Our home is almost ready!

Today, Femke’s parents Jelle and Piun came over to help us fix the last few things in our home. Their knowledge, tools and sheer energy have been an invaluable support for us when turning our apartment into a home. Femke and Pin laid the carpet in the hallway while Jelle installed spotlights and lights in the hallway and kitchen, and helped us with a number of other things. I tried to do whatever I could, but next to these expert DIY:ers, I am but an amateurs.

You see, in Sweden, the homes are more or less complete when you move in, with proper floors and walls, fixtures for curtain railings and even plug holes and hooks in the ceiling for lamps. So you never learn how to do all these things, unless you are renovating a house of your own (and even then, you wouldn’t touch the electrical system as it is illegal and requires certified electricians).

But I learned a lot from my Dutch family, and now, our home looks brilliant. Pin & Jelle – thank you so much for all your help!

In the evening, Maarten popped by and we had dinner together the five of us. Then, Femke, me and Maarten went down to our neighbours below to celebrate Hyshil’s 25th birthday. Congratulations!

Opera and riots, kind off

Next to our house, there is a school’s playground. This Friday, a new wall painting was inaugurated with speeches, wine and food. Our house was also used as a stage for a kind of performance, with children from the school acting on two of our balconies and in the window of our neighbours below. To top it off, an opera singer living on the same street, was singing from the balcony of our neighbours upstairs.

The kids were of course all excited, but everything went well, despite a shower of drizzling rain just afterwards. Although, when the organizers were trying to hand out candy to the children on the playground, the local kids went completely berserk. Sadly, it reminded me more of handing out food to desperate and starving people somewhere in a region hit by draught. Tables and benches were turned over and slightly bigger boys pushed away the smaller ones and the girls.

It was all rather disgraceful, but a good mirror of how many of the boys are fostered without limitations, rules or guidelines, just roaming around on the streets, while the girls are kept on a very tight leash.