September 1996

Well here we go with another letter, but I assure you that it won't be as long as the last few. Now that I'm 27 I just don't have the stamina to sit at the computer for long periods of time. Boy am I getting old, where has the time gone to? 

Well work is just fantastic. I absolutely love this job, I don't know why I didn't go into primary teaching sooner. It's certainly a lot more mind stimulating doing something entirely new ( 6+9 =15 and nouns, verbs and 
heaven help the children,,, spelling!!!!) . When I first started in August the nights seemed to pass so slowly (Craig was away) and I couldn't wait to the start of a new working day,, don't worry, I'll soon get over it. 

All of the staff are so friendly however the timetabling, and Swedish curriculum are so confusing and very different from the norm. My Swedish improves minute by minute whilst at school as the children find it so funny 
that I can't speak Swedish and have made it their job to teach me. During staff meetings the English teachers are taking it in turns to interpret for me, I feel like such a burden. During playground duty I take a Swedish / English speaking child around with me. Boy they amaze me, being fluent in two languages by the age of 6. 

My hours each day are from 8 - 4 pm but on Fridays we finish at 2pm (hopefully Craig and I will be able to use this to our advantage for our weekends away.) The children start at 8.20am and finish at 1.40pm on Mon & 
Wed and at 1pm all other days. Pretty bludgy hours if you ask me. During the course of the week the children have to have 320mins (everything is worked in minutes) of Swedish, 160mins maths, 240mins English, 80mins each of science,social studies and gym and 40mins of music. Specialist teachers take the children for Swedish, gym and music. Today however, the Swedish teacher was away and I had to take the children for 40 mins of Australian Swedish. Boy did I cram hard last night!!! 

The children I teach are great, I've already got them wrapped around my little finger. I have 27 in the class, 16 of who are girls which makes life much easier. The schools' policy is that the children have the same teacher for two years running, so I'm afraid that when Craigs' contract is over we're still staying!!! He'll have to get it extended somehow. 

The weather here has been excellent over summer, even though it was only an eight week summer. We even reached a top of 30 degrees two days during the heat wave. The Swedes were dropping off like flies. Winter has hit rather dramatically though and it's just getting worse by the day. What have I got myself in for?? 

Three weeks ago I went on my first Hash run ( this is not named after the illegal substance!!) and had so much fun. I think Craig has told you about his many hash run adventures. A friend of our has been trying to coax Craig onto a run since we've been here but with not much success. Craig wants to of course but hasn't had the time. Anyway I felt sorry for this friend always having his invitations rejected so I said that I'll go instead of Craig. In total it was a 5km run but with 2 drink breaks along the way. We started at a pub and finished at the same pub for the aftermath and an initiation ceremony for myself and another guy. We got given a "Down, Down" which was a pint of beer we had to skull on the count of ten and whatever beer was left in the glass by the time they got down to "1", we had to tip over our head. Well naturally I couldn't finish the beer in time but I wasn't going to wear it either, so I tipped it over the guys' head who was being initiated with me (he had finished his beer).. Craig came home the following week just in time for another hash run. This time it was the second anniversary of the hashers in Stockholm and we were taken to a secret location (which turned out to be an archipelago island) for a day of crazy activities. We were dressed like Indians complete with feathers and war paint and the 30 of us made quite a picture to the onlookers. I can see now why hashers are "drinkers with a running problem!!" 

Craig and I had lovely Swedish birthdays. For my B'day we went out to a restaurant (a rare experience over here due to the expense, ie, on average a main meal would cost between $40 - 50 Aus) and had a terrific night overlooking the lights of Stockholm and the water. 

Two nights later another fellow teacher and I had our "Kick-in" party at work. As it is the crayfish festival season they put on a big seafood banquet, and we provided the entertainment,,, Swedish tradition can be so embarrassing!!!!! We had to make our party hats (the one that I made was in the shape of Australia) and then organise a few of the skulling toast. Swedes skull a snaps after every 3 crayfish. After my first couple I had to pretend from then on,,,, Swedes are terrible drinkers!!! 

Following the party, Craig, together with two friends and a hired car picked me up and we drove 3 hours to our friend's summer cottage for the weekend to celebrate Craigs' and his work friend Jonas' birthdays and for yet another crayfish party. This cottage is over 100 years old and in the typically swedish red and white colours with no electricity, wooden stoves and furnaces and a well from which to get water. The following day we helped Jonas to prepare his moose hunting lairs as the hunting season starts in two weeks. Moose can be pests like kangaroos back home. 

Craig has been away in Taiwan a lot lately as it's his new project. Unfortunately it looks as though he'll be having two weeks here and two weeks there per month until the end of the year,,,, not good!!!! ,,, but the frequent flyer points are excellent!! Well, that's about all for now, 

hej da (See you)