Disco Birthday

Lovisa turned 10 years old the Friday after my arrival.  On the day of her birthday, we had Swedish pancakes and she opened her presents in her bed.  She got a computer, but her favorite present of all was an ice cream maker. 

Susanna told me that Lovisa was excited because her party was going to be a Disco Party (Perfect since she got a “Hits for Kids” CD, including Snoop Dogg’s “Sweat”-only in Sweden).  Susanna told me about how she had been searching for a Disco ball.  She told me, “Last year we just borrowed a friend’s but I figured we might as well get our own.”

So, Susanna began her search for a Disco ball.  She invited me into Stockholm with her to pick up the apparently, in high demand, Disco ball.  We went to a store that sold every electronic from headphones to karaoke machines.  From what I could guess of the Swedish conversation, she asked if they had a Disco ball.  The young man working behind the counter found a Disco ball, but it had someone else’s name on it.  Susanna had asked on the phone previously if she could reserve a Disco ball, but the worker had told her that it was against the rules.  She was disappointed.  The man working said he could call another store further in town and they would save her one.  She finally got the Disco ball on Friday morning, taking a second trip all the way into Stockholm.  I didn’t realize Disco balls were in such high demand in Sweden!

Lovisa’s Disco birthday party was so fun.  Borje grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, which Lovisa’s nine guests ate with sauce in a tube called “American Sauce”, it was pretty much the sauce that McDonald’s uses on Big Mac’s.  I thought it was funny, since there is no bottled version of the stuff in the states. 

Later on at the birthday party, the girls were listening intently to one girl at a time while they all gorged themselves on different candy variations of Swedish fish. I thought that since they were listening so carefully to one girl at a time, that they were possibly discussing different games to play.  I asked Susanna what they were talking about.  She said, “Babies that have died.”  Susanna and I laughed and laughed.

After all of that trouble for the Disco ball, the girls didn’t even disco.  They played a Swedish version of hide and seek outside.  I just love that kids all over the world do the same things to entertain themselves.