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.

How I Procrastinate On Swedish Homework..

I'm quite aware that I'm the most charming thang this side of the Mississippi.

Sverige, Sverige, Svenska!

Yesterday, I was determined by my own annoyance and frustration to finally purchase a bike. After Svenska class, a few of us were escorted by Hubert to a used bike store where the owner specifically likes to sell to students who can then sell it back and received half the price back. I found this lovely gold(ish) bike, and decided to test it out; if you know anything about me, you may know that I have a huge fear of falling off bikes...which comes easily with being a little over 5 ft. 1. My anxiety level skyrocketed when I sat on the seat to find that my tippy tippy toes were barely touching when I leaned to one side..and I saw that terrible, undeniable bike fall/fail I would have if I purchased this particular bike. So I nixed it and asked the man if he had any other bikes that were a tad shorter, he brought me to his underground shop into a room filled with bikes where I had to pass his 4 year old German Shepherd laying on the ground. He immediately showed me a bike that looked like it belonged to a 14 year old boy in a BMX competition, when I showed a lack of interest he showed me another blue bike which seat could be lowered to fit me. After paying extra for a basket (which is incredibly crucial, and pretty much the whole point of a bike), and a lock, I had only paid about $140! To make a long story short, riding around on a bike on cobblestones is not very easy on the baby maker or tush, but I believe that I'm slowly building up a tolerance. It's been really fun to bike to and from class, and it makes visiting Kristen, Gaby and Jennifer at Vildanden not as much of a daunting task. Since everyone has now gravitated towards getting bikes, we are beginning to talk of going to the coast (about 30 minutes away) on Saturday with some cider, beer and wine and hanging out at the beach for most of the day.

And today, some of us decided that we wanted to check out some of the thrift stores in the one

town..our first stop was an underground secondhand store that was FILLED with everything imaginable. The owner seemed very fascinated by us for one reason or another, asking if we were here to study and where we were all from. But I really enjoyed exploring all the nick nacks of the store..although I generally become immediately overwhelmed by a pack rat type of mentality. At another secondhand store we visited, Jennifer and Sara found a typewriter in an old case, and I also saw a Swede skating around the store in some secondhand roller skates.

I'm very much exhausted, but today was definitely a good day.

America: Home Of Excess

Here I am in my dark room at 2:30 a.m., trying to gather enough information that would be compelling enough for a blog post. I've acquired two crippling (note the sarcasm) issues since arriving in Lund: I've been extremely dehydrated, and waking up multiple times during the night. Call me crazy but after being blessed with the presence of a Brita water filter at home and Santa Cruz, drinking water straight from the tap seems like asking for a radioactive disease to me. I'm slowly starting to accept that I can't afford to buy $3 water bottles every day. It being 2:30 a.m. in the morning also means that it has been about a week since since I touched down in Lund on August 2nd, and I'm beginning to feel my first legitimate feelings of homesickness as I realize that I'm not visiting and just making an appearance in another country for a few weeks, rather that I'm really living here until next June and am making some social ties that will most likely last the duration of my stay. I have those surreal moments where I really stop what I'm doing and once again mentally process the endeavor I have undertaken by coming to Sweden.

So, some new developments in the past few days that I didn't mention in previous entries: I had an orientation with Linus Lindgren, the UC advisor at Lund University who has been communicating with us since what seems like the dawn of time. At the orientation we were debriefed on what our next few weeks would look like until the 10,000+ other students arrive on August 17th. I received my class schedule and was pleasantly surprised to find out that I got into 6 classes (when I only need 4) and will get to eliminate a couple in the following weeks.

It's been really interesting to explore the Lund nightlife so far as my first weekend has come to an end. In the states at university weekends tend to consist of house parties, kickbacks or if you're 21..a club or bar. Since we've been here we've gone to two nations (fraternity/sorority combination) where there is music, a dance floor and a bar. Experiencing a few nights in a European college town vs. 2 years at an American university, I've come to realize how excessive we are in most everything we do (and in this case the amount that college students drink in order to have a "good" time) and how the Swedes tend to be more minimalistic. It all started when I began shopping for different things for my room and kitchen..I realized that the shampoo&conditioner bottles were around the same price in the states, if not a little bit more, for a visibly smaller bottle. I realized it with toilet paper and paper towel, their packages..smaller, the sizes of the rolls..smaller. Even in convenient stores they don't have the wide array of water bottle and soda sizes, they tend to be smaller. I kid you not, a "large" coffee beverage here is certainly a medium in the states (and even then, some places only have two size selections in Lund). I bought tortillas today and got something like 4 in a package, whereas in the states I struggle to finish the smallest package option of 8. Which leads me to my final observation of our excessive drinking habits: sure I've seen a couple people fall over because they're too inebriated in Sweden, but it seems that the Swedes often times won't drink to the excessive nature that I've noticed American college students to. As a country we seem to like everything super sized, in bulk, to the maximum, the limit and over the top.

As my clock on my desktop slowly creeps towards 3 a.m...I'm beginning to realize that sleep is probably the better (and necessary) option at this point. After almost a full 7 days of being in Sweden I already feel like I've seen, and experienced a lot and I'm very anxious, as well as excited, to see more.

An American Girl in Sweden Part 1.

So it is no stretch to say that since I started my Swedish Language class with other UC students on Tuesday, my Swedish experience has catapulted into pure amazingness. When you're in this type of situation, you all band together, it's fascinating and great at the same time; and I've enjoyed every second with my new friends since then. I greatly enjoy my Swedish teacher, Mai, she's an older woman with blonde hair and large dimples on either side of her face. She always dresses rather chic, always accentuating an outfit with the traditional black. She speaks to us completely in Swedish, with accompanying hand gestures to maneuver us through the language. Mai has a pretty incredible sense of humor and an even better laugh and smile, and always manages to make the class pretty bearable and funny.

A large part of Lund University student's lives are the "nations," which is a sort of blend of a fraternity and a sorority. Different nations do different activities, usually consisting of the general pub, club and bar nights. Last night, a lot of the UC kids went to Lunds Nation for their party in the "Penthouse" of the corridor with a beautiful nighttime view of Lund. We get to the door when two security guards tell us that there are only three people upstairs, I then tell one of the guys that I'm going to head home..at which point he coaxes me into staying..guess I'm a little gullible. Slowly people start flowing in until is the epicenter of Swedish-ness: all beautiful men and women, generally tall, generally blonde hair with undeniable eye for fashion. It almost hurt to be around so many attractive people at once. The DJ was playing great remixes, and at one point I was singing an Eminem song with some of the UC kids while the Swedish kids tried to follow along and it began sounding like gibberish. The music stopped playing at 2 a.m., and we went to two different houses after that with some of the Swedes..only to arrive home at 4:45 a.m., with a class at 9. Oh to be in Sveeden.

It's a Fibertäcke Sval, duh

I was most displeased to come into my apartment with the hope that there would be some bedding left from the person who lived in my room before me, only to find that my mattress was bare. With little time and energy to shop yesterday, I decided I would just deal with it for one night, until I was pleased to find a left over duvet on top of the washer and dryer in the kitchen and decided that would suffice as a blanket. I then came to find that not only was it left over but it also was apparently left to be washed and smelled like male B.O. Don't ask why or how, but I somehow dealt with it and also slept with it from midnight until noon the next day.

Today was dedicated to Kristen and I furnishing our rooms to the greatest of our capacities (and wallets). We went to a sort of department store in Sweden and looked around the bedding, only to find that we couldn't distinguish between a pillowcase, duvet, or the variations of sheets. This confusion led me to begin taking things out of their packaging in order to investigate. In the end, out of frustration I decided to nix the idea of a flat sheet and went for just a fitted sheet. After shopping and coffee, Kristen and I also went to the grocery store near my apartment and across from the train station and began making our way around. After putting random items in the cart, we came to the juice, milk and yogurt area..which is where things began getting a little fuzzier/overwhelming for me. Most of the juices were named similar things, not to mention fusions of different juices, I ended up deciding on apple, orange juice and mango (I think). Yogurt came in a variety of packages, including cartons that look exactly like milk cartons, with a variety of flavors. And then, there's the milk situation. I had heard from a Lund returnee that the Swedes are very big on a certain type of milk that tastes sour, they enjoy putting it on their cereals and sometimes even drink it straight. I had forgotten this detail until I was in front of the rather large milk section. Not only were the milks named different things but they also had different percentages..0,1 0,5 1,5 which added to my dairy anxiety. In this department, I decided on 1,5% mellanmjölk..which I later looked up to discover that it was indeed skim milk. Live it and learn it, I suppose!

A few things I have noticed about the Swedes and their culture thus far:

-their Fanta tastes superior to Fanta in the states

-like in other parts of Europe, drivers dislike pedestrians

-almost every every every store closes at 6 p.m. sharp, and they won't even give you a pity glance as you stare blankly at the locked door

-gladiator sandals are a bigger trend in Sweden than they are in the states

-the Swedes like to wear salmon(ly) colored pants

-most everyone from Sweden is beautiful

-they like random seeds on every type of bread product

-they make the most delicious chai lattes

Tomorrow's task: begin my Swedish language course at 9 a.m. sharp, buy a bike (and hopefully keep it from getting stolen), buy a phone!

Follow The Cobblestone Road

While I was one of the only ones awake on my flight from SFO to Heathrow, I decided to write about what I had been feeling/experiencing so far..

So here I am, sitting on the plane on my way to London (currently flying over Greenland) for a connecting flight to Copenhagen and watching Entourage. The sky outside is dark but in the horizon I see a beautiful blend of deep reddish/orange, green and blue. Let’s back up, I say goodbye to Maura, Alicia, Hallie, my mom and Ron, get through security and arrive at my gate a half an hour before the intended boarding time. I sit there anxiously staring at the wall;only to find that the “free WiFi” network doesn’t actually work and I’m left there with nothing to do.

A few minutes later, I hear my name over the intercom among other names, requesting I go to the front of the gate. I assume the worst: that they’re bumping me off my flight. Rather, the woman at the front desk hands me a new ticket saying, “We needed your seat, so we put you in Business.” I was stunned, said an obedient, “Okay” and walked back to my seat, feeling a little confused. Boarding time comes around and I get in line for the “Business” boarding door, I walk down to the plane where I’m greeted by a smiling woman, I show her the remainder of my ticket that says seat 12A, she points me down the row. Let me tell you, life isn’t all that shabby in Business class. I still have the window seat I originally requested, but my seat also came with a personal TV, an amazing amount of leg room, and a staff who are extremely helpful. I even got a little travel pouch with a sleep mask, socks, some lotion, tooth paste and a tooth brush. Perhaps I’ve racked up some karma that has led me to this point. The plane takes a while taxiing with my head up against the side of the plane, soaking up my last few visual memories of the beautiful California for the next ten months. As we take off, I look out the window at San Francisco; a city that I love so much, in all of its beauty and I begin to feel that unavoidable wave of emotion that comes with the uncertainty of leaving home for so long. The woman I’m sitting next to is on her cell phone when I first claim my seat next to her, and so far we haven’t spoken except for me to ask her to lower her foot rest so I can use the restroom for the first time in 4 hours after downing glasses of water; she obliged somewhat willingly and quickly fell back asleep. I’m listening to the music provided on the airplane, hearing the likes of Kate Nash, Kesha, and now Jay-Z's “Forever Young.” Among me are a ridiculous amount of sleeping people, I find that I can’t sleep on planes, I sleep for 40 minutes which feels like an eternity. Let me also mention that I have never seen so many people asleep on a plane at 5:30/6 p.m. California time.

UPDATE:

So I'm officially in Lund! Everything went pretty much seamlessly: no flight delays, no lost luggage, no crazy long custom lines, no wait for a train, no wait for a taxi. And I am currently reporting to you from my new room, sans bedding :(. I took a little time to walk around Lund without a map and just see where it took me. I love the feeling of Lund, it's quaint with its cobblestone roads, and beautiful architecture..I think I could certainly get used to this.