"My seed of linguistic determination began to flower the week I arrived to Sweden. And I would need determination. The Swedes, to my bowel-emptying surprise, speak English on par with Americans. I had to assertively remind people to speak Swedish more times in the first three weeks than I could count. Nonetheless, my Swedish proficiency bloomed steadily.but not fast enough. Waiting for a hypertonic Swedish environment to diffuse its way into my noggin wasn't my style. I like to take the Viking by the horns, so to speak."

Gorgeous blond women, subarctic temperatures, liberal socialism, and...