Summer School in England

Me and my sister went to England to learn English when we were 12
and 13 years old. It was decided that we were not going to live in the
same family since that would only result in us talking Swedish.

I remember I felt older in the new haircut I had just before the
journey. There is an old photograph from the airport. I was wearing
jeans, and my sister was wearing a dress.

We said goodbye to each other at the airport and followed our new
parents to their cars. As we drove home I answered all sorts of
questions. There were two Germans living in my family as well. One boy
and one girl. I thought the girl looked like a weak boy.

In my sisters family there was another girl from Sweden. Maybe it was
organized that way because my sister was younger than I, I don't
know.

Jennifer and Henry had two small children so it was quite a big crowd
that gathered around the dinnertable every day.

Five minutes or so, away from our house, was a girl called Anette
staying. Her landlord was a retired, quite elegant lady and without
Anette she had two mail students staying in her home. Anette told me
she and the boys really liked the landlord. She taught Anette different
things; like the importance of taking care of ones elbows. It is
necessary to scrub those elbows if you want them to stay soft and
beautiful, the landlord explained to Anette.

But she could be hard sometimes as well. The food placed on their
plates was to be eaten, no matter what. And so the clever children put
the food they didnt like in the plants soil. It worked for one or two
weeks but then she discovered them. They were punished with house
arrest for a whole weekend...

Jennifer helped me do my homework. I was reading about British
traditions and behaviour. It was all the tea drinking, of course. And
from my book I read loud to Jennifer, that the English people lined up
more often than other nationalities. Jennifer disagreed on that and
told Henry about what was in my book and they had a little discussion
about it. Because Henry thaught it was right, what was in my
book.

And I remember Steve, my English boyfriend. He was very cute with
blond, curly hair. Although I bragged about him to my friends, I forgot
about him soon after I had come home and didn't even bather to write to
him once. I didn't think of him until next summer. Coming home from
that years summer school I met one of the girls from last year at the
airport, and she had been to the same place once again. And she had
been Steves girlfriend the whole month this year.