Oh, one series everyone tells you to watch is "Torka aldrig tårar utan handskar", or "Never dry tears without gloves". It's about two guys who fall in love and then get AIDs or something, I haven't watched it but EVERYONE says it's really great. You can watch it without subs here, I'm sure you can download English subs or find it somewhere else with subs. I keep meaning to watch it but forget.
Also, the series I am watching right now is "inte värre än andra" or "not worse than others", and it's about a family where all but one member uses sign language and a loser tv crew (with no knowledge of deaf people etc.) goes to film them for a documentary. Only the first or second ep is out so far and I have only seen the first ep but it's funny. I plan to sub it eventually... if I don't find out someone else is.
Oh man, that last one sounds totally heartbreaking! ;_; But it also sounds really good, so I'll look for it. :D I'm always looking for more series to watch - for some reason I tend to watch more TV than movies? But some of the movies you linked to above sound really interesting - so I'll see if I can track them down with English subs. :D
I have definitely watched plenty of Japanese things without subs, and since I know a little Japanese, and am trying to learn more, it tends to go better for me than when I try to watch a Scandinavian series, and pretty much understand nothing at all if my eyes aren't glued to the subtitles. ;) I do always think it's funny when there will be a random sentence in English though! I was noticing that a lot with the third season of Forbrydelsen (which I just finished over the weekend).
You should definitely check out The Bridge/Bron if you can though - it's really, really good. Especially if you like crime dramas/mysteries, I think you'll really like it. The main female character (who I believe has Asperger's, but they never formally mention what her condition is) is really brilliant in it. :D I think the second season is airing now...
The only mystery/detective series I've ever liked have been Monster and Sherlock Holmes so I'm not so sure...
I do neither, I'm a NEET who lives with his wife ;_;; I used to go to school in Iceland but when I came here they said I needed gymnasium Swedish credit in order to go to Uni (which exchange students don't need, but I need since they're treating me as if I'm a Swedish citizen). So I have to take a Swedish language test to get credit and be able to apply for courses. My plan is to apply for some chef courses that don't require Uni-level anything, but they were full this year so I have to wait until fall of next year before they can start. I'll try to take the Swedish exam in May or so.
And I have some problems, mainly being horribly depressed and almost blind and have no work experience, so while I probably could have found some kind of job by now I haven't been looking very hard. When you study in Sweden you always get some weeks' worth of internship, like if I do this one-year chef course I get like 40 weeks of internship, so I'll have experience after that. Plus will feel more confident about my Swedish.
The sad thing is, it's not just in tv, Scandinavians (all Nordics) really do use random English. Sometimes it's "oh shit!" and sometimes it's phrases or just random words for no reason. Icelanders tend to use full sentences in English but Scandinavians use single words or sayings more.
I have started learning Japanese too!! But right now I just study courses I've made on Memrise. My wife is a lot better than me at Japanese but I feel bad about studying too much since I'm not exactly perfect at Swedish (or Icelandic/Faroese). But if you ever want to learn some Swedish, just let me know, I can write lessons for you.
Well, I suppose it depends if you're turned off by violence and/or crime scene type gore, I guess? If that sort of thing doesn't bother you, then I think it's a really solid series that you'd enjoy, whether you're excited about the mystery aspect or not.
Ah, okay - that sounds really interesting! I hope you're able to work out something out with one of those internships. I've always thought it would be a lot of fun to live in another country, but it seems like they all have their annoyances/hoops you have to jump through as a foreigner to make things work. @_@
I've been trying to learn Japanese off and on for years, and it's just...so hard. ;_; I feel like I've made next to no progress, but my husband and I are actually going on a trip to Japan in a couple of weeks, so I'm trying to brush up on what I've learned, and am hoping that once I'm there it'll all come back. Yeah, languages are hard! @_@ Sometimes I feel like the only way to really learn is to be completely immersed in it, like you must be with Swedish!
That's a common misconception. You can live in a country, live in a household full of native speakers even, and still not learn a thing. I know from firsthand experience, but there's actually plenty of people who live like that too, even in Japan (I know one of them who's lived there for three years now and they don't know ANY Japanese...).
With Japanese you should first memorize the radicals that make up kanji. This will make it tons easier to memorize kanji. Then as you learn a word, memorize both the hiragana and kanji forms right after one another. Not only is it faster to recognize in real life then, but also it's faster to memorize when you have to basically memorize the pronunciation twice (once for hiragana form, once so you can type the kanji). And you should only memorize words that you find from real life - for example, I made a Memrise course full of common words I pulled from Japanese anime subtitles, since I just want to watch anime without subs.
Normally when learning a language I pull words from something I want to learn how to read, or something I was trying to read. That way I've seen the words in a real context and I can go back to that same thing to practise them too.
Memrise is like a flashcard site, only it's made by some memory specialists. It'll alert you (via Email or just on the homepage without a mail) when you have words you should review. Each time you get a word right in a review, it takes longer for it to show up for review again since you're remembering it correctly. And the site is made so that you can just spend five minutes a day on it if that's all the time you have, it'll still work and be good.
Since I started using it, I've learnt a LOT. So I think it's really great. Some people complain about the vocabulary lists, but if you find that's a problem, just make your own lists like I do.
Also you can check out my blog here, I think the older entries are better since I'm running out of ideas on what to write all the time: http://tipsforlanguagelearning.tumblr.com/
Also, living abroad... is MUCH MUCH better than living where I used to live, which was America. I'd never go back. There's an incredible amount of things that are better here, for example healthcare, everyday-use technology, pollution, food quality, and how people treat you. Education is also free, so I can get ten degrees if I want and it's at no cost. If you're transsexual you get free sex-change surgeries, if you want you can have your parents or grandparents move to retirement homes here even if you're just living here and not a citizen yet.
There is some trouble when you don't know the language. But everyone here knows at least basic English (usually much more than that) and everyone is very patient and completely willing to speak to you entirely in Swedish and teach you things if you want. If you go to the doctor, all Swedish doctors are required to also be good at English, so there's no need for a translator.
If you're a person who is really set in their ways, who won't try new food or has no interest in how other people act, then you would find it very difficult. I've learnt that it's not a matter of "changing who you are" to fit in with natives, more like the more you know about the culture, language, and the more native friends you have and the more you live in the country, the more you understand things from their point of view and can agree with them (at least in a way). The more you act like a native the more comfortable they will be around you - if you just imagine some really weird foreigner always doing confusing things and always forcing you to realize how much you two were different, it's the same thing, it's hard to treat them just like another native/normal friend if they're putting jam and ketchup on their ice cream and always having weird opinions...
But it's really not that difficult to live abroad. Even when you go there and don't know a thing of the language (which I have done). You just study as hard as you can so you don't embarrass yourself, and go to the grocery store and buy stuff then use the dictionary to find out what it is you're actually buying... It's really fun I think. Knowing the language is best, and saves a lot of time and you'll have a better time if you know it, but don't let that stop you.
The bigger thing is just what kinds of friends you make. I've had both terrible and great friends. If people don't realize that you're "being dumb" due to cultural differences, if they make fun of you for being bad at the language, if they don't want to talk to you in their language, that's a bad friend and you should dump them, they will make your time miserable. But you could find a native who is good at English and their language and is good at teaching, who invites you to all their cool native dinner parties and festivals and trips, who is really patient with you and never makes fun of you, who will help you translate stuff even if it's something really weird.... !
Also, you may have a bad time in one area but find out it's a lot better in another part of the country. It sounds like it tends to be that way. So if you do move somewhere, if you are having a bad time, try moving around if possible. For example, I hear Tokyo is a hellhole but other places are awesome, it was the same with me in Reykjavík, it was a terrible place to live (due to the people mostly) but I got hope for other places in Iceland since everyone I knew from outside of Reykjavík was a lot nicer and more understanding and not crazy.
Also!! Just remember this isn't the 1600's, you are definitely not the only foreigner from your country (or foreigner in general) no matter where you move. So there are other people who can help you or natives who are more used to foreigners than others. If you get depressed and feel like you need people who understand you, you can go somewhere else where there are more foreigners (but I don't recommend that).
Yeah, I think as with anything, a lot depends on your attitude, too, as far as what your experience will be like. I know people who've moved to foreign countries and have never learned the language, others who have become fluent quickly, and others who continue to work at it and struggle. I think there are a ton of factors involved as to what kind of experience you have, and I agree, your choice of friends and who you choose to surround yourself with definitely makes a difference no matter where you are~
And I am not surprised at all to find that you enjoy many things in Sweden more than in the US! I've often heard good things about healthcare and just...general well-being and happiness - being connected to that part of the world. So good for you for ending up in what sounds like a pretty awesome place! :D
Thanks for the recommendation for the memrise site, also - I'll definitely check that out. ^_^
Haha, well, I didn't move here by choice and I don't particularly care about Sweden. I want to try living in Japan in the future too. But if I were to choose the best place to live as an old person or as a person with kids, I would choose here. I mean here, even if the kid's mom speaks some super tiny language, they will hire a tutor for your kid who speaks the language so they can get what they call "home language" education. Even homeless people are not actually homeless (There are NO homeless people in Sweden who don't specifically choose to be homeless - all the beggars and homeless-looking people I've ever seen have homes and are just Romani who don't even live in Sweden or speak Swedish or English), they get nicer government-paid flats than many people in America even have... And absolutely anyone who works gets a pension no matter who or what they worked for.
http://swestream.se/torka-aldrig-tarar-utan-handskar-s01e01/torka-aldrig-tarar-utan-handskar-s01e01-video_65d7fd459.html
Also, the series I am watching right now is "inte värre än andra" or "not worse than others", and it's about a family where all but one member uses sign language and a loser tv crew (with no knowledge of deaf people etc.) goes to film them for a documentary. Only the first or second ep is out so far and I have only seen the first ep but it's funny. I plan to sub it eventually... if I don't find out someone else is.
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I have definitely watched plenty of Japanese things without subs, and since I know a little Japanese, and am trying to learn more, it tends to go better for me than when I try to watch a Scandinavian series, and pretty much understand nothing at all if my eyes aren't glued to the subtitles. ;) I do always think it's funny when there will be a random sentence in English though! I was noticing that a lot with the third season of Forbrydelsen (which I just finished over the weekend).
You should definitely check out The Bridge/Bron if you can though - it's really, really good. Especially if you like crime dramas/mysteries, I think you'll really like it. The main female character (who I believe has Asperger's, but they never formally mention what her condition is) is really brilliant in it. :D I think the second season is airing now...
So are you going to school in Sweden? Or working?
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I do neither, I'm a NEET who lives with his wife ;_;; I used to go to school in Iceland but when I came here they said I needed gymnasium Swedish credit in order to go to Uni (which exchange students don't need, but I need since they're treating me as if I'm a Swedish citizen). So I have to take a Swedish language test to get credit and be able to apply for courses. My plan is to apply for some chef courses that don't require Uni-level anything, but they were full this year so I have to wait until fall of next year before they can start. I'll try to take the Swedish exam in May or so.
And I have some problems, mainly being horribly depressed and almost blind and have no work experience, so while I probably could have found some kind of job by now I haven't been looking very hard. When you study in Sweden you always get some weeks' worth of internship, like if I do this one-year chef course I get like 40 weeks of internship, so I'll have experience after that. Plus will feel more confident about my Swedish.
The sad thing is, it's not just in tv, Scandinavians (all Nordics) really do use random English. Sometimes it's "oh shit!" and sometimes it's phrases or just random words for no reason. Icelanders tend to use full sentences in English but Scandinavians use single words or sayings more.
I have started learning Japanese too!! But right now I just study courses I've made on Memrise. My wife is a lot better than me at Japanese but I feel bad about studying too much since I'm not exactly perfect at Swedish (or Icelandic/Faroese). But if you ever want to learn some Swedish, just let me know, I can write lessons for you.
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Ah, okay - that sounds really interesting! I hope you're able to work out something out with one of those internships. I've always thought it would be a lot of fun to live in another country, but it seems like they all have their annoyances/hoops you have to jump through as a foreigner to make things work. @_@
I've been trying to learn Japanese off and on for years, and it's just...so hard. ;_; I feel like I've made next to no progress, but my husband and I are actually going on a trip to Japan in a couple of weeks, so I'm trying to brush up on what I've learned, and am hoping that once I'm there it'll all come back. Yeah, languages are hard! @_@ Sometimes I feel like the only way to really learn is to be completely immersed in it, like you must be with Swedish!
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With Japanese you should first memorize the radicals that make up kanji. This will make it tons easier to memorize kanji. Then as you learn a word, memorize both the hiragana and kanji forms right after one another. Not only is it faster to recognize in real life then, but also it's faster to memorize when you have to basically memorize the pronunciation twice (once for hiragana form, once so you can type the kanji). And you should only memorize words that you find from real life - for example, I made a Memrise course full of common words I pulled from Japanese anime subtitles, since I just want to watch anime without subs.
Normally when learning a language I pull words from something I want to learn how to read, or something I was trying to read. That way I've seen the words in a real context and I can go back to that same thing to practise them too.
And of course use Memrise!! Here is my profile on there, if you already have an account or join you can add me as a friend: http://www.memrise.com/user/Risgrynsgroet/
Memrise is like a flashcard site, only it's made by some memory specialists. It'll alert you (via Email or just on the homepage without a mail) when you have words you should review. Each time you get a word right in a review, it takes longer for it to show up for review again since you're remembering it correctly. And the site is made so that you can just spend five minutes a day on it if that's all the time you have, it'll still work and be good.
Since I started using it, I've learnt a LOT. So I think it's really great. Some people complain about the vocabulary lists, but if you find that's a problem, just make your own lists like I do.
Also you can check out my blog here, I think the older entries are better since I'm running out of ideas on what to write all the time: http://tipsforlanguagelearning.tumblr.com/
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There is some trouble when you don't know the language. But everyone here knows at least basic English (usually much more than that) and everyone is very patient and completely willing to speak to you entirely in Swedish and teach you things if you want. If you go to the doctor, all Swedish doctors are required to also be good at English, so there's no need for a translator.
If you're a person who is really set in their ways, who won't try new food or has no interest in how other people act, then you would find it very difficult. I've learnt that it's not a matter of "changing who you are" to fit in with natives, more like the more you know about the culture, language, and the more native friends you have and the more you live in the country, the more you understand things from their point of view and can agree with them (at least in a way). The more you act like a native the more comfortable they will be around you - if you just imagine some really weird foreigner always doing confusing things and always forcing you to realize how much you two were different, it's the same thing, it's hard to treat them just like another native/normal friend if they're putting jam and ketchup on their ice cream and always having weird opinions...
But it's really not that difficult to live abroad. Even when you go there and don't know a thing of the language (which I have done). You just study as hard as you can so you don't embarrass yourself, and go to the grocery store and buy stuff then use the dictionary to find out what it is you're actually buying... It's really fun I think. Knowing the language is best, and saves a lot of time and you'll have a better time if you know it, but don't let that stop you.
The bigger thing is just what kinds of friends you make. I've had both terrible and great friends. If people don't realize that you're "being dumb" due to cultural differences, if they make fun of you for being bad at the language, if they don't want to talk to you in their language, that's a bad friend and you should dump them, they will make your time miserable. But you could find a native who is good at English and their language and is good at teaching, who invites you to all their cool native dinner parties and festivals and trips, who is really patient with you and never makes fun of you, who will help you translate stuff even if it's something really weird.... !
Also, you may have a bad time in one area but find out it's a lot better in another part of the country. It sounds like it tends to be that way. So if you do move somewhere, if you are having a bad time, try moving around if possible. For example, I hear Tokyo is a hellhole but other places are awesome, it was the same with me in Reykjavík, it was a terrible place to live (due to the people mostly) but I got hope for other places in Iceland since everyone I knew from outside of Reykjavík was a lot nicer and more understanding and not crazy.
Also!! Just remember this isn't the 1600's, you are definitely not the only foreigner from your country (or foreigner in general) no matter where you move. So there are other people who can help you or natives who are more used to foreigners than others. If you get depressed and feel like you need people who understand you, you can go somewhere else where there are more foreigners (but I don't recommend that).
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And I am not surprised at all to find that you enjoy many things in Sweden more than in the US! I've often heard good things about healthcare and just...general well-being and happiness - being connected to that part of the world. So good for you for ending up in what sounds like a pretty awesome place! :D
Thanks for the recommendation for the memrise site, also - I'll definitely check that out. ^_^
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Second Samurai Flamenco fic is out!
http://archiveofourown.org/works/1027110
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