I got to Alingsas yesterday at 10:30 and we then went back to his house. He disapproved of my flip flops for our first outing of the day: going into the forest to find mushrooms. He gave me his daughter's clogs and we went for an hour long hike trying to find yellow mushrooms. It was so peaceful and beautiful, and it was definitely a good change of environment from the Dungeon. Anders pointed out a bunch of the poisonous kinds, so I now know what type of mushroom to eat should I get lost in the Swedish wilderness. Handy knowledge! We ended up with about half a bag and went back to the house. For a pre-lunch snack, in typical Anders fashion he put an unidentified jar of something in front of me, spooned it into a bowl and told me to eat it. I had whipped cream to go on top, so I knew it would be sweet, and it turned out to be canned plums. SOOO GOOD! One of the best things I've had at his house.
After the snack, we went on an outing because Anders has a lot of plans to renovate his house. He had a lot of questions for me since he needed a woman's opinion, (his words, not mine), and he said he would name one room the "Rachel Room." We went to a Home Depot like shop and he told me to pick out wall paper. I didn't see anything I loved in the first place so we went on to a second store. There, I found some great wall papers and I think Anders will pick it up later. I kept asking him if he liked the wall paper and he said that it was my choice. I pointed out that it was his house and his decision, but he said it is my room. Oh, Anders, haha.
Once we got home, we went out to the garden and he gave me plums to eat from the tree, and I also tried one of the apples. Then we sat at the kitchen table cleaning the mushrooms that we had found. For lunch, he fried up the mushrooms and put them on toast. Also pretty good, but what wouldn't be good with that much butter, salt and pepper? We then went for a brief walk to the church nearby which is a pretty cool building with grass on the roof. There are little cottages behind the church closer to the lake where people can stay. It was then around 4:30, and I was feeling a little tired, so he sent me to the cottage for a quick nap.
I came back to the house at 5:30 for an early dinner and we then left for a secret destination at 6:15. Anders was pretty dressed up in slacks, a collared shirt and leather shoes, and he disapproved of my "slippery shoes," (my summer strappy sandals). I reassured him that they would be fine for whatever our activity was. We arrived at a building at 7:00, and it was a large reception area. We were going dancing! My grandma had asked Anders to show me the Hambo, a traditional Swedish type of dance, (click HERE for more info), and so he was making good on his promise. There was a large room with a stage at the front where a live band was setting up. Anders and I made our way to the dance floor and he stuck by my side for the first 30 minutes as the instructors took us through some moves. The instruction was in Swedish, so I had to learn by watching, and luckily Anders was a pretty good teacher. The first dance wasn't too hard, and then we learned "Oh, Suzanna." It was pretty funny to be dancing what felt like an American line dance with around 50 or so 60-75 years olds. Children of the greater Alingsas region, I probably danced with your grandfather.
After the 45 minute dance lesson, the real fun was supposed to begin. The dancers were all pretty experienced and knew what they were doing, but it ended up feeling like a hybrid of two amusement park rides to me: Tilt-A-Whirl and bumper cards. I was spinning and spinning and spinning and hitting the people around me! I had different dance partners for each dance, and I immediately tried to tell them that I only spoke English and this was my first time. Mostly I received blank stares in return, but a few older gentlemen were kind enough to try to teach me. One man, however, continued giving me Swedish instructions; I'm just guessing based on his hearing aid that he didn't hear me tell him "English only" 3-4 times. After stumbling through several of the advanced dances, I bowed out and stood on the sidelines to watch. How did they make it look so easy and slow when I felt like I was going 70 mph?! It was a very fun experience, though, and I am certainly happy that Anders shared this with me. He goes to dance once a week and has been doing that for around 30 years!
On our way out of the building, he introduced me to one of his friends, Christina. They have known each other for those 30 years of dancing. She was so energetic and full of life and I immediately loved her! She kept repeating that "Life is wonderful!" and she just seemed so happy. She seemed to be living a wonderful life filled with the things she loves and surrounded by family and friends. Anders and I listened to a CD of the live band on the way back home, (which he then gave to me of course), and we then drank some wine in the cottage. I fell quickly asleep after my lively evening. What an experience! Check out the video below of Anders dancing:
This morning, Anders had made an "American breakfast," complete with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, canned plums and whipped cream, and a flower. He really spoils me! It was another great trip to see Anders. He is planning on coming to my games on Saturday and I hope to see him one last time next week. I have been so lucky to spend so much time with him, and he has made such an incredible impact on my time in Sweden!
Also, this evening, I received this email from Anders regarding proper dance shoes. "US 9 ½ corresponding to 41 in Sweden for ladies. Do you want a small heel on? I think you don´t need it here in Sweden but if you shall start dancing in New York it should be better because the people are taller there. The heel is just an inch. And the appearance!!!"
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