Kitty’s Place

We are sitting cosily in the living room. Wrestling is on tv (no, it is not my choice of programs but I learned to tolerate it years ago when we were in Canada *laugh*) and Ibo is teaching LL to play chess. It is really funny to listen to them and hear all the swedish terms for the different pieces.

It has snowed for 3 days, with blizzard like force at times and then soft drifting snow falling slowly. The up side of the snow, besides the beauty of it, is that it feels warmer.

I am still sick with the flu, but today is a bit better, no fever in sight so far. We missed the salsa dance Friday, Saturday was a washout, I slept, Ibo slept, LL went to a play with his grandmother and then had dinner with his grandparents. It was not how I planned on celebrating the 8th year anniversary of our first meeting. *laugh* Today I was so tired of feeling feverish, achey and nauseous that I got out of bed sobbing. But I went back to bed about noon and slept for 5 hours and that got rid of the blues, if not the flu. *laugh* While I was asleep Ibo and LL went out sledding, since it was perfect weather for it.

LL is now learning about strategy in chess, this is the cutest thing I have listened to in a long time. *laugh*

Today I am home sick with the flu. I felt blah yesterday at school and by the time I put LL to bed I was quite ill. So I went to bed at 8 pm too. *laugh* Today I am achey, feverish and have a very unhappy stomach. A large number of students have been ill this week so it must be some virus making the rounds.

We had a nice weekend. Saturday we had Ibo’s family for dinner and we had tacos. When his sister arrived, his cousin was with her. LL got these big eyes and came and said “but we only have places for six at the table”. *laugh* I said it was no problem, we always have room for Rikard and that LL could decide, would we set another place at the kitchen table or would we set 3 places at the extra table in the living room for him, Sandra and Rikard. He decided it would be best if we all ate in the kitchen, so that was what we did, even though it was a bit crowded. *laugh* LL painted water colour pictures for everyone and he even painted some for my grandparents. It was Melodifestivalen again and I managed to stay awake and watch some of it this time.

Sunday I did the ironing for the upcoming week and then we went and had dinner at Ibo’s parents. We went an hour early and LL and farfar went out with the snow racer. It was not good sledding weather, since it was warm and the snow was basically slush. But the kidlet still had fun.

Monday I mailed off a big envelope to my grandparents with two watercolour paintings, a letter written by LL, his school picture, a letter from me and a hand painted papyrus we had picked out for them when we were in Egypt. Hopefully it will add some cheer to their new home in the nursing home.

Yesterday we had the final class of religion. It was kind of fun. After sportlov (winter break, which we have next week) we will start a new class that is a combination history/social studies. In the afternoon I had “utvecklingsamtal” (development discussion? aka student/teacher interview) with our course coordinator. Since I have only been in school 5 weeks there was not much to discuss. *laugh* She and my other swedish teacher both feel I am doing fine, actively participating etc. There is a definite improvement in my spoken swedish and we had a long discussion last Friday about my weaknesses in written swedish … grammar and sentence structure, “verb is always in the second spot!” *laugh*. My math teacher wrote this long report and all I got out of it (if I got this right at all) is that I am doing ok but need to work on my core knowledge of swedish vocabulary. Religion was the same, I actively participated but I have only completed 1/2 the course so will need to complete it next year. I think the most I got from the meeting was positive reinforcement that I am moving in the right direction and that I am a good student. It is nice to know you are doing things right. *laugh* For my part of the discussion I said that I feel very comfortable at the school and am not afraid to speak swedish there, so I can feel myself improving quickly.

LL is on a class trip today to Arlanda. Apparently the older kids at his school have been working on a design to solve the problem of cramped parking at the airport (at least that is what I understand from Llywellyn’s description) and so they are going to the airport to talk to someone and present their ideas. He was thrilled because he had to take lunch so he got to use his Bob the Builder lunchbox. *laugh* His teacher met us when we dropped him off and said that she understood he had swimming after school and what time was it because they did not know when they would be back. I said at the very latest we had to take the 1430 bus from the school and she said they would try to be back for that. This is his last lesson and they always have a party with ice cream and diplomas, so he does not want to miss it.

I have never watched this show although it has been on here in the past, likely when Ibo’s sister has been around. But this past week I have been peeking at it because one of the students from my school is on the show. Her name is Alessandra Zannin and our paths have crossed a few times. She is a really nice, friendly young woman and I thought it was cool that she got on to the show. I have to say that it is not something I would watch otherwise, since I have a huge dislike of these reality shows. *laugh*

TEMA days are over and it is back to our normal schedule tomorrow.

Yesterday we had Qijong in the morning and also learned a self massage method. It was fun and went well until the point we had to lay on the floor and concentrate on our breathing. That just aggravated the naughty disc in my neck and by fika time I had a pounding headache. Since I had to leave by 1300 to pick up LL and was told they would not be back to the school until close to 1400, I decided to skip the hike and bbq. So I came home and took some Tylenol and rested a bit. Then I picked up LL from school and on the way home I met up with one of my classmates who said that the hike was long and fun, but the hot dogs were already grilled when they got to the meeting place and after they ate someone figured out that if they hurried back they could get the 1220 bus, so the hike back was more of a run back. I am glad I went home, racing back to the school in the snow would have been more than my back could handle. *laugh*

Today we had one of the teachers talk about humanitarian efforts and children’s rights. It was interesting and he had some really interesting stories about some of the children he first met 15 years ago in Romanian orphanages (during the time when it came to light across the world what kind of horrible conditions the children lived in) and where those kids are now because of the volunteers who worked to provide more humane living conditions. After fika we had free time to paint, write or shape clay, using the theme of “empati” (compassion). Some wrote poems, some wrote stories, some made cards and some painted. I painted two pictures and it was a lot of fun.

At morning coffee time I sat with the intensive english group because the table where my group was had no spots left. One of my classmates teased that I just sat there for an english fix. *laugh* I did speak swedish with them since that is the “rule”. At lunch there was no one from my class when I got there and I sat with one of the intensive english students, a really nice young woman from Russia who is here on a scholarship for one term. She doesn’t speak any swedish so of course I spoke english. It kind of went that I spoke swedish with the others then we translated for her. One of the teachers sat down and asked if we were speaking only swedish. The young woman from Romania who is here on a scholarship to improve her swedish explained that we were among those of us who spoke swedish but we had to speak english with the Russian woman. He did this exaggerated eye roll thing and I could feel my blood pressure rising. *laugh* I have no problem at all speaking swedish at school and do so whenever I can, but I don’t like this “rule” forbidding us to speak our native languages. I feel that if I am making the effort to go to school to learn swedish, there should be some faith on the part of the faculty to believe I will work as hard as I can to progress in the language. I think by having this rule in place, they are saying they don’t trust us to act like adults. I for one will continue to speak english with the sweet woman from Russia, rule or no rule. *laugh*

LL went skiing on Wednesday and his teacher said he did really well, that there was no noticeable difference between him and the kids who had skied before. After swimming lessons we passed a spot where there was an ice run for the kids. We spent 20 minutes there while he slid down on his butt, on his tummy, on his side and on his back. He thought it was the coolest thing. Today they went to some type of opera called Nightingale at the local culture centre (it was a kammaropera but I have no idea what that would be in english *laugh*). He started to cry when I arrived to pick him up at 1445, so I asked if he would like me to cry every time he came into the room. *laugh* He played out in the playground when we got home. Suddenly he came flying in the door, slammed it and locked it. I asked what the problem was and apparently the new girl who moved in next door a couple week ago, was chasing the boys and kissing them. LL ran very very fast so he never got kissed, but the other little boy he was playing with got caught and kissed 5 times. *laugh* It sounds like the “little finnish girl” was in a fast crowd wherever she lived before. *laugh*

The remainder of last week went fine. We had fun in swedish class on Thursday, read a love story, talked about Valentines Day and did some grammar. Friday was also a fun day. We each took a part and acted the first act of Romeo and Juliet. We talked about the situation in southern Sweden where 4000 households have been without power for 5 weeks (it must be almost 6 now) and why it is so. After lunch it was such a lovely brisk sunny day that our teacher decided we should go for a long walk and just talk swedish with each other which was fun. After school I went and picked LL up from a classmates house. They had walked home from school and had a little picnic along the way, so they arrived there just before I did. So I sat and had a coffee and a chat with his mom, which was really nice. After dinner we phoned and had a nice chat with my grandma and then with Aunt Maud. Llywellyn surprised them both with his ever increasing vocabulary and ease of usage in english.

The weekend was relatively quiet. We took LL to the movie theatre to see the Winnie the Pooh Heffalump movie. He loved it and was so cute when he laughed so hard and talked to the characters in the movie. After dinner Ibo’s sister came over to watch Melodifestivalen with him so I went and curled up in bed and left them to it, since I have no interest at all in it. *laugh*

Sunday we had snow, lots and lots of snow. I went out with Susan, slipped on ice buried under the snow and hit my head on a steel post. Luckily I was basically unhurt but I have had an annoying headache ever since and I suspect I have put a disc in my neck out of place. So time to find a new chiropractor.

Monday was a horrid day. I had a sore throat, a toothache and this darn headache. I did my presentation on percent in math class, went to study hall, had lunch and then started reading my new book for extra swedish. I just was not getting anywhere with the headache nagging me, so I left a bit early to pick up LL, thinking I would get a little rest before dinner. Instead it was 3 hours of missing buses and connections out in the bitter cold. My fellow had to work late so there was no valentine celebrations here. I did buy a little cake that LL begged for but after one test he said “how strange, it looks so good but it tastes so awful”. *laugh*

Today we started 3 days of TEMA days (theme days). We are doing health and wellbeing, so today we had a dietician come and speak for an hour then we all (30 students) worked together and made lunch. After the salads were prepared, we went out for fresh air. Some of the group went sledding, the rest of us took a walk along the beach. My fellow picked me up when I was done and then we picked up LL after school. We went and bought him skis, since they are going to go cross country skiing tomorrow at school. The skis were 1/10 of the cost of the ones I looked at before christmas, so that was a very good thing. I pointed out that last week we were at the sporting goods store to buy skating stuff and this week it was ski equipment. I am afraid what we will be getting next. *laugh* While I made dinner, Ibo took LL out and gave him a skiing lesson. Apparently it went well, since he only fell once. *laugh* I still have a horrid headache and my neck is hurting tonight. I am in the middle of doing laundry but once it done, I am going to bed. Tomorrow we are having someone come and show us massage methods and then we are doing a hike in the woods followed by an outdoor grilling of hotdogs. I am not sure I will stay the full day, since LL will miss swimming if I do and I don’t want to overdue the exercise thing with my neck and back feeling out of sorts. Thursday we will be doing arts and crafts, working with paints, clay, writing stories etc., things that we can do to relax and slough off stress. Then Friday it is back to the normal school schedule.

Life goes on and on and on … *laugh*

Wednesday the kidlet was fever free. I went to school in the morning and Ibo worked from home. LL went to swimming lessons and was so glad to get out of the house and do something. One of the swimming instructors was ill with the same high fever and cough that LL had, so it must be something making the rounds.

Thursday it was back to school for both of us. The day went well, we watched a movie called “Ondskan”, a horrible film about life in a boarding school in southern Sweden in the ’50’s. Actually the film was quite well done, it was the subject matter that was disturbing. Since there were no subtitles, I know I missed a fair bit but I did get a lot of the references made and of course followed the story line with no problem. I never realized how much I use the subtitles until now. *laugh*

Friday we started ‘Romeo och Julia’. First though the teacher asked if anyone had anything to talk about, anything they had been thinking about over the week etc. So I talked about a discussion we had at home about me not going back to nursing but looking at perhaps teaching instead. That led to a discussion of why and I talked about the impact of MRSA on hospitals in Canada and how I see the same thing occurring here and am not sure I want to go through that again. It was a very interesting discussion we had and everyone in the class got involved. I like that type of learning! *laugh*

Saturday we stayed home for the day and relaxed. It was nice not to stress about homework or housework or anything. We went and got pizza for dinner and had a quiet evening as well.

Sunday we did some housework and ironing. Ibo’s family came for dinner and that was nice. I love having people over and always enjoy time spent with his family. My brother phoned in the afternoon and it was so nice to chat. He heard a song on the radio that he and my other siblings used to tease me about so he called. *laugh*

Monday was a long day. *laugh* We had math first and the other 2 presented their topics. Then I finished off my paper on percentages that I will present next Monday, wrote out a review of the movie we saw Thursday, wrote a love letter from Juliet to Romeo and wrote out my book report on “The Diary of Anne Frank”, which I have read for my extra swedish studies. Monday is my only 7 hour school day and boy it seems long. I think part of the reason is that except for math, it all self study time. When I picked up LL he had a note in his knapsack informing us that headlice are making the rounds at school and to check our kids. Of course that set off lots of itching. *laugh* I did check him and have checked him every day since, but no headlice have come home to us. *whew*

Yesterday in religion class we watched the movie “Priest”. It was nice to see one in english and I definitely got more out of this one than the swedish one we saw last week, although I felt “Ondskan” was a better movie. *laugh* One thing I found interesting while watching the movie was that a majority of the people watching were very uncomfortable during the love scenes. I saw lots of hiding of eyes and turning of heads and wondered if there would have been the same reaction if the scenes had been between a man and woman instead of between two men. After lunch we discussed the movie and I am making a very valiant effort to actively participate in all of these discussions since I know that I have to use my swedish if I am ever going to sound like a literate person in that language. *smile* Since it was Shrove Tuesday we had semla at fika time. I was explaining to another immigrant student what Shrove Tuesday was and about Ash Wednesday and lent. I seem to have done a good job since she in turn discussed it with the teacher quite clearly. *laugh*

Today is self study at home, since the majority of the students are going to Stockholm to a play, as part of their english class. Since I don’t study english I was not required to go, although I was invited along if I cared to join them. I really wanted to go very much but it just was not possible with LL’s swimming lesson time on Wednesday. I have sent in my written assignments to the correct teachers and now I will write out this book report in a more legible form, to hand in on Friday.

I was looking at the calendar yesterday and realized it will soon be 8 years since I first met Ibo in person. Time really has flown by!

It was a long day yesterday. The fever just did not want to go down at all. He had some stomach symptoms along with the cold ones, so it was not a pleasant day for him. We watched movies, played Monopoly Junior, played a playstation game, drew pictures and even napped some. Napping is a bad word when you are six but it is ok when you just “lay down for a bit with mom”. *laugh*

At 0030 he woke up coughing and crying because his back, his ears, his tummy and “everything” hurt. His fever was high again, so I gave him children’s Tylenol and he settled back to sleep. I checked him again at 0300 and 0530 and he was still feverish but it was not so high. So I left him to sleep as long as he wanted this morning. He got up a bit after 0800 and felt better, but still was sporting a slight fever. We have had a quiet day, watched “Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too” endlessly, coloured pictures and this afternoon we walked over to the store and got him some more ginger ale. At least I have taught him that long time Canadian tradition … drink ginger ale when you have a fever. *laugh*

His teacher called a bit ago to see how he was feeling and said that if he does go to school tomorrow, the kids will be having school at S:t Gertrud’s. I said I was thinking it might be best for him to have one fever free day before he goes back.