Rain Rain, Go Away

So many awesome things have transpired since I last blogged..one of the best ones being that I am officially travelling to Prague and Vienna next weekend! We have ten days off between Svenska class and university classes starting, so in true UC student fashion we banded together and decided to travel around. At first there were a few separate groups, some of the guys wanted to visit some Eastern European countries such as Lithuania, some wanted to go to Prague, and some (including myself) were interested in the closer countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, France etc. Something clicked in most of us when one of the guys mentioned Prague and then to Vienna, Austria (with some who had more time then going on to Budapest). It makes perfect sense for me to visit Prague with it's beautiful, almost Gothic-like architecture as well as Vienna..two places I haven't visited in my previous European excursions. Next struggle: okay so we want to go to these awesome places but how are we going to get there and where are we going to stay? Here enters Sara, an amazing, on top of it kind of gal who researched the cheapest flights, the cheapest transportation as well as the cheapest hostels and sending us all of the information. After a few minor complications, I am fully booked and scheduled to travel to Prague from the August 22nd-25th, and then to Vienna until the 29th. Live it up, right?

The next bit of exciting news..I OFFICIALLY HAVE A ROOMMATE! Anyone who has talked to me in the past two weeks may or may not know that I am living in an apartment/corridor on the 4th floor of Spoletorp with no roommates. I'd gotten used to coming back to an empty floor, having the shower and bathroom all to myself, but I also didn't really feel connected to it because I would just be with some of the UC girls at their corridors. Yesterday, I am sitting on my bed when all of the sudden I hear keys struggling to open the door; there have been multiple building caretakers in and out of my corridor to fix things or change locks..nonetheless I went into the hallway to greet whoever may be coming in. The door opens and I see a tall woman with blonde hair, carrying a large backpack and an even larger suitcase. It's a true moment of surrealism considering that it felt like I would be living here by myself forever. After talking for a bit, I find out that my new corridor-mate's name is Kitty, she is from the Netherlands and goes to Utrecht University, where Maura is currently doing her year abroad! It doesn't take us long to head to the System Bolaget, which is where Sweden sells it's overly priced, highly taxed, wines, beer, ciders and hard alcohols. We decided on a bottle of white wine as well as a couple ciders then headed to the market and bought food for dinner, as well as some essential food items. Alert the masses: I have started using my kitchen, hallelujah. I actually have food for every meal now, and I feel more compelled to use my kitchen and eat in my corridor because I'm sharing it with someone. Kitty and I split the responsibilities for our first meal together: she made the guacamole and I made the pasta and we toasted our wine glasses to commemorate our first meal together.