Stockholms Universitet

We started orientation at school, and I got to meet some people in the program, which is cool. They all seem very nice. Last night I went to a bar in Södermalm with a couple girls, and we had a few beers and talked a lot. The bar was playing the worst of American music (see: Greenday, etc.), and pretty quiet since it was a monday, but the Bartender, Tony, said it is pretty lively there on Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays so maybe we'll go back. There are a lot of sociology, women's studies and psych majors here, so we talked about a lot of things related to those areas, which was interesting. I hope to meet more people next time we go out though. Tomorrow I think we are going to the pub night at the university, so that should be a good opportunity.

Today at school during our lunch break a couple of us walked around the campus and found the "4H" area, where we saw goats, oxen, a lake, a garden, and lots of forest, all in the middle of an urban college campus! Its crazy and amazing how Stockholm combines the best of urban and rural areas into one magnificent city. SO pretty. 

 Below is another area of the campus, where all the academic buildings are. A little more typical for a college campus, but still lots of green space!

Everything is great with my host family as well! I am learning more Swedish and Theodore and Oliver are learning more english. Yesterday when Mats got home from picking up Oliver from day care he said Caro, the daycare lady, told him that Oliver talked about me all day, and, as she put it, "he talked about her like he was in love!" SO CUTE!! I still haven't met Cajsa; she gets back from Cyprus on friday.


Tomorrow is our archipelago trip! And its supposed to be beautiful out!

Host Family

Today I met my host family- Mats, Cajsa (Kai-ah), and their sons Theodore, who is 5, and Oliver, who is 3. I did not meet Cajsa though, because she is on a business trip until friday. The rest of us had Tacos for dinner, and Theodore (pronounced tay-oh-door) taught me the names of vegetables. Then I gave them the presents I bought in White Water State Park, a stuffed animal for each of them and a book about Minnesota to share. Theodore got an owl and oliver a racoon. They seemed to like them a lot, especially Oliver. After dinner we all played Yatzy (Yahtzee) and I learned some numbers, they are hard though, so I cannot count very well, but it seems to be their favorite game so I am sure we will play more.

It is interesting to interact with people (the children) who know zero english, especially because, as of now, I only know a few words in Swedish. I hope to learn more quickly so I can talk to them because they are a lot of fun and SO CUTE.

Their house is very nice. I have my own room in the basement (which is not actually below ground). Below is a picture.  It is small but cute!

Tomorrow is my first day of orientation at the university. I shall go to bed now, since I must be up at 6am! Also I have allergies, which is no fun. I am praying to the pollen gods that I wake up without them tomorrow.

Kungliga Slottet, Skansen och Kungsträdgården

Today was very busy! We (Orwar, Marie and I) woke up around 10 and took the train and the tunnelbana (subway) into Stockholm where we went to Gamla Stan (old city) to watch the changing of the guards at the Kungliga Slottet (Royal Palace). The guards change every two hours and in the summer time it is a big event with music and lots of people that come to watch. (See video and picture).

Once the performance was over, we went and had coffee and sandwiches. On the way to the cafe, Marie got a call from her best friend Pia, who said that she had just won 1,000,000 Kronor (about $140,450!)  from a scratch off lottery ticket! Marie was so happy for her she was almost crying!

After that we took the ferry to Skansen, which is an outdoor musium with animals and old shops. You could watch them in the shops blowing glass or making pottery and then they had the handmade things for sale. Everything was very pretty. We walked around for a few hours and then took the trolley back to the city.

We were going to take a boat to another island and eat there then take the bus home, but it was 15:30 and the boat didn't come until 17:00, so we decided to just eat dinner in the city. We went to Kungsträdgården (Kings garden), which is a park in the middle of the city with outdoor cafes all around it, and ate there. Its so lucky that it has been so nice out! The picture below is the cafe where we ate and another view of Kungsträdgården.

After that long day we were all tired to we took the tunnelbana and the train back to Vallentuna and just watched some TV. We watched a new show called Dansfeber (Dance fever) where swedish celebrities (actors, athletes, etc) did dances from movies (Saturday Night Fever, Chicago, Spice World, etc.) and judges commented, then people called in to vote for the favorite. All the proceeds were going to Pakistan, which is cool. The show was quite silly though.

Then we watched Mamma Mia. Because Marie loves that movie, and what is Sweden without a little ABBA?

Tomorrow at 15:00 I wil go to my host family!

First day in the city!

Today Marie came with me to the university to get my phone (which is a brick! but has pretty cheap calls/texts to the US) and some other information about the program, including 1500 kronor ($210) in food subsidies for the month! I was not aware I had a food subsidy, so that is nice!

After that we stopped by the silver shop where Marie works. They have lots of pretty jewlery there. Then we met up with Victoria (Orwar and Marie's son's girlfriend), who is 21 and her baby Jamie, who is 6 months and very cute! The four of us went to lunch in a restaurant on the 5th floor of the Kulturhuset (culture house, where they have exhibits and things), and it had an excellent view of the city (see pictures)!

After lunch Marie had to go to work, so Victoria, Jamie and I walked around Gamla Stan, or the old town, and it was very nice. It has cobblestone streets and old buildings. Then one of Victorias friends picked us up in his car with his dog, so we went back to Orwar and Marie's house, where their son Magnus was, and took their dog Milan and the friends dog on a walk.

Tomorrow we are going to Skansen, which is an outdoor museum with animals and a market. One woman at the program office said it was her favorite thing to do, so it should be fun.

I haven't learned many swedish words yet, but I notice when I read english in my head now I think it in a swedish accent, which is a little strange...

Ankomst (Arrival)

The flight from Chcicago to Stockholm was great. I had my own row (which I asked for, and felt slightly guilty about, but the plane was not very full), so I could lay down and sleep, they brought me a special vegetarian dinner and breakfast (thanks Mom for requesting that with my tickets!), which was actually pretty good, and everything was on time. Added bonus: My bags did not get lost!

The salt/pepper packet they gave me with dinner said (on the salt half), "I've always admired you, Salt exclaimed" and (on the pepper half), "Pepper was quiet for a long time- 'On what grounds?'" I really hope this is an example of Scandinavian humor, because i thought it was quite funny.

After my flight, Orwar picked me up and we went back to their house where I had a breakfast of granola (musli) and what they call milk, but is actually more like slightly-sour-half-milk-half-yogurt. Interesting...

Ready, Set, Go!

I somehow managed to fit the next 4 months into two suitcases and a backpack, and I'm ready to go! My flight leaves at 12:35 from Minneapolis and then 4:30 from O'Hare, direct to Stockholm. I arrive in Stockholm at 7:45AM (effectively having 2 days in a row without a night in between, since that will feel like midnight to me), where our family friend Orwar will pick me up.
Until December, Minnesota!