Letters from America, 1963 ~ No. 5

Update: My husband is home, on more medicines than I thought possible. I drove the 230 miles or so yesterday without incident and am getting my driving courage back. Wish I could get my SUV back too as traveling through the desert winds in a Jeep Wrangler is definitely for those much younger than I. Hubby is feeling better today than yesterday. One day at a time.......

Time for a change of pace with a letter from far away and long ago:

My fourth letter from Princeton was very short and it dealt with some sad news I received from home. So I'm skipping it and moving on to letter number 5. 

This letter has not been edited, I have just added pictures from Google Images, 1963. 

In the spring of 1963 I was 22 years old. 

Princeton, April 1, 1963

Dear mom and dad, 

Thank you for your letter, mom, and the beautiful sweater you sent. It sounds strange, but I have been looking for one in just that color to go with a pair of pants I bought. Last Saturday, a Swedish girl named Gunborg and I went all the way to Idlewild to meet a new Swedish girl who is coming to take over Gunborg's job with Mrs. H. But before that, we went shopping and I bought a blouse. Then, when I came back home, there was the sweater! Thank you, that was picking up on my thinking from far away, mom. I was thrilled!

I have a terrible cold, but other than that, I'm doing well. All Swedes here have either colds or the stomach flu. We probably need to get used to American viruses. 

So on Saturday, Gunborg and I drove to New York City in Mrs. H's large white Ford. So much fun, just us two young Swedish girls out on our own. We drove to New York's international airport out in the borough of Queens. It was a very impressive place. I never had time to really see it when I landed there, but now I saw how very large and elegant it is. We spent several hours there, walking around, waiting for the SAS plane to arrive, for Agneta to make it through customs and all that. 

OUCH, guess what's sitting in my ceiling? A big spider!! I think I better go and kill it or I will feel no peace. OK, it's done! Now there's nothing but a wet spot in the ceiling. The spiders here are not as horrible looking as the ones at home, they are more yellow than black, but there are still lots of them, already. 

Dad asked about the TV programs here. Well, I don't watch TV very much, so I can't tell you that much about what's on. But you get spoiled fast here. I can't imagine coming home to Stockholm with only one channel to watch. We can see programs from both New York and Philadelphia, so we can watch 13 channels practically around the clock.

Radio is great too. On FM radio, one can just turn the knob and listen to all kinds of music any time of day or night. But you get used to all that's available here pretty fast.

You asked about Phil, as I told you, he's English, 30 years old, an architect and an amateur actor. He's a bit shorter than me, but looks pretty good for an Englishman. He has lived here for 10 years and sounds more American than British. I'm also beginning to completely lose my British accent, unfortunately. You can pick up some pretty bad English here because the kids have the TV on all day long and they speak horrible English on children's TV shows. 

All those cartoons can't be healthy for the kids to listen to so much. If they were my kids, the TV would not be on that much during the day, but, on the other hand, with four kids under five, it's nice to be able to park them in front of the TV and get a break. 

Thank you so much for sending the dl measuring cup. Now I can bake. I hope.

Hugs, Inger

(Yes, I still have my little measuring cup.)

Letters from America, 1963 ~ Letter No. 3

In this year's A to Z Challenge, under the letter L, I shared  a composite of the first two letters I sent home to my parents in Sweden after I moved to Princeton, N. J. in the winter of 1963.  My first job as a mother's helper in the U. S. did not work out and after getting everything straightened out with that family, I got a job in Princeton. The family had four kids under the age of five and they were a great family.

I had planned to share the letters earlier, but it became a bit difficult, looking back. Since so many enjoyed reading about my first impressions of this new country, and since some of my observations are pretty funny, I have decided to continue posting them. Except for a few items I removed, this letter is unedited.    

We'll see how it goes........

In the spring of 1963, I was 22 years old.

On Nassau Street, Princeton, N. J. 1964 ~ What's up with my hair?

Excerpts from my third letter from Princeton, N. J.

Princeton, March 3, 1963

The snow has almost melted, the sun shines from a deep blue sky, and spring is in the air. I'm happy, very happy. After a tough beginning in America, things are working out for me. With mostly deciduous trees, many of them flowering, cherries, magnolias, and so on, spring in Princeton will be gorgeous, I am told. Yesterday, Mrs. Smith gave birth to a son, named David. This is great, they can be playmates now, the four of them, and good friends for the rest of their lives. 

I went to another Thursday night party, those of us who work as mother's helpers have half Thursday and all day Sunday off, so it looks like they arrange parties so we can go. There are American girls there too. Americans are very, very nice to socialize with. They socialize a lot and it looks like they have to go out and meet people, have parties, and go to parties in order to get somewhere within their professions. And here in America, there's something called "dating," which seems to mean that one can go out with a different guy most nights of the week and it is not frowned upon. And if two young people like each other, they can "date" exclusively. Like looking around for a husband or just having a good time. Not sure yet what it means exactly. I am pretty sure though that teenage Americans are not as "advanced" as those in Sweden.  

I met that Englishman again at the party. His name is Philip and he's really funny and very nice. He's coming to pick me up soon and we're driving to the Delaware River and Pennsylvania. It will be fun to see some of the surrounding areas of New Jersey, which is a very pretty state. 

New Hope, PA

Hugs to everyone, Inger