Things that are awesome in Sweden.

I can't believe it has already been a week! I still feel like I'm on vacation.

The babies here in Sweden are beyond adorable. I think it has something to do with the fact that I cannot understand what they are saying making them infinitely cuter. Swedes also have these awesome baby sleeping bags that go in the strollers to keep the kiddos warm. It makes so much sense, I just would've never thought to make a tiny sleeping bag to keep a baby warm.

Listening to people speak Swedish is so fun. It sounds so sing song-y and different from English. However, it is difficult when people assume I'm a Swede and start speaking to me in Swedish. I then have to embarrassingly admit that I don't speak the language. People are very friendly and understanding and are then able to speak to me in English but that doesn't stop me from feeling bad that I came to a Sweden only knowing how to say hello, thank you, and my name is Siana in Swedish.

Also awesome is wearing mittens and tights. I don't know why I didn't wear gloves more often in MN but here it is a must and it just makes sense. Why would you want to have cold hands especially if there is an easy solution to keeping them warm? Wearing tights as a layer for warmth has been just fantastic. Once again, I don't know why I didn't think of it before.

It was a week full of firsts:

- first legal drinks and along with that - first pub crawl!

We thought we should get some wine to go with dinner. Turns out it was alcohol free wine. We then went to the Systembolaget (state regulated liquor store) to get real wine.

- first stressful experience grocery shopping

I typically don't mind grocery shopping. It can be somewhat fun. However, it is incredibly hard to grocery shop in a place that has labels that I cannot read. I could handle the produce section fairly well but picking jam, spices, and milk was a struggle. I also just want normal, processed peanut butter. Sweden has a sad excuse for peanut butter that is comparable to the natural stuff in America but not as good. I will never take being able to read the labels forgranted again.

- first day of school in Sweden

Here's my first day of school picture, Mom!

- first new friends!

Our new Dutch friends Dieuwertje, Silke, and Esther!

- first time buying my own cell phone

 

I get to use this bad boy for the next five months. Call me, beep me, if you want to reach me. 

It has been a busy week!

Monday was the first day of school and also the first party! I learned the hard way that the buses stop running around 12:30PM so that is something to keep in mind. I ended up the walking about 4 kilometers to get home. It was a long and cold walk but I have learned my lesson: be aware of the time and the bus schedule.

Tuesday I skipped class (Sorry, Mom and Dad). I went to the first hour but elected to not stay for the remaining three hours since it was review of Calculus was a waste of my time. It was very simple review. Like defining an integral and taking a derivative. We also discovered an awesome little cafe in town that has delicious "Chokladbollar" which are basically chocolate balls made with oatmeal. 

Wednesday we had a Swedish dinner at Kalmar nation. Awesome thing: Lingonberry jam. It is so good. We also joined a gym. Since there is only about 6 hours of daylight per day here, it is hard to get a run in. Thus the necissity for gym membership. I also have more free time than I know what to do with. 

Thursday was actually fairly uneventful. I Skyped my parents. 

Friday we attempted to go to our first club at Varmlands nation. There was a massive line outside so we ended up just going to get drinks at another nation.

I should probably explain what a nation is. So there are 13 nations here at UU and you can choose to be a part of as many as you would like. They're clubs that plan activities for students like open mic nights, pubs, clubs, and gasques. There are also groups to join within the nation such as sports or athletic teams, choirs, art clubs, and bands. We have not joined one yet but we have to make our decision before the end of the month.

Today we're going back to IKEA. I'm so excited! 

SWEDEN!

I made it to Sweden, safe and sound! It was a crazy couple of days but I'm finally here and it feels so good to be unpacked and settled. Darailia was an enormous help when we arrived because she has been here for 5 months already so she helped us get adjusted and showed us around. It has been freezing here. Like 20 ̊ F in the day. Instead of plowing the streets, Uppsala just packs the snow over the ice and puts down gravel to keep it from getting slippery. Swensie, it would be your nightmare. YakTrax would be helpful, especially on the giant hill in town. There is so much snow and ice everywhere. The only place where there isn't packed snow on the pavement is along Svartbäcksgatan which is Uppsala's equivalent to Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis. It has cozy cafes, quaint shops, and small business and cars are not allowed to drive through. I can't wait to go exploring through the shops and check out the fantastic sales that are going on right now.

We've already had our first visit to IKEA! It's exactly like the one in MN except everything is in Swedish.

Using Swedish money is also different. I've been here since Friday and I still feel like I am using Monopoly money every time I pay for something. The money (Kronor) is all different colors and sizes. Also, one Krona is about 15 cents so at IKEA it wasn't outrageous that I paid 480SEK. 

I live in Kantorsgatan, Kantors for short. My apartment is about 2 miles from Rackarbergsgatan, which is where the three other Gusties live. This has given me the chance to become a pro at riding the bus. It is very weird using public transportation to visit friends but I'm getting used to it! My apartment is a weird situation. So there are 5 bedrooms with WCs, a shared shower, kitchen, and dining room. There is one other girl in the apartment and the rest are guys. I have met 5 guys. You don't have to be a math major to figure out that something is off. Apparently there are 3 guys sharing one room. I'm not sure what their situation is but they always leave the odorous Indian food they make sitting out on the counter. One of the other guys is from Ethiopia and he is super friendly. My first night I was struggling to get my internet to work and he helped me get it sorted out and even loaned me an Ethernet cable. The last guy is French. He is also ultra nice. My girl corridor mate  Sofie, is Swedish and seems somewhat shy but very nice. I wish I could remember all their names. That shall be my goal for the week.

Annoying thing: there is no wireless internet in my apartment. I have to leave it plugged in all the time.

Good thing: my roommate showed me a program that allows me to use my computer as a wireless router so I can use my iPad.

Saturday night was extremely fun. We went to Trivia at one of the nations. I had my first legal beer with Signe! It was a light, Swedish beer, Pripps Blå. It wasn't my favorite but it was good. I want to drink European beer while I am here that I cannot get in the States. We meet some people from the Netherlands, France, and Spain. One of the girls from the Netherlands, Esther, lives in the building next to mine so we rode the bus home together. Once I got back to Kantors, my French corridor mate had friends over and he invited me to join them! We played some card games and talked until 2:30 when I had to call it a night.

This week we are going to get phones, finalize our residency permits, and pay rent for the first time. I also want to go to the Systembolaget (state regulated liquor store) and buy my first bottle of wine! In Sweden, you can drink alcohol at 18 but you cannot buy it at the store until you're 20. You can get it at bars and pubs once you're 18 which is strange to me.

Sorry I rambled on with this post. The past 4 days have been busy! Tomorrow is the first day of class! I get to ride the bus to school. Flashback: riding the bus to kindergarten with Natalia where we climbed over and under the seats for fun. Good times. I shall post again later this week!

Hejdå!

Sunny Side Up

The story just keeps getting better. Have you ever wondered what happens when the fire alarms go off in a hotel? We know. It happened twice last night at our hotel in Denver. Luckily the alarm had instructions over the intercom so we knew to leave our bags, put on our jackets, and head downstairs. Apparently one of the sprinklers in the garage had gone off so the fire department came to verify that everything was in the clear. 

I cannot  believe the series of unfortunate events we have experienced thus far on the trip, and we haven't even left the country yet. But we made our first friends on the trip! There were 5 others in addition to us in the same situation trying to get to Iceland and beyond. They are super awesome. There's a young American couple that lives in Iceland and are on their way home, a guy in his twenties just going to travel for a bit, another college girl who will be studying in Scotland, and a girl visiting a friend in France. Other than the whole flight debacle, things have been pretty good. Meeting new friends has made the whole experience as a "distressed flyer" much more enjoyable. But after all this nonsense, I feel confident that I can handle anything Sweden throws at me. But first things first, we have to get to Sweden.

Unfortunately, Signe and I are bad at remembering to take pictures so we have no photographic proof of our evening in Denver.

Adventure 1

We have already encountered bumps in the road on our journey to Sweden. Due to mechanical problems with our first plane, we missed our plane to Reykjavik! It was semi-stressful but made easier by the fact that I was not figuring it out alone. There were 6 other passengers in the same boat. Hopefully everything will go smoothly tomorrow. If everything went as originally planned we would be arriving in Sweden as I'm typing this. And I left my phone at home so communication has been a strugglefest. But it's not all bad. Signe and I get to stay in a hotel for free, we get $25 to spend on meals, and we get a $200 voucher with the airline to fly anywhere in the US. Megs - I'm thinking I want to use it to visit Florida :) Basically, we are stuck in Denver until tomorrow afternoon when we will catch a flight to Boston and then on to Iceland. From there we hope to reach our final destination of Stockholm. It's weird. This is a real grown up experience on our adventure. Moral of the story - Don't fly using Frontier. Hopefully my next post will be from Sweden!

First Post!

I have finally tackled the task of creating a blog. Since I don't leave America for another 6 days, I really have no exciting updates. Basically, my life is a continuous loop of running errands to Target, TJ Maxx, and Wells Fargo. Every time I get home from Target, I remember something I forgot. Also, I am SO over visiting the bank and being pestered about my banking options for studying abroad. I am definitely ready to leave so I don't have to deal with the bank and the Red Cross.