a class there all next week and decided to get to the city a day early to see around and get to know the place on the weekend. I also want to take in a few museums because I'll probably be in class most of the day during the week.

There are many things that Copenhagen is known for. Of course there's the 'free district' called Christiania, and amazing buildings. The Danes from that particular city are said to be really friendly and nice. However, that's not what has me so excited to be going. The real reason is that I just want to see the little mermaid.

As a little girl, I remember spending hours reading Hans Christian Andersen. I also remember being outraged (at nine) when Disney changed the ending to one of my favorite stories. So by this time on Sunday, I will have seen my fair share of junkies, even more blond people and I will have stood in the port and watched the little mermaid looking back at the city. I can't wait!

'Passport watch' or 'you're always allowed to travel home'

I just finished packing for New York. I'm excited and have been on 'travel mode' for a few days now. This includes constant list-making/checking and the urge to run errands all day.

Travel mode also includes passport watch. Usually, I don't worry that much. One of the advantages of being a double national is that I have two passports... so if I lose one, the other nationality is right there, little booklet in hand and waiting for me. This time, because I'm traveling to the US, I really need my American passport to be nice and keep still. This was making me extra-antsy but then I remembered: you are always allowed to travel home if you lose your passport.

So I guess if the passport is MIA I can always travel 'home' (even though I haven't been to the US since I was eleven!)

NYC baby! -and an extra day to boot!

I keep hearing people taking these so-called 'vacations' that apparently involve having 'free time' to 'not work'. Those things sound fan-freaking-tastic, uh? Well,I haven't had one of those since I graduated from college back in the summer of 2004.

In a very impulsive move with my friend, we decided I should take some time off... and go visit said friend to New York. We found a great ticket and it all fell into place so we bought it. All that was left was actually telling my boss that I would not be working for a week. So two weeks after we got the ticket I finally got the nerve to tell him. What did he say? 'Good! its healthy to take time off!'.

So, not only do I have 'free time' to goof around in NYC and upstate, but I just noticed that I got my ticket for a day earlier than I thought... so I gots me an extra day of vacations! (that was a huge mistake and I'm blaming it on Mercury's retrograde... but heck, a great mistake, uh?)