Best of Sweden:: the language!

In my opinion, one of the top 3 most intriguing and delightful parts of traveling or living abroad is the opportunity to hear, speak, and see another language in action. Language class in high school never does justice. Once you go from French class with a teacher who has never been to France (as was the case with my public high school Madame who was actually a Spanish major in college...don't ask) to the country roads of Provence where you first open your mouth to say bonjour! to the locals, something clicks all at once and you understand that language is the most practical of all subjects to learn, the one that has to do most with the everyday, and it is an endless source of discovery as one delves into new levels of meaning, idioms, and cultural nuances.

Needless to say, learning to speak Swedish has been a major task of mine here, and thankfully I really like the language, in an of itself, without any bias. i promise. Not every language is as beautifully melodic, or as, well, cute. It's also only spoken by 9 million people in the world, which can make a learner of Swedish feel like they are wasting their time, OR that they are learning a unique, "small" language that no one will be able to understand in the grocery stores back home. (I choose to focus on the latter) Someone once told me that being an au pair is the best way to learn another language, and I can attest to this. My vocabulary grew side by side with Alexander, as he went from a blabbering 2.5 yr old to a wordy, well-spoken 4 yr old. I had to understand him and make myself understood if we were to play a game throwing fallen apples for the dog, or get him dressed, or convince him we had to leave now on the bicycle. I have always thought children who speak another language are beyond adorable...now i find myself thinking little English speakers are cute, because that it what is now outside of my norm! This video gives you a taste of the sound of Swedish, because perhaps, like me before i moved here, you haven't really heard it before. The scene is a classic pillow fight, from the viewpoint of my bed.

If you're interested in hearing more Swedish, and perhaps you could completely care less, but check out this video of sidewalk interviews done during the summer on the Swedish island of Gotland.

and ps. the top picture is my sister, on her way home from a trip to see me here, where she carried around a stub of a pencil and a crumpled piece of paper in her pocket at all times, to learn as much of the language as she could while here. what a language lover. And may I ask, my few and faithful readers, what languages can you speak? and what is on your "wish i could speak..." list?