Hej

So when I got here, I heard people saying "hey" to each other and thought they were speaking English. Stupid American. "Hej", pronounced "hey," is hello in Swedish. You'd think I would have known that before coming to this country. One more thing I forgot to do before I left was learn some of the langauge. Last night I went to eat dinner at my hosts' house (who are 2 married professors) with them and their 11-year-old daughter, Cajsa, who is insanely beautiful and smart. Their home was awesome...very modern, clean lines...and they LOVE IKEA here...I thought it'd be like American products that we don't care for but that foreigners love, but it's not. They really do have IKEA stuff all over their homes. For dinner, Eva made cod and shrimp in a white sauce (the Cod, interestingly enough, was from Alaska...apparently the cod around Sweden is all fished up at the moment) with asparagus, new potatoes, and salad (which we ate without dressing). For dessert, we had strawberries and Swedish ice cream with truffle bits in it...everything was delicious. Mats walked me home and we crossed a river that I recognized from a picture I had on my computer...so pretty. By the way, Sweden is amazing for so many reasons...as an example, when you have a baby, you get 1.5 years off with 60% salary, and you get to decide whether the wife, the husband, or the grandparents (if they are not retired) will take the time off!! Maybe we'll have our children here.......Today after a few meetings, Martina took me on a walk through the city and to lunch at this park on a high hill overlooking the city (see the pictures, along with a picture of a Mallard for Mark). I had Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes with lingonberry sauce...awesome. We walked home through one of the oldest parts of Vasteras, complete with cobblestone streets and really small doors. I'll have to take some pictures later. Right now, I'm just happy because I'm full of meatballs and I got to talk to my husband and my puppy for the first time earlier today. Mmmmmm, lingonberries......