Greetings from Järna!

Does Heinz sell organic kethcup in the States? Mattias insists that they must, but I've never seen it. Everything here seems to be organic, has a little sticker that says KRAV. Nothing seems to be Kosher though. "There are very few Jews," Mattias explains, except he says it "Yews."
But I shouldn't talk, my pronounciation of Swedish is terrible. "Talaar nee Engelska?" I ask phoenetically, and even though they do speak English, I have to say it three times before they understand my crappy Berlitz Pocket Dictionary stylings. When I tried to tell my friend Mikael I like the Swedish band Dungen, I got a five minute pronounciation lesson and it still sounded to him like I was saying a Chinese word. Yesterday Mattias took me to buy the new Dungen cd, just released here yesterday, not in the states yet for a few weeks. The shop was closed but Mattias knows the guy who owns the record store (and the record label Dungen is on), so we got to go in and buy it at a nice discount. "Nobody knows this," the guy said, "but the studio where this was recorded is down those stairs. It's the perfect, how do you say, front--a reggae shop in Stockholm." I say he gave us a nice discount but, still, American money ain't worth a George Bush. Yesterday I went to the cafe line at the Modern Art Museum and picked out a little shrimp salad, no price marked. $18! My, my. But the view was worth it, it's a beautiful town. And it's a beautiful day, sunny, summery... I'm going to clean the lingonberries and porridge out my bowl and head on out. Tack!