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 :) ).

Alright, so here’s my first blog entry from Sweden:

First of all, thank goodness for kind Europeans... since I took two large suitcases and a carry-on, I was having problems lugging it all until two nice Brits insisted on helping me and sharing a taxi. They were going to central Stockholm but KTH’s main campus was on the way so they also insisted on paying the 440 SEK ($80+) bill. A couple guys helped me get my luggage in the union so I could register and pick up my keys. The lady who gave me my keys told me I needed to walk 2 blocks, take the subway to “Universitetet,” and then take the bus to the dorms…. I called a taxi. The driver was very nice but got lost because there are about 15 dorm buildings on three different streets and there is no method to the numbering of the dorms. Eventually he found it and offered to help me take my luggage to my room. I said no and it was while he was driving away that I realized my room is on the fourth floor! It took me a while but I got to my room which was shockingly clean.

That night there was a barbecue at the union for all the international students, so I went, met some Germans and experienced the language barrier. One girl actually told me it was hard to speak English because she had to think about it so much! Luckily, that isn’t the general consensus and I have met many other people who have asked me to correct their mistakes. It is amazing how well most of the people here speak English and how much they want to improve their speaking capabilities. I am meeting a lot of great people and having a lot of fun with the communication challenges.

Swedish 1 began on August 2nd at 9 AM. I got up at 5 to make sure I could find the class and look around the campus (and this can’t be all that surprising to anyone who knows me since you know I always get lost… and that’s when I can read the signs). Class is going well; we are already writing essays! I remember when I was in Spanish 1, back in 7th grade, we started out learning how to count, the alphabet, and pronunciation. Ellen taught us polite conversation on our first day! We went through the alphabet and numbers about two days later!

When I’m not in class, I’m normally wandering around downtown Stockholm. The city is made up of 11 islands and I have been on 4 so far. There are tons of beautiful old buildings with small parks and boats along the sides of the islands. The “tunnelbana” system here is quite extensive and very useful (especially when you buy the card for unlimited rides for a month).
People here are very elegant; the women wear very fashionable clothes and most of the men (that I think are Swedes) wear suits. I have gone to the shopping district multiple times to people watch and check out Swedish fashion. Baby doll dresses and tops, skinny jeans, and Keds (shoes) are all very popular. I went into one store (that I think is like Sweden’s Macy’s) and they were selling distressed Keds for $30+ with the more distressed and colorful ones reaching $65! I have seen so many outfits that most Americans (at least the people I know) wouldn’t be caught dead in! I have also seen what seems like millions of tall, lean, tan, and blonde people. I don’t feel too out of place when I’m with all the other exchange students but that may change when the Swedes come back for school in September.

Food here has been an interesting situation. There is a food market at the bottom of the hill my dorm is on and everything is labeled in Swedish. I guess it’s not that surprising but it’s scary to buy something when you’re not completely sure what it is. I guess cheese, lunch meat, and dairy products are the most difficult to pick out. Cheese is just hard because they sell it in blocks and most of it looks pretty much the same and I don’t think they have cheddar (which is unfortunate because I really like cheddar). I know now that “skink” is ham, “ost” is cheese, and “mjölk” is milk. The milk is sold in the same containers as yogurt (cardboard boxes about ½ the size of a cereal box) and a few people I know guessed incorrectly. I’ve also realized that I have to be more cautious of what I eat here. On Sunday, I went to a café downtown with a Swede and had a warm apple crisp with whipped cream. Monday morning, about 40 minutes after class started, I began to feel really sick. I excused myself to the bathroom… but I didn’t make it! This was not alcohol induced since I haven’t had any for two weeks now, but I had my head in a garbage can in the hall! My conclusion is that the whipped cream at the café had gone bad. I have been sick like that two times in the past six years and I don’t even think someone’s 21st birthday should count (I blame the other time on The Big Ten’s 2 for 1 long island night). Anyways, it was gross and I’d like to avoid any future exposure to spoiled food!

7-28-2007

So I just created my very own blog (obviously) to document my stay in Sweden; exciting!