A Swedish-American's favorite mail...

A care package from home! Soooo excited.

Mt Baker skiing

God jul!

Lakrits' twin!

Not really his twin, but they sure do look alike! And since the other guy is a lab-newfie mix, I would say we know a little bit more about what Lakrits is.

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Bärplockare (Berry Pickers)

Because of our generous laws concerning private land (see “Allemansrätten”), in recent years there has been an influx of foreign nationals that come to Sweden to make some money.  Most of them arrive in the late summer to pick berries in the forests of the north, but many soon realize that what they were told in their home countries (“You can make thousands of dollars by picking berries and selling them to suppliers! It is all there, right at your fingertips, because the Swedes are too lazy to do it themselves!”) was not strictly true.

In fact, scrupulous companies are lined up to take advantage of them and many leave the country with less money than they had when they came. Not only is this a huge tragedy because of the exploitation of  (often third-world) foreigners, it has also lead to some conflicts in the small towns that find themselves overrun with poor berry pickers in need of food and lodging. A lot of natives claim to see a rise in the number of thefts and burglaries during the berry season and thus this has lead to animosity towards them. Many local (and national) governments are trying to deal with this new phenomenon by imposing laws governing the Swedish companies that hire these workers, but still there seems to be a new scandal every year.

Quiz night

North Kitsap hiking

Went hiking by Kingston today- it was so incredibly beautiful I started crying... Leaving this place is going to be so hard.

Båstad

Everything that is wrong (or right, I guess) with Båstad

Every year, all the brats that usually hang around Stureplan (see “Stureplan”) in Stockholm decide they want to go party somewhere else and invade the small town of Båstad on the west coast. There is a tennis tournament going on during the day, and bleached blonde partying at night. Everybody else despises this group and the new, obnoxious “trends” they create each year to show off their wealth. The latest one is called “vaskning”= washing, which consists of buying two bottles of champagne in a club and then pouring one out. Charming. Make sure you visit Båstad during this week; if you still have some hope for mankind, it will quickly cure you.

Reindeer bar

Brännvin

Brännvin is a potato- or grain based type of alcohol that literally translates to burning wine. Vodka is a type of brännvin but there are many others, like aquavit. It can be clear or flavored and is often drunk as a shot, or snaps.  The most famous brands include O.P Anderson, Bäska Droppar and Aalborg. Popular flavors include dill, fennel, elder and caraway. Are you a fan? Show your love for brännvin on Facebook.

 

I live...

In the most beautiful place on earth.

Beer pong night!

Brännboll

For the untrained eye this game might seem very similar to baseball. It is played on a diamond shaped field and has four bases, but the rules are a lot different. Two teams compete, one in the out-field and one in-field. After a pre-determined amount of time, they switch. Points can be scored by both the in-and out-field team by doing things like hitting a home run (usually 5 points), getting to home base (1 point), catching the ball with one hand (2 points) or “burning” someone. That is when the catcher, who plays a much more prominent role in brännboll than in baseball, gets the ball in home base and someone is running in between bases. There is no pitcher, so the striker simply throws the ball up in the air and takes a swing at it. If s/he misses three times, s/he gets to walk to first base and the game continues. There can be more than one person on each base.

Once you are down with the basic rules of brännboll, it is time to step it up and start playing beer-brännboll, which is identical to the original but involves drinking at each base. Students love brännboll because it is so easy to set up and play wherever there is an open field. Some universities organize tournaments but it is not a real sport and you can’t play it professionally. Want to know more? 
Check out this amusing explanation from an American exchange student, who calls it “baseball for anarchists”.  

Snugglebear

Christmas prep

Boxer-Robert

An animated character created to promote a cable company called Boxer. He has a square face, black glasses and brown hair in what in Swedish is called “backslick”, meaning it has been styled away from the face. Boxer-Robert is mainly interesting because he looks so much like crown prince Daniel (see "Daniel Westling"), despite appearing on the national scene way before he did. 

Bainbridge island public house

Jess accidentally brought the wrong computer home so we decided to meet halfway and swap- only I forgot to bring hers... So we just ended up having a nice dinner together!

Bollibompa

 

Bollibompa! Bolli-bomp-bomp-a! It is a tune that will haunt Swedish children forever. At 6 PM (or was it 6.15? Damn, I am getting old) the classic intro of the country’s oldest children’s programming starts. Since it is on public television, it is super educational and features things like Claymation from Eastern Europe and series based on special needs kids or feminists with pink hair. It made us all better people. Look up Björne on Youtube if you want a real trip. I grew up with him, a bear living in a strange shed whose best friend is a snail.

 

Craft night 4, scented wax

Craft night 3, coasters

Craft night 2, bath salts

Craft night 1, bottle vases