SFI

Swedish For Immigrants (SFI pronounced SFeeeee) is a free service provided to most immigrants.  We are entitled, by law, to Swedish language classes.  They even try to incentivize it and if you pass all the levels you get a cash prize.  In order to get a job in Sweden you must speak Swedish.  Now, I don't have any aspirations to work in Sweden but I'm always hearing how knowing more languages will enhance your resume. Since Luganda has really brought the big ones, like the UN, knocking at my door I thought another language only spoken by 9 million people in the world could be advantageous (please catch the extreme sarcasm in this sentence). More than anything, I thought SFI could be an interesting place to meet more people and learn the basic beginnings of Swedish which can help in my everyday greetings.

The invitation letter is in Swedish! Don't they know I don't know Swedish?  This is why I am taking the class!

So I signed up and got my assigned place and went 2 weeks ago.  My class is in an immigrant neighborhood known for its crime and racial/religious tension.  Perhaps oddly, I am finding some kind of relief walking those streets to class.  It's more "real life" to me than my safe neighborhood.  Twisted?  Maybe.  And keep in mind this is Sweden so I am still very safe.

There are 6 others in my class: 1 Bulgarian, 1 Serbian, and 4 Syrians.  No one speaks English.  My teacher is from Spain and has been living in Sweden for 20 years.  She also does not speak English.  It is very interesting learning Swedish without any translation.  It would be impossible with the mix of people in my class but I still wish my teacher would help me out once in a while.  We have colored worksheets, the teacher has conversations with us that I can't follow, and sometimes we go on the computer doing listening and matching exercises.

Language has never been my thing.  I'm terrible at hearing sounds and memorizing vocabulary and grammar is always a challenge.  My motivations for learning Swedish are pretty low so the reality of me sticking with this program is not too high.  I'm o.k. with that.  While my next masters class hasn't gotten too intense yet and I am enjoying walking through Rosengård, I will go to SFI and see what I can learn.  So far it's brought some great laughter and new friendships.

On the first day I had to fill out an information card and I had to write down an emergency contact.  That's such a strange thing when you are new somewhere.  Who do you put down?  I ended up putting my friend Youngim from my masters course and I texted her this update to which she said, "Sure, no problem.  If you die I will wait for the call from SFI." She makes me laugh so much sometimes.  A few days after that I had a headache at school.  I went home and got a text from her asking how I was feeling.  I told her I was resting and going to be fine. I thanked her for her concern.  She replied, "After all im ur emergency contact :-)" While I didn't meet Youngim at SFI, in a way SFI is bringing us closer together. (I should also mention that Youngim met her husband at English language school so she's also my inspiration for meeting someone at SFI. There's hope!)

My Swedish is getting so good that when they sent me this message before the 2nd class
I already knew it was telling me classes were canceled because of a storm.
But seriously, why do they write in Swedish?! I'm in the course for a reason.

At SFI we are encouraged to go home and watch Swedish TV, listen to Swedish music and practice speaking with Swedes.  When my teacher found out I was American she told me I should watch the show Allt for Sverige, a reality TV show about 10 Americans who came to Sweden to discover their roots.  Now, I thought reality TV in the States was ridiculous, combining Swedish TV with Americans is just too much for me.  I mean come on, there is a woman who thinks she's Swedish royalty and has been slaving away in Texas. Where do they find these people!  One woman even gets down and kisses the ground in the airport!  Also, take note they brought them to Sweden in the summer.  When it is warm, sunny and the most beautiful.  The only redeeming quality for me is that it's in Swedish and English. But I don't think I will really be learning much Swedish from watching this show.

Allt-for-Sverige

Well, it's Monday and I'm off to SFI. Adjö!