I was driving to pick up my wife from the train station today, and I noticed a beautiful sunset – colors of pink were across the sky, and swirls of purple clouds whisked above. It was beautiful, and I realized that the sunsets are one of the things I like most about Sweden. (the sunrises are fantastic too, but that means I’m up earlier than I’d like to be 😉 ) It’s such a simple thing, but one that humbles and keeps me grounded.
So, as we go off to Hong Kong, I am left with the memories of the beautiful sunsets we have seen while here on this trip, and instantly longing for those sunsets when we return in a few months.
sunrise breakfast with the little guysunrise breakfast with the little guysunrise breakfast with the little guysunrise breakfast with the little guysunrise breakfast with the little guysunrise breakfast with the little guysunrise breakfast with the little guy
In a few days we go back to Hong Kong. Family members have been asking if I am excited to go back, and I tell them I have mixed feelings.
On the one hand, I like Sweden, but there is less socialization opportunity here for the little guy in our current situation – especially the winter. On the other hand, while Hong Kong has tons of potential things to do and see, it is a bit exhausting sometimes there. Things are a bit more complicated than they need to be, and so on.
In addition to this, it is no breeze to fly with the little guy anymore, as he likes to move around and is getting more opinionated about what he sees/has in his hands/eats/experiences. Also there’s the jetlag, which is not super fun.
On the plus side when thinking about jetlag, now is a good time to press the “reset” button on any routines of habits regarding sleep that we don’t like with the little guy. Like for example he is currently waking up a couple of times a night, so I can use this opportunity to take another crack at effective sleep training and making sure he is being set up for success to sleep thru the night.
Lots of positives always about both places, but to me I guess it is just important that both feel like “home.”
As a former vegan, I never imagined I would one day say that one of the best things I know of to eat is Moose meat. Yet here I stand, writing to the world about how good it is. In Sweden, if you live outside of Stockholm, Göteborg, or Malmö, you likely have an Älg (Moose) hookup. Either this is a hunter who you know who will give you some, or a hunter who will sell you some.
It is not farmed in any way, so there is absolutely no chance that it has been injected with any of those funky things that farm-raised meats can have in them. Depending on how you view hunting, it is either a service or a disservice to animals and their population, but Swedish Moose hunters have a really interesting perspective – for example they will not kill a mother Moose and leave the young one – either they take them both or neither. So the Moose is highly respected here, and I feel super lucky to have to opportunity to eat it regularly.
Of the “wild meats” (vildfårs in Swedish), Moose is above Deer, Reindeer, and Wild Boar, in my opinion. I think for me this is because Wild Boar can be really tough (but makes stellar sausage), and Reindeer is not really wild (it is kind of raised by the Saami people in northern Sweden – a story for another post). I think one of the things I like about Moose is that it is super diverse.
When I say diverse, I really mean it. You can cook it straight up, for example by grilling the steaks. Earlier this week we had some bits in a stew, today we had Moose tacos, and last weekend we had Moose burgers. It’s also lean, but not so lean that it is hard to work with (like it doesn’t get super dry too quickly). If ground, it also works blended with other meats, like beef and pork.
So, if you are ever presented with the opportunity to try Moose meet, give it a shot, I promise you it will be worth it and you just might get as hooked as I am. 😉
Moose Burgers covered with sautéed onions and mushrooms
There are some wonderful things that happen culinarily in Sweden between Christmas and Easter. First, the traditional drink, Julmust (christmas drink), gets a name change to Påskmust (easter drink), although there is no difference between the two. Second, a variety of eating days come and go, such as pancake day and waffle day. Nonetheless, one thing that everyone is pumped about almost immediately after Christmas is Semla.
Maybe not “everyone”, but at least I am excited, given that I have only been in Sweden for 4 years. As you can see from the image below, it is a rich thing to eat, so you don’t eat it very often, and when you do, you enjoy it. Semla has a sweet cardamum bun with “mandelmassa” (almond paste) in the middle, and then a layer of whipped cream.
I think the story goes that it is tied to Easter, when people were fasting during Lent. Once a week on Tuesdays, they ate something rich, and it was Semla. Eventually they stopped with the tradition, but according to Wikipedia, the average Swede eats 5 bakery-cooked Semla a year, in addition to the homemade ones. I only eat 1 bakery-made one per year, and then if I happen to be somewhere that they are eating them I will have one there as well – they are super tasty and I’d love to eat them as often as I see them, but I just don’t need the extra sweets 😉
One of my favorite flavors in general is that of the truffle. The earthy aroma of truffle oil, for example, is enough to make my mouth water right now as I write this. And for me, this means that basically everything “truffle” is amazing. Truffle salami? Yep. Truffle oil on pasta? Yahoo! And then there is the pinnacle of use of the truffle: Truffle Potato Chips.
I have tasted truffle potato chips in a few different countries, but none of them even come close to the truffle potato chips here in Sweden. When you open the bag and the smell hits you in the face, you know immediately that you will finish the bag in one sitting. Both my mother-in-law and my mother also share this love for truffles, and I have never opened a bag and finished them later when it is me and either of them. What can I say, these women have good taste, just like I do! 😉
I think what makes these chips in Sweden so delicious (the ones I like are made by Gårdschips) is that they taste just like truffle. Not some fake variation of truffle like the French truffle chips I once had. The chips themselves are also a little thicker and super crispy – if you are American, think of Kettle Chips, and if you are Swedish think of Svenska Lantchips. So if you add them together you have a perfect combination of flavor and crunch that is amazing. Now I think it’s time to go open a bag 🙂
Something has been fascinating to me since the little guy was born. When he laid there on his mother’s breast after the long struggle to actually be born, he looked aware, alert, and full of thought.
As the days, weeks, and months have flown by and I have seen him learning, doing new things, and go about his day, I wonder, “what’s going on in that brain?” What does he think about when he is looking at two objects? Or, when he seems so engrossed in playing with something, what’s going on in his mind?
To take it another step further, there’s the question of how he is thinking, too. How does a tiny little person with no language think? You know what I mean? Like he does not know how to say “I want to play with that ball” – so how does he think it?
Maybe it’s some kind of internal non-verbal language that we all have before we learn other languages or some kind of instinctual connection and understanding we have with ourselves. Like when I want to take a sip of my water, I don’t think “I must now take a drink,” – I just do it.
It’s a circular discussion because it is not something we will ever know, but my money is on some kind of animal/primitive instinctual, internal understanding we have deep inside that eventually develops more structure as the language center forms and our brains develop. But who knows? It’s cool to think about, isn’t it?
The little guy has started reading. Yep, he is just under 15 months old, but he takes a book, sits down (or during a diaper change), and reads it out loud.
Ok, ok, he does not know what he is doing. And he does not say actual words. But he is “reading” out loud, just like we do to him. It is the cutest thing ever because he is just going “blah, bli, xcai, plio” on and on, and he is therefore reading in his mind – and this to him, is satisfying.
It does make you think: is this what it sounds like when we talk to him, assuming he only knows a few of the words we are saying? For example, if I say, “little guy, you’ve gotta eat your dinner so you are not hungry later, ok?” He probably understands, “little guy, you blah eat you blah you blah not blah blah, ok?” Fascinating how we learn, isn’t it? 🙂
I wrote a few weeks ago that the little guy indicated to me that he wanted me to change his diaper by sitting on his changing mat and handing me a diaper. I thought it was either because he is getting an increased awareness of his body or he just liked the new “throw the diaper away” game. It turns out he definitely has an increased awareness of his body.
The last few days, he has done a few things that indicate this. First, the farting. He knows when it is coming, will pull up his shirt, hit his stomach, and then a few seconds later, “pthththhhhh” – followed by him laughing. At dinner, while eating, and even in the bathtub – farting followed by laughing. Next, the penis. He has found it, and he seems mildly fascinated by it during diaper changes and baths. Today when changing his diaper he actually got angry at me for closing off access to it when I put the diaper on him.
He is also aware of when he either pees or poos, and he will grab his diaper, or start walking towards the changing mat if I ask him, “did you poop?” Also, when he is hungry, he will grab or pat his stomach, as if to say, “hey, I am feeling some hunger pain, you’ve gotta solve this now.”
So, it is an interesting new era that we go into where the little guy is aware of his body and more and more, it’s functions. Not sure if I’m ready for it, but here we go 😉
I have been a little concerned because the little guy has basically a 1-word vocabulary. 2 if we stretch it. It is either “dah” (the thing I am pointing at) or “mamammamamama” (I want something). But then again, he also says nana (for mom) and dada (for me). Nonetheless, he is not really using a lot of actual words.
His comprehension is quite extensive in both English and Swedish, which is cool. For example he knows what a bunch of animals are, who different people are, a lot of “things”, and so on. But his actual speaking is not there yet.
To be fair to him, he is only 14 months, so he shouldn’t be speaking much, and I was a late talker myself. Additionally he comes from a 2-language household, so that also delays things. At the last checkup the doctor told me that at 18 months they expect an 8-word vocabulary. That’s not too far away!
So you can imagine my excitement and happiness when he was getting changed yesterday morning. He held his stuffed animal towards me and said without hesitation, very clearly, “titta!” This is a Swedish word that means “look”, like if you want someone to look at the thing you are driving by, you say “titta.” I was super pumped to hear this because I use this word a lot with him, but not as much as some words, so I have a feeling those other words will make their way out soon.
Until then I’ll just keep reading to and talking with him, asking him questions he can answer. 🙂
As I sat in the dark room of the little guy waiting for him to fall asleep, I looked outside into the snowy landscape, and a cyclist rode by. In the US, riding a bike in the winter is for those hardcore cyclists or the mildly insane. There is little/no place for people to ride on the roads (although that is rapidly changing), and that means winter cycling is dangerous. In Sweden, however, it is just a way of life for a lot of people. Many people ride bikes as their form of transportation simply because that is what they do, and there are pathways for pedestrians and cyclists all over cities and small towns.
One thing that aids in these winter cyclists endeavors is the use of studded winter tires. That’s right, just like car tires, they change their bike tires in the winters to handle the snowy paths. It was crazy to me to see that there were so many people riding in the snow my first year here, but when I saw the tires I felt a little better about it.
Do they get in accidents anyway? You bet! I had a person who worked for me that one day came to a meeting very banged up. She told me that she had just had her “accident for the winter.” For her, every year she gets in a bike accident during the snowy season, and apparently it is pretty standard. So, before you run out to get some studded tires, think about getting this helmet, too 😉
A Father on Pappa Leave 