Seven

Swedish is a very difficult language.

Years ago, I tried to teach some college friends to say "seven" (sju). Or when I got really carried away, I taught them "seven seasick sailors were singing on a sinking ship" (sju sjösjuka sjömän sjöng på ett sjunkande skepp).

A bunch of us got together last night to celebrate that my friend Andrea is in town. She got married and moved to Florida last year, and this fall she is moving to Japan.

While sharing a pizza at American Pie, one friend says to another, "try to say seven in Swedish."

The friend says, "Oh, I can't."

They all look at me, and I say "sju." (Can't even begin to describe it phonetically).

Andrea says "what?" - clearly not remembering earlier lessons at 3 a.m.

"How do you do that???" she yells, exasperated. "That's, like, impossible!"