Уважаемая гражданочка!

I am now the proud parent of a pink Ipod mini! That’s the one thing I always planned on buying myself when I get rich. Now I don’t know what to buy for myself when I get rich…Maybe a new laptop [a purple one!] since the CD/DVD drive stopped working on the one I have now.

The other day, when I was still walking the snowy streets of Yekaterinburg, a car pulled over and caught my attention with the words: «Уважаемая гражданочка!» [respected little female citizen] and then asked for the right way to drive up to one of the many high rise buildings in the neighborhood. I love the Russian language. I love it because you can twist it like that, either making it a compliment or putting someone down. Depending on how you yourself choose to look at it. I choose the compliment, of course.

Вопрос к носителю культуры: «Чем занимаешься?» «Ношу культуру».

Вопрос к носителю языка: «Что делаешь?» «Ношу язык».

Now I’m in Sweden and for a whole whopping month none of the above applies to me. I arrived in Stockholm yesterday morning and had coffee with comrade Parding before taking the train to Gothenburg in the afternoon. My parents met me at the train station and then we drove home to my mother’s flat in Guldheden. We drank champagne and she cooked vegetarian lasagna and then we ate it and drank wine. I received many wonderful gifts – yes, a pink Ipod, something that I have dreamed about for a very, very long time. I know it only has 4GB. But Britney Spears will probably not do any more records in a while so for now I’m good ;) Only kidding, comrades! Take it easy. I received two big red books – “The Young Stalin” by Simon Sebag Montefiore [now I have three books by him related to Russia] and “The Tale of Vladimir Mayakovsky and His Circle” by the Swedish Mayakovsky scholar Bengt Jangfeldt. I also got a photo album, some beautiful jewelry pieces that my grandmother left behind her when she died, a black leather bag, candy and a Dove gift set. I didn’t expect to get anything at all, and therefore I was very surprised. Very surprised and very thankful.

Yesterday it snowed in Sweden. Sweden was all white when it greeted me after six months. Today when I woke up – I fell asleep last night after being up for 24 hours – it was dark and foggy and rained outside my window. I didn’t know if it was morning or still night. An sms from fröken Andersson confused me even more – it said I’ll call you this evening. This new evening or the old evening? Who knows? I hope things will get cleared up. In time, in time, comrades.

Every time I travel back to Sweden after a couple of months in Russia I notice new things about my native land. Yesterday the first thing that struck me, and that continued to strike me all day long, was how slow everything is in Sweden. In Russia everything goes fast (contrary to popular belief] and to not run across every street would seem funny and strange and a waste of time to Russians. In Sweden – the other way around. Today I’ll hit the town and then the university. Let the struggle begin!