Doldrums HIt Your Blog? Ideas For You!

Today I'm at the A-Z Challenge Blog!  I'm sharing some ideas for what to do if your blog has hit a place with no wind in the sails...come on over!

~Tina, whom you might have noticed was rather absent last week.  No wind.  

P.S College Life will be here Wednesday. We'll be talking about the world before personal computers...which is almost as much fun as sharing clothes with your roommate.

©2014 All Rights Reserved

IWSG: Insecure? Try Something New!

Are you feeling insecure about your writing?  I have a suggestion.  Step out of your comfort zone.  Of course, that phrase has different meanings for different folks.

For me, that step happened when I was chosen to contribute a story to a book where ALL the others who were chosen were published authors.  I took a big, deep breath and decided, fake it until they stop you.

Interview.  "Hi, I'm Tina and I'm a free-lance writer...."  My definition of free-lance is I don't work for anybody.  Completely true.

Story accepted.  Book sold well, raised money, got a second printing.

Then came the invitation, "One of the recipient organizations is looking for volunteer columnists, on a rotating basis, to contribute to their newsletter...."

I've never written a column, though a case could be made for a post being LIKE a column.  I went for it. It's turned out great.  All the other authors from the book have dropped out for whatever reason, so now I'm not rotating with anyone.  I AM the columnist. Yeah!

Maybe stepping out of your comfort zone means taking on a leadership role.  We had a lot of very brave "I'm not really comfortable" people step up to be minions for the A-Z Challenge, and they rocked the town.  I bet it gave them some confidence, too.

Maybe stepping out of your comfort zone is visiting blogs that aren't in your same category.  You may discover that following a cooking, craft, photography, gaming, or whatever-is-new-to-you blog opens up new doors.  New friendships.  New circles (not the google+ kind, still don't know how to drive THAT non-intuitive model of car...)

Maybe stepping out of your comfort zone is interacting more with those who visit your blog. Make more return visits. Write return emails.  Build friendships.

You never know where your next brave step will take you, and even though it may be uncomfortable, at least it's a new place, full of possibilities.

~Tina, stepping out on a Road Trip with a bunch of "I'm not done visiting blogs from The Challenge yet" brave souls...wanna join us?

***
Alex “Ninja Captain” Cavanaugh  is our leader for this wonderful, supportive group. Don't forget we even have our own website now.  Be sure to check it out if you haven't already, and "like" our facebook page, too. I'm so impressed with what these talented folks are doing to promote this group! Encouragement month long is now just a click away! 

A-Z Challenge Reflections 2014 #atozchallenge

I think it's a very good practice to evaluate an event in order to give praise and recognition to those who deserve it, and also to offer suggestions for improvement to those in charge, so that they can make improvements for the future.  Welcome to the Reflections Posts!  You'll find the linky below, at the A-Z Challenge Blog, and in my tab above.

In the past, I've used analogies: sex - 2011, sports - 2012, and I've laid it all bare, just a dump of emotion -2013.  Each year has been different, and this year was no exception.

I'm happy to say that this year I did a much more timely job of visiting back, not that I'm anywhere near done, mind you.  That was probably because I wasn't over 1,000 emails behind, only about an average of 300 per day.  More people left links, or at least URL's, so quickly getting to a visitor's blog was a lot easier, and I was more intentional about seizing the opportunity right then.

Visiting more blogs led me to some great, new discoveries. There are many bloggers who are "just like me." They are immigrants writing about the cultural differences between their homeland and their new land.  I even met some whose "new land" wasn't the US.  I learned a LOT.  I wish I'd labeled them in my notes so I could share links, but I didn't. Note to self for next year: write down links that you want to share in your Reflections.

I met some incredibly brave people opening their hearts and souls for the world to see.  I was humbled by their honesty and willingness to share.  I found amazing recipes to try, saw pictures of places I'll never be able to see in person, and I read a whole bunch of amazing flash fiction.  

In other words, I experienced what we hope that you as participants experience when you join this adventure.  In the past I didn't take that opportunity as much because I was too busy with administrative duties and neglected my participant duties.  Note to self: good job. Keep getting better!

As to administrative duties, I had more time to devote this year, hence the email difference, and the visiting difference.  I planned ahead for April, cleared my calendar, and really focused.  I treated it as a part-time volunteer gig, and that mindset made me feel like I was really making a difference.  It was motivating to keep going, and it gave me purpose when yet again, health issues dominated my personal life for half of April. Note to self: planning really is good.  It's OK to be Schedule Woman ;-)

I still don't like the categories.  All you need to do is spend an hour answering the info@ emails (one of my jobs on the team) to know how much confusion, angst, anger, and mess these caused.  We will keep doing them, because YOU want them, but I just have to say again, like I did last year: pain in the buttocks for co-hosts.  

However, I was highly entertained by some of the questions I received at the info@ email address.  I won't embarrass anyone and quote, but I will say this: Note to PARTICIPANTS: there's a reason for the A-Z Challenge Blog: INFORMATION FOR PARTICIPANTS. There's even a FAQ tab. READ IT EVERYDAY. Keep reading it - we're open all year!

I know this is getting long, but I can't help but thank everyone for your tremendous response to my series. Some of you didn't miss a post.  Many of you shared your personal stories and your culture.  My comment section made me smile every day!  

Thank you to my bevy of new followers.  I'm trying to make the rounds, and I appreciate your vote of confidence in me.  It's my intention to follow back, so if I've missed you, please drop me an email or leave a comment WITH A LINK and I'll hop on over.

Of course I have to thank my co-host team (yes, yes, I hear the exit music and see the ladies trying to escort me off the stage...just one more thing...) Love to all of you.  Of course, it goes without saying that all of this would not have been possible without my minions, who got a whole post of their own on Friday ;-)

~Tina, looking forward to reading your Reflections.  I'm going to be on the look-out for some to feature as guest posts at the A-Z Blog...

©2014 All Rights Reserved

Photo credit: as with all the logos associated with the A-Z April 2014 Challenge, Jeremy Hawkins of jmhdigital.com

Ginormous Thank You to Tina's Terrific Team

Well my lovely ladies, we did it!  Or I should say YOU did it.  I in all honesty could not have done this year's A-Z Challenge without your help, encouragement, funny, silly, uplifting, laugh-out-loud-spit-on-your-laptop emails, or without your immense dedication to this project.

In an ideal, sci-fi world (which maybe one day I'll get back to writing about...) I'd just wormhole or transporter or beam you all here.  We'd go to my favorite restaurant, a home town favorite, genuine one-of-a-kind place called Mike O'Shays.  I've been eating and drinking there for 23 years.  We'd get my favorite big booth in the back and celebrate. I'd buy you all dinner, and drinks, and we'd get to know each other even better.

Alas, even though great sci-fi writers have invented this technology, we cannot use it. So I'm sending you all my cyber hugs and love and an open invitation to come to Colorado and go out on the town!  I know, it's just not the same...

Readers - if you have a moment, I'd appreciate you giving their blogs a visit. They are all amazing in their own ways:

Andrea @ Maybe It's Just Me: never fails to make me laugh.  My laptop gets a regular cleaning after reading her blog

Hilary Melton-Butcher @ Positive letters...inspirational stories...: a master at research, a wiz with finding the right pictures, and always, always something new to learn each time I visit

jenn @ quirky pickings: quirky, wonderful, completely honest, you never know what she'll say but it will be the truth 

Jo @ Jo on Food, My Travels, and a Scent of Chocolate: the most regular blogger I know: 6 times a week, open, honest, and I don't know how she does it, but she's already commented almost everywhere I go. Plus a recipe every post.  Yum.

JoJo @Tahoma Beadworks and Photography: master of every craft known to society, expert photographer, funny as all get out - and always a visual treat with each post

Kate @ Another Clean Slate: though living almost the exact opposite of my life, we connect and she can always be counted on to be real, and there for you, no matter what

You ladies made my month lighter, funnier, and full of camaraderie.  Now go take a nap...love to all of you.

~Tina, truly blessed with wonderful friends

Z ~ ZZZZs...Time to Catch Some #atozchallenge

All Aboard! "It's Very Swedish..." a train on a cultural journey through Sweden, exploring the differences big and small between American and Swedish culture.

***

Ok, so it's not very original, but it's for a good reasons: 

* I realized that this series didn't have as many personal pictures as my previous two did.  

*I had promised family photos...

*I am dead tired.  I mean, really, really tired.  

* I'm going to show you just exactly how tired through the legacy of Momarazzi's pictures.

Granted, most of these are DataBoy, but really, it's the toddlers who get to fall asleep wherever they want, not we adults who are trying to write our 26th post in 30 days...

I'm so tired that:

I wouldn't need The Swede to wait until I fell asleep...

or my big, bossy sister...

I could sleep through Lucia celebrations...

I certainly wouldn't have to cry myself to sleep having a tantrum trying to escape my crib...

In fact, I'm so tired I could fall asleep in my high chair. Totally strapped in...

Then someone would bring me pillows, and I'd be so comfy...

I might as well be asleep in my own bed.

~Tina

P.S It's been a wonderful month, no matter how tiring. I've enjoyed sharing my heritage and thoughts with you, and enjoyed reading your posts, and meeting you.  On May 5th the linky opens for your Reflections Posts. Then on May 6, the linky opens for the 4th Annual Post Challenge Road Trip. Both of these are optional events for those of you not quite ready to let go of April's Awesomeness. Visit the A-Z Challenge Blog for all the details in the coming days.

©2014 All Rights Reserved

Precious photos I'm so happy we have: by Momarazzi!  She took a lot of bathtub photos, too.  Sleeping and bathtubs were two favorites.  The Swede marked some of the bathtub pictures in the album with "don't publish".  No problem, Dad.  I do know where to draw the line...most of the time.

Y ~ Yxsjön: Learning to Swim #atozchallenge

All Aboard! "It's Very Swedish..." a train on a cultural journey through Sweden, exploring the differences big and small between American and Swedish culture.

***

As I recall from my childhood, if you wanted to learn to swim in Sweden, it was going to be in a lake. Pools are rare.  Lakes are everywhere.

The Swede taught me to swim in Yxsjön.  I'm behind DataBoy (censored for American audiences), and Swissie is next to me.  We're getting used to the cold water...slowly...

Swedish kids learn breaststroke, but not with the face in the water on every stroke like you see in competitions here.  The legs also do something different, it's not the kick of "the crawl" but more of a scissor-frog motion.  If I have time, I'll look for a video.

The point is that it's fairly easy to learn, and kids are swimming pretty quickly.  There are lessons of course, and I'd have my private lesson from my dad, while over by the dock, the other kids had to do all kinds of repetitive boring drills.

The Swede, ever the teacher (he didn't work for Volvo until we moved here) did give me a final exam.  I remember I was to swim as far as I could next to the dock where the water was deep enough that I could not stand, but not so deep as to be scary.  When I got tired, I was to grab the dock and be graded.

I remember being paid about the equivalent of $.25 for each meter I swam.  I was about one or two meter from the end of the dock, which was 25 meters long, when I grabbed the edge.  He pulled me out, held my hand, I can see myself in my white and green horizontally striped suit and remember being a little breathless and excited to learn I'd earned about $5. That was a LOT of money! I could swim!

When it came time to teach my own kids how to swim, I did what The Swede did and taught them myself.  We were visiting friends in Texas, the same friends who came up with the phrase for this "It's Very Swedish..." series, the summer they were probably 4 and 7 or close to that.  

They had one of those above ground HUGE swimming pools with plenty of room to actually swim, so I just taught hers too. Wanna know a good trick?  Have them put crocs (the shoes, for those of you who aren't familiar with this invention, born right here in my small Colorado town!) on their hands.  It helps them float a little more, and gives them confidence.

I think if I'd have had crocs to learn with, The Swede would have been out a lot more money ;-)

Do you know how to swim? How did you learn? Did you teach your kids? Feel free to share my croc idea. I didn't have it copyrighted...

~Tina, who now knows more than the breaststroke, but canNOT do the butterfly...at ALL

©2014 All Rights Reserved (the post, not the croc-on-hands-learn-to-swim-idea)

Photo credit: Momarazzi

X ~ eXtapris = Extra Price #atozchallenge

All Aboard! "It's Very Swedish..." a train on a cultural journey through Sweden, exploring the differences big and small between American and Swedish culture.

***

Yes, I admit that I'm totally cheating. We all know how hard X is, and I will freely admit that I've had the advantage of using either a Swedish or an English word the entire Challenge. However, that does not make X any easier, in either language.

I probably didn't need to translate my title for you, since it looks and sounds about the same in both languages.  (In Swedish, the "price" part is pronounced as in "priest", just forget the "t".)  It does though sound like you'll be paying an extra price.

Not so.  In Sweden, the extrapris is what you are looking for the.  The price was "extra special", as in the sale.  I remember shopping with Farmor in everything from those small, neighborhood grocery stores, to what is similar to a Safeway or King Soopers, (or whatever THE big chain is called in your town), to the mega-store in downtown Göteborg where it was pretty much a day long commitment to finish the major trip.

Those trips to Saga (which literally means "story") were an adventure of epic proportion.  Long lists. Markers to check off items.  Multiple carts and two cars: ours and Farmor and Farfar's.

I looked up extrapris in Swedish on Wiki, and they freely admitted that these are below cost items designed to lure you into the store. Here is America, those of us who are, shall we say, rather, um, organized about our grocery shopping, know that the front and back page items on the "weekly specials" inserts in the newspaper are the "loss leaders."

These are the items to get you in the store, and if you're like most people, you really don't want to go to another store for the rest of the non-sale price items on your list, so you just buy them there.  That's what they count on, and of course some of those prices are raised to make up for the other "loss".

It's all a game.  There's even a website, The Grocery Game, dedicated to helping you outsmart the system.  I don't go the extremes of some, but I do try to be a smart shopper.  It's rare that something on my receipt is full price.  I've had to have the manager come over to override the transaction because the amount I saved was more than my total owed.  Love winning like that.  (It's that insatiable competitive streak in me...)

Are you the grocery shopper in your family? Or do you not cook at all? There are many nights when all I want is a double cheeseburger, STAT, and man, you can get one cheaply at McDonald's, and they hit the spot at the end of a long day of A-Z wrangling ;-)

Two more days!  You CAN do it!

~Tina, totally tired but I AM going to finish this thing...and then finish visiting you all...thanks for all the wonderful comments and new followers.  You are much appreciated!

W ~ Water, Water, Everywhere, Pick Your Country! #atozchallenge

All Aboard! "It's Very Swedish..." a train on a cultural journey through Sweden, exploring the differences big and small between American and Swedish culture.

***

If you're not into the whole cultural experience, feel free to skip to the embarrassing childhood pictures.

I've been sharing about Sweden's great lakes and the fun we had there, but they are not the only water attractions in Sweden.  Water plays a huge part of life there.  Why do you think so many Swedes gravitated to Minnesota with it's, what is it, 10,000 lakes? Swedes felt at home there.

The lakes I grew up with were of all sizes and conditions.  There were lakes we could swim in, lakes we only boated on, lakes where we fished, and of course lakes where we did all of the above.  One thing they all had in common: the water was quite cold. You do get used to it though.  Really used to it.  

It's kinda of like when my Amazing Aunt Risky asked me today, at a restaurant, if the dish was spicy.  I said no, it's just pesto, it's not spicy.  Then I got her portion, because to her, it was too spicy.  Moral: don't ask me if the water is cold.  My answer will be NO, it's fine, come on in ;-)

One of my favorite lakes was the one where The Swede's best friend had a house.  There were two docks. One where there was foot-high sea weed and you wouldn't dream of swimming there, but that's where the boat was.  The other dock was on the other side of the house, around the corner if you will, and the water was crystal clear and you could see all the way to the bottom even where it was REALLY deep.  

Here's a picture of the "sea-weed" dock.

I found that I have more childhood photos involving non-lake water.  Enjoy.  

This is our backyard in Sweden.  That's DataBoy on the left in the pool with friend I can't remember, and I'm on the left on the "beach blanket" with friend I also can't remember. This picture was only marked "Spring time back yard water play" by Momarazzi.

This is one of our favorite vacation destinations.  We stayed at the campground, but had full use of the wonderful facilities enjoyed by those who stayed at the actual, pricey resort.  It was called Billingehus, for those Swedes reading :-)  That's Farfar with Swissie in his lap.  Me styling in the bikini...thought I was styling.  Year not marked, but I'm thinking this was right before we moved to America, so about 8.

Water sports continued after the move.  This is in the backyard of our first house in America, 1974.  Me, Swissie, and DataBoy. Yes, we dragged DataBoy in, fully clothed. Good thing, or he would have been nude, and then I couldn't have put up the picture...

That's me in the flowered bikini, still thinking I'm all that, at age 12.  There's Swissie, and Farmor, in the background, headless.

Ever the gymnast, I also enjoyed diving.

What are your water experiences?  Did you grow up with access to lakes?  Are you afraid of what you can't see when you're swimming? Come back to "Y" and you'll hear my learning to swim story.  Not that you'd want to miss "X"...seriously.  X is hard enough in English...

~Tina, who happily swims anywhere she can see the bottom, and will sometimes, with enough peer pressure, swim in uncharted waters (it's hard to resist Aunt Risky...)

©2014 All Rights Reserved

All photos most likely by Momarazzi, or another family member.  For example, Momarazzi would not have cut off Farmor's head...

U ~ Underbara Kaffee Kalas = Wonderful Coffee Parties #atozchallenge

All Aboard! "It's Very Swedish..." a train on a cultural journey through Sweden, exploring the differences big and small between American and Swedish culture.

***

Americans, when they want to "have coffee" with you they meet you at a coffee shop and you buy (totally overpriced) coffee, and maybe something to eat.  You fight over who pays.

In Sweden, "having coffee" means going to someone's house and they have a wonderful array of goodies ready to quickly set out for you.  The Swedish hostess needs to be ready for visitors, who may show up at any time.  I remember how Farmor always had several kinds of cookies, buns (see B ~ Buns), and other treats available.

There's sometimes a silly little ritual of , "Oh, please don't bother, I'm fine!" and "Oh, it's no bother at all!" while the hostess makes the coffee and sets out the goodies.

There are more formal, organized coffee parties as well.  My Swissie and I would sometimes have two-a-day when we visited in the summers as Farmor and Farfar wanted to parade us around to all their friends.

I remember vividly the summer she was 14 and I was about to be 17.  We were "forced" by politeness to eat so much that we were never, ever hungry.  Then one day when we had no formal plans, I at some point in the day turned to her and said, "Blessed! I do believe I'm hungry again!"  It's been a saying between us ever since.

At those parties you might start with a fancy sandwich (see D ~ Dill), then a bunch of cookies (you were to try one of each) and of course the aforementioned buns, and then when you thought you'd about burst (and die of thirst as we discussed in I ~ Ice, Ice Baby), out would come THE CAKE.

(yes, I know this is not the inside of the above picture...but I wanted you to see an inside, and variations of the outside, so for those of you who thrive on detail, just know I am aware of this and not trying to fool you)

These cakes were really awesome, but I never had room for them once they arrived. This cake starts with a layer of sponge cake, then some sweet jam is mixed with whipped cream and spread on the bottom layer, then the next layer goes on. After that, the whole cake is covered in the whipped (and of course sweetened, sometimes with vanilla sugar) cream and decorated with fresh fruit.  A sight to behold.

Coffee is a ritual in Sweden.  It's called kaffe (cuff - eh? (as in "I can't hear you!")) and it's served hot, strong, and in smaller cups than we use.

On the left, a Longaberger mug, on the right, one of my treasured heirlooms from Farmor.

Is there coffee in your country?  What are the rituals surrounding it's consumption?  Do you want one of those cakes?

~Tina, who is blessedly hungry and better go make dinner...

©2014 All Rights Reserved

Photo credit: strawberry cake

Photo credit: sliced into strawberry cake

Photo credit: cake with lots of fruit
Photo credit:: mug comparison: OYT

T ~ Teeth/Braces = Tandställning #atozchallenge

All Aboard! "It's Very Swedish..." a train on a cultural journey through Sweden, exploring the differences big and small between American and Swedish culture.

***

I remember my cousin coming to visit from Sweden when I was in junior high.  She remarked (and I'll translate for you) "Wow, a LOT of kids wear braces here."  Totally true. Braces aren't as common in Sweden - not the rite of passage most American kids endure.

I never had braces.  My teeth are, if I may say so myself, well it's my blog you can't really stop me...perfectly aligned.  Neither of my boys will need braces.  The Engineer never had them either.  He has a really great smile...

There are a lot of factors that could account for this difference though, and The Swede told me to get a hold of a Swedish dentist...thanks, very helpful...so let's explore this ourselves since I don't know any Swedish dentists.

Do fewer Swedish kids have braces because their teeth don't need them?

Is it because fewer Swedes put as much emphasis on having a perfect appearance as American society pushes us to have?

Are there fewer orthodontists?  Is dental care part of the socialized medicine, or is it private and therefore just as ridiculously expensive as here in America?

What do you think?  Did you have braces?

I'd also like to know what the incidence of braces is like in your country.  Yes, I'm demanding...

~Tina, who never had braces but I think the two root canals (and crowns) made up for me not contributing to orthodontia, the oral surgeons got my $$$ instead...

P.S Alex J. Cavanaugh gets the Gold Medal from yesterday's post for remembering the that summer cottage is "stuga".  Way to go Alex!

©2014 All Rights Reserved

Photo credit

S ~ Summer Vacations #atozchallenge

All Aboard! "It's Very Swedish..." a train on a cultural journey through Sweden, exploring the differences big and small between American and Swedish culture.

***

I find it rather ironic that on the day that I've planned to write about how Swedes, and Europeans in general, are much better at just plain taking time off for family and relaxing, I've done everything but that. 

For fact checking this time around, I wanted a more varied Scandinavian perspective.  I turned to to my blogging buddy, CA Heaven, for the Norwegian scoop.   He confirmed what I remembered: The standard vacation time for the Norwegian work force is 5 weeks per year. Many people can spend their vacation when they want to, more or less.  In addition to the vacation, we have the national holidays off, such as Christmas (3 days), New Years day, Easter (3 days), workers day, 1st of May, ascension of Christ, and constitution day (17 May). I think its pretty much the same in Sweden, but the Swedes have one day less in Easter, and their constitution day is in June, as you know, svenska flaggans dag.

What I remember from visiting Sweden so many summers of my childhood, is that life really slows down in the summer.  Many Swedes take their vacations in July, and a lot of them to their summer cottage.  (Quick quiz: if you were around in 2012 learning Swedish, name the word for cottage.) (Or search for it..no matter...there's a gold medal at stake people!)

I think we could take a lesson from Europe. Your life needs to take a time out.  Relax. Take enough time that you really decompress.  Your family needs you. 

What are vacation norms in your country? Do you use all your vacation, or do they make you take it or lose it?

~Tina, who needs a vacation, but when your job is your family and free-lance writing, um how? 

R ~ Rum Bar Cafe #atozchallenge

All Aboard! "It's Very Swedish..." a train on a cultural journey through Sweden, exploring the differences big and small between American and Swedish culture.

***

As I've been writing this series, I've had a lot of time to contemplate the differences in Swedish and English, as languages. OK, not true.  I haven't HAD time.  I've USED time...Swedish is much more precise, as in there are more words to choose from when trying to express an idea, and therefore one has a better chance of being understood completely.

I'm dividing the "missing in English" words into two categories. One is words we don't need because those "things" don't exist in the US.

Lutefisk is one of those words.  

Well, it's debatable whether lutefisk is really needed anywhere...

There's also filmjölk (a kefir like dairy product that tastes more like buttermilk), smörgåstårta (sandwich cake, you saw one in D ~ Dill), rutkaka:

(a special cake that I've never seen anywhere in the US, it's not a pie at all).

Jantelagen, (don't think more highly of yourself than you ought), allemansrätten, (the right to go anywhere you want in Sweden), are other words which apply to Swedish but not American culture.

Then there are the words in Swedish that can't be translated into English because we don't have a word for that concept -but words that we sure could use, like lagom, which means "just about right". There's also annandags jul, which the Brits call Boxing Day, but Americans don't celebrate it.

Of course there are many more examples, but I've been told my posts are too long...

Then there are the dangerous words.  The "false friends."  I think a story is called for here:

When I was born, lo these many (48) years ago, my Amazing Aunt Risky (see nickname tab above for info about her) traveled to Sweden for the first time to help her big sister with her first baby.  She was 16.

Out for a drive, she noticed a windmill with a sign. "Rum Bar Cafe".  She probably said something along the lines of, "Oh how cool, they have a rum-bar in an old windmill!"  Of course, that's not what it meant.

Rum, pronounced with "um" from photo albUM, instead of "um" from dumb. The word means ROOM, not rum, the alcoholic beverage.  So instead of there being a bar which specialized in rum, it was a bed and breakfast where you could get a room, go to the (completely regular) bar and/or the restaurant. Cafe means casual restaurant just like it does in English, but pronounced slightly differently, however, you only have to endure one pronunciation lesson today.

So my Amazing Aunt Risky didn't get her rum, but she did pick up a few Swedish phrases while she was there that she still uses today.  "Tack för maten" - thanks for the food. "Du är så duktig!" - you're so clever/good at.  Note that it took me three English words to convey the meaning of "duktig".

How is your language structured?  Do you have a lot of specific words?  Are any of your words part of English?

~Tina, the word-nerd

©2014 All Rights Reserved
Photo credit: Lukefisk 
Photo credit: rutkaka