Bliss at the waters edge

There’s nothing quite like sitting on a rock at the edge of a Swedish lake, on a warm summer afternoon, reading a book and drinking a thermos of coffee. The quiet, occasionally interrupted by the yells of excited children or the splash of an adult, is almost more than one can bear.

It has to be one of the greatest feelings.

Mirinda had taken the girls for a walk leaving me to possibly the loveliest Reading Hour I’ve ever had. I even had a mid-read doze.

When Mirinda returned, she went for a long swim, almost reaching the island to the left of the photograph above, before turning back.

It came after a morning spent at SFI. I was once more sitting with Djouma (after a lot of confusion, I discovered that I was right after all regarding the spelling of his name) and helping him. I am really find this helpful for me as well so I hope he lets me continue.

We had a good laugh when Dina explained to everyone that she doesn’t wear anything to bed and, if she feels cold, she just ‘cuddles’ up to her husband. The new American woman thought this was a bit too much and yelled out, “TMI! TMI! Too much information!” in that annoying way that some Americans do. I thought it was just funny.

It followed on from the teacher, Arij, telling us that it was 47° in Dubai when she was there a couple of weeks ago. She also told us that she doesn’t open her windows at home. Ever. At least I think that’s what she was saying. It was in Swedish, after all.

After the break, we had two chaps come into the classroom and tell us about the new series of språkkafé being organised in Vagnhärad and Trosa. The one who told us all about it was quite funny and seemed to be a jolly sort of chap. I told Mirinda about the new dates because she’s been interested in going to one.

The highlight of the class, for me anyway, was when we all had to pair off and ask each other questions and respond accordingly. Most interesting was Dina and Elouia chatting in broken Swedish while neither of them understood each other’s native language, Djouma and I doing the same and the American woman complaining to Arij that she and Irina were not working out because they didn’t understand each other.

What made it so interesting is that I like most of my classmates but this new woman is going to be difficult to like even while we share a native language. Though, to be fair, her struggling is reminiscent of my first week when I thought it was all impossible. Now, three months later, I feel like I’m actually getting somewhere.

I am also having fun, which helps a great deal. So much fun that it makes me exhausted enough to sleep on a rock.

There has been a vast improvement in health at the house. Mirinda is now back to normal and Jason actually ate three meals today, which is normal for him. He is still making some disgusting sounds and thumps his chest in order to move around the fluid, but I think he’s well on the way to a mend.

In fact, as we drove in after the visit to the lake, he was just returning from an actual walk. So things are definitely on the up.