Everyone Speaks English There, Right?

Negative, a big fat enormous negative. Most people know that in many countries they learn English as a second language. Sweden is one of those countries. According to the most helpful Linnea, children in Sweden today start to learn English when they are 7, learning things like numbers 1-20, colors, and my name is, the basics. So if you start at 7 and have English more or less until you graduate, how do you not speak it? To be honest I thought the same thing at first. How can you take a class for 10 years and not know it right? It even made me angry that everyone tells you that everyone speaks English in Sweden and yet a lot of people don't or aren't comfortable with it after having it for years. I mean the immersion of English into Swedish society is so noticeable to people here whose first language is English. There are stores, restaurants, signs, groceries, books, etc. that are in English (Some words in Swedish are the same as in English so it's hard to not know they are actually in Swedish...( too)). Even the Tierp sign when you enter town from the train station says Welcome to Tierp; but do the majority of people in this area know English fluently? No, not really.

I admit it; I would get selfishly angry that people did not know English here or that they seemed so freaked out that I could not speak Swedish. Sometimes in brief moments I still stand by that indignation. Even though in the back of my mind I firmly know I am in the wrong because this is not my country and I need to learn their language, not the other way around. My daughter's midwife cannot understand everything I tell her. I haven't found any practitioner in Tierp who has superior English knowledge. It's frustrating that I have to rely on Anton to do things I could normally do myself in the US, like make a phone call.  The answer hit me smack in the face. When I finally thought about how it is possible to have a class for 10 years and not retain much, it really became simple. Do I really know the dates of American history? No. I would fail miserably if asked to take a test and put accurate dates on historical events like women's suffrage (1920s?), wars, etc. and while I'm not ashamed to admit that, I would like to do something about it because I should be embarrassed by that fact. I would shame my good friend Erick, who I bet would have pegged me for knowing better.

The thing is some Swedes like Anton, my friend Pernilla, and my soon to be brother-in-law are fluent in English. Some people are close to fluent, down to many different levels of English knowledge and understanding. There are Swedes who just know the basics, and the older someone is the higher the likelihood is that they know less English. Most days I like to think my English is great and sometimes excellent. :P Yesterday when I was at the store a older man, probably late 70s, started talking to me in Swedish while I was holding a crabby Rosalind out of her stroller. I explained to him I understood little Swedish. He proceeded to ask, "boy or girl" and "her name". I answered his questions and was so excited by the fact that he even tried to talk to me after he found out I know practically no Swedish. Most elderly people would just smile and say something else in Swedish and walk away. Anton's grandparents and I cannot really communicate, but I hope that will change.

The great thing about Sweden is they offer free SFI or Swedish for immigrant classes. While this is excellent I cannot take them until Rosalind has childcare, which won't be until she is one. Therefore I am stuck not really immersing myself into learning the language. Like I told my soon to be father-in-law, it's easy to not learn Swedish with a baby around. My current understanding of Swedish is almost non-existent. I know plenty of random words, some phrases, but am terrified to use them with the Swedish people I know. Anton used to laugh at me when I first tried to learn, so it has made me nervous and anxious, not wanting to look like a fool. I should really just tell myself he is the fool for laughing because at least I am trying to learn. Anton is much more helpful now and teaches me new words sometimes, the problem is with my memory. I have a hard time remembering a lot of what I learn. I can read some ads in the newspaper and some packages at the grocery store. I understand a lot of the restaurant menus, yes without pictures. For me it is much easier to read Swedish mentally to myself then hear and comprehend. Even when I hear things I know in Swedish said aloud, my brain sometimes forgets that I know what that means. I have my moments where I impress Anton with my reading ability. It is not even good yet, but I can generally understand what something means in pamphlets, ads, newspapers, captions on tv, and some children's books.

Truthfully I am not hard on Swedes or really any foreigners who aren't fluent in English or who use things incorrectly because I can't tell you how many Americans can't even use your vs you're correctly, or to, two, and too correctly. I make errors often too. I am working on breaking myself of a few bad grammar habits like pretty as a descriptor, I caught myself actually saying me and my friends the other day instead of my friends and I. I think it had to do with the fact that I was nervous. Anyway learning a new language is challenging, and as much as I would love to learn Swedish, I feel like something is holding me back and I fear that it is fear of failing miserably. But I guess I'll never know if I don't try.