Tagged: americanabroad

25
Jun
2021

GOTLAND, PART THE FIRST: VISBY

It’s been a very long time since we went on vacation, just the two of us. For our 25th anniversary, because Anders had to work that week, we planned a week away for midsummer week instead, and due to the pandemic, we stayed fairly close to home, heading up to Gotland, the large island off the east coast of Sweden. We’ve been there before, when the kids were young, with my mom, but I remember almost nothing from that trip. I must have spent most of it wrangling kids. Gotland isn’t super big; it takes about 3.5 hours to drive...

24
Apr
2021

THE SOUND OF SILENCE

About a week ago, I started a post with this sentence: Man, it’s *crickets* around here. It never even occurred to me how very specific that particular phrase is. To English-speakers, of a certain age, and a certain kind. And also how recent its use is. yourdictionary.com gives this definition: (US slang, humorous or derisive) Absolute silence; no communication. Derived from the cinematic metaphor of chirping crickets at night, signaling (otherwise) complete quiet. May be used alone or in metaphorically descriptive phrases. Merriam-Webster has a whole page in their “Words we’re watching” site dedicated to it…because it’s a word that...

16
Apr
2021

ALL THE THINGS

I made it through another work week, and this one without crying in front of my manager on a Teams meeting, so I call that a win. Work is still crazy but I am proud of my team for managing to keep our task queue at a reasonable level, despite the fact that we were 2 men down this past week as our freelancer wasn’t able to help us at all. Next week I have a massage scheduled and a hair appointment so I will actually be getting out of my house (more than just to the grocery store) for...

16
Jan
2021

HOMEFULNESS

One full week of work down and we’re on to week 3 of the new year. Which feels the same as the old year, still. My mom is out of her house, and now officially “homeless”. She and my sister stayed last night at the condo she’s been offered temporarily by a friend, but are leaving tomorrow for my sister’s home in North Carolina for about 3 weeks. I’ve had text conversations with my sister, but haven’t really talked to either of them, other than to update them on what’s going on with Anders’ mom, since they had so much...

28
Sep
2019

SPEAKING OF WHICH

Years ago, a friend who was a teacher asked me to speak to her English students about my thoughts and opinions of living in Sweden. I don’t remember much about it, except that I stood in front of a class of high school kids and told them what my experiences were and answered their questions. My kids were small then, and I had only been in Sweden for a handful of years or so. Now, I’ve lived here for nearly 23 years. My kids are, to all intents and purposes, grown and heading out on their own adult journeys. They...

19
Aug
2019

A WEEK AWAY

I love the Netherlands so much. Although, I call it Holland more often than not, because it’s my favorite place and Holland just sounds a little more cozy. On one of the last days, Karin asked me why I was so fascinated by it as a country, and I stopped and thought hard before I answered. I have loved a lot of different places. I love the drama and the beauty of Switzerland and Norway and Scotland. They give me a mountain fix. I love the smell of the air and the taste of the water in Michigan. I love...

23
Jul
2019

ANGELS AT THE IRS

Yesterday, I got an official-looking envelope in the mail. The return address was the IRS. “Uh oh,” I thought, as I opened it, and I was right. I’ve been filing my US tax returns the exact same way for 20 years and for 2018 they changed everything. All the forms (bar one) were completely different, what they asked for was different, how they asked for it was different, and I struggled really hard to figure things out. I read all the instructions. I read them several times, but most of the time I couldn’t figure out what exactly I was...

04
Jul
2019

HONEY AND HOTDOGS AND HOLIDAYS

Two people, both complete strangers, that I’ve talked to recently on the phone, have referred to me with what I thought were rather strangely inappropriate endearments. One called me “honey” and the other repeatedly called me both “momma” and “baby girl” during our conversation. These are women who I am betting are younger than me, and even if they are American, doing this kind of thing strikes me as weirdly off. The only people I would refer to as “honey”, first of all, are my husband or my children. The only other time I would call someone “honey” is if...

24
Jun
2019

SWEDISH EVERY WHICH WAY

If the first part of this year is any indication…heck, if the first part of this LIFE is any indication, the rest of this year will fly by and I’ll be left gaping at the fact that it’s Christmas time YET AGAIN. I’ve been gone for 2 weeks and even though I managed to post quickly last Monday before we zoomed off again to Stockholm for a week of city and sun and Swedishness, it feels like I’ve not really had a chance to sit down and gather my thoughts here. We had a lovely week, despite some bobbles at...

17
Jun
2019

BLINK AND YOU’LL MISS IT

I came back to Sweden in full summer swing. It’s midsummer week and everything is full-blown green and blooming here. Even the roses started exploding while I was gone. I had a simply fantastic week in Seattle. The weather was drop-dead PERFECT (though I confess I missed most of it as I was indoors all day during the week for the conference). I came out of my flight to find mom already arrived and waiting for me last Saturday and we got to the hotel just in time to find a place to eat and then unpack and relax. I...

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