Lately Sarah has been singing a lot of songs from school - manly one called the Bear Hunt, in Sweden known as Tigerjakten (see below).
I love that something so simple as singing with your kid can make them so happy! We also sang the alphabet song, but she is still working on that. I threw her a curve ball and sang it in Swedish, but that was a bit too hard for her.
Unfortunately Sarah is not speaking Swedish. She understands a little bit, but is in no way bilingual. I think that if we could spend some more time in Sweden she would benefit greatly from that. I noticed just from our 2 ½ weeks in Sweden this summer that she got a renewed interest in everything Swedish and definitely started to pick up things.
Swedish is of what I understand one of the more difficult languages to learn. It is a very musical language, at least to the ears of non-Swedish speakers. The language is often described as melodious, with stresses that move up and down, propelled by numerous vowels. To those who read the written language without previous knowledge, the letters å, ä and ö are conspicuous. These slightly exotic letters correspond to sounds that exist in other languages, but may be difficult to understand.I have studied German and French and thought those were tough, but I have heard Swedish grammar is a pain for someone who is not Swedish. I can only hope Sarah will pick up more and more, even if she got a slow start. I am definitely intending for us to go to Sweden as soon as possible, if I work a lot in a near future I am hoping for the summer of 2008. But ideally no longer in between than every other year.
My dream is to have a Swedish summer house on Gotland, and stay there when school is out over summer. After all, I can work anywhere I want as long as I have a computer and Internet access. But that is not in our budget anytime soon, but there is hope since Ken's business is doing so good!It is tough when you are a freelancer, it is not like you get a regular paycheck you can count on. I get paid very sporadically, so often when I get a larger payment most of it will go to various bills. Which brings us to finances...
I know Ken and I are a bit different than other married couples. We both prefer to have our finances separate. I think it has actually saved us from many fights, that is usually a main stressor between couples, financial issues! Ken makes a lot more than I do, of course, but he also pays a lot more of the bills than I do.
I am responsible for all food purchases, Sarah's clothes and a lot of her other things, any costs that are just mine, my personal credit cards, my business expenses, etc. Ken pays the mortgage, utilities and insurances. Luckily our cars are paid for, and our mortgage is only about $1,000 a month left on, so that is not too bad. All the different insurances can be mind bogging: home insurance, car insurance, flood insurance, health insurance, life insurance, professional/business insurance, they all add up!
I am very lucky to have had my business now for 7 years. Since I have been so sick during this time I really couldn't have a more ideal set up; being your own boss really helps! I have gradually built up a network of translation agencies that use me regularly when they have Swedish projects, and I have noticed an increase in my income lately.
It is great that Sarah is older now, and that she this semester started preschool, which gives me more time to work. Since my business have virtually no overhead costs, except for a new computer every few years, a few other computer related costs, and some professional membership fees, most of what I make is pure profit.
It also helps having a CPA/financial planner for a husband, he makes sure I only pay as little as I have to in taxes and that I invest in a retirement fund. I am horrible with money and would not be able to do what I do without him. On the other hand I help him a lot, since my degree had a lot of emphasis on marketing, and I help him out with is ad campaigns and such related things.
So my hopes are set for Sweden next summer, but only time will see how that works out. If not my plan is to go during the summer of 2009. We will see!
Sweden, here I (hopefully) come!
3 comments:
Det låter toppen om du och Sarah iallfall skulle kunna åka till Sverige varannan sommar och vara där över sommaren. Det skulle nog inte vara några problem för Sarah att lära sig svenska då. Dessutom skulle hon lära känna sin svenska släkt och sina kusiner bättre och du skulle få chansen att mer regelbundet umgås med din familj och vara på gotland. Jag tycker det låter som en mycket bra plan. Kul att höra att det går bra både för dig och din man. Låter tufft att vara egenföretagare men det positiva är ju att du själv kan styra över ditt jobb och ha mycket mer frihet på så vis.
De har en alldeles nystartad SWEAavdelning i Tampa Bay, med tillhörande Svensk Skola, kan kanske vara värt att höra sig för där? Jag har e-mailadresser till några tjejer där om du vill ha, bara säg till! Det vore säkert kul för Sarah att träffa andra barn som pratade svenska.
Kram/Victoria
Jag har varit på svenska skolans lekgrupp, det var kul men tyvärr blir det svårt med 1 timmas körning dit och 1 timam hem igen, så det blev aldrig att vi tog oss dit mer, man har ju så mycket annat på söndagar! Har helt klart planer på att gå med i SWEA nu, har varit i kontakt med dem redan! De har precis haft första mötet, men eftersom jag inte riktigt kände mig redo så får det bli lite senare. Samma sak där, det blir långt att köra, men jag tror det kan vara värt det. Man behöver verkligen svenska kontakter här, det saknar jag, de som jag kännt har flyttat. Tack för tipset dock! Vi får se till att träffas någon gång, Victoria, det vore kul!
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