I have the best work schedule! Or perhaps not when I am out traveling for four weeks in a row, but when I am in DC. We have something called alternative work schedule, which means that I work for nine hours (minimum) for nine days and then I have every other Friday off. So every other Thursday evening when I come home after work, I know that I have three whole days away form the office before me. It is a lovely feeling! I do have to do quite a bit of work that I need to do this weekend, but just the feeling of not having to wake up early, to not have to freeze all day because insane air-conditioning, and to be able to wear whatever! So now I am vegging out in my sofa, watching TV and eating Dumlekolor. It is my favorite candy so Julia and Eva-Marie brought three 350 gram bags. I.e., they will last a while… What I am going to do this weekend except for work? I don’t really have any plans for now. And actually, right now a bag of Dumlekolor and a few days off feels like all I need!

A few days ago, something was flying around in my apartment and I prayed (not really of course) that it wasn’t any disgusting bug like a flying cockroach. (Do they even exist here??) When it sat down on the wall, however, I saw that it was a little ladybug. They are so sweet and the first one in the season is always a sign of spring. So when it sat down on my hand a day later, I let it out through the window. But then the other day, something was flying around again, around Eva-Marie, Julia, and me. Something which turned out to be the little ladybug again. Maybe a little pet? Or a room-mate?

So I have had guests here these past weeks. It is lovely that so many are coming to visit. During my two years in Moldova, Jessica, Jonas, and Mia with her husband came to visit. In fairness, Andreas also dropped by but mostly because he was in Romania and I wasn’t the only person he visited. Now, after 1.5 years here, I have already had 12 people visiting! Although I though Moldova and Chisinau very nice and exciting, I guess Washington is a somewhat more attractive tourist destination…

Anyway, I am so glad everyone is coming! A few weeks ago, Tesse came to visit for a week. Like I wrote below, we spent the weekend in New York, but we also had some great days in Washington with a lot of focus on dinners and shopping. It was around 40 Celsius though for a few days (around 100 F) so things were a bit slow for us.

Tesse in Alexandria

Takeaway from Five Guys

About a week after Tesse left, Eva-Marie and Julia came to visit for a few days.  Eva-Marie and Julia were my neighbors were I grew up and I used to babysit Julia and her brother from when she was about three months. But now she is an adult and both she and Eva-Marie are like family so it was lovely to have them here. We spent a lot of time walking around in the city and just catching up. When I hear about Julia’s life, I sometimes wish I was 23 again – life was so free and undecided then!

Lunch at La Fourchette in Adam’s Morgan

Eva-Marie at La Fourchette

Julia and Eva-Marie at the weekly DC event Jazz in the Garden

At Jazz in the Garden

I have been to NY every other weekend for the past month and a half. First I went up to visit Elisa, Julian, and baby Dario, and stayed with them in Brooklyn for a few days. We had a very relaxing weekend, mostly hanging out at Elisa’s wonderful terrace where there is an amazing view over Manhattan, and occasionally leaving the apartment for brunches and lunches at neighborhood cafes.

Lovely Elisa and gorgeous little thoughtful Dario

Two weeks later, I went up to Manhattan with Tesse who was here visiting for a week. This time, we stayed at SOHO Grand – a super designed hotel in the middle of SOHO, and had dinner at trendy restaurants such as Schiller’s (though we ended up next to a Swedish couple there – what are the odds?!). Saturday night, Elisa and Julian had a big party so we also went out to Brooklyn for a few hours. Since both Tesse and I have been to NY many times, we didn’t do so many touristy things but we did visit the recently opened High Line. It’s an old train track above ground that has been made into a park. It is amazing, completely surreal and so lovely. They have planted a lot of different kind of grass in it which makes it smell like in a field. If you have a chance to see it, I can really recommend it.

 

Last weekend, I went up there again with Eva-Marie and Julia who have been here for a few days and are spending the rest of their U.S. stay in New York. We spent half a day in Central Park, did a lot of shopping, and went to see Mama Mia one evening. I had never been to a Broadway musical before so it was fun to do. The music was great of course as were the singers! And it is so much fun to see performances live!

Two beautiful Swedish ladies: Eva-Marie and Julia in Central Park

Julia and I outside the theater

Today I had my first swim for the year. It feels crazy that it is almost midsummer and I still haven’t been in the water. But unfortunately, there are no real good places for outdoor swimming in DC and my building does not have a pool. Fortunately, some of my friends live in buildings with pools and so I have somewhere to go when it gets too hot. (Otherwise, the American way is to stay indoors, drinking iced soda and watching TV with the air-conditioning on.) It was wonderful to energize a little in the sun and I enjoyed the fact that I was not on my way to the airport and a three-week mission, which was originally the plan for today. After having had afternoon lunch (or lunner as I call it) with two new Swedish acquaintances, I spent the rest of the evening at Barne’s & Noble. I love spending time in American bookstores! I always get inspired and want to learn new things when I walk into them. There are just so many books there, and I really get the feeling that any type of knowledge is available (almost anyway). This time I picked up a book that my mom recommended me: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I look forward to many more lazy Sundays at the poolside this summer!

In the end, my three-week mission got canceled. It happens sometimes as the needs regarding team composition change. So for this particular task, I will go later this summer instead. I was a bit disappointed because I was looking forward to the assignment as well as to spending a couple of summer weeks in Bucharest (which was where I was going). But at the same time, I have a lot to do with the other assignments that I work on, so the extra time that I gained is well needed. Not to mention the fact that the two and a half months that I will now have had in DC before going away on vacation in August is probably a record long period for me here. So I look forward to having some extra time this summer in my new home town, to for once get to celebrate midsummer properly, and to lazy weekends by somebody’s poolside. Tomorrow, I am going hiking again with the Capital Hiking Club. It will be lovely to get out in the nature again, though I hope the tempo is slightly slower than last week….

Saturday, I joined Martin and one of DC’s hiking clubs for a hike in on  the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park. It was a very nice day, perfect for a hike, and the nature was amazing. We climbed the highest peak in the park and the view was amazing. It was a lovely day, but I have to say that this hike was a bit different from others that I’ve done: it was SO fast! Too fast for me who is a bit out of shape. I slowed down eventually, but for the first 45 min, they hiked so fast that I didn’t even have time to take out my camera, or even look at the environment around me. All my focus was on keeping up and on looking where I put my feet. But I am hooked and looking forward to going out again soon.

I am not even sure how to translate what we call this day since due to a world record in keeping peace, this is not an independence day, like other countries have. It is simply our National Day, the Day of Sweden, or similar. Later this evening, I will attend a picnic at the Swedish Ambassador’s residence, but before that, I unfortunately have to dedicate this day to analyzing agricultural expenditures in one of the countries that I work with. First, I will however, clean my apartment and listen to my favorite Swedish radio show: Lantz i P!. For the rest of you who want to celebrate the Swedish National Day, how about listening to the Cardigans or going to IKEA and having some Swedish meatballs with lingonberries for lunch? Or how about just spending the day thing of how your country can stay out of wars for 200 years? Though I know that this has not been without questionable sacrifice, I personally think that this is probably Sweden’s greatest achievement!

Yesterday, Monika and Willy invited on a picnic at Great falls with them and their friends. Great falls is a national park located about 20 minutes from DC and it was wonderful to get out of the city a bit. It was also fun to experience an American picnic. Monika had cooked amazing food (for obvious reasons, I was not asked to bring anything!) and I ate all afternoon. The main difference from a European picnic though was all the things that we brought along, which included chairs, enormous coolers filled with ice and beverages, mosquito repellent, an umbrella, and an enormous amount of any type of disposable item that could ever be necessary. The key is the car of course. Since we parked only a few minutes walk from the actual picnic location, bringing along anything that comes to mind is no problem. And to be honest, we did have a very enjoyable day and we had everything we needed!