Things were tricky from the get go. I can’t say it is the
Swedish parents of the kids at Little Swede’s pre-school, because most of the
kids there are ‘mutts’ like mine (half Swede, half something else), but the
parents at this pre-school just don’t talk to each other. Now I am shy, and
appreciate the Swedish attitude of ‘don’t feel obliged to talk to anyone as it’s
not necessary and often uncomfortable’ most of the time because I am naturally
shy and totally an INFJ on the Myers Briggs scale (which might explain why I
like it here so damn much). But even I think saying ‘hi’ to people who you have
something in common with like ‘hey our kids go to the same school’ is a nice
touch and not a social burden.
But fine. The parents maybe mutter out a little hello, if
forced. Some insist on staring at the ground and pretending that they just didn’t
hear you. And thus I was pretty terrified of how we would breech the whole ‘Hey
my kid wants to play with your kid, can we make a play date?’ subject. I mean Little
Swede plays with the neighbors, but he LOVES his classmates and asks about them
CON-STANT-LY (as 4 year olds are incredibly gifted at doing).
So I agonized over ways to approach some of these ‘stare at
the ground, whatever you do don’t make eye contact’ kind of parents. Put a
letter in the cubbyhole with our contact information? Try to catch them in
person at drop-off/pick-up? Arrange a telephone contact list by pinning a note
on the back of the door? Which would be the least antagonistic way to make sure
Little Swede could hang out with some friends?
Thankfully before I had to make a decision I received a text
message. Apparently that is how you make play dates in Sweden. One of the ‘stare
at the ground’ parents was too busy to say hello, but sent a text message
implying that her 4 year old was badgering her equally about the need for a
playdate, and might we possibly want to come over one day.
Apparently, the tactic she pursued was tracking us down on
Gula Sidorna and then sending us a text message. Good to know for the future
(although I am willing to shake things up a bit).
I really hope my pre-school is just a bit quirky in this
department! How did your kids get Swedish playdates?