Monday, June 20, 2011

Homecoming

Well my ordinary Swedish life has come to an end. I've been in Vancouver for over a week now and am settling back into life here. And unemployment. Sweet, sweet unemployment.

Before heading back to Vancouver, I went to London for a few days. This marked my official departure from my time in Sweden. I can't say it wasn't a teary good bye when Katreace and I left on the train from Malmo. In fact, it was pretty much from a movie. Tre and I said our goodbyes, boarded the train with our multiple kilos of luggage and stood there crying. Our friends stood on the platform, also crying, and the train didn't leave. It took about 45 seconds for the doors to close and the train to depart, but ask anyone, it felt like forever. After all our tears were shed, we boarded our plane for the last time at the Copenhagen Airport gate F for London. We arrived in London and made our way to the city centre to meet Katie. The only obstacle between us and that goal was our luggage. We literally had everything we brought with us in bags. It was so heavy. And you really don't realize how inaccessible London transport is until you're lugging 4 twenty kilo suitcases up and down flights of stairs. Anyways, we made it to Covent Garden and I was happily reunited with Katie. But sadly this meant leaving Katreace. She was heading out on a Contiki tour the next day. As we were out of tears, we said good bye in a happy way, but knowing that we were sad to part.

I then spent a lovely two full days in London with Katie and Rob. List of what we did:
- took the Thames Clipper into Central London
- walked the South Bank and experienced the Summer of Smiles
- had a lot of cider
- ate curry surrounded by school children
- browsed shops
- drank cider in Sommerset House gardens
- pub hopped...drinking cider of course
- met Rob for dinner
- ate mini sandwiches
- had a pint at 11am
- met an old friend for lunch
- went to Primark
- failed at going to Camden Markets
- had an after-work (for Rob) pint
- ate delicious sushi
- went to play in the arcades...two pent machines are the best!
- threw Slime Tyre on the ground
- consumed another pint
- watched the Canucks game at 1am..fell asleep at 1:15am

The next day was a big challenge, I didn't have Katreace to help me and I had to get to the airport on the tube. Alone. With all my luggage. Thanks to the help of some Londoners, I made it, albeit a bit sweaty. I got to my gate and eventually boarded my plane. Just when it was about time to take off, we were informed that a passenger had "decided not to fly" thus we had to deplane and remove all our luggage so the plane could be searched. This was a little disconcerting as I was about to be on this plane for 8 hours. All turned out to be fine and I was in Edmonton shortly after. My first stop in Canada...such a bustling metropolis. At this point, I just wanted to be home. I was getting anxious! I arrived home and ran into the arms of my mom and step-dad. Then little did I know, but I was surprised by my roommates as well! It was so good to see everyone. I headed home, back to real life. The jet lag was a little overwhelming at first especially as I had a wedding to attend two days after. Anyways, I coped and was so happy to see so much family in just a few short days after I arrived.

Since then, I have worked for convocation at my university, had countless meals out, seen friends, watched my mom graduate from her PhD and much more. Now I'm just looking for a job and starting a class next week. Oh, and moving in two weeks. Busy busy. Even without work. Because of this business, it's hard to believe I have only been gone from Sweden for about two weeks. It feels like I never left, which is nice, but also weird. There are still days when I remember cooking a meal with people from 5 different countries. Or dancing in Celsius to Backstreet Boys. I don't think these memories will ever fade. But they are hard to explain to people that weren't there. So if there is anything you want to know, just ask me. It will (hopefully) be fun for you, and will take me on a trip down memory lane.

OH!! Iceland, I haven't written about that. Katreace, Katharina and I went to Iceland from the 26th-31st of May. It was amazing. Cold. But the craziest, most beautiful landscapes. We rented a little Toyota Yaris and tore up the country side. 1200 km in 3 days. Weeee. Saw geysers, waterfalls, horsies, black sand beaches, volcanoes, so much MAGMA, bathed in natural hot springs, soaked our feet in mud, breathed in the stench of sulphur, walked, talked, laughed. Etc. It was truly an amazing trip. Different than any of my other travels too. Pictures to come.

As for now, I think I'm going to have to re-vamp my blog as unfortunately I won't be gallivanting around Europe to create exhilarating posts. More to come...

xx

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Living an ordinary (Swedish) life - pt. 2

Yet another ordinary week. Winding down with classes (only 1 left!! and then critiques), and I will be done everything but my final project by Wednesday. Weeee! On Thursday, Katharina, Katreace and I are supposed to be off to Iceland, but apparently the rapture did come and caused another volcano to erupt. Bigger than last years...so we will see how that pans out.

The week's happenings:
- Class x 2
- Paul's Birthday Celebration x 1
- Breakfast and gym with Katreace x 2
- Errands x 1
- Addiction to "Border Security" and "Banged up Abroad" x a million
- Girl's cocktail night followed by Max Burger x 1
- Crazy party (last night with everyone here) x death
- Lazy day in bed x now

Essentially that is what I've been up to. That and really thinking about coming home (as it's very soon) which is weird. I'm going to have to pack up my life in the next few weeks and come back to another one. It will definitely be sad. It will definitely be exciting. And it will definitely be part of the experience. I won't get too sappy now, but it's hard to know that this life will be over and never the same again, but I will always have time to look back on it anddddd couches to surf all over the world. Weeee.

Factz
1. When your bike gets a flat tire 2 weeks before you leave, it's really sad. Poor Stina.
2. Apparently Sweden is trying to ease me back into Vancouver weather as it's pouring rain here today. I oddly appreciate it.
3. Canucks are playing tonight at a time I can actually watch! Yeehaw.
4. Swedes worship the sun. Yesterday it was about 18 degrees and the parks were littered with scantily clad people. I guess they'll take what they can get as it's a rainpocalypse today. Smart Swedes.


xx

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Living an ordinary (Swedish) life

So much like last week, this week was pretty uneventful in terms of outrageous, chaotic adventures. Just regular life. Which is quite nice actually. Besides the fact that its been raining. Boo. It's funny, we were going to go out for dinner on Saturday, but it was raining, so we decided not to. I thought about if that was how we operated in Vancouver, we would actually never leave the house. Ever. It would be a sad, hobbit-like existence. The weather is supposed to get better starting....soon. So that's a plus. But speaking of weather, I'm going to Iceland soon and I will be going back in time in terms of seasons. It's going to be like 4 degrees. But also amazing. So it's one of the situations where you have to weigh the odds and I think Iceland will win the battle over the weather.

What else happened this week...Oh! I went to Copenhagen avec Paul to the Carlsberg Brewery. Where there were ponies! Neigh. It was in a quaint little neighbourhood with old houses and lots of trees. Very cute. One downside, no ATMs, so we had to leave a sandwich at a shop as no cash funds could be secured. Ah well. We later satisfied our hungers with McDonalds (classy and European) after only having had beers. Thanks Carlsberg!

Also, this weekend was the Eurovision Song Contest Finale! Exciting stuff I tell you. It started at approximately 8:30pm and finished at 12:30am. Long. Haul. Though it sounds stupid (and it is) you really get sucked in after watching things such as this:

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgRbURC5Sr4&feature=fvst
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXouSYabDig

or if you want to see what Sweden has to offer... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW7AdnCYRPs&feature=relmfu.

Boom. Amazing European madness. I was saying if this was broad casted in North America, people would either flock to Europe faster than you can say "So Lucky" or never, ever travel to Europe, ever again. Ever. Anyways, there were snacks provided and plenty of people to mock hilarious dance moves and mock even more hilarious singing moment (France?! wtf.) Azerbijan won. Is that even part of Europe you say? Answer: basically no. Chew on that EUROvision.


Anyways, everything is just trucking along. I don't have too much longer here, but I'm soaking up every last moment. Going to have a few good parties, a few good sunsets, and a lot of good mems. Yeehaw.


It's that time again...
1. Hagen Daaz= Gourment, Ben and Jerry's=Gourmand. Debate settled.
2. As previously mentioned, rain does impact people's lives here. Far less bikes on the road and people out in general. They would die in Vancouver.
3. In Swedish pharmacies, drugs come from the ceiling on a slide. Weeeee.
4. I can't find one of my favourite scarves. Whomp.

xx

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Det snurrar i min skalle

BORING WEEK. Well not really, but nothing super awesome like having my mom visit.

This week consisted mainly of homework and being lazy. Which was a great way to switch things up. It's really nice to have some down time and just hang out with people here. Oh Kat and Patricia and I also went shopping which was nice. We had some good family dinners, I ate a thousand crepes, hung out in the sun, etc.

I actually have nothing to write about. Well yesterday, a group of us went to the beach and hung out. The idea was good, but the wind was not. We still toughed it out and ate our snacks and drank our dranks basking in the loveliness of the sea. Then, we ventured to Mollan to find Malmos (apparently best) falafel. Of course I opted for the meat choice (Kebab). We ate it up and then set out on our bikes back home. We then played Mario Kart, and by we I mean not me as I fell asleep on the couch. I think last night was the first time I went to bed before midnight in a long time. Amazing.

Today, I awoke nice and early to go on a road trip up the east coast of Sweden. I set out in a car full of Germans to some techno music. Good way to start a Sunday, I'd say. Our first stop was a really nice rocky cliff-y area with tress and HILLS (surprising as Sweden doesn't have many of those). We gallivanted and had a picnic before exploring a bit. Thank goodness it was a lovely day. We then moved onto Molle to a sandy beach. We all hunkered down for a bit of a nap then a cartwheel contest. Weee. Lastly, we made our way to Helsinborg to find ice cream. We ate it by the sea overlooked by Europe's flags. Classy.

Now I'm back home in my bed getting ready to embark on some work. Boo. Oh and Happy Mother's Day by the way :)

Meow. Facts!
1. This is the shortest blog I've ever written. You are welcome.
2. Gelato in Malmo at Italia is better than anywhere else. Period.
3. Weigh in on this debate: Ben and Jerry's vs. Haagen-Daz. Go!
4. Who thought I would need to buy shorts in Sweden? Not I. Foiled.

xx

Monday, May 2, 2011

Happy Birthday to me (and other lovely events)

Though my past few blogs may lead you to believe that my life is ever-so glamorous, it's really nice to be back at my home base with some time to rest on my hands. And more importantly it's time to get my life back in order.

Things that I haven't done in a long time/just completed:
- gone to class
- cleaned my room
- laundry
- grocery shopped

You get the idea. Thankfully, after tonight, I will be caught up with all these things and thus, one step closer to being a functioning human.

Enough of my pity party, the past week and a bit has been amazing! After I got home and had a good nights sleep after Vienna and Budapest, I was up early to clean my room and prepare for my mother's arrival. I went to the Central Station at noon and frantically searched for the correct platform to receive them at. After finally deciphering the arrivals boards I waited. And waited. And then the train arrived. I spotted my mom and aunt immediately. On the first car. Meaning I ran the whole platform. Actually ran, to meet their car. I believe one of the first things I was asked was "Are you sick?". Nope just ran to greet you! After many hugs I got them settled into beautiful (and incredibly sunny, Malmo).

We started with a hearty Swedish meal to sustain them after their long flights. Of course, this was followed by a nap. We then toodled about the city, browsing my residence, a grocery store, various walking paths, cafes, and then for a lovely tapas dinner. The next day we took Malmo by storm by bike. My aunt hasn't ridden in years, but after a little gentle coaxing, we were breezing by the sea. We went all around the Turning Torso, dipped our toes into the Baltic, checked out the bath house and generally enjoyed the amazing weather. Both my mom and aunt were expecting 10-12 degrees. They were surprised when they landed and were greeted by a balmy 19 with full sun. Thanks Sweden! This tiring day was followed by some resting, fika, and a mondo steak dinner. It was served on a plank. With onion rings. Nom.

Day three was shopping. We had to strategically plan this as to avoid Easter Holidays which meant closed stores. We pranced through the streets of Sweden looking for lovely wares. We went to shops for clothings, trinkets, home wares and more! We went to one store (where I found a dress [which was also a birthday present, thanks Nancy-Ann and Mama!] for Heather's wedding) where we met a lovely Canadian sales lady. The store, which was one of my favourites already, became even more so with the help of this lovely lady. She brought us all sorts of goodies and rejoiced when we Canadians (unlike the Swedes) hopped on the runway to look at our clothes. Proof: http://www.l-and-i.se/blog/2011/5/2/canadian-people-makes-us-happy-and-they-are-beautiful. Cool right? Practically famous in Sweden now. We then asked her for some restaurant recommendations which were delicious as we could vouch as we went that evening. Katharina and Katreace came along to Plocke-Pinn for a delicious tapas dinner. We had seafood, and meat, and veggies galore. Along with some sparkling white. Yum. It was such a good meal indeed. We capped off the night (we meaning Kat and Kat and I) by saying good bye to Laura as she went home to the States.

The next day we packed a picnic and enjoyed our Easter Sunday as Falsterbo and Skanor on a white sand beach. We relaxed in the sun nestled in a dune with our books and bottle of wine. We spent most of the day relaxing and scoping out the Swedes on the beach. It was a nice break after walking around in the sun for so long! After schleping wine out of the bottle with my family, we headed back and my mother and I went for a paddle boat along the canals. After almost being attacked by rogue Swedish youth, we brought in the boats and had a seafood dinner. So much shrimp yum. It was a good way to end our last day in Malmo. That night we got all packed up and I got a big bag ready for my mom to take home with her. No need for winter clothes any longer! It was kind of bittersweet as it meant my time here was getting closer to closing. But alas, I still had many more adventures ahead of me.

We caught the train across the bridge to Denmark the next day. After dropping our things at our quaint little apartment in the city, we walked over to the canals to find a boat tour. We purchased our tickets and found a bite to eat at a sidewalk cafe in the sun. After fueling up, we hopped on our tour boat to learn about Copenhagen from the sea. We saw all the sites, castles, statues, opera houses etc. We stopped at the Little Mermaid Statue and wandered around there a bit then over to Our Saviour's Church and Christiania. We scaled the steps of the church to a tower on top for a view of the city. We also got to go for free as we were the last people up so we locked the doors on the way down too. VIPs on the top of the tower! We then caught the boat back to the city centre and refreshed at our apartment. We wanted to find a nice brewpub but it was closed due to the holiday which turned out to be a good thing as we found a quaint little French bistro that was amazing (let me know if you want the deets). We had mussels which Nancy Ann had been craving and the server was amazing (especially in regards to his hot chocolate making abilities!).

The next day was (drum roll) MY BIRTHDAY! Yay. We started the day off with some pastries and yogurt (our favourite in Denmark - their dairy is just so good!). Then we hopped on a train to Hamelbaeck to go to the Lousiana Museum. It was a lovely ride through the country side to this small little town. We wandered through and stopped in a couple of shops before getting to the museum. It was a beautiful little building, but after entering it was quite the juxtaposition between old and new. The big exhibit currently is Picasso (specifically his pieces with a political influence). It was such a large collection - pretty amazing an 85 year old could make 2000 pieces of pottery in a year. I don't think I'll ever make any in my life. Ha. We wandered through some more bits including a drawings on iPads and iPhones (cool) and then had lunch in their cafe which was largely on a beautiful terrace overlooking the water. There were sweet sculptures and seniors abound! We pranced through the rest and headed home. We toodled around to some shops and then went back to the hotel to put on our faces and party dresses for the evening. We tried to get a table at Noma (the best restaurant in the world, no joke), but they were booked so we went to a place that backed onto Tivoli called Nimb. It was beautiful! Lovely terrace and lights and prettiness! We had a nice little drink then moved on to our four course meal. It was so delicious. Wine pairings and all. And of course again, we finished with hot chocolate. We took a walk through the gardens and called it a night.

The next morning we woke up and decided to find a nice local spot for breaky. We ended up walking through the red-light-ish area to a local hang out. It was cute and delicious. Portions were huge, but traditionally Danish. I think we were the only Anglophones in the whole place - authentic. We then walked through a cute boutiquey area before heading to the main shopping streets to find a dress for my mother. At the last second (before we were supposed to meet Jacob), we found it! Just our luck (as we'd spent a lot of time looking and trying on awful dresses). We then scurried to meet Jacob (who lives in Copenhagen) who took us around the city. We hit up the Kings Garden, Castle, Botanical Garden, Student area of the city, and a nice square. It was nice to see some spots we wouldn't usually see, and it was even nicer to enjoy some beers in the sun. I then had to get home to have a Skype interview (which my mom and aunt kindly left as to not distract me during). I met with them after, greeted with some bubbly. We then we on to our last supper - hot dogs and beer by the canals. Lovely indeed.

The next morning we were off the airport. I dropped my mom and aunt and my giant bag off and saw them on their way (with a few little tears). It was so good to have them. So nice to show people around and have family see what my life has been like. (This blog is getting more and more sappy as I get closer and closer to leaving, apologies). Love to them both!

I came back on Thursday and started to get my life back in order. That is, until people convinced me to go out and have some drinks. That turned into going to two clubs and having a lovely time with friends I hadn't seen in a while. That resulted in Friday being spent mostly lounging in bed followed by a sushi picnic. Delicious. Friday was low key as Saturday was Valborg. I don't really know how to explain what it is exactly, but basically a celebration of May beginning. So on the last day of April, in student towns (Lund and Upsalla) students gather in a park, dance, and drink their faces off. Essentially the most amazing concept ever. We hopped aboard a bus at 9am (not student-like, I know) and set up camp for the day. Deejays started playing, drinks started flowing and before you knew it, it was 7pm. Needless to say I was quick to bed that night. Sunday was an Art Day with Ingrid (more catching up on reality). And now today, I had my first class in over two weeks - reality bites they say.

Please excuse me if I forgot certain events. They most likely included: laughing, hugging, drinking beverages, and eating. All enjoyed by all. Also at night, when the old lasses retreated to bed, I generally caught up with my exchange amigos as I had missed them dearly on my travels.


Fun!
1. New Canadianism - "fair enough".
2. I really wanted to vote, and I really tried, but they didn't send me my papers. Sadness.
3. Dairy here is actually so delicious. I think I am going to miss it the most (besides the people, I guess).
4. I have no facts. Sorry.

xx

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Budapest + Vienna + Sun burns + Amazing

So I just got back from a week away. An amazing week away at that.

Last Thursday, Ingrid and I embarked on yet another journey. We left class a little early (after bonding with our teachers), and headed to our favourite airport ever, Malmo Sturup. We were once again delighted with Wizz Airs state of the art planes, but were comforted by a nice man describing the delights of Budapest to us. We touched down in Budapest and weren't exactly wooed by the airport. There were various men yelling "Taxi Please!" at us, but we knew the train cost about 30 cents and ventured on to find that.

After walking to the train station, and then to the other platform (as the ticket machine was broken), we discovered that none of our credit cards were being accepted. Cue brainstorm. We decided to go back to the airport (and through the taxi men) to find some change. We bought our tickets at a tourist booth and were again on our way. We had to sprint to make the train so we ended up in a weird section of a car that was first class. And because we obviously aren't first class citizens, we stayed in this little compartment near the bathroom. The start of our adventure.

PAUSE, my mother is currently about to board her flight to come visit me and I am so excited. Ecstatic even. Annnnd resume.

We got to the centre of Budapest near our hostel and clumsily found out way there eventually (after calling and asking for directions). We were greeted by friendly staff and an adorable cozy hostel. We got settled and immediately found a place to eat. This is when we were introduced to how delicious, meaty, and cheap Budapest is. We had an appy, entre, half-litre beers, and a dessert - for 12 Canadian dollars. Truly amazing. We were stuffed and tired so headed back to do some planning for the days to come and get some sleep.

The next day we started off with a walking tour of Budapest. We saw a lot of major sites and got tipped off on the things to see and do as well as tips to have the best time in Budapest. One of these was to go to the central market to have cheap, delicious lunch. Of course we complied. We were joined on this excursion by an American girl on exchange in Paris. We had some eats and browsed the wares at the market. After we parted ways, Ingrid and I decided to head to the famous bath houses. We wandered to a big city park full of museums and attractions to Széchenyi Baths. We dove right in (literally) to all the pools, steam rooms, and saunas. There's even a big outdoor section. We spent a couple of hours there relaxing and trying everything out. As well as taking some great pictures, obviously.

We were quite relaxed but decided that going out was essential. We went to a ruin bar (bars that were built in old, delapitated buildings) and had a great time taking in the atmosphere with some girls from out hostel. All and all a good first day.

The next day we decided to check out the shopping scene and went to a local mall. After getting some goods (including a new spring coat weee!) we headed back to the central market to browse some leather goods. Ingrid and I both purchased real leather bags for a screaming deal. We also had some Hungarian treats. Yum! We then scaled a large view point and spent a bit of time at the top admiring the view, taking photos, and sketching. It was so nice to be somewhere so green as Malmo isn't quite there yet. We hiked down and up another hill on the Buda side, to the castle. We checked out the Budapest history museum and then went into the labyrinth. Which is literally a maze below the castle, that you navigate with a gas lantern. It was freaky. And cool. But weird. Ha. We watched the sun set from the top then walked along the Danube and watched all the city light up.

The next part was a little tricky. We were on a quest for a restaurant that was recommended to us. And we didn't have a map. We wandered a bit as we were told it was by the Opera house. When we found ourselves at the Parliament we decided to try to find some help. First suitable people we found? Police officers. Unfortunately, they didn't speak much English, so I had to sing Opera to get them to understand me. I'm sure they were impressed. I'm actually surprised I didn't get scouted at that moment. We got pointed in the right direction, but decided to find a hotel to get some proper directions. After finally finding the restaurant, we were happy to find out it was delicious and a table had just opened up. Yay.

We then headed back home and were whisked out again by a group at our hostel. We went to another sprawling ruin-type bar with tonnes of rooms and types of bar/club styles. There was really something for everyone. All and all a good night.

The next day was when I was heading for Vienna. We checked out some monuments, the parliament (for real this time), and finished off by having lunch at a cafe, on the patio of course. It was so sunny and delightful. After that, I was off to the bus depot to find my way to Vienna. The bus ride, about two hours, was going smoothly until we passed the Austrian border and the bus was stopped for a passport search. A burly police officer came aboard the bus and took everyone's passport who wasn't an EU citizen. I had to refrain from saying "BUT I NEEEED THAT!" He took our passports off the bus and returned, but not with all the passports. Luckily, mine was returned. But after about 40 minutes, one man didn't make it back on the bus. That was awkward. But we were on our away again and I was closer and closer to seeing Jen!

I arrived in beautiful, sunny Vienna to beautiful, sunny Jen. We headed back to her place to collect ourselves and find a place to eat. This started the common thread of our visit - food. We were recommended an Asian restaurant by one of her local friends and were both more than excited to have some oriental cuisine back in our lives. We both pretty much died. This cute, modern restaurant delivered true asian delights. Considering we hung out at the restaurant till closing, we headed back home and crashed hard (she had just returned from a tour around Ireland). The rest of our trip basically consisted of the following: eating, touring, seeing sights, sitting in parks, drinking, eating, eating, eating, sun bathing, drinking, eating, eating. Yum. We had gelato, pastries, deli delights, sushi, Austrian cuisine, and much more. We checked out a lot of parks, a market, shopping areas (necessary after spilling sangria on white shirts), and some bars. We met up with Kristin and Daniel (a local Austrian) one night and it was really great to have someone who spoke the language and knew the city. Vienna is absolutely beautiful. Sunny. Great transit. Could be a contender in the list of European cities Emily would live in. And of course, the cherry on top was sharing it with a good friend from home. Did I mention we sun tanned, and got burnt? Sorry, is it snowing at home? Oops.

Now I'm practically dying of tiredness in bed. I flew from Vienna to Riga, Latvia and had a layover there. I just about missed my flight because apparently Latvia is on a different time zone. But it's okay, I'm here now. And tomorrow my lovely mother and aunt will arrive. And shortly after is my birthday. Oh and it's supposed to be 17 degrees tomorrow. I guess you could say I'm looking forward to this week. Oh and I don't have class until the 28th. Woo.

Facts for your amusement:

1. Being in Hungary makes you feel like a baller. Their one unit of currency is worth 0.005 of a dollar. I took out 40,000. Gangsta.
2. I'm done my Swedish course round two. Had my exam last week. We shall see how we did, I'm not fluent, but I'm way better than before. And after being away, I've realized how much I miss the language when I'm gone.
3. I'm going to be old in a few days. Tragic!
4. I know this may be obvious, but the food culture in Europe is just far superior to Canada. I'm going to miss the inexpensive freshness and quality.
5. Gelato is delicious everywhere. I've had marzipan, pistachio, and coconut. Yum. More flavours to come.
6. It's finally spring here. Trees are almost green. How I've missed it.
7. These facts aren't fun. Forgive me?

xx

Sunday, April 10, 2011

The Week Emily Fell off the Face of the Earth

PSYCHE. I didn't actually, but it's been a while since I've been around here. I blame it on the fact that I have not been updating my blog on Sundays, as per usual, therefore everything gets thrown off. Also, April is probably my craziest month here...trips...homework...and the like.

Anyhow, what have I been up to since the end of March? Well homework, enjoying the sun, praising the beginning of bbq season, laying in the grass, etc. etc. Some random baking, skyping, and partying has also been thrown into that mix.

Now I'm sitting on my bed on Sunday morning with the Swedish sun streaming through my window thinking of all the work I have to do today before I head to Budapest and Vienna on Thursday (with a couple of assignments and a test between now and then). But of course, I made the time to update all you lovely people (read: approximately 4 people).

The big news this week? I went to Poland for three days! Ingrid and I headed to Warsaw on Tuesday after class and flew with the sketchiest airline of all time: Wizzair. I swear my seat pocket was held together with gum and the arm rests were glued on. Barring that, we arrived safely at the Chopin Airport and made our way into the city. We gladly paid approximately 70 cents for the bus (about 30 minutes) and rejoiced with our introduction to this cheap, cheap city. Thanks Eastern Europe! After finding our hostel (full of middle-aged men), we went to the old town to find pierogi of course!

Ingrid and I each had 10 dumplings, an appy, a beer, and dessert. It came to about 28 dollars. If that isn't a steal, I don't know what is. We followed dinner by meandering through the streets of old town and decided to call it a night. We headed back to our dorm and we greeted by the sound of a snoring symphony. Hurrah.

The next day, we started out to a museum, the Warsaw Uprising Museum a little out of the city centre. It was really cool (and educational of course), but the best part was the 3D film of what the city looked like during the war. And by best, I mean probably most depressing, but really interesting. And we got to wear really cool glasses. Nice. We then got lost roaming the streets but bought delicious treats to console ourselves. The old town once again beckoned us for some lunch and shopping. We bought some polish handi-crafts and amber jewlery (which is really cheap - $30 for a sterling silver ring, woo!). At lunch, we realized we were too polite for Poland as we didn't beckon the waiter for the bill. This wasted about 20 minutes, but we really got to experience the...culture? Sure. After, we walked back to the centre and went to the Palace of Culture and Science to go up to the roof top terrace for a view of the city. The complicated part? This building has about 45 entrances all for different things. After trying about four and having English signs tapped for us, we found our way and coughed up the largest sum of our trip - $5. We took some pictures of the city and went on satisfied. Out into the rain, blah. To lift our spirits, we again got some treats and went shopping. Haha. After this brief stint of retail therapy, we walked to a big round about with a fake palm tree in the middle and a monument of Charles de Gaulle. Strange, I know. We then wandered to find a place to dinner where we again learned quickly we were too polite and also had to take a stab at whether a circle or triangle represented the women's bathroom (surprise, it was the circle). On our way home we bought some Krupnik (Polish Honey Liquor) and decided to start our night. We hung out with people at our hostel til the wee hours of the morning and consumed liquid honey alcoholic deliciousness. Fortunately, this consumption of alcohol allowed up to sleep through the snoring.

The next morning we met up with some people from the night before and headed to a very Polish establishment, McDonalds, for breakfast. The language barrier really came into play here when I was trying to order a McCroissant and hashbrown patty. There was a lot of jumping and pointing involved, but I got what I ordered about 20 minutes after the Playboy earringed cashier rung through my order. We gobbled down our food and then headed to Lazienki Park. We tried to pay for the bus there, but couldn't figure out the system...apparently the ticket checkers couldn't either as they boarded the bus and didn't bother to check anyone's tickets. Oh Poland. We wandered through the park stalking peacocks and strange squirrels, saw the sites and enjoyed some inner-city greenery. After our stint here, we headed back into the city as I needed to catch a bus to the airport. We grabbed some lunch, did some sketches and got distracted by H&M on the way to the bus. I made it on time, don't worry, but was intimidated by all the airport workers wearing camo pants and combat boots. I picked up some duty-free liquor and was on my way home. Warsaw was pretty cool, a lot of history (they basically rebuilt the entire city) neat buildings etc. Something that was not neat? The language. So confusing. A 'y' is basically equivalent of an 's'. Strange.

Oooh also, last weekend we went to the bath house. It was pretty cool. We hung out with a lot of old sweaty Swedish ladies but got to sweat it up in the sauna and jump into the Baltic Sea. Naked. Ow ow! Katreace, Katharina, Alyce, Elise, and Lauren all had a fabbity weekend together. We also had our first experience at a Swedish club. This basically consisted of all us exchange students going out and having the equivalent of one of our parties at the club. Amazing.

Anyways, I'm off to start my productive day and I will talk to y'all when I'm back from my travels to greet my lovely mother and aunt! Cannot wait!

It's that time again...
1. In Poland, they only eat meat and starch. And cabbage. Whatever that is qualified as.
2. We are all fiending for summer so bad. We had a bbq last night and stayed outside as long as possible even though we were shrouded in blankets.
3. Voting while overseas is extremely complicated. My recommendation to the government you ask? Online voting! Yay.
4. Alcohol is so so cheap in Poland. A 750ml bottle of Vodka is about $5. For the good stuff.
5. Happy Birthday Sophie!!!
6. It's pretty funny when you're going into the bathhouse and someone you're with yells that "It's stupid!" that we can't wear bathing suits. Especially when the employees response is "No it's not." Haha.

xx

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

ABBA var ett band från Sverige.

I'll let you in on a secret, this blog title really has nothing to do with what I'm going to say. Really I was inspired by my blog idol (Sarah) to make random Swedish titles with little to no connection to my content. I think it really adds an element of mystique to my writing. Your thoughts?

But really, ABBA is a band from Sweden and I have a 10 minute presentation on them (with Sarah, actually) in Swedish on Thursday. I should realllly practice that. Words such as "bäst säljande" are not the easiest to say. 

Anyhow, this week was yet another spent in the lovely Malmo. We have had some good weather (read: sunny, but still cold). Warm enough for me to switch from winter gloves to trusty magic mitts. This week I have:

1. Received a package from my loving Father.  Now I can have Canadian beauty in Sweden.
2. Finished a course and a 10 page paper about hockey and identity. And gave a presentation on the same subject. Everyone was enthralled...
3. Went for fika multiple times.
4. Toodled around Swedish suburbs on my bike.
5. Wrote and created a presentation on ABBA, in Swedish. Ja!
6. Went to an old town in Skane (the south of Sweden) called Ystad, and experienced a true European Sunday (aka everything was closed).
7. Made a 20 second film about Swedish Spring. Obviously hillarious.
8. Spent 3 hours drawing a glass bottle. Drawing is fun. Nat.
9. Frolicked in the sun. And avoided killer geese.
10. Caused a scene in Swedish class. As per usual. Met by hilarious laughing courtesy our Swedish teacher.
11. Was reunited with my buds who travelled around Poland and Hungary. Weeee!
12. Baked a kick-ass banana chocolate-chip cake. I'm getting good at this European bakery.
13. Excelled at being awesome.
14. Laughed. A lot.
Ooooh and 15. Started writing my blog for Malmo University (www.blogg.mah.se/emilyross)

And upcoming you may ask? I am shooting a 2 minute film on how to be Swedish tomorrow, so that will be fun. Maybe I can even post it here after I am dooone! Then catching up on homework for the rest of the week as April is a crazy traveling month.  Also, we're planning on (finally) going to a club this weekend and going to the famous bath house. I will be sure to report back ASAP.

Kul fakta:

1. I don't know if I've mentioned this, but Sweden doesn't have chocolate chips or vanilla extract. BAKING ADVENTURES.
2. The sun in Sweden is more deceiving that in Vancouver. You think it will be warm then BAM the wind gets you.
3. Geese are evil all over the world.
4. I found the hipster area of Malmo. Watch out Vancouver hipsters, you have some rivals.
5. I wish all the Greenest City people would come to Malmo and see what a truly green city is like. You've got some stiff competition.
6. Don't go to small towns on Sundays. Or before June. It will end in disappointment or insanity.

Ta. xx

Monday, March 21, 2011

An after-thought...

Why not spice it up with some pictures?! From the vault of Emily Ross...not yet seen by the public.

 Zach and I chillin' in the back seat post-road trip to Goteborg.
 Me and some cat statues - typical.
 The "bad" area of town aka where the heart is?
 Concert in Lund.
 The most exciting "monument" in Berlin - Checkpoint Charlie.
 After a long quest to find the wall...we found a castle. Score.
 Kat & Rob in Malmo!
An afternoon fika ft. elephant mug.

Just a Regular Week

These next few weeks are the first I haven't traveled in a while. Though that may sound like a disappointment in my usually action-packed Swedish life, it's actually been pretty nice to keep it local (and catch up/get ahead on homework). That being said,  I don't have a lot to tell you.

This past week I've been working on a paper about hockey, typical, I know. Just finishing that up today and then working on a presentation to spread Canadian culture to the masses. It shall be enlightening for all involved. Besdies that, we started the photography segment of one of my classes, so hopefully this spring weather will keep up and I'll be able to snap some shots outside.

Speaking of Spring weather...yesterday it was like 7 degrees. That's groundbreaking for Sweden! Katreace and I went for a run to enjoy some of the sun on a lovely Sunday afternoon. It seemed like a lot of others had the same idea as the park and path we were on were packed. It's really nice to see so many people out enjoying the city, I honestly never see playgrounds that well used in Canada. Interesting. But I hope to continue exploring Malmo during my time here. My friend Sarah and I go on quests for good looking places to have coffee (or fika), so that shall continue once I emerge from my paper writing mania. Also, if this sun keeps up, I reckon it's time for some more bike tours, maybe even go to the bath house!

This week though basically consists of class and homework as I'm finishing one of my classes this week. Also, Thursday is all day presentations. Hurray. Then this weekend should be low key as Katharina, Katreace, and Franz are away. But one friend from Portugal is leaving (as he was on a shorter term placement) so hopefully we'll find a way to see him on (going away party? I think so!). But I don't want to bore you with my rambling, so I'm off to be a productive citizen rather than gallivanting around Europe.

Less-fun facts

1. Perspective drawing is really hard. Like, I don't think I like drawing anymore hard.
2. Tacos are not a common dish in other countries. Don't worry though, I spread the Mexican fiesta to Sweden last night.
3. It's definitely spring time here as I've seen bunnies (makes me miss Victoria) and pigeons fighting. Yes, that's correct, there were two pigeons in a tree fighting. Badass.
4. Poland is coming up next...so expect updates about perogies and kebasa soon.
5. Stamps are expensive in this country. Like 2 bucks a pop. But that means I can spread the joy of Sweden to Canada, through delightful postcards.

xx

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

"Can I buy your glasses for 60 kronor?" "Umm these were 300 Euro..."

This past weekend I went to Stockholm, Sweden's capital city. Katreace, Katharina, and I left Friday afternoon after a freak hail-snow-rain-thunder-lightning storm (reminds me of home, sigh). After a quick ride on the Flyggbusarna to Malmo's bustling (not) airport, we were off to the big city. The flight is quite short so we arrived in the early evening, starving.

We checked into our hostel (voted number one in Stockholm, pip pip), then set out for food. As starvation got the better of us, we chose one of the first options along the strip leading to the central station. Upon first glance, this place looked pretty populated, therefore we deemed it suitable. After entering, we realized something was a little amiss about this place. We order cider and sandwiches and waited at a table. There was a strange gambling table at the back and a group of sketchy characters. Our assumptions of weirdness were confirmed after Katharina went to the bathroom and came out with the most foul look on her face. In a fluster of German and English, she tried to describe it's grossness but could not find the words. So, of course, I had to go see it for myself. Basically it was like a weird open concept bathroom (how very Sweden). To the left there was a low 6 inch high "door" and a urinal trough. Classy. Then there was a single room with a toilet in it. It was disgusting. Pee all over the floor etc. I washed my hands for about 40 minutes. Anyways, we had our sandwiches and left fairly promptly.

We got back to the hostel and were almost down for the count until a nice Aussie chap tempted us with an offer of drinks. I reckon we were all keen as mustard (Aussie slang for you). We headed out to a bar called KGB which was in walking distance. It was a Russian themed bar in a fairly bustling area. We were accosted at the door for 40 kronor for coat check (and cover, we later found out). Katreace was ever so appreciative of this service and to show such, she commented "Wow!" We scoped out the joint, realizing the downstairs weird metal music area was the only place with seats and grabbed some drinks. With drinks in hand, we headed down to the basement and I was greeted with a wave from a Swede I had never met. Both Kat and Kat asked me if I knew him and I said no. Minutes later a guy from the same table came over and started describing the friend who had waved and asked me if he thought he had a chance with me. I was both surprised and amused. This played out for a little bit, finally ending with "I don't know what I'm saying, but I think I'm hitting on you". Priceless. Languages barriers, at times, may be frustrating, but are mostly hilarious. We continued sipping our pear ciders, when another man came and offered Katharina 60 kronor for her Gucci glasses. The night kept getting better. Instead of seeing it go downhill, we decided to leave on this high note and save some excitement for the next day.

Nice and early the next morning we set out into a beautiful sunny day down to the harbour. We all fell in love with Stockholm, especially the lovely, old buildings. We decided on a boat tour to see the city from the water as it is considered the "Venice of the North". We passed many famous spots as well as lots of nature. Learning facts and the like, we sat outside on the top deck on some sort of animal skin. Questionable, yes. But so Scandinavian. Stockholm definitely has more typically Swedish people than Malmo. So much Svensk.

After our tour, we wandered to Gamla Stan, which is the old town part of Stockholm. It's tiny alleys and cute shops were ever so charming. We found a cafe in a cellar to have some much needed sustenance where Katreace almost tripped to her death and hit her head on a low ceiling. Though delicious, the place was a bit of a hazard - lots of hidden steps and dropped ceilings. We continued to wander through the old town, browse shops, and of course, look for the best spot for pastries. Katharina was on a hunt for a perfect kanelbullar (cinnamon bun) so this meant going in and out of many shops assessing their goods. We finally settled on this cute little place with the most amazing looks baked goods. Katharina got a kanelbullar, Katreace enjoyed home-made apple strudel with vanilla sauce, and I (as it was Princess Victoria's name day) delved into a slice of princess cake. We left satisfied...but wanting more...more baked goods. Baked goods forever. There were some certain muffins that Katharina kept close to her heart. We continued through the town to a bit of a shopping district where we browsed some stores before heading back to the hostel and then the grocery store.

After having stocked up on some breakfast and dinner ingredients, we hunkered down in the hostel for some relaxation. After resting up, we made some dinner and hung out in the common area watching a back and forth mix of soccer and a Swedish American Idol equivalent (it was the finals). During this time, we also searched for places to spend a lively night in Stockholm. A lot of places here have age limits above the drinking age (ex. 23) so that limited our options. We settled on Debaser (lovingly known as "The Basil"). We put on our faces, drank our dranks, and headed to another part of the city on the tunnelbana (aka Metro). Along with us came the Aussie from the night before, Rob, and a girl from the Netherlands, who became known as "Awesome" or "Lighter" (as she provided a lighter for Katharina) but really her name was Berdet (or beer tit). Really her name was a massacre. We danced the night away and finished it off with some Danish sausage. Multicultural, I know.

The next morning came far too quickly, but we had to go see the Vasa. It's basically a really, really old wooden ship that has been restored. I thought it was really cool, but the others had slightly different ideas. I guess a boat is only cool for so long. We spent a couple hours in here checking things out and then decided to find a new option. We ended up back in old town, at the same bakery as the day before - fancy that! We got more treats and chatted for a long while before deciding that we're in Stockholm so we should probably do something. Back out on the streets, our exhaustion caught up with us but this didn't stop us from seeing the Riadarholm Church and various other monuments and churches along the way. Finishing up the day, we ended up on a pedestrian street at a cafe for some dinner before collapsing at the hostel. Our flight was at seven, so we headed to the train station and caught a bus to the aiport. Though short and sweet, this trip was a load of laughs. Awkward Swedes, combined with great weather, delicious treats, and several other inside jokes really made this weekend a good one.

Dying of sleepiness, we got back to Malmo at about 11pm and rode our bikes home. Bleh. So cold. I then caught up with some lovelies on Skype and called it a night. I proceeded to sleep the entire next day which wasn't so bad as it was pooey outside. I ended up dragging my arse out of bed to work on some homework (perspective drawings, bleh) with Ingrid. We finished those up then had tea and dinner with Sarah in another student building. All and all, it was worth getting out of my cozy bed for. Tuesday I had class all day, but hey, at least it was sunny. Then we went to the pub close by to celebrate Katreace and Elise finishing their nursing practicum. It was open mic night which is always...interesting. Ha.

Today, I went to Copenhagen to visit a friend of my dad's. We went to some lesser known spots, had delicious lunch, and enjoyed the sites. We also saw the Queen's marching band. If I were a queen, I would not only have a marching band, but also a parade. Daily. With floats. It would be majestic. The weather was also perfect (though windy, but I've gotten used to that being a given now). I headed home after then went to the gym. Yep that right, went to another country and the gym in the same day. I'm quite accomplished. Now I'm sitting in my cozy bed again resisting the urge to sleep as I have to do some homework for photography class tomorrow. Hurrah!

My next big adventure (Poland, the land of sausage and vodka) isn't until April, but I'm sure I'll find something to ramble on about before then.

Fun fun facts of funnnn!

1. Stockholm and Malmo speak different dialects. This proved to be difficult, even when saying you don't speak Swedish.
2. People don't really know what sloppy joes are here. Don't worry, I'll spread the goodness to them.
3. ALSO! Europeans don't really celebrate St. Patty's. Tragic. Will someone have a Skype party with me? Thanks.
4. I am writing a paper for one of my classes on hockey. Could I be any more stereotypical? I might as well where a beaver pelt coat.


xx

Monday, March 7, 2011

Katie and Rob i Sverige!

This weekend, Katie and Rob came from London to visit. It was jolly and good aka jolly good. A laugh a minute really, with many minutes full of laughs.

They arrived Friday around noon and we launched into typical Swedish things right away. We started out with going to Hollandia Bakery which apparently is a very old and traditional bakery in Malmo. Here, in the company of many seniors, we enjoyed Semlor. Though we weren't sure the best way to eat these cream-filled delights (clear by the fact I ended up with whipped cream all over my nose), we had joyous times watching others eat the pastries. I also gave them a crash course in Swedish basics, and contrary to popular belief it's tack sa myckett, not taxi myckett. Next we roamed the various squares to Malmo and some shops as well. We had a burger at the Swedish equivalent of McDonalds, got blown around by the wind, witnessed weird Swedish hippies chanting in an alley, and then headed back to my room for a much needed nap (Katie and Rob had been up since about 3am). Katie and I went to the wonderful world of Willy's and she was both shocked and amazed by the size of things there. Cheese was huge, deli meats came in packs of a thousand, and there were samples. Essentially, the best grocery store ever. We picked up some ingredients for the following days breakfasts and were on our way. After waking a very sleepy bear up, we hit the town for a Swedish meatball dinner. We went to a strange South American restaurant with cafeteria trays that happened to serve delicious and cheap meatball dinners. Atop our meatballs, we even put lingdon berry jam, how very Swedish! After this, we headed to a few pubs. The first was an Irish joint full of a bit of an older crowd but with the best music ever - from WHAM! to ABBA to Will Smith (two songs in a row). Though it was hard to part from this musical odyssey, we decided to try another place as well. We braced the cold and walked into Lillatorg and found a place with a spot on the patio (with heaters and blankets). We grabbed some drinks, bundled up, witnessed a near bar fight, then an almost on fire couch. Some girl threw her cigarette butt carelessly and it landed on a sofa cushion underneath an extremely flammable IKEA fleece blanket. Katie smelt something strange and Rob noticed some smoke. I went in for the investigation and found a smoldering butt eating away at the fabric. I immediately began to pat it out with my gloves and put some ice on it. Close call. We decided to call it a night after that, but not before a trip to Coop, another grocery store. Rob decided he wanted to eat some deli meat with his hands, so we picked up some salami and ate it on the way home. Yum.

The next day we were woken up by sunlight streaming through our window. Hurray! We made a killer breakfast of toast, juice, and scrambled eggs, then set out for a day of toursim. Starting with a coffee and pastry, we then headed to the System Bolaget to purchase some beverages of the alcoholic type for the nights festivities. We walked through parks, past a casino, past geese, ducks, and magpies, to the Malmo Castle. Here there is a museum, an aquarium, and an art gallery, all for the low price of 20 kronor. We wandered the museum for a while as a lot of it was quite interesting (read: the aquarium and animals were rad, the rest was okay). We then grabbed a coffee and watched a woman chug a 1 litre of juice ever so casually. We then decided it was time for a nap again as we are getting old, after (of course) purchasing ice cream bars and eating them outside after debating treats for 30 minutes in the store. We made a delicious home cooked meal and chilled out before a Summer themed party. We drank our 3L box of wine mixed with lemon & lime pop (to keep it classy) and mingled with Russian and Sloveians mobsters (one was wearing a doo-rag and a leather jacket with a snake on it, legit). As we partied the night away, we decided to keep our lives free of illegal drugs and cock fights and went to bed.

Sunday we again woke up to the scalding sun. By scalding, I mean a tiny bit warm, but as the sun rises on the same side as my window, it feels on fire when you wake up. Rob enjoyed the sun from a window ledge in the kitchen as Katie and I prepared breakfast and a picnic lunch. We then headed for yet another coffee and pasty and then off the Turning Torso and the beach. We took all the obligatory photos and then laid on a dock sheltered from the wind. We devoured our picnic and then enjoyed the sun on our faces (well Rob and I did as we were both laying on Katie). Once we started getting a little too chilly, we decided yet another coffee was the answer. All the shops along the beach were packed due to the nice weather and Swedes loving to get the most of their city, thus we decided to back into the city center and try another cafe. After having delicious lattes of the coffee and chai variety, we headed home to relax away from the cold. We met Katreace and Katharina for Thai food in Mollan. We shared many a laugh there at the expense of others (including ourselves) and had an all around good time. We had one last bus adventure home and kicked it for the rest of the night (refraining from a yogurt party).

Kat and Rob left this morning sadly. I will miss their weird animal noises, ability to seamlessly act like my children, as well as how much we laughed together. Proper laughing. Luckily I'll get to see them again in June (and maybe before then as I think they seemed to enjoy Sweden thoroughly.

As for now, I'm spending the week catching up on homework (common theme, I know) and then off to Stockholm this weekend.

Facts for you!

1. Baking is really hard without measurements like cups. Luckily I'm a master and my cookies were amazing.
2. Swedish people are a fan of coloured jeans. I dig it.
3. You can act like a penguin in Sweden and no one really seems to care. Case study on acting like other animals to commence soon.
4. Redesigning the currency for a country you know little about is interesting (aka difficult) but it pays off when the Swedes say they like it. Score.

Anyways it's past my bed time, godd natt.

xx

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The Adventures of Rosetta Stone aka Emily Ross

So I am finally recovering from exhaustion after weekend in Berlin. And by finally recovering, I mean I hope I don't almost fall asleep every 3 minutes by tomorrow morning.

That clearly did not go well as I fell asleep shortly after I wrote that. Anyways,  now I am feeling much more rested and am stoked to have the day off. Getting prepared for Katie and Rob to come this weekend, which is super exciting especially as it's supposed to be sunny (read: sunny but not warm).

So my biggest news is that I went to Berlin for 4 days this past week. Katreace and I left Malmo on Thursday to go to the city of currywurst and poor English. We arrived quite late at night and caught a combination of S-Bahn and U-Bahn into the city. We met some nice British fellows who had been to Berlin before and helped us find our way - which was quite convenient as they were basically heading to the same area of the city as us. We were in the "mitte" region also known as the middle section, quite near Postdamer Platz and the TV tower. Our hostel was a little sketchy looking at first as it was in a random run down looking building. But once we got up to the third floor, where the hostel was housed, the place was quite cute and homey. It also helped that the staff were nice and there was always some sort of treat (biscuits or chocolate) out for our consumption. We then set out to find some food at 12:00am which wasn't hard to do as Berlin is truly the city that never sleeps. We found a shwarma place on the block, were appalled by the low cost of delicious roast meat, then hit the hay.

Day 2: we went for a 3.5 hour free walking tour of Berlin. It was neat to see all the history that we clearly wouldn't have on our own. Of course we hit all the hot spots like the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, and Holocaust memorial. So. Many. Photo. Ops. It was funny as all the other tourists (from Britain, Spain etc.) were complaining how cold it was but we were stoked on the fact we didn't have to wear gloves! After this, we went to the main, famous shopping street near the zoo and partially destroyed church. The shopping wasn't that great as all the stores were basically repeated every block. H&M, Zara, C&A. Repeat. There was a cool department store that reminded me of Harrods but the security guard gave me a nasty look when I tried to go inside with my food. Oh well. Also! While we were walking down this street, we recognized people speaking Swedish. It was really rather amazing that we were able to pick that up, but it sure made us happy. After a long long day of walking, we headed back to the hostel to make some dinner and get ready for our first pub crawl. We ended up going with 3 Brazilian girls from our hostel to the 666 Anti-Pubcrawl. I know, it sounds scary. Basically it just takes you to pubs that aren't super main stream or that you would never find on your own aka crazy clubs. We went to a Ping Pong club, a Goth Club, an unidentified club and some more crazy spots. It was super fun due to the oddity of it all. We also met some cool girls from NYU who were studying in Prague as well as some Liverpoolians. The NYU girls were the one who dubbed me Rosetta Stone as I was able to translate any and all broken English. It was amazing. I think they'll probably remember me forever. All and all a good night when you consider we were dancing with people wearing gas masks. Here we were also informed that basically no one pays for transit in Berlin...and if you do, the lady gives you "special price". So confusing, so awesome.

Day 3: After breifly nursing our hangovers, we were up and at 'em quickly the next day. First stop was the Jewish Museum. It was a really cool building that combined a newly modern one with a Baroque one. It also was super interactive and we learned lots. Yay for museums. Then we went on a search for the painted section of the Berlin Wall which Google totally lied to us about. Instead we found the Charlottenburg Castle which was equally beautiful at sunset. We still were determined to find the wall so we roamed the streets looking for English speakers. Most Germans pretend to speak English so it's a lost cause, but a hilarious one at that. At an Internet Cafe, the man there finally resorted to speaking in "English" to us after he deciphered that we didn't speak Russian, Italian, or Spanish. Basically the conversation went like this:
 Us: We are looking for the Berlin wall that is decorated by artists.
Man: What?
Us: Berlin Wall. With paintings...
Man: Ahhh! The Nazi's (fighting type motions)
Us: Umm...sure. Where is it?
Man: We don't care about the wall. It fell.
Us: Okay...
Man: Where are you from!?
Us: Canada and Australia.
Man: OH SO INTERESTING.
Us: Ha yeah, it's pretty cool. So where is the wall?
Man: So interesting. Canada AND Australia.
Us: Okay well thanks anyways. (Abruptly leave)

We decided to cut our losses at the point as the sun was starting to go down and we were in a strange part of the city without a wall. We also had another pub crawl on our horizon. After getting back to the hostel, we had a quick nap (aka kip, it's the new word for it). It was nice to take a rest and then get some food. We then headed to a bar called Zapata where we kicked off evening two. Free beer and jager shots looked like they would spell out a good night (even though there was a disproportionately high number of Edmontonians). We went to some cool spots ending with this huge club called Matrix. It had like 3 rooms each with a different theme and all with outrageous go-go dancers. We met people from London, Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland, and more. It was all and all awesome. And we didn't get home until 10am. Thanks Berlin, for the sleep deprivation.

Day 3: We washed up, ate some breaky, and headed out for another day. Kicking exhaustion and weird foot retardations (walking around a city in boots is not the most ergonomically correct), we walked up to Mauer Park for a HUGE flea market. Of course, we again got lost, but truly experienced the streets of Berlin. Once there, we were appalled by the amount of sweet stuff there. Hipsters would freak out. Majorly. So much vintage leather, fur, sunglasses and more! I bought a couple necklaces, a bell for my bike (whooo) and a german flag patch to add to my collection. After this, approximately 24 hours after the first venture, we went and found the Berlin wall. It was actually the easiest thing to find ever, kind of embarrassingly so. Oh well. We can blame it on being tired. We ran into Gui who is also studying in Malmo and took some opportune photos. Cute. We then continued on our journey back to our hostel for another quick kip before dinner. We went to this Vietnamese restaurant near by and it was amazing. It was like 20 euro for two entrees, drinks, and appies. And it was delicious. And it satisfied my Asian food hankerings. We ate happily then went outside where we found a photo booth and took some hideous photos. Ahh memories. Back to the hostel we made some tea and chatted with our fellow hostel-ers. Very cool to hear their stories. After that we hit the hay pretty hard as we had to be up at 4am. Though this was the case, we were woken up at 1am by our roommates. Thanks guys!

Day 4: Waking up in the darkness, we got our bags together and stumbled towards the first Schoenfeld Express Airport Train. Arriving in a timely fashion, we met Gui again who was on our flight. Safe to say we slept for most of this and were overjoyed to touch back down in our beloved Scandinavia. Arriving back at Malmo Central Station at about 9:15am, I biked as fast as I could home to drop off my stuff and grab some food. I was out the door at 9:50am for 5 hours of class. Glamorous life of an exchange student indeed.

Now I'm sitting in my room being lazy as all get out. Off to a Swedish school this afternoon to chat with some kids and eat some Swedish treats. Yum! Then a big weekend with my besties Kat and Rob. Hurrah!

Facts of funnnessss!

1. Swedes apparently have better English than a lot of the rest of Europe because all of their TV shows are subtitled in Swedish instead of dubbed in. Amazing.
2. Germans all pretend to speak English. You ask them, they nod and look confused. Then proceed to have no idea what you are saying. At least they try though and give you random discounts on train tickets.
3. We had another nude model this week in drawing class. It was a lady. Heehee.
4. It's almost consistently above zero now. I am excited. And it's supposed to be sunny. I don't know how I am containing myself.
5. This is the longest blog post ever.

xx

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Emily Ross, Swedish Translator

So apparently I'm actually okay at Swedish. We were on our way by car to Gothenburg for a day trip and I could translate at the gas station. Cool right? I thought so. Something that is not cool? How I went on a bike ride for a few hours this afternoon, have been home for about and hour and am still freezing. But hey, I was the one who chose to come to Sweden. At least it was sunny.

This week was pretty low key as I'm going to Berlin on Thursday. I wanted to get ahead with homework so that was super fun. I drew my first portraits in class this week, maybe I'll post some photos of those. No self-portraits yet though...those will come! I had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off this week and most of that was spent doing homework, exercise and being a decent human being. On Thursday, I went for my first fika (Swedish for having coffee). Sarah and I went to Solde, a kaffebar. It was pretty good coffee, nice and simple like Cafe Fantastico at home. One small difference. As we were sitting inside sipping our lattes, we noticed a strange and slightly disturbing trend pertaining to Swedish mothers. This just proves how safe Sweden is. Every time a mom would come in to grab a coffee or loaf of bread, she would just leave her stroller outside. With the baby inside. INSIDE. OUTSIDE. Baby alone outside in stroller. Negative 5 degrees. Madness. And this didn't hapen just once, but like three times. Only in Sweden I tell you. Then we had a delightful Swedish class. I don't even know how I can sum up these classes for you. We are so ridiculous and usually end up making someone cry or spit out their drink. Yep. Still a class clown in Sweden.

Friday was highlighted by my locking my phone and keys in my room. I guess I was really tired. Luckily, Ingrid and I had to draw several portraits so that kept me busy while I located a master key. After said portraiture fest, we went to Willys, the grocey shop, and I finally fulfilled my wish of going down every aisle. It is so big. So this was quite the feat. I got some delicious foods including a Billy's Pan Pizza. Like in Steig Larsson's novels. I felt very Swedish. Speaking of very Swedish, I don't know how many times I say this, but the Swedes eat a lot of crap food (re: Billy's Pan Pizza's and cola) and are so skinny. I just don't understand. In fact, I saw the first actually fat person today and he was like 6. It wasn't even his choice to be fat. His mom better get him to lay off pizza and semlor. Friday night consisted of one of the weirdest parties I've ever been to. First it started with people sharing a 5L of 59% rum. Then taking shots of said rum straight from the box. That's right. Rum. In. A. Box. Then people were on other people's shoulders. Then people were lighting shots on fire in their mouths. Then a slip and slide was made in a hallway. Then someone had to get five stitches. I guess that characterizes a good party. Thanks boys from Mont Pellier.

Saturday morning came mighty quick as I had to get up at 6am to road trip to Gothenburg. Five of us piled into a car and made the 3 hours trek to the second largest city in Sweden. We roamed around for the day. Saw some sights and the sun (yay!). We also got cinnamon buns bigger then my head and that's saying something as my head is quite large. Then for the main event, we went and saw a hockey game. It's the best league in Sweden but is probably below the skill level of the Juniors. I scoffed when a Dutch guy asked if the league was better than the NHL. Said scoffing continued when I spotted a gentleman, wait I take that back, a jerk, wearing a Maple Leafs jersey. In Sweden. Maple Leafs. I wanted to go slap him. Anyways, I proudly explained the sport to all those less informed around me and felt very Canadian. One perk of the game you may ask? There was fire. Fire shows. Like rockets went off when the home team scored. Amazing. We then got some Max Burger, the slowest Swedish fast food and headed back home to the musical delights of Pop FM, playing the pop hits of years past. Amazing again.

Today I went on a little bike tour to Rosengard - the ghetto of Malmo. And let me tell you, this place makes Burnaby look like a dump. It is hardly a ghetto. There is nice student housing, parks, outdoor sports fields, public arts, murals. You name it, Rosengard has it (except for bullet proof vets). It just gets a bad rap because it's where a lot of immigrants live. There's this cool thing they have though where there are apartments above shops and in order to live in these apartments you have to own one of the shops. Full meal deal if you ask me. We then went to the city so I could take pictures of the cat sculptures on the water, meow, and had some more fika. Yum I love 5 dollar coffee. Now I am home again, bullet wound free and looking forward to a crash course in German tonight. Berlin comes next week and Katie and Rob come to visit the week following. I am a busy girl!

Facts of the week:
1. The bad parts of Sweden are about as bad as upper middle class areas in Canada. Love Socialism.
2. Bakeries in Sweden are amazing. Everything looks so delicious and I swear these cakes could make someone...who hates cake...love cake. That analogy sucked.
3. There is a Swedish version of Skor bars called 'daim'. It is just as delicious if you were wondering.
Be jealous. I'm going to eat so much pierogi.
4. Sports teams all around the world are called the Indians. We went and saw the Forlunda Indians play hockey. Funny part, most people don't have any idea what a First Nations person is. Ha.
5. MEOOOW.

xx

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Camilla inte bor i Celsiusgarden!

It's that time again...blog time!

It's now Sunday night in old Sweden land and I am just about to go whip up some dinner. This past week hasn't been terribly exciting (no weekend trips to London or the like), but hey, I'm in Sweden so that's pretty exciting on it's own.

After returning from London, I had a lot of catch-up to do (like blog posts, homework, cleaning - the fun stuff). So after that was wrapped up on Monday and Tuesday, I had the rest of the week to dabble in some more homework and lounge about to nurse my cold.

Wednesday, Kat, Franz and I went for a bike ride to the sea. It was quite warm out and sunny which was so nice. We went just before sunset so we took some pretty nice pictures and had a photo shoot with our bike family. Every time we go on a bike ride, we discover a bit more of the city. I guess that's the benefit of living, rather than traveling, somewhere. There is still so much more I'd like to see but sometimes you get wrapped up in routine rather than exploring. On my list: Kallbadhus (a cold bath and sauna house, apparently where all the Swedish seniors hang out - score!), the Chocolate Museum & Cafe, various museums, the public library (a miss-mash of old and new architecture), and well there has to be some other things as well. Hopefully one day this week, I swindle someone to go on an exploration bike tour - weather permitting of course. Oh, Wednesday also included a cookie-baking-towel-fight-dance-party-to-fatboyslim. Yeah, be jealous.

Thursday brought the beginning of Swedish round 2. It's cool because now I can actually sort of speak/understand. Emphasis on "actually sort of". Hopefully by the end of it I will make an improvement on that string of modifiers. But hey, if all else fails, I can just claim I don't know as I'm not Swedish.

Another highlight of the week was all you can eat sushi and Chinese food buffet for 89 kr (about $13 CAD). You might be thinking "oh god sushi from a place other than the west coast?!" And if you were, you're right. The sushi was mediocre, but the rest was pretty delicious. Regular types of Chinese food, but as much as you'd like...including pop, tea, coffee, and dessert! Wow! Also the place was really classy looking. You'd think a Chinese food buffet would be kind of seedy. But nope, tranquil music, hostesses in traditional gown, fancy tiles and gold leaf. Really quite the experience. Following this, with many-a-bloated stomach, we went for a leisurely bike ride. In the hail. Joy. But at the end of this bike ride was a delightful second hand store. It's like Value Village, but more organized and way more hidden gems. Though Swedish people seem far more hipster, apparently they don't go for the vintage hipster look, because I have never seen so many un-bought vintage Adidas track jackets.

Friday night, me and a group of German girls and an American girl went to Lund (a small student town about 15 minutes by train away) to see a Swedish band, Movits! Here's a sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnaeImQ0TSg. It was a really interesting experience. Everyone. There. Was. Swedish. And Swedes are strange people to run into at a bar. They not only are shy but a titch passive aggressive. They are so hard to talk to so we created a bad ass dance circle until they Swedes switched from passive aggressive to regular-type aggressive. Think mosh pit with the most beautiful people on earth (I don't know how bad that sounds now...ha). Anyways, it was still really fun and the band was awesome even though I had no idea what they were saying until they said tack (thank-you). Oh, and I got to put my bum on so much Swedish. Please see this reference if that statement concerns you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NjThjinDDQ (fast forward to 1:06 if Tom Green isn't your cup of tea). All and all a successful trip!

Saturday consisted of a group dinner for a French girls birthday, homework, and an awkward themed party. Yes, I was just as mystified by this theme as you. But being the classy girls we are, we wore pretty dresses, heels, and mustaches. What's more awkward than a bearded lady? We listened to some stellar awkward tunes (including My Pony by Ginuwine, courtesy me) and it was the first time I've heard ABBA in Sweden. I don't know how it took so long. Anyways, today constituted another sleep-in day. I am beginning to like this trend. Katreace and I then went on a walk got some delicious Swedish pastries that are only available for 4 weeks (sweet bun, marzipan, and fresh cream, yum!) and then headed home.

Next weeks adventures: planning a trip to Budapest and Vienna, hockey game in Gothenberg, and whatever else Sweden throws my way.

Fun fun facts!

1. As mentioned before, Swedes are really passive aggressive. Some guy got a drink spilled on him in Lund and just yelled "TACK!" about 4 thousand times. Effective sir.
2. Swedish pastries are so so so delicious. Even 7-11 is like a gourmet bakery. Staffed by models.
3. The wind has died down, but the cold is so...cold. Yep, I said it. It warmed up for a bit but it is again freezing (well below freezing in fact).
4. I am a sushi snob. That is all.
5. I don't know any more fact this week...is there anything YOU'D like to know? (This is a test if I have any readers, you can leave a comment under a sneaky alias).

Meow. xx

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Danger: High Winds

So all else exciting aside (ex. London), riding my bike (now named Stina) today was TREACHEROUS. With a capital 'T'. I woke up this morning and of course, did not want to get out of my bed. I then peaked out of my blinds and noticed it was sunny. This cause me to spring to my feet and celebrate. No rain = waaaay greater options in terms of shoes. Nice. I got decked out in jeans and keds, spent several minutes debating whether my winter jacket was necessary (decided on no and wore leather, oops). Then set out to go to class.

The moment I stepped outside, I immediately regretted all of my fashion choices. It was windy. And not like Vancouver Island windy. Like WIN-dy. My eyes were instantly watering, my hair (which I wore down for the first time in ages) was all over the place, and I was an awkward combination of both sweaty and freezing. It took me about double the time to ride to school and I was actually fearing for my life. The wind was physically moving my bike in different directions. Once I finally made it to school, I came to the realization that my hair, yet again, would be put in a bun. I feel like a 90's revival. Where are the butterfly clips and hair mascara when you need them?

Annnyhow, now that I am home, safe and suffering only from minor windburn, I will update you on the past week.

So as a few of you know, I went to London. The days prior (ex. Monday and Tuesday) were just classes...so I will not go into detail. But Tuesday night after class I made my way to Copenhagen to catch my flight. After being fully patted down by a male security man (thanks Socialism) and walking to the end of the earth (EasyJet section in Terminal 2), I was on my way. I slept for most of the two hour flight and arrived in London Stanstead at 10:30pm. I then caught an EasyBus (big fan of all things easy) and thought I was going to get into a head-on collision as I forgot about the side of the road driving difference. Once in Central London, I was to meet my best friend from Victoria, Katie and her boyfriend Rob at Baker Street Station. My bus was early so I went inside to the ticket bays. After I had waited about 15 minutes after we were supposed to meet, I started frantically texting and calling both Katie and Rob. To no avail, I started to freak out. I walked back and forth from the Tube to the bus drop-off and could not find them anywhere. As the last tube was leaving soon, I went for one last trek and found them. Yessss. Reunited! We returned to Katie and Rob's place in Greenwich and retired for the night.

The next few days were great. They were spent doing the following:
-  Meandering through Greenwich and it's parks
- Wandering Central London - Trafalgar Square, China Town, Covent Garden, St. Paul's Church and Monument
- Consuming delicious cider that is considered not-so-delicious in London
- Going for some stonebaked Pizza
- Seeing Wicked (which was in fact, wicked)
- Meeting with an old friend, Daina for lunch
- Reading in the Park
- Eating cookies and cupcakes
- Watching buskers
- Walking along the Southbank of the Thames
- Exploring the Tate Modern
- Drinking 1 pound beers and eating Aussie meat pies at the Australian Embassy
- Attending various local pubs
- Shopping at Primark
- Checking out London's ghetto (aka Peckham)
- Perusing the 99p store
- Going out for drinks and dancing with the girl (7 pound drinks? I'll have 3)
- Running out on our tab for 3 pound juices as the bartender told us they were cider
- Enjoying the Museums of South Kensignton
- Eating and drinking in Greenwich

That generally sums up the jolly good time I had in London. It was so good to see Katie and Rob both living so cutely in London. London London London. They have some of the cutest little words (ex. proper, manky, cheeky) and the most delicious junk foods (ex. cheese twists, custard creams, majestics). I shall miss it. But will be going back soon as I think I will be flying home from the Queen's land. And well maybe I'll relive it's majesty during the Royal Wedding.

This week so far has been full of homework and class. Luckily, I don't have class until Monday now so I should be able to sleep in and enjoy Swedish life (though I still have a smidge of homework, as I'd rather do more now and get ahead and travel later). Speaking of travelling, I am planning trips to Uppsala, Budapest and Vienna, Stockholm, and Lappland. Oh and I'm planning for when Katie and Rob and my mom and aunt come visit. I guess I am a busy lady.

That being said, I have to change out of my ever-so fashionable sweats (not acceptable in Svenland) as I am going to an open mic night at a bar. No I am not singing. You're welcome world.

Facterinos:

1. Risifruitti is hereby known as the best food in the world. It is rice pudding packaged with fruit sauce. In the most Ikea-like container. I love you Sweden.
2. A lady at the airport asked me what time the train came in Swedish. I answered in Swedish. I guess that's how Swedish works.
3. This weekend there is an awkward theme party. Prepared to be blown away Sweden.
4. HOW COULD I FORGET?! Last week in drawing class, we had a live male model. He was nude. No clothes. Naked. Me and Ingrid giggled. For the whole three hours.
5. Swedish grocery stores still confuse me. Who wants to go on a full day excursion to Willy's? Awesome.
6. I think I am going to be blogging for Malmo Hogskola. Keep your eyes out for links, cause I know you think my writing is stellar.

Love love. xx.

Ps. Swedish lessons start again this week. Jaha!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Something hillarious...

The site called It's Learning (it's like WebCT) is down. I just google translated the message. This is what the last line said: "Technicians in Norway working on a solution." Thanks Sweden.

If you were Swedish, you would know.


Me again. This past week has been full of tons of things, so I'll try to sum it all up for you!

I had Monday and Wednesday off this week which was great as I was able to finally get some things done - like getting supplies for class, doing laundry, and cleaning my room top to bottom. I've finally really nested in my room which feels great and rather homey. Pictures to come soon, I promise. Oh, and the bring a dish party on Sunday was delicious. So many things to try and so many desserts! Yum.

This past week also marked the last of the Swedish classes. We had one lecture on Monday and our exam on Tuesday. The exam went pretty well as I got a VG (which means very good), the grading system is very strange here. Oh, another weird thing about the Swedish academic system...if you fail, you have three chances to redo work or an exam. My international coordinator told me that and I was like PARDON? I guess that's a titch of socialism for you. I will miss our Swedish class as our teacher was awesome and provided us with a pretty sweet introduction to not only the language, but also the city. She also was hilarious (like when we asked how we know which form of "one" we should use in a sentence and she just said "Well, if you were Swedish, you would know") and put up with my sass. I can extended my Swedish classes (10 more 2 hour lessons), but I'm not too sure yet. Thoughts?

I also had class this week. I had Image Making again (only for 2 hours!) on Thursday and my first class of Sketching and Drawing. It seems like its going to be very interesting - we already started to learn how to draw people that actually look like people. Exciting, I know. Once I produce some quality work, maybe I'll get up the courage to post it, but for now, my stick people will stay nice in protected in the safety of my sketchbooks. A great thing about classes, which I think I've already mentioned but will again, is that we meet Swedish people who are typically reserved and hard to get to know, although very friendly. The best is when someone Swedish tries to speak to you in Swedish in class...and then they realize you have no idea what's going on. It's the small things in life really. One can only hope that I will make outside of school Swedish friends who can show me around and teach me the ropes of true Swedish Viking-ness.

Some exciting things: my mom and aunt have booked their flights to come and visit me over Easter and my birthday. I really can't wait. I know my mom will just love it here. (Ps. I think you would too Dad, hint). Also, I am going to London on Tuesday to visit Katie, Rob, and Daina which I cannot wait for! We're going to see Wicked and be British. Pip. Friday, I went to Copenhagen with my friend Katharina to meet my friend from grade 8 Youth Combating Intolerance (YCI) club. It was a lot of fun as we met people from all over the world (including Estonia and Iceland) as well as some other people from Victoria. This simultaneously emphasized a weird big-world/small-world thought. We also explored the city (it's gorgeous, pictures of that also to come). I also bought the nicest boots in the entire world for $90 CDN. Amazing. I almost wore them to bed last night. Oh also, Copenhagen is kind of crazy expensive. I had a 6 dollar 12oz. latte. INSANITY I tell you. Oh and a small bottle of coke was about 4 dollars. Considering Danes appeared to be the happiest people on the planet, I don't know how they live like this. Ha.

Other activities this week included: watching handball (the world championship is on now in Malmo!), going for walks through the park (as there have been some nice sunny days, like today), cooking lots of food, drinking tea, biking, Australia day, and other bits and bobs.

Coming up next: planning a trip to Lappland - details to come. Homework until forever - drawing takes longer than you expected. Planning all the things for me to show people when they come visit! Exploring the city to find cute restaurants and cafes (apparently there's an all you can eat sushi place for about 11 dollars...we shall see how it compares to the delicious fish of the west coast.

Some tidbits from this week:

1. Swedish folk have the equivalent of "John Doe" or "Joe Schmoe" here. It's Sven Svensson. I almost died when I heard this.
2. My most commonly used Swedish besides "hej" and "tack" is "jag talar inte svenska" (I don't speak Swedish). This is generally helpful unless the mailman subsequently asks you "what language do you speak" in Swedish. I though saying I didn't speak any would be a good clue. BUT, you can basically say the same thing to a Danish person and they'll understand. Awesome.
3. The train ride from Malmo to Copenhagen is amazing when it's clear out. This rarely happens. We saw dozens of windmills in the sea at sunset. Amazing.
4. The people who work on the train (and collect tickets) here are the friendlies people of all time. I now know why Scandinavia is considered one of the happiest places on earth. I have never seen so many smiling people in my life - from 7-11 employees to strangers, it's pretty unreal.
5. People's party stamina here is unbelievable. I am not able to stay up until noon the next day. I am not a robot. I need sleep, food, and love.
6. Graffiti is legal here. It is every where. But same as in Vancouver, some is awesome and some just sucks.
7. More people still need to skype me.

Next time you hear from me I may have an accent. Be warned.

xx

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Being locked in a room/ Sparkling wine

So it's noon on Sunday and I just woke up. I guess that's what happens when you are up until 3am and everyone around you is still sleeping. I could never sleep in like this at home...but maybe it's still the jetlag catching up with me.

This past week has been full of Swedish, sparkling wine, my first class, and biking. Monday and Tuesday were our last early morning Swedish classes as regular classes started on Wednesday. Swedish is going pretty well, but it's hard to pick up as people from different areas have different dialects almost - Malmo Swedish is much closer to Danish, weird. Our Swedish class is pretty awesome especially because our teacher is amazing. She has brough us candy and told us about good places to shop, eat, and drink. It's great to have a Malmo native on our side. Sadly, our class ends in two days, one of which is an exam.

Pauuuuseeeee I have been beckoned for coffee.

Alright, so we just cleaned up the after math of the party in our building last night. We have this creepy room in our basement that doubles as a party lair - complete with a bar and streamers taped up to spell "AY CARUMBA!". Needless to say, I bet you wish you partied there every second weekend.

Oh so I guess you want to hear about my classes. Well I have only had one so far. It's called "Image Making" and is focused on graphic design, digital photography, and website design. Basically, it is everything I love rolled into one. Also, it's really neat because there are only 4 exchange students in my 40 person class which means I get to meet real Swedes! In fact, me and Ingrid (from Guelph) ate lunch with some Swedish people!! None were named Sven, sadly. Basically the first class, we played pictionary with beautiful Swedes, did some drawing, and longed to be outside as Thursday was the first clear, blue day since I've been here. Anyways, I think this class will be pretty good, especially because by the end I will have an online portfolio (which may help me snag a job come July ;)).

(I can't believe I just did a winky face, ps.)

I start "Sketching and Drawing" on Tuesday, so that should be interesting as well. I will update you on lovely Swedish people and that class soon. The Swedish academic system is slightly strange, mostly in the fact that I have a class that runs for 6 weeks in the middle of the semester. It's called "Globalisation, Culture, and Identity." Just taking it to keep up my academic skills. The syllabus makes it look pretty interesting (and easy!) so that shall be grand.

This Friday I also had my first experience at the System Bolaget aka Swedish BC Liquor Store. All the alcohol is regulated here and can only be bought at this store (unless it's alcohol content is under 3.5%). Wine and beer are fairly cheap compared to Canada but liquor is just as expensive. One thing that was strange was the Veuve Cliquot was waaayyy less expensive. I guess this means I need to find some things to celebrate.

Yesterday, a group of us went for a bike ride to a market and then the sea. The market was pretty scary as there were people yelling at us in Swedish to buy food. But we did find a nice cheese and meat shop (you would love it mom!). Our time by the sea was short lived as it was freezing, so logically, we went shopping, where we could stay warm inside. I bought a nice knitted ear warmer which will be great for biking! Then we had dinner and a little party in our basement.

That brings me to today. We're having a bring a dish party tonight and trying some foods from different countries. What's typically Canadian you ask? I'm bringing cookies. So I've got to get to baking those as well as putting together a project and studying for my Swedish exam.

Some facts:

1. People it Europe find it appropriate to smoke inside. I do not. Ahhh well.
2. Swedish people have the equivalent of "your mom". Highly amusing.
3. Drinking 5 bottles of wine between 3 people is just as bad of an idea in Sweden as it is in Canada.
4. Not having Megabite sucks.
5. More people should skype me.
6. I'm going through "meow" withdrawl. People just don't recieve it in the same way here.
7. Oh and the title. The doors all have locks on the inside to get out. Like you can't just push the door. You have to turn the lock. Panic is induced the first time when you're trying to get out of your room and can't.

xx