Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Trick or Treat Translation

How do you say "Trick or Treat" in Swedish? This year we had a very special Halloween, as we had friends from Sweden with us for the festivities.

When I was a freshman in high school, my family hosted a Swedish exchange student, Lotta, for the year. While she's been back to visit the States a few times through the years, we've never had the pleasure of meeting her husband or her two sons until now.

Seth and Reed were curious how they would communicate with Karl and Melker, boys their same ages who speak very, very little English. And it was interesting to watch their first meeting, as they awkwardly tried to engage each other in play. However, it didn't take long. By the time we donned our costumes, they were arm in arm like lifelong buddies as they traipsed from house to house getting their goodies.

It turns out "Trick or Treat" is an easy phrase to learn. We could hear Karl say it with gusto at each neighbor's door. In the end, the four fast friends had a great time together, and somehow Karl and Melker found room in their luggage to carry all of their sugary loot.

2 comments:

The Coker family said...

That's really neat that the boys got to meet them. I'll never forget at your rehearsal dinner when someone at the table (a former roommate of Tim's) asked her what language they spoke in Sweden. He was a little embarrassed when she informed him that they had their very own language there.

Rachel said...

How fun! I love watching kids and how little the language barrier affects their friendships. It's such an inspiration!