Swedish lessons

Our life here really is taking off. Jose, Anna, and I had our very first Swedish lesson! Its been a dream for us to learn Swedish and try to reclaim some of our lost family heritage. The closest Swedish lessons I have found to Healdsburg are in San Francisco and ridiculously expensive, so we thought it might be a dream we couldn't fullfill. Then, suddenly, in the most surprising of places, we found Swedish lessons in Mexico City!

Our teacher is a blonde Swedish woman who has lived in Mexico since 2004. She speaks Spanish, English, and Swedish. We are learning Swedish in Spanish, which is a really interesting experience because we are all working on our Spanish simultaneously. For now it works, but we might need to switch to English when we get to more complex Swedish.

We have class 2 hours a week in a Starbucks in Polanco, a nice area of Mexico City. It takes about an hour each way to get there, but we only use one metro line and then board a bus that drops us off in front of the Starbucks. It takes awhile to get there, but it is exceptionally direct and fast considering how big Mexico City is.

The first class was really fun and laid back. We learned numbers, family relationships, and the basic I speak.../I am from.. sort of thing. We have been practicing throughout the day with flashcards and quizzing each other. Jose already has the numbers down perfectly. Jose and I have taken our Swedish to the park and studied while Cholula ran around. We went to a cafe this morning and made family trees with our relationship to each person in Swedish. By the second class we are determined to know everything from the first class like the back of our hand.

We are going to study hard, and learn everything we can from the teacher and with our own materials and research. Hopefully we can visit Sweden sometime in the next few years and return to our great-grandparents' homeland speaking the language. It will be our own "Return to Sweden!"

We are really excited about starting a new language and having something to focus on and improve. In addition to Swedish, Anna and I are taking an Economics class online from a California community college. If Swedish is considered a college class too, that's like having 7 units and that is pretty decent. Already I feel more productive and fulfilled. I'm not losing out on opportunities now, I'm actually learning things I couldn't have in the United States and I'm making improvements to my life that will always help me.

-Emma