Lötsjön Park

I apologize for the looooooooong break from posting. I had prepared a new post for just a few days after my last one. When it failed to upload, though, I spent an entire evening trying to get to the bottom of it, which I never did. That put me off the whole thing for a while, but now I'm back and ready to make it work at all costs. So brace yourself for some rapid-fire posts, mostly photos, to cover the last two months!

Here's a quick look at the park near my apartment in Sundbyberg, Sweden. It's my favorite place to run, walk, and observe Swedes firsthand. Last week I ran a 5.7km race in this park. There was no snow for the race, of course! This is just a great place to see Swedes running, walking dogs, and pushing strollers. Within the park complex lies two lakes, a miniature golf course, a preschool, a soccer field, a playground, and many bird-watching points.


Also, I am pleased to report that I aced my first pop quiz in Swedish, which implies that I have a fairly decent grasp of the most basic Swedish verbs and phrases. The language itself is not all that difficult, but the pronunciation is nearly impossible to grasp at first. There is a rhythm and a rhyme to this language that I am gradually learning. But trust me, no matter how many Swedish words an American learns, he really has no chance speaking Swedish in a conversation unless he's figured out the accent. It's fun to try out the language with Swedes, because they generally admire foreigners who at least try to speak their language. Last night, I played some ping-pong at a club and felt very comfortable releasing "Ja!" and "Mycket bra!" after crucial points went my way (translation: Yes! Very good!)