So as usual, I have a few different stories and experiences to share. I apologize for the lack of literary excellence but if I tried to write this so it flows well it would never get done. I hope you enjoy anyways! :)

The weekend after Gary visited me, my friend Claire had three friends from Glasgow, Scotland visit. On Saturday afternoon, we went to a crépery in Södermalm and I was introduced to the concept of savory crepes. I had a crepe with ham, cheese, egg, veggies, and ground beef. The ground beef came in patty form and was just placed right on top of the crepe… it tasted funny so I didn’t eat it, but the rest of the savory crepe was great. A couple weeks later, Claire made tons of savory crepes for fat Tuesday and I think they were better than the ones I had at the crépery!

A couple weeks after Gary visited me, my friend from high school, Greg, came and visited. He’s working in Frankfurt, Germany for a while so it was easy for him to come and spend the weekend. It was very nice of him to let me stay in his hotel room with him at the Sheraton… sleeping on a mattress that isn’t only two inches thick and laying on a piece of plywood was amazing! We mostly walked around the city (because that’s the best thing to do in Stockholm) even though the elements were against us. That weekend was the coldest and windiest weekend we’ve had this winter. On Saturday night, Greg and I went out to an authentic Swedish restaurant but in order to get there we had to cross one of Stockholm’s many bridges. The wind was really strong and it was snowing so much it was difficult to see… I was scared that we would literally be blown off the bridge! Luckily, we made it to the restaurant and the weather had improved significantly by the time we left.

That night, Greg and I went to my friend, Sul’s, birthday party. When we first arrived, Sul was no where to be found but Greg and I stayed and played some drinking games with a few Spaniards. I think we both had fun trying to remember Español… Señora Stein would have been less than satisfied had she heard me trying to speak, ha ha ha!

So, a French guy from my corridor is spending this semester in Seattle, Washington and it has been really interesting to hear his perspectives on the US. Before he even got there, he was having troubles finding a place to live and asked me for advice. He told me he found a lady who was willing to rent to him but she needed a check as a down-payment. He emailed her back and asked if he could get all her bank account information so he could just transfer money through an internet transaction (quite common here). Apparently, she did not respond and he asked me if he maybe said something wrong and wasn’t clear about what he wanted… I told him you never give out your bank account information in the US… it’s like asking to be robbed. Luckily, he found a place but I don’t think it was with that lady… whoops.

It sounds like he’s been having a lot of fun there. At the end of his first trip to the grocery store, Antoine said he thought he was getting robbed because someone started taking all his stuff and putting it in bags! He couldn’t believe he was being robbed in daylight, in a grocery store, and with so many people around! How cute is that!? He didn’t realize it was the person’s job to pack his stuff up for him. I recall being sort of surprised when I had to pack my own groceries the first time but I never thought about how it must be for people used to packing their own things.

About a week and a half ago on a Friday afternoon, I decided to go into town and walk around. I didn’t have anything else to do (except laundry – which actually really had to get done but I had scheduled to do it at 7 pm) so why not enjoy the city for a while. I walked to the tunnelbana station, hopped on a train, and ended up standing in the same spot for about 10 minutes. All the trains in the area had been shut down because smoke was detected somewhere near the station. Everyone else and I got off the train and went outside to catch the bus. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a bus going to the city center (or if they did – I just didn’t know which bus to take) so I wasn’t sure what I should do.

I saw a German guy (Oliver) who was in my Swedish 1 course in August and we began to talk. He wanted to go to Gamla Stan to get a nice cup of coffee but also didn’t know which bus to take. He knew how to walk to town from where we were so I went with him and ended up joining him for coffee. It was a really cold day so I was happy to have my gloves and hat with me… Oliver wasn’t so lucky. 5 miles later (it was only so long because we walked pretty far out of the way for a while) we arrived at the coffee shop and sat down for an hour or so to thaw.

I left my room around 4 that afternoon and by the time we were done with coffee it was 7:30 pm. So much for doing all the laundry that really needed to get done. Oliver told me about a cool restaurant that he’d been to a couple times so we decided to go. It was really cool. It was very lounge-esque and really busy (unusually busy according to Oliver). We waited about 20 minutes for a table that we shared with 2 Swedish women and then went into the lines to order our food. At this restaurant you go to the counter, tell the chef what you want, and watch the chef make it right in front of you! I got the spaghetti with Bolognese sauce and it was really good. After dinner we took the tunnelbana back to the dorm area and returned at about 11 pm! Not quite the afternoon jaunt that I had planned but it turned out to be really fun.

I did my laundry a couple days later… I started at 12 am and didn’t finish until 3:30 am! I had three loads and of course no one else was doing their laundry at that time but only one of the machines was operating. We have a stupid new system to book the laundry machines, so you can’t use them unless you’ve booked them or unless someone else has booked them but not claimed/opened them within 15 minutes of the start time. I only slept a couple hours that night… I hope they change that system soon – it’s ridiculous.

Last Thursday (February 21), I went to Istanbul! I had a layover in Warsaw, Poland and arrived in Istanbul at about 4:30 pm. I am pleased to be able to say that the main airport in Warsaw is much better than the one that Ryan Air flies to. Anyways, I was picked up by the taxi service offered from my hotel. The drive to the hotel was filled with mixed emotions… we passed some beautiful areas and some areas I knew I wouldn’t want to go back to (especially if alone). The traffic was kind of crazy and I’m not sure there is any sense to the driving on the smaller streets. The hotel I stayed in the first night was the Star Holiday Hotel and is located about 50 meters from the Blue Mosque and the St. Sophia Museum (2 of the biggest attractions in Istanbul). My room was quite small and smokey (I didn’t realize it wasn’t a non smoking room) but it was nicer and more comfortable than I expected.

That night I went to and in the Blue Mosque. It was incredible! It’s so different than anything I’ve ever seen before. I had to take my shoes off, put them in a bag, and carry them around with me while I was in the mosque. There was a certain area that the tourists were told to stay in; it was behind the main praying area and in front of the area designated as the women’s praying area. I was taking pictures when one of the “guards” from outside ran up to me with a scarf and told me to cover my head. I felt quite bad… I didn’t mean to be disrespectful in anyway but at least there were a few other women he approached after me to tell them the same thing. I saw the sign outside the mosque which said women had to wear long skirts and scarves but they were letting women in without the long skirts and I was wearing a scarf (just around my neck).

I left and walked over to the St. Sophia Museum. It was dark already and on the way, there were many people who had laid out scarves and other touristy souvenirs. A boy who must have been about 12 years old started talking to me; he asked where I’m from, my name, if I would shake his hand, and if I’d go out for drinks with him! I was very worried to shake his hand because I didn’t want to get robbed but I also didn’t want to insult him since he had already extended his hand. Needless to say, I turned down his offer of a drink but it was very weird to walk away when he was still talking to me!

Right in front of St. Sophia, I was just walking and a girl about my age stopped me and asked me where I’m from. She also wanted to shake my hand so I clutched my purse with my other hand – I suppose possibly more insulting than just saying no… :/. Anyways, she was walking with a man much older than her and said she is studying journalism but walking with her painting teacher. Sounds fishy… but I didn’t want to ask.

I walked down the next block and was literally stopped by five guys trying to get me to go into their carpet stores or cafés. They also asked where I’m from and what my name is and I said the first untrue answers that came to my mind: Sweden and Pernilla. It worked pretty well until I got to the third guy and he actually studied in Stockholm for 4 years! He started speaking to me in Swedish and I kept up just fine but told him the truth since I’m sure he could tell I’d lied. Their aggressive sales approach really wore me down so I humored the last guy and went in to his carpet shop. A handmade silk carpet that was about a square foot in size caught my eye… I asked how much he wanted for it and he said 360 Turkish Lira ~ 240 USD! I reminded him that I’m a student and left his shop really quickly… yeah right, I can’t afford that!

I had been looking for a place to eat but didn’t find one because every time I saw a place without someone outside, someone came outside as soon as I came within a meter of the menu pedestal. I didn’t like feeling pressured in to eating at a certain place so I left once the person joined me outside. I went back to my hotel and asked for recommendation of where I should eat. The guy at the desk said the place next door was good… I’m guessing the owner of the hotel also owns that restaurant or another family member does. The food was okay. I was told the steak and potatoes were good so I got that only to find that the steak was not beef but eggplant! It was okay but I think I got jipped. Then I went back to my room and watched Turkish tv for a while until I surfed a bit and happened upon Back to the Future… it was nice to watch something I understood. J

On Friday morning, I ate breakfast at the hotel since it was included. They served bread with cheese, butter, jam, hardboiled eggs, and olives. I continued to walk around and buy a few cute souvenirs. Unfortunately, one man thought it was okay to join me on my walk! He was actually very nice and told me a lot about Istanbul and it’s history but I still didn’t want to have tea with him so I told him I was going to go back to my hotel to take a nap. He was finally okay with that after we made plans to “meet” the next day… at noon where we first met… luckily, a place that I would definitely be able to avoid! Since I had already checked out of my hotel, I went into a small restaurant and had tea until it was time to pick up my bags, catch a taxi, and meet Greg at his hotel.

Greg and I stayed at the Conrad Hotel at the top of a main street in northern Istanbul. We walked around that night and tried some of the Turkish cuisine. On Saturday we got a late start so we took a taxi to the old town to see the Blue Mosque, the palace, the cistern, and the Grand Bazaar.

We went to the Saint Sophia Museum but didn’t go in. We were discussing what we should do when a really friendly Canadian lady came up to us and asked us if we’d like to look at her “Top 10 Sights: Istanbul” book. She told us about all the things she’d done and gave us some great advice. Thanks to our abundance of information we decided to skip the museum and go to the cistern and the Bazaar.

Before the Grand Bazaar, I took a stab at the public bathrooms. I had to pay about 50 cents to squat into a plastic tray! I think Greg and I were both impressed that I didn’t pee on myself but I sure am glad that I won’t have to do that on a regular basis. The Grand Bazaar was overwhelming! There were hundreds of small shops selling all the same stuff: scarves, Turkish tea, Turkish delight (candy), fake jewelry, and tons of other stuff. It’s amazing how easy it was to get lost/ disoriented in there! We didn’t get anything but it was neat to see.

Since we aren’t big fans of taxis, Greg and I decided to walk the 5 kilometers back to the hotel. I was quite happy when we finally got back to the hotel… 5 km isn’t much at all but after being on your feet walking all day, it can feel like a lot more. Greg and I stopped to eat at a restaurant under the bridge connecting the north and south parts of Istanbul. Dinner was good but we went sort of gringo… chicken and pasta. It was cool because our table was really low and we sat on pillows on very short platforms… my first little taste of Asia.

On Sunday, Greg and I took a ferry over to the Asian side of Istanbul. There wasn’t much to see there and we were crunched for time so we didn’t stay more than half an hour. On the way back, Greg was looking in the captain’s cabin and one of the guys inside saw him… so we were invited to sit in the Captain’s cabin! We also got free tea. The man steering the boat was using his knees (so he could drink tea easier) and was sitting on two thin pillows placed on an old speaker! The whole situation was quite funny.

Greg and I went to another famous mosque and then I had to take the tram back towards the hotel to get my luggage and leave for the airport. I grabbed a cab because I was running a little late and paid close attention to the meter so I wasn’t ripped off again (like I was with my ride from the airport the first day).

Security wasn’t as I expected. I guess I am used to long lines and thorough security checks so it was nice to get a break from that and have plenty of time to relax before my flight.

I’m back in Stockholm now with solid plans to go to Porto, Portugal from March 4-6 and Reykjavik, Iceland from March 16-25. I may go to Berlin, Germany or Madrid, Spain with Greg this weekend but that will be a game time decision probably made on Thursday.

To everyone who has commented on the amount of time I spend in class: You’re right! Last period I was hardly in class! It is the norm to take 4 or more classes per semester (2 each period) for a total of 30 or more credits per semester. I was taking 3 courses: Measurement and Instrument Analysis, Manufacturing and Automation, and Swedish Level 2. I have Swedish for 4 hours a week, MIA for 6-8 hours a week, and MA for 6-8 hours per week. Total of 16-20 hours in class… I guess a decent amount, but when they are clumped into 2 and 4-hour sessions, I typically have 2 days a week without class! :) I like this system.

Thanksgiving went pretty well. I was in charge of the turkey and stuffing and all the guests brought other traditional Thanksgiving foods like mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, mixed vegetables, pecan pie, wine, etc. We also had a few twists on the traditional like potato salad and muffins. They were also very good and added a little something extra to the meal. :)

When I was shopping around for the turkey early that week, I found myself getting so frustrated because I couldn’t find any napkins with turkeys on them… then I realized that Thanksgiving is only a holiday in the US so I’d be hard-pressed to find those king of decorations in another country! Needless to say, I felt like slapping myself for the way-too-long lapse of stupidity! Ha ha ha.

The turkey turned out quite dry and I blame it completely on the Celsius-Fahrenheit conversion. My recipe gave Fahrenheit and the oven here is given in Celsius… luckily a clever Australian friend pointed it out and prevented the turkey from getting completely charred! Thank goodness for cranberry sauce and gravy, huh! The stuffing was complement of my mom who sent me a huge care package early that week which contained to boxes of Stove Top. Talk about saving the day; what is Thanksgiving without stuffing?

Two days later my Scottish friend, David, and I had our birthday party. Our birthdays are on the same day and year – I’d never met anyone with the same birthday as me before. I’m really lucky to share his birthday because he and his Swedish girlfriend, Pernilla, threw an awesome party. About 14 of us went to Pernilla’s parents’ summer cottage on the archipelago. When we first got there, we went out for a walk and happened upon a quarry… we threw all sorts of objects in it to break the ice… for at least an hour… I think it’s a good thing to be easily amused sometimes. :) Pernilla also pointed out the creator of H&M’s summer cottage to us!

That night we had appetizers made by Nicolas and a traditional Swedish dinner with meatballs (that we all helped to make) and potatoes. During dinner it is tradition to take shots of schnapps… we took three. I had also been drinking wine so I went to bed soon after dinner. ;) The next morning was rough on a few of us – especially me. I never used to get hangovers but I think my 23^rd birthday represented many new beginnings. Crap, it sucks to get old!

In late December we had to start saying good-bye to the friends that wouldn’t be returning after the holidays. It was very sad but I’m happy to have met such great people. I am so happy I extended my time here in Sweden; I am not ready to leave… I don’t think I will be in June either but at least I will have had 5 more months.

I stayed with Claire’s family in Scotland from December 23^rd to the 27^th. She was so sweet to invite me so I wasn’t alone on Christmas! I had so much fun with Claire, her family, and her friends. She also showed me all around Edinburgh which is a beautiful city! On Christmas Eve we went to midnight mass to sing Christmas carols. I didn’t know some of them but most of them are also songs that are common in the US. We went to a museum and were looking at a bed from the 1600s when Claire reminded me the bed was older than my country! Ha ha ha. It’s so funny to think about that sort of stuff.

During my stay, I saw Edinburgh’s castle, the Royal Mile, and the Botanical Gardens just to name a few things. I also got to try haggis, porridge, a toddy, tennis balls (sort of biscuits shaped like muffins), and chips with salt n’ sauce. The sauce of the ‘chips with salt n’ sauce’ tasted like the result of mixing gravy, sweet and sour sauce, and barbecue sauce… it may not sound good but it was actually tasty. It was great because the weather was pleasant while I was there… I didn’t expect to see the sun but it peeped out every once in a while and kept quite dry!

On January 13^th, I left for my ski trip to Åre with BEST (city center and mountain shown in picture). I took my backpack, my large leather purse/tote, and my pink athletic bag which ended up being less than most of the people there! I’m getting so good at packing light! Our train left at 11:30 pm from T-Centralen and I was in a room with Pierre (Belgian President of our LBG), Paw (Danish), Hanna, Taru, and Simo (all 3 Finnish). We all talked and drank until around 4 am. Taru, Hanna, and Paw did most of the talking and I said close to nothing because I was so tired from all the traveling. Taru and Hanna were telling us about the Finnish language – how it doesn’t have any prepositions (so learning the concept of them when learning English was very difficult) and has verbs that mean two different things depending on whether an ending is added signifying that it was done completely or done but not-completely. The example they told us about was sex and marriage; they use the same stem verb but whether it was done completely or not makes the difference… of course marriage uses the completed suffix.

We arrived in Åre at around 7:30 am, walked to our apartments, got our stuff inside, got ready to head out, rented equipment, and went on our way. The walk seemed to go on forever but I think that’s mostly because I’m so out of shape! I decided early on to stick with the other beginners (Jasmine, David, Bruno) because I’d never been on a mountain before. We went up the same lift as everyone else and once we got to the top we saw that the only way to go down was a red (intermediate and very steep looking) slope. We all started out really slowly but I lost control quickly and zoomed straight down the slope… on my way down I was thinking I would either die or at the very least break a few bones. Amazingly, I arrived at a different lift intact without falling. After that ordeal we made it slowly but surely to the blue slopes where I felt much more comfortable.

That night everyone went to a community center sort of building to have punch, munchies, and talk. We played the name game and it was quite fun. We also had races in black garbage bags… tradition in Scandinavia. Alessandro was my partner and we came in third place so got little Viking key rings. After that, everyone came back to our room (Me, Jasmine, Simo, David, Peter, and Raphael) to drink and talk more.

On Monday our small group stayed together and on the blue slopes. The lifts all stopped operating at 3 pm every day so that day I went to “After Ski” at a club called Bygget with Peter, Simo, Jan Henrik, and Lisa. I got a cider (which is incredible here; like a fruity soda with about 2.8% alcohol) and Lisa took me closer to the front and she taught me the special cheers and dances of the band that we were listening to. The band (Marmelad) was really good – they played a lot of songs I knew too which was great. Later that night we all tried to get into clubs but they all had very long queues and we didn’t want to wait, pay a small fortune to get in, and then get kicked out an hour later. One of the Swedish girls from Uppsala, Fanny, met some friends and invited us to their place for a small party.

Skiing was fun again on Tuesday. I was getting used to it again so I was trying to go faster and improve my form. That day Peter was really hung over so he hung out with the beginners. We went up to the top of the second highest mountain and it was really windy! The snow was blowing off the sides and stung my face… goggles would have been really helpful but I forgot to bring them from home. Oh well. :)

The international evening was fun… as it was in Norway! I actually sang the national anthem this time but cut it quite short since I wasn’t drunk. I got to try a few new things like sausages from Denmark, Italy, and Portugal, Italian Limoncello, and Swedish vodka. I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches again and bought some wine from California at the System Bolaget. I also tried out the Austrian tradition of dipping a chocolaty wafer in vodka, lighting it on fire, and then eating it! It was hot but I didn’t really get burned… a definite plus… I was quite nervous about that.

On Wednesday, I rented a snowboard and went out by myself to try to teach myself. It was really hard especially without any help. I kept walking up the bottom of a bunny hill, going down, falling, and then walking back up. I don’t think I fell so much when I was learning to walk! I fell on my wrists, knees, and butt and the worst part was trying to get back up after falling. After a while I decided to get something to drink in the lodge and then go out again. On my way to the lodge, the lift operator asked me how it was going. I told him it was tough and that it was more difficult than I thought it’d be. He recommended I go to an even smaller hill just below the one I was at so went and I got some water and a hot chocolate before trying that one out. I was almost on my way back outside when I saw some familiar faces in the lodge. It was the Swedish girls from Uppsala and Jan Henrik! They invited me to sit with them so I did… I figured I could use the longer break.

Fanny and Maya offered to stay on the small hill with me and give me snowboarding tips. It was so sweet of them! They had a lot of good tips and really helped me. Fanny even let me have her wrist guards. We went to the bus stop at 3 pm to catch the last bus back to town but were informed that a truck had fallen over in the road between town and where we were. We had to go back using the slopes. Luckily, the slope we took was blue but I was already so tired at this point. About half way, we laid down on our boards and rode them like sleds which was so much fun. We went really fast and we had to be careful because braking was difficult and the slopes were sort of thin; there were a couple times when I almost ended up in the trees. ;)

We went straight to Bygget for the after ski and were so early (after ski started at 5 and we got there around 4:30) that we got spots right by the stage. After ski was fun and then we went back to eat and then that night we went to Bygget again. It was really crowded and really hot! Dancing was fun but I was in pain and exhausted. I left sort of early with Juan and Peter joined us soon after. People came back to our place and drank a little bit but I think most people went to bed pretty early.

Thursday I was so sore from my first day of snowboarding that I didn’t last very long and then went back to town. I went to Max (Swedish version of McDonalds) and stood in line forever so once I got my food I just wanted to sit down, eat, and leave. I didn’t see any open places so I asked a guy who was alone at a table if I could sit with him. He said yes and soon started talking to me quite a bit. His friend came, sat, and joined the conversation. They were both from Denmark and really nice guys. We talked for about an hour and then they left for the last hour the slopes were available. It was nice to randomly meet a couple nice guys.

I went back to our apartments, and took a shower. We all went out to eat at an American Bar & Grill and people kept asking me what they should get. I said it’s normally best to stick with burgers at those kinds of places (instead of Mexican or Italian dishes) but I didn’t even take my advice. It was fun but the food I ordered (taco plate) wasn’t that great.

We hung out at our hostel for a while and then a few of us headed over to a game room. I watched a few games of pool and then it was time to leave. We took the bus back and I sat next to Juan – thank goodness I got the window seat! We arrived in T-Centralen at about 8:00 am. Saying bye to people was sad but...

Gary Diehl flew in to Stockholm that Friday, January 18 at 3:30 pm. I went to Arlanda Airport to pick him up because he was nervous about being in a different country for the first time. I was really happy to see him… it’s strange to be here and almost feel like I’m all by myself but then having someone from home here makes it feel like I’m definitely not alone.

Gary and I walked around a lot. He was trying to figure the language out and was actually pretty good at it. It was especially fun when neither of us understood what was going on and had the “deer in the headlights” look. Due to my extreme skill, I was able to catch a few of these moments with my camera. We went to the Natural History Museum, the Vasa Museum, and walked around Gamla Stan and Södermalm a lot.

My classes actually started the week Gary was here but I figured I’d just skip them so I emailed my professors and said “I don’t feel well and won’t make it to class.” It was true… I did have a cold (hence didn’t feel well) and wouldn’t be making it to class. Yeah, I’m aware that wasn’t the best way to go about it but it didn’t work anyways. I received an email back from the professor of my construction project class. He wrote in Swedish and then translated it into English for me. I read the Swedish version and understood that it was important to make the first class (Gary’s last full day in Sweden) which was from 9am to 5pm but not necessary. However, when I read the English version he said it was imperative that I attend the first class because we would get into our groups, go on a team-building field trip, get our first assignment, and give a presentation!

So I felt terrible that I had to go but Gary said he had a great time sleeping until 1:30 pm and then wandering around Stockholm while I was busy at work. I distinctly remember sending him a text message around 11 am that morning telling him to get out of bed and do something but he was smart (apparently we both know each other quite well) and turned his phone off!

After my class, we went to the Pelikan (restaurant recommended by Claire) to get some famous Swedish meatballs. It was really good and then we went to Claire’s to watch a movie and take it easy since Gary left the next morning.

Another entry will be coming really soon… there’s just so much to say! :)

I forgot to mention that I got back from my trip to Russia at about 7 am Monday, November 12. That day, my schedule showed that two of the four lab sections in one of my classes were to have labs. I missed the first class so I hadn’t been assigned to a lab group. Being the great student that I am (ha ha), I emailed my professor right away to ask him if I should show up to the afternoon lab since the 8 o’clock would have been impossible for me to make (this course is taught in Kista… a campus located about an hour from where I live - depending on luck with the timing of the tunnelbana). I was hoping the professor would not get back to me in time or say I could make up the lab later, but he emailed me back at 11:30 am to say I should attend the afternoon lab at 1pm! I took a quick shower (well, as quick as mine get which is not very quick) and had to hurry over to Kista. I was about five minutes late to meet the professor where he told me to meet him but he was also late, thank goodness! As soon as he saw me, he looked like he just had an epiphany (what can I say, I have that effect on people :) ) and then he frowned (another effect I have on people… hmmm). He told me he forgot that lab was canceled!

At this point, I hadn’t slept in the previous 30 hours and hadn’t had more than three hours of uninterrupted sleep for about four days so I didn’t even care that I hurried so much for nothing… I was just happy lab was canceled and I could do something that requires almost no thinking!

Having a class in Kista is good and bad for one reason: the Galleria… a huge mall with almost everything anyone could ever want to buy! I shopped for a few hours and my only purchase was a sandwich… shopping my style… just looking. :)

I was heading over to a friend’s place who lives in Kista when I got a phone call. A friend of mine lives in the building next to me, on the same floor (4th), and along the same hall so it is possible to see our bedroom doors from each other’s door. She called me and asked if I was in my building (shown in picture above)– I told her no and she said, “Okay, well I don’t want to alarm you but your hall is extremely smokey… I think there might be a fire in your building!” She also told me that a lot of people were standing outside and that she would keep me updated with what happened. So that figures, right!? I mean, why not!?

A couple minutes later my friend, Claire, called me and asked if I was sleeping in my room… ha ha ha… she knows I take naps and have tendencies to sleep through some loud noises. I told her I was not there but appreciated her concern. She said a friend of ours walked past my building and heard that there was a fire in a room on the first floor, the firemen had been called, and they were on their way! It was nice that two other people contacted me to make sure I was okay and to say I could stay with them if need be... when I told my mom this, her reaction was, "Oh, I'm happy you have friends!" - like she never believed me before that I have friends here; thanks, Mur. :P

The fire was put out soon after the firemen appeared and there was no extensive damage done except in the first floor. In fact, the residents of the first floor were sent in to get the bare essentials they needed from their rooms and are still in temporary housing! Unfortunately, my floor still smells like smoke; my room was also pretty bad last week but I washed everything and I think it’s much better now… or I’m just used to it. :) But obviously, it could have been way worse so I consider myself lucky!

On a completely different note, I am taking one course that is taught completely in Swedish and today in lecture, I think I understood about 70% of what the professor was saying! Of course it helps that he had pictures, videos, and used many hand gestures but I’m still happy! That’s actually sort of a funny story too…

I signed up for this course (taught completely in Swedish) because it was the only one where the credits would transfer back to Madison. I saw the fact that it was taught completely in Swedish as a challenge that I could overcome with time and the help of one of the many other native-Swedish speaking persons in the class. So basically, I was thinking the lecture would have at least 50 people and only a few people would have to know I don’t know all that much Swedish.

On the first day of class, 6 people showed up (including me) and I was the only girl! When class started, the professor began by asking each student about their background knowledge of the course material. He came to me last and after he asked me the question, I gave him a blank stare… he understood and just said, “So, you don’t know Swedish… okay.” Then he continued the whole two hour lecture in Swedish! Whoops! Since then, I have been studying a bit and getting a little better; step-by-step, right? So I'm one of six in the class, the only girl, and the only non-Swede!

Very short run-off comment: When I’m trying to formulate Swedish sentences, I can often think of a few Swedish words right off the bat – not even thinking about the English equivalent first. Then I try to fill in the blanks by using the English term and thinking of the Swedish translation. Unfortunately for me, sporadically I just substitute Swedish or English words with Spanish words or phrases! So – my point – I now speak Swanglish! If that isn’t something for my parents to be proud of, I don’t know what is! Ha ha ha ;)

So, I think that concludes the exciting/dramatic events and news in my life recently. Finally, a relatively short entry, huh?! (emphasis on relatively) :)

Wow, once again it has been way too long since I’ve written. It would probably take me weeks and weeks to say all I want about the last two months so I’ve included things I’ve been keeping track of all along and some highlights (don’t worry though, I’m still terrible at summarizing so if you have a few hours to kill continue on):

• It is fashionable for women here to wear all black with white shoes – an interesting combination if you ask me.
• Public transportation here is great but there were two instances in one week where I and everyone else had to get out of the subway and take the bus because people were screwing around on the tracks! It didn’t take long for the busses to come but it was still such a pain; especially since the second time it happened, the bus dropped me off and I had no idea where I was… I was lost for about an hour until a friend found me!
• Potato chips = crisps because French fries = chips… ahh, the UK.
• People clapped when our plane landed in Poland… one of my friends asked if that’s a rare occurrence that deserves props when accomplished…. :)
• Oslo, Norway is ridiculously expensive – McDonald’s meals were $8+.
• Countryside in Norway and Sweden between Oslo and Stockholm is very similar to that of Pennsylvania… trees, fields, rocks (more water in Norway and Sweden though).
• People drive very fast here. The speed limit may be 90 km/h but 100-150 km/h (60-90 mph) is the range people actually drive… I did not see one government official monitoring the highways although in Norway there are a lot of cameras.
• Destiny Café in Oslo = cheap alcohol + prostitutes + graffiti + creepy old men + a great place for happy hour and not a second more.
• H&Ms in Warsaw, Poland are more expensive than in Sweden which is surprising.
• Americans get crapped on in Europe… or at least Brad and I were in Poland. The Aussie and Scot that were with us thought it was hilarious. I would have too if it weren’t me and I didn’t have to walk around with a wet shirt on (due to my pathetic attempt at washing it out).
• Poland had really wide streets and underground crosswalks linked with subway system instead of disturbing the traffic.
• Strange little departure areas in Warsaw’s airport. Area for Gates 1 and 2 didn’t have a bathroom and area for Gates 3 and 4 didn’t have any sort of place to buy food and drinks… I know because we went to 3 and 4 when we should have gone to 1 and 2.
• I appreciate that everyone in Sweden speaks English a little more because we experienced the language barrier when trying to get to the top of Warsaw’s tallest building… the guy at the receptionist desk on floor 15 did not speak a word of English while trying to tell us we came the wrong way and had to go back downstairs to get to the top via a different elevator shaft. Eventually, he just pushed us back in the elevator and pressed the ground floor.
• Stag parties are bachelor parties that last not only for a night but for a whole weekend.
• Mojitos are amazing.
• Café Opera of Stockholm was not as great as I thought it’d be… it was really expensive and small for the amount of people that were there. Since there was a private party at the beginning of the night we had to stand in the dining room… awkward since people were still ordering dinner… I had one small glass of wine for 10 USD!
• City Hall event was pretty cool. Beautiful building and good free food and wine but kind of lacking in the entertainment department.
• We had a corridor dinner and all the food was good. I don’t really know what most of it was, but it was good.
• Bulgarian Whiskey supposedly cures everything… I can attest to the fact that this statement is false because I had sniffles when I took the whiskey and they were still there the next day.
• Right now it is very popular in Finland to take shots of alcohol that tastes like liquefied black licorice and the original-flavored cough medicine… I can’t even say which I preferred… probably the whiskey.
• One night I came back to my room at 1 am (no, I was not intoxicated) and the lock was broken… so I could not get in. I had to sleep in the common room – very weird! Right before I laid down on the stiff old sofa, I had to remove part of a candy rapper and a raison… lovely. Luckily, very nice flat-mate of mine let me use his comforter and pillow (I made him chocolate cake to say thanks).
• I am still watching Grey’s Anatomy… the show is pure genius. Private Practice is also showing a lot of potential.
• Korean cuisine is very good! My friend, Sul, made me a traditional South Korean meal with a beef stir-fry sort of thing, sushi, rice, and a really spicy, leafy vegetable salad.
• Saw an IMAX in Swedish but I paid a little extra for an earphone to listen to the English audio… very strange having each ear hear a different language.
• Austrians are hard-core coffee drinkers. A friend of mine claims that for a while he drank an average of 6 or 7 cups a day while in Austria! It is a good thing he came here or he would probably be dead!
• American males have to fill out a special form in order to get a Russian visa… the last question asks something like "Do you or have you ever had education or formal training in the production or use of nuclear, biological, or chemical weaponry?" I can not believe they have to ask! Everyone should know that American males all have to take a class covering all those subjects while they are in high school. Is that not standard in every country? :) I guess I should not make fun too much because I’ve been told the US asks the same sort of questions on its Visa application form.
• I am going to Scotland for Christmas! Yay! I get to meet my best friend, Claire’s, family… it should be great. I’m thinking Bailey’s at 8 am Christmas morning with Claire’s grandpa sounds quite enticing.
• I should be blonde… that hasn’t changed. ;)
• Now the sun rises at about 8 am and sets at 3:15 pm! It really messes with your system… sometimes I feel like I should be eating dinner at four when I’ve only just had lunch a few hours before!
• It has snowed a few times but nothing has stuck yet.

Since my last entry I have traveled to Oslo (Norway), Warsaw (Poland), Røros (Norway), and St. Petersburg (Russia).

Nine friends and I rented two cars and drove about 7 hours to Oslo, Norway for a weekend. Our hostel was nice but it was in a bad part of the city; as we were driving around at about 11 pm to find a parking spot, we saw a hooker get picked up by a man in a car… creepy. Our first day, it was raining and didn’t really stop for a significant amount of time until we were on our way back to Stockholm the next day. We were all wet and cold so we went to the central train station to get some coffee and then we walked to the Modern Art Museum. The entrance was free which, I’ve been told, isn’t uncommon in Europe – very nice! At night we started off at Destiny Café for happy hour and took a good chunk out of their stock of beer… our whole table was filled with beers. Once we finished and happy hour was over, we moved to a much nicer bar and later went to a club which was very nice.

The next morning we ate packed up our things, checked out, and drove to the sculpture garden. It was large and contained many unusual sculptures of men, women, and babies. Some of them were sexual, some artsy, and some sort of creepy – like the one in which a man has about five children crawling on him and it looks like he is angrily trying to get them off and throw them as far as possible! At that point, it was mid-afternoon and time to head back to Stockholm. As we were driving out of Oslo, the sun came out and looked beautiful against the lakes and forest. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to pull off the highway to take pictures; I took some from inside the car but none of them turned out all that well. We got back to Stockholm at about 10:30 pm and I was quite tired… so much excitement! :)

The next weekend, I went to Warsaw, Poland with three friends. Warsaw is a beautiful city that is a mix of modern and old-fashioned buildings. David, Brad, Nic, and I stayed at the Okie Dokie Hostel which is located at the center of the city and a short walk from most of the major tourist sites. It was a really nice hostel that I definitely recommend if you’re ever in Warsaw. We arrived in the early afternoon so we walked around, went up in the tallest building in Warsaw, went to the mall (which is famous for its undulating glass roof), had a few drinks at a few different places, had a late dinner along with many mixed drinks, and then walked around the city at night.

Our second day we walked to the old city, walked back to the new city to watch a rugby match, shopped for a while, and soon after it was time for our hostel’s happy hour. There were a bunch of Irishmen there for one man’s stag party. They were all drunk, bought everyone in the (very small) bar a round, and pulled out a guitar to sing some great Oasis classics and new Snow Patrol songs. When happy hour was over, we went to a club and eventually met up with the Irishmen there. They were still really drunk and happy to buy drinks… good for us. I had a conversation with two of them who happened to be engineers working for a company that makes refrigerators. I mentioned that I have 8 months of experience in the industry and then they both gave me their business cards! I never contacted them since we were all intoxicated and that probably doesn’t count as serious networking, ha ha ha! The next day none of us were feeling very well. We got up late, went to the Hard Rock Café, watched a rugby match, and had a nice evening in since we had to get up early for our flight back to Sweden. I had a lot of fun and would like to go back to Poland some time… I’ve heard Krakow is an even better city to see.

A couple weeks later I went to Røros, Norway with the Stockholm BEST (Board of European Students of Technology) group. I was introduced to this group by a friend in one of my first period classes and have been going to the meetings ever since. The aim of the group is to get European students to take mini courses (2 weeks) that are given throughout the year at different universities in Europe, travel to new places, meet new people, and have fun. The Nordic Regional Meeting was held in Røros, so people from schools in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway attended.

On our way we saw a herd of moose in the road! There were actually only 3 in the road but there were at least 10 off on the side of the road! Pierre was driving pretty fast around a curve in the road so he had to stop quickly to avoid hitting and scaring the moose. Jasmine was driving the other car behind us and a few seconds after we stopped we heard wheels screech… Jasmine didn’t realize we had stopped and so she had to break really hard and actually turn her car a bit to avoid hitting us! Welcome to Scandinavia, huh?! Eventually, they cleared the road and we continued on our merry way.

It was very interesting because there were people from almost every country in Europe but a lot of them are exchange students in the Nordic region. I attended two training sessions (creativity and fundraising), an international “dinner,” a presentation by Shell employees, and many other smaller events. The training sessions were taught by other BEST members who have gone to specific training sessions qualifying them as a trainer on subjects they choose. The international “dinner” was amazing… everyone was supposed to bring something from their home country that is representative of the country. I brought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and everyone else brought alcohol and candy and lots of other stuff. I felt like such a schmuck because I was the only country that didn’t provide some sort of alcohol (I clearly didn’t get the memo… I did tell some people about Miller beer though, but I don’t think that made up for the fact that I didn’t have any - whoops)! When I presented (I was number two after the Latvian girl who brought chocolate, candy, and alcohol), it was so embarrassing because I had to say that I only brought pb&j sandwiches… Here is the list of everything I got to try (well, everything I can remember):

Ø Latvian wine, chocolate, powdered sugar-covered lignon berries, cheese (really good)
Ø Norwegian wine (extremely sweet), beer, bread a little thicker than a tortilla with butter & cinnamon & sugar, chocolate covered marshmallow bears, chocolate covered Bugles, smoked salmon (I didn’t have any)
Ø Italian wine, Christmas bread with and without dried fruit inside (extremely good – kind of like angel food cake), 3 different types of dried breads (all good), hazelnut chocolate
Ø Austrian vodka, chocolate cookies with thin layers of pastry (which you are supposed to soak in the vodka, light on fire, and then eat! – we didn’t do that since it is dangerous when people are drinking a lot :) )
Ø Central & South American [Mexican & Argentinean] wine with coke, dulce de leche (a lot like caramel but it comes in jar and is more liquidous)
Ø Finnish Mintus (like mint schnapps), black licorice-tasting alcohol (thick and disgusting – probably doesn’t help that I really dislike black licorice)
Ø Spanish creamy alcohol, ham
Ø French wine, brie, chevre cheese (smelly but good), baguette
Ø Icelandic vodka with orange juice, shark (chewy and gross – luckily by this time I couldn’t really taste or smell it), dried fish (really bad – like jerky but even worse because it’s fish; I couldn’t taste the shark but I could taste the dried fish!)
Ø Danish Robitussin-tasting alcohol, fried pig curly ‘chips’ (with a thick layer of fat –not my cup of tea), liver paste on dark bread (better than I expected)
Ø Swedish sangria, warm wine with peppermint chunks & almonds & raisons, flatbread with caviar in paste form from a toothpaste tube (caviar = not good), also banana caviar (extremely not good), herring covered in mayonnaise or mustard (I didn’t try because I already have and didn’t like it), licorice, candies

The place we stayed was above a huge, old, retired copper mine. There were three buildings one of which was the place we stayed in and one of the others was a museum and entrance for the mine. The bathroom situation was really strange. There was a small room with one urinal and two stalls and then there was a really large room with two trough-like sink contraptions with a total of 6 faucets (the water of 3 was all caught by the same ‘trough’ and drained at one side). In the bigger room, there were also two showers. The shower area was partially separated from the sink area but didn’t have any curtains and it was quite easy to see into the shower area from the sinks! Not to mention, that there was absolutely nothing separating the two showers from each other! I only took one shower the whole weekend (yes, I was pretty disgusting) because it was a little too scary to think how easy it would be for someone to see things I didn’t want them to see (even if by accident).

The last morning, people were all hustling to get organized and out of the cabin. We ate sandwiches (typical breakfast here) and we went to the mine museum which was right next door: Olavsgruvet (= Olav’s mine). Afterwards, we hugged, thanked everyone, and said bye. Santi, Katja, Leo, and I went to Røros to sightsee a little before leaving. We met some of the other people from the RM who were going to explore Røros while they were waiting for their train to come. We saw the outside of the ‘famous’ church (we came too late in the day and it was closed) and went to gift shop. This strange cat that’s face looked like Garfield’s (the cartoon/comic) seemed to follow us around while we were walking. We said good-bye again and started to drive back around 4 pm. We arrived in Stockholm around 12 am. Santi and I went to return car but we couldn’t so we drove it back to Lappis… got in a little after 1 am.

My most recent international excursion was to St. Petersburg, Russia. I went with my French friend Sandra, from my Swedish 1 course in August. We took the Viking Line’s ship named Isabella to Turku, Finland which was an overnight journey yet I managed to only get an hour of sleep! On the cruises like this one, there are discos and lots of cheap alcohol – two good reasons for traveling students to negate sleep. :) When we docked in Turku, we piled into two coach busses and began the 8 hour road trip to St. Petersburg. We stopped about every 2 hours for bathroom, food, and to stretch out our legs. Crossing the Finnish-Russian border was really tedious! We had to get out on both sides, wait in a line for our passports to be checked, wait for the bus driver and bus to be checked (also possible luggage checking), and then once we got back on the bus we drove maybe a hundred meters and were stopped so our visas could be checked again.

After we had been driving in Russia for a while our busses pulled off to the side of the highway and an unmarked white van pulled up in front of us. The van’s driver got out and opened up the back of the van to reveal loads of alcohol, cigarettes, chocolate, and rubels (Russian currency) to be exchanged with the Euros we were told to bring! It was like a bunch of kids in a candy store; within a few minutes of him opening his van, we were all huddled around placing our orders and taking the cheap goods! A few minutes later, the man left with a much lighter truck and a much thicker wallet. I bought a bottle of vodka… please, I was in Russia… it’s practically law! When I think back on it, there can't be many sketchier situations than buying a bunch of cheap goods out of the back of an unmarked van... on the side of a highway... in Russia... Ahhh, the memories!

We arrived to Ladoga Hotel in St. Petersburg at about 9 pm. I went out with some people to walk around and find something to eat. St. Petersburg is a beautiful city and has beautiful subway stations (compared to the ones I’ve seen in the US - and they are even better than the ones in Stockholm). The next morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel and went to Pushkin Palace. It was very ornate; there were many halls full of gold fixtures and decorations, large mirrors, and huge candelabras. The famous Amber room was also a sight for sore eyes but it was not quite as large as I expected it to be. We went to a market nearby and I bought a couple commemorative magnets. ;)

After that, we were dropped off in the city center for some free time before the Russian Folk Dance Performance. Sandra wasn’t going to the optional event so I walked around town with an American from Long Island and an Englishman. We went inside the Church of Spilled Blood (shown in the picture above) which was completely covered in mosaics… no stained glass or paintings, just mosaics… very pretty. It was very nerve-wrecking for me, but we ate at a rather fancy Chinese restaurant across from the palace where we would see the Russian Folk Dance Performance. Dinner was pretty good and inexpensive for the quality and look of the place. We had a few communication problems while asking for a table and ordering because German is the second language in Russia so not many people know English. I ended up running a larger tab because the waitress kept asking me if I wanted rice even though I said no. Since she kept asking, I figured rice came with my entree and just said yes. She asked, “For one?” and I said yes, but we got a huge platter full of rice. Needless to say, I shared and didn’t bother to tell her I thought the rice would just be for me. She did know more English than anyone else I had met at that point, so I gave her a tip… not common in Europe or Russia unless you are a really pleased customer.

The performance was very interesting. The outfits, dancing, and singing were all different from any other sort of performance I had seen… I don’t believe Broadway shows any of that stuff! J When we got back to the hotel, people were drinking so I joined in… I really wanted to finish off the bottle of Russian vodka I bought so I could keep the bottle as a souvenir. Thanks to some good friends and other people, it didn’t take so long to drink it all. The next morning I woke up and was still quite intoxicated. We went on a bus tour of St. Petersburg and were then dropped off in front of the Hermitage Museum. Sandra, some other people, and I went to get some lunch first and then spent a few hours at the museum. We were there for 3.5 hours and saw a lot, but there was a lot that we didn’t get to see. Eventually, we had to leave because we were going on a small cruise around St. Petersburg. The boat was extremely small and we were given Russian vodka, champagne, and caviar. I hadn’t been feeling well all day so I had one sip of the champagne and knew I wouldn’t be drinking that night. I tried the caviar and found out that I will be happy to never put that stuff in my mouth again! It was extremely salty, fishy, and I could feel it when the individual eggs burst as I chewed! Eww, just thinking about it makes me cringe.

It was our last night in St. Petersburg so we all decided to go out to the club Metro. No one (including our guides) knew where the club was so it was 11:30 pm by the time we reached it. There were three floors, each with its own dance floor, bar, and sitting area. On the third floor, there were “male strippers” but they weren’t really strippers… they were just all greased up, wearing very small shorts and construction hats, and dancing on raised platforms with poles. Their dance moves weren’t what I imagine male strippers’ moves to be either. Just to explain a little, I can only describe this so well because, as one guy said, it’s like a car wreck – you can’t take your eyes away! Ha ha ha! Creepy, but true. Also, I have never been to a strip club, but with movies and nusic videos these days, not much is left to the imagination. Anyway, that night I managed not to get a wink of sleep (the club closed at 6 am and our luggage was to be on the bus at 7:30)… luckily, we had the 8 hour bus ride…but unfortunately, we still stopped every two hours and then had to deal with all that hassle at the border again. It was nice to stop at the duty free shop though and buy lots of cheap alcohol. I bought a bottle of Absolute, Mintu, and two bottles of wine… all of which I am saving for my joint birthday celebration with David, the Scot (who has the exact same birthday as me – year and everything!).

That night on the ship I got 3 hours of sleep… wow, as I’m writing this I’m realizing how little I slept that weekend… no wonder I’ve slept through my alarm almost every day this week!

Also, recently I took the bus to Vaxholm, Sweden (only a 45 minute bus ride) which is a sweet little city about half way up the archipelago. I went with Matteo and we walked around the city (didn’t take too long :) ), had some tea, and then caught the boat back to Stockholm. It was amazing because the sun was setting as we were on the boat in the archipelago! We took some incredible pictures… even though we were battling the cold outside the boat.

Now that I have taken that much more time from your lives, I’ll say goodbye, take care, and my next edition will include Thanksgiving dinner with my friends, David’s and my joint birthday celebration, and (let’s be serious) probably my Scottish Christmas! Ha ha ha, like my little plug there!? Anyways, I will try to write sooner than Christmas, but you all know how it is! :)

Ha ha ha... I guess listing my interesting observations didn't make my entry any shorter! :)

Whew, so it’s been a long time since I’ve shared my interesting facts and experiences. To make this a little shorter than the previous two entries I’m going to list the interesting facts…. Don’t worry, no need to thank me! :)

• Retraction from my last entry: It’s not a kanelbulle day, it’s a waffle day and it’s March 25
• (In Scotland at least) Sprite is called “lemonade” and soda is referred to as “juice” in general
• There are no screens on the windows! This is extremely annoying because when it was warm out, I’d leave my windows open during the night and I’d wake up with huge bugs in my room (the ones that look like mosquitoes but are about 10 times the size)
• The backpacks we carry around at school in the US are called “rucksacks” here and the large backpacks used for backpacking are called “backpacks”
• Sweaters are called “jumpers”
• People in Lappis (student dorm area) scream every Tuesday at 10 pm for a couple minutes
• Construction here is no big deal and definitely not a safety concern (I know a few safety professionals who would be totally appalled) – no barriers, signs, or personal protective equipment
• I keep thinking I see SWEsters (members of the Society for Women Engineers) because I see people wearing clothes with “SWE” on them… but then I remember I’m in SWEden
• My nickname here is “Wisconsin” because of the TV show That 70’s Show; so quite a few people have heard of Wisconsin but just don’t know much else about it (I’m impressed they know it at all!)

Now for new experiences:

I have eaten 3 meals and 2 desserts cooked by Frenchies and they were amazing! I’ve also been cooked Australian chili (which we ate over rice… my dad says they do that in the south of the US but I’d never heard of it before) and a traditional Bavarian breakfast; both of which were also great. A traditional Bavarian breakfast consists of a special sausage, bretzn (like a large pretzel), and sweet mustard. The sausage has skin on it so we had to remove it… I removed it using a knife and fork but you’re supposed to actually cut a hole at the tip of the sausage and suck the sausage out of the skin! It wasn’t exactly my idea of breakfast food but it was good! An Argentinian also made me (and 29 other people) an Italian appetizer with a salmon and potato entrée. He lived in Italy for a couple years so I was told that it was authentic Italian food – magnifico! This last weekend I went to a birthday party where all the guests were asked to bring a dessert… that was heaven on earth. I tried a cobbler, an apple tart, a pear tart (my favorite by far), tiramisu, and a bunch of other sweet delights. I still haven’t met anyone else here who doesn’t like cooking; I’m vastly outnumbered but really that’s not a bad thing. The way I look at it, if everyone else is always cooking a lot of food they’re going to need help to get rid of it, right?! :)

Okay, so food isn’t the only thing I’m experiencing here in Sweden. I went to the Royal Palace last week and got to see almost everything for free (thanks to my favorite Aussie friend!). The Royal Treasury was incredible… I’ve never seen so much sparkle in such a dark, dreary room! It is amazing how large the diamonds, rubies, and emeralds were on the kings’ crowns and how all the gold and silver work was so detailed.

Funny side story: (We went to the palace last Thursday) The previous Tuesday, in my Swedish culture course the lecturer mentioned how Swedes do not normally wear apparel with the Swedish flag on it because people who do are thought of as extremists. He then continued to talk about how Sweden is different than the US in that way… that it is normal for US citizens to wear clothing with the flag on it. On Independence Day, yes… but I mentioned to a friend later that if I saw someone wearing the American flag on a day other than the 4th of July, I’d assume the person is a little strange. I also told my friend that Americans really don’t wear the flag either.

Well, my theory was shot to sh&# when we went to the palace. It just so happens that a group of Iraqis were protesting in front of the palace and one of my friends asked what was going on. A man passing by stopped and explained the situation to us. He was wearing a shirt with the American flag on it! It turns out he’s from North Carolina and an avid European traveler. So, US citizens do wear the flag… even in other countries… figures. I corrected myself to my friend; she was amused. While in the part of the castle where there are formal political gatherings, I noticed an old man with a baseball hat that said Wisconsin on the back. I couldn’t see the two words before Wisconsin so I was staring for quite a while trying to figure it out. After a while he turned around and saw me staring… whoops! I didn’t introduce myself. Meeting one fellow countryman was enough for one day. These are just more examples of how small the world really is! In fact, I’ve been placed in a group with a Swiss man who spent one year of high school studying at Wauwatosa West High School! One of my best friends in Madison is from Wauwatosa and I grew up about 20 minutes away from Wauwatosa! … Incredibly small world!

To completely change the subject, I saw my first rugby game a couple weekends ago. That is a brutal game! Most of the rugby players are also quite scary… especially one guy on the French team. He almost looks just like the cavemen from the Geico commercials! People here are big fans of rugby; this last weekend, I went to a pub called the Dubliner with some friends and we were all packed in there like sardines. We didn’t get to sit down and my personal space bubble definitely popped! One of my friends was getting so annoyed with the people who would squeeze through to get to the bar or the bathroom that he started asking them why they couldn’t wait until half time. It was pretty funny. The game was between the French and the Irish and I believe there were more French people in the Irish pub than Irish people. Ireland lost even though a lot of the French players seemed to be on there backs most of the time…

On September 15th, we all went to the Globen to see the Sweden vs. Russia “Legends” ice hockey game. Since it was a “Legends” game, all the players were at or approaching middle-agedom and much slower than I’m sure they were a couple decades ago. One Swedish team member seemed to fall over every time he got the puck which just so happened to be every time Sweden was close to scoring. Even though Russia won, I enjoyed the game. I was less than impressed with one Swede fan sitting a few rows behind us; she was really drunk, had one of the most annoying voices I’ve ever heard, and would not stop screaming something that sounded like “Shygoe! Shygoe!” I’m actually amazed that she wasn’t removed from the arena for breaking the concentration of the players… I don’t even like thinking about the piercing sound of that woman’s voice.

My last but definitely not least bit of information for you all is that I am now the proud aunt of Lorelei Belle Kedrowski. Lorelei is the adorable baby girl of my big brother, Tim, and his wife, Michelle. So, congratulations to me… and I guess them. Much love to you all! :)

Well, a lot has happened since my last blog. I’ve discovered more interesting things about living outside the US and I experienced a traditional Swedish dinner, went to IKEA for the first time, went to my first Lappis party, had a meeting with the mechanical engineering chapter, went to Stockholm’s culture festival, a welcome party at the union, and a crayfish party (Kräftskiva).

People from the UK don’t study, they revise. Scots call juice from concentrate “squash.” I have not seen any Pepsi products here but it could just be much less popular…? Swedes don't really eat breakfast (by my standards anyway)... they eat sandwiches; sandwiches with one piece of bread and something like meat and cheese (I'm sure fish-paste is also acceptable) on top. Also, a popular treat here is the kanelbulle which is like a cinnamon bun without the frosting... they are good and I believe someone told me there is a kanelbulle day that is nationally recognized! I'm going to have to look into that though; it's possible the person was just yanking my chain...

They get a lot of American TV here. It isn’t that bad for the most part… but they get MTV. Have any of you ever seen the show Yo Mamma? It is a disgrace to the US especially when shown in other countries! Some friends and I were flipping through the channels a while back and ran across Yo Mamma. One of them immediately said, “Yeah, this is what Americans are like!” I have also been asked whether the US is really what is portrayed in the movies. They wanted to know whether everyone in the south has a hot temper, a shot gun, and no reservations about using it and whether our parties are really like the ones in American Pie! A Texan I know jokingly told someone that he’s killed a few people and the person believed him! Hmm, maybe we’re not really helping… ;)

Speaking of the entertainment industry, I was shocked to hear that Regina Spektor is quite popular in Scottland… and here I thought my roommate, Dan, was her only big fan. Foreigners do seem very happy that they can listen to music from the US. Also, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton are even on the covers of all the magazines here! I was talking with a guy one night and he made me realize just how universal the US is… I know I’m in the capital of Sweden, but I never would have guessed that there would be so many reminders of home. Sometimes it hardly feels like I’m in another country because they have McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, TV, music, Skippy peanut butter, Weight Watchers meals, Cheerios, Pantene hair products, and the list goes on. H&M and 7-11s are like Starbucks here! If there isn’t one in sight, take two steps to your right, and then – yup – there’s one! I’m pleased to report that the 7-11s are like smaller, more up-scale Walgreens with a little food area (similar to the ones in Target) and H&M is just as inexpensive.

I have now had both Swedish pancakes and Swedish meatballs which are both very tasty. Meatballs are generally in huge plastic packages in the frozen food isle and very inexpensive. It is traditional to eat meatballs with potatoes (mashed or baked) and lignon berry sauce (tastes a lot like cranberry sauce but without all the zing - don’t get me wrong… there’s zing – just not as much). In an information meeting, I found out that Sweden is known for its lack of culinary expertise… but they are trying to turn that around and so far (except for one incident :) ) the food has been good.

So, the Swedish dinner was really good. I got to try reindeer paste, salmon with a potato and cheese loaf-type thing, an apple and rhubarb tart, as well as some beer, wine, and schnapps. During and after dinner there was a lot of singing… by the group who organized the dinner and groups of tipsy students. Luckily, there was only one other American in the room (of about 200) and neither of us felt like embarrassing ourselves. At one point during the dinner we were all given the phonetic version of a popular Swedish song Helan Går. As it turns out, the person who was in charge of writing the phonetic version decided to just write some of it in English so it makes absolutely no sense. Here it goes:

Hell and gore,
Chung hop father allan allan lay,
Hell and gore,
Chung hop father allan lay,
Oh handsome in the hell and tar,
Hand hell are in the half and four,
Hell and gooooorrrre… (shoot the schnapps)
Chung hop father allan lay!

Interesting, huh? After dinner there was a party at the union which was really fun. People are really really into techno music here so that was all that the dj played – I’m fine with that, techno is fun to dance to.

The next night there was a party in Lappis (the area where a lot of the students from KTH, Stockholm University, and other colleges live). Before the party, I played drinking games UK-style… meaning hard core! :) Unfortunately, the other American playing the games was at the point where he said he needed to stop, but two Scottish friends wouldn’t let him quit. When playing the game “ride the bus” we were drinking a finger’s width of our glasses instead of simply taking a drink when necessary! Then when one person must “ride the bus” nine cards are put face down in a diamond shape and the driver must get from one end to the other without turning over a face card. If the driver turns over a face card, he or she must drink half of their drink and start from the beginning! Yeah, they mean business here! :)

The meeting with the mechanical engineering chapter went well. We toured our building, our pub (each chapter has it’s own little pub – I think that should be standard world-wide), and then played the Zero game. It is where everyone squeezes together in a circle (back to front) and then sits. This was awkward for me for two main reasons… first of all, I like my personal space (which seems almost nonexistent here) and second, the guys right in front of me and right behind me were both at least one foot taller than me! When we first formed the circle (everyone faces inward), the lady in charge said, “Alright everyone, squeeze together – shoulder to shoulder.” The guy to my right looked in my direction and said, “Hmmm, I guess we’re more like shoulder to elbow!” …So after that fun game, the leader invited all of us to try herring on crackers (a traditional Swedish snack). It was herring from a can, on a cracker, and smothered in either sour cream or a honey mustard sauce. I had the one with the mustard sauce and all I can say is thank goodness we got little Dixie cups of Guinness to wash it down!

Sorry these are so long… I find it a lot easier to write everything down in large chunks rather than every day (…obviously :) ).