Countdown - 3 weeks to go

I hereby announce this blog open.

Littleswedishblog is here so that family & friends are up-to-date with my adventures during my littleswedishtrip. Right now I am on the countdown to departure - I have my ticket, passport and a signed leave form - in three weeks time I will be winging my way to Stockholm via Bangkok.

I have resumed my Svenska lessons (which had been on hold during my broken jaw experience) and am up to lesson 8 of 10. I am not sure of the value of said lessons as the lessons seemed to be written around the idea of a young American man speaking to a young Svesk woman, with him offering drinks and meals - I don't think I will need to know many of the phrases as the only person I am likely to invite back to my place is my husband (and he speaks English). However, it is fun to learn, and hopefully I can learn enough to understand a little of what's said around me. I think the reading component will be more helpful as it will help me know how to read place/street names so that I can ask for directions if required (although if they answer me in Svenska; what I am looking for will either need to be here (har) or over there (dar botta) otherwise I wont be able to understand them).

With 21 days to go, goals for the next week are:

• research what Dr. M & I are going to do with our rare and precious weekends during the trip
• sort out this blogging business (how to get it looking the way I like, learn how to insert photos etc) and load a swedish font so that I can use the extra letters in the Svenska alphabet (those a's with the funny things on them)
• finish the oral component and start the reading component of the Svenska lessons
• pay all the bills and try and figure out if any are going to come in while I am away

Hej da!

(that's goodbye for those of you who haven't finished the first lesson of Pimsleur's Swedish 1)