Hi everyone! Missing you lots. Its strange... some days I'm really content here, but then in an instant I just want to be home. But one thing that has helped these days is I bought a gym membership... yaaa I splurged, but I need it! So guess what I've learned since joining... all of the good looking guys in Sweden have been hiding there. Yoowza, there are some super hotties at my gym! Its actually a little extra motivator! The past few days I've been going at night... the sun is set by 5pm, like really dark. You know you're on the other side of the world when the moon and north star is shining at 4:30pm. Anyway I hope I can stay motivated and get in better shape!
Well yesterday was Ander's birthday. Judith had asked me if I'd help her with a party for him. We gathered some of his friends to surprise him. He thought he was just coming over for cards and cake... but we had a whole Hawaiian themed party planned! The theme was in honor of Anders since he studied in Hawaii and because its getting so dark here. What we did: made mini Hawaiian pizzas for everyone, some Swedish treat... Meringue Swiss (ice cream, banana slices, chocolate sauce, whipped cream (always homemade!!), and some candied meringue stuff), tropical cake, punch and maybe the highlight... a trivia game we made about Hawaii. We made two teams... and had the boys wear my bikini tops... just for the fun of it. They were really good sports and it was a ton of fun. I have pictures but swore not to ever put them online haha.
I feel awful and guilty about something. I once dated a guy whose mom cut his hair. Ever since then... I really believed that I could cut a mans hair. Never had I been given the opportunity until today. Chris knew I'd never cut hair before but totally said I could try to cut his. OMG NEVER EVER EVER! think you can cut hair!!! I sucked. Luckily his cut turned out okay... except I kinda messed up the back... a little short and crooked, I feel so bad about it! He didn't seem upset... he knew what he was up against. Ugh anyway, lesson learned. Never touching the scissors again! And I advise the same to all of you.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Public Transportation
Hej! Soon enough I will be able to write this blog in Swedish... bahahah I wish! But I did have my first OFFICIAL Swedish lesson today... too bad I didn't learn much since its basics that I've known for awhile... but hopefully soon :)
Anyway, Tuesday I got fika with Jake... we had a nice time and then I had to venture to town to buy a bus card. It is much cheaper to travel if you buy one, buuut I've been avoiding it since I don't like to pay to go on the bus... and only like going places that are in walking distance (which doesn't include Caroline's place... which is where I was going). Anyway, I couldn't find the desk to buy the card, so I went into 'Tourist Info' A disclaimer: In Sweden ALL lines(Banks... Bakeries...Post Office) are regulated by what they call 'Que' Ya know, you take a ticket with a number and have to wait til your ticket is called. Okay, I know its not a difficult process, but its a big thing here. So anyway I knew I needed to take a ticket to be helped at this tourist place... So I hit the button and no ticket. So I hit the button again (of course, why wouldn't I lol) and then the machine started making a gurgling noise... hah. So (without a ticket) I asked the man at the desk my question. Then when I was about to leave... I pretended to not be sure... "Uh I think your Que machine is broke." LOL and THIS is why I am going on about this... he replies, "Is that what you call... Sabotage?" WHAT?! LOL I don't even know what I said back, but I know I was laughing.... those darn Swedes...
Okay... so Tuesday was a victorious day because I made it across the city by myself using public transportation... got on the right bus and made it to Caroline's!! We had a really nice time catching up (its been awhile due to exams, the mini break we had...) But I would like to document the events that happened during my attempt to get home. First, I RAN to the bus stop because I saw the bus coming in the distance... DID.NOT.MAKE.IT. Ugh. No big deal, it comes every 10 minutes. Sooo then at the stop I was alone with this punk ass 12 year old kid (looked like he should have had a skateboard or something) but I started to really take notice of him because he kept SPITTING. It was really weird, I kept hearing him spit... so I actually started to count how long it was between each spit LOL on average he spit every 20 seconds... pretty OCD if you ask me. Hah.. so now the bus has arrived and I want to grab a seat upfront so I can see the sign that says which stop we were at so I wouldn't miss mine (on the first trip I was in the back, and people were standing so I couldn't see...) So I grab a seat right up front, and even asked the lady if I could sit next to her. Swedes have space issues and if possible, DON'T like sitting next to strangers (I will write my train story after). So I sit, then after the next stop as people were getting on, her and the man I was also sitting by got up and moved seats! I couldn't believe it, were they leaving because of me? Well, two elderly people sat next to me instead and I didn't know if I should stay or not... I felt like I was in THEIR space... oh and guess what... I was. A few stops later I noticed a sign that implied the seats were for old and pregnant people... LOL ooh so that's why those people moved... and I did not. I felt like a jack ass. Anyway, those are my bus adventures... just call me Rosa Parks.
(Train story... When I first arrived in Sweden, at the Stockholm airport I got on the Arlanda express that took me from the airport to the next train station and sat next to a girl my age. Um, she GOT UP and relocated. This all happened BEFORE I realized you don't sit next to a Swede if you don't have to...)
Well there you have it... I might go to movie trivia tonight, work tomorrow and a party Saturday... hopefully more stories later. OH and enjoy these lovely pictures I took from my kitchen window.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Week from Hell.
Well, its been one hell of a week... and not in a good way. I survived the hours and hours of studying, the 4 hour exam I took on Wednesday and the 12 hours it took me to write my paper that was due Friday. SO I survived it all, and you would think I could enjoy my mini break before classes started back up.. but nope. Due to unforeseen circumstances a certain someone has kept me teary eyed all weekend. Not to mention I have a cold and feel like crap. Well I get to Skype with my best friends from home... so hopefully that will make me feel better. Hopefully I'll have a more enthusiastic update next time. Until then... Puss och Kram (Kisses and Hugs)
Saturday, October 10, 2009
BERLIN.NAKEDSWEDES.HARRYS
1. Biggest update: If you haven't read on Facebook already, I'm spending new years in BERLIN!!! I am really excited! Its going to perfect; I'm spending it with some of my closest friends here. Going is; me, Jonas, Chris, Anders and of course Judith (she lives there)! I am excited to meet her friends... and little did I know, Berlin hosts an outdoor party bigger than NY! We will arrive the 29th and come home the 3rd. Before and after that we plan on spending the holidays with Jonas' family.
2. Weird update: So yesterday I worked out at the gym (thanks to Caroline lending me her gym card). Usually I go home to shower, but on this occasion I had to get to class after (last class of the term!) so I needed to shower there. Okay, none of the showers had curtains and I got an eyeful of naked Swedish women! Okay, I know its not that big of a deal... but I thought groups of naked women showering like that only happened in movies from the 70's (prime example, the horror film Carrie. That opening scene scarred me for life!) It was definitely worst that showering at the field house haha. I made my way to the back showers where no one was and privately showered alone. I know, I'm such a prude.
3. Sorority update: My sexy friend from Greece and I were talking about our Greek system. He didn't seem to know much, but I was rambling off the alphabet and talking about our sorority, Delta Phi Epsilon. Well guess what ladies... according to the authentic Greek... our sorority is pronounced Thelta Fee Epsilon haha imagine singing our cheers the that... not so good! (D is for Thelta.... hahaha) Anyway I thought maybe some of you would get a kick out of that.
4. Work update: So I worked 10 hours last night, and I have another 5 tonight. I'm not complaining because I need the hours... but last night was definitely eventful. Let me share the highlights.
-Two foreign business men offered to take me on the grand tour of Jonkoping, no thanks.
-A guy told me I look like Scarlett Johansson. It is my favorite compliment and no one has told me that in a long time so I told him it made my night. Well he kept coming back... insisting to surrounding customers that I looked like Scarlet. Then he publicly asked for my phone number, I declined and explained I have a BF. He then started involving an older drunk woman in our conversation who proceed in grabbing my face and bringing it close to hers examining it and telling me how cute it was. YIKES. Uncomfortable. So now the guy asked me if I wanted HIS number in case things didn't work out with my bf (only calling me Scarlett). I declined again and he left, ONLY to come back one more time and try the whole thing over again, WOW it was exhausting.
BEST HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT!
So there was this French guy in my class that I wanted to blog about, but that's kinda weird since I didn't really have anything to say. But he is exactly what you would expect a hot french guy to look like. His accent is super thick (I'm not a fan of French accents) BUT he is some nice French eye candy. Okay, well he came into the pub last night. I think we had only exchanged words our first day of class together (something like, "Excuse me" haha) but when he saw me working he was like... "You work here!? Does that mean I get to hang my coat for free?" Alright cute Frenchie just because we were classmates and you're hot doesn't mean I'm going to hook it up. So I told him no and asked him "Do you even know my name? (playfully, I wasn't bitchy) and after he paused for a moment, in the most exotic pronunciation of my name he goes... Aly-zon! Well my heart melted for a second and then his friend goes, "Well what is HIS name?" And in my best French impersonation I replied. Jzeremy! Well they all thought it was a riot and paid for their jackets and before he left Jeremy asked, "Well may I give you a kiss for free?" AHHHH so I let him kiss me on the check and was giddy for a few minutes haha. He came back a few times, and when he left gave me an intense Frenchmen stare. I think they teach those boys how to woo women. Aren't they known for that?! Well he did good. HAHA
Well I have to study basically from now until Wednesday. Wish me luck, miss you all!
2. Weird update: So yesterday I worked out at the gym (thanks to Caroline lending me her gym card). Usually I go home to shower, but on this occasion I had to get to class after (last class of the term!) so I needed to shower there. Okay, none of the showers had curtains and I got an eyeful of naked Swedish women! Okay, I know its not that big of a deal... but I thought groups of naked women showering like that only happened in movies from the 70's (prime example, the horror film Carrie. That opening scene scarred me for life!) It was definitely worst that showering at the field house haha. I made my way to the back showers where no one was and privately showered alone. I know, I'm such a prude.
3. Sorority update: My sexy friend from Greece and I were talking about our Greek system. He didn't seem to know much, but I was rambling off the alphabet and talking about our sorority, Delta Phi Epsilon. Well guess what ladies... according to the authentic Greek... our sorority is pronounced Thelta Fee Epsilon haha imagine singing our cheers the that... not so good! (D is for Thelta.... hahaha) Anyway I thought maybe some of you would get a kick out of that.
4. Work update: So I worked 10 hours last night, and I have another 5 tonight. I'm not complaining because I need the hours... but last night was definitely eventful. Let me share the highlights.
-Two foreign business men offered to take me on the grand tour of Jonkoping, no thanks.
-A guy told me I look like Scarlett Johansson. It is my favorite compliment and no one has told me that in a long time so I told him it made my night. Well he kept coming back... insisting to surrounding customers that I looked like Scarlet. Then he publicly asked for my phone number, I declined and explained I have a BF. He then started involving an older drunk woman in our conversation who proceed in grabbing my face and bringing it close to hers examining it and telling me how cute it was. YIKES. Uncomfortable. So now the guy asked me if I wanted HIS number in case things didn't work out with my bf (only calling me Scarlett). I declined again and he left, ONLY to come back one more time and try the whole thing over again, WOW it was exhausting.
BEST HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT!
So there was this French guy in my class that I wanted to blog about, but that's kinda weird since I didn't really have anything to say. But he is exactly what you would expect a hot french guy to look like. His accent is super thick (I'm not a fan of French accents) BUT he is some nice French eye candy. Okay, well he came into the pub last night. I think we had only exchanged words our first day of class together (something like, "Excuse me" haha) but when he saw me working he was like... "You work here!? Does that mean I get to hang my coat for free?" Alright cute Frenchie just because we were classmates and you're hot doesn't mean I'm going to hook it up. So I told him no and asked him "Do you even know my name? (playfully, I wasn't bitchy) and after he paused for a moment, in the most exotic pronunciation of my name he goes... Aly-zon! Well my heart melted for a second and then his friend goes, "Well what is HIS name?" And in my best French impersonation I replied. Jzeremy! Well they all thought it was a riot and paid for their jackets and before he left Jeremy asked, "Well may I give you a kiss for free?" AHHHH so I let him kiss me on the check and was giddy for a few minutes haha. He came back a few times, and when he left gave me an intense Frenchmen stare. I think they teach those boys how to woo women. Aren't they known for that?! Well he did good. HAHA
Well I have to study basically from now until Wednesday. Wish me luck, miss you all!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Hinez verses Euroshopper!!
Mom, you may or may not appreciate this... but I must claim defeat. After doing a taste test I am admitting that Hinez ketchup IS better than Euro Shopper brand :( For those of you confused, let me fill you in. So at the grocery store Hinez Ketchup costs about 35SEK ($7... YES $7). The nice, cheaper alternative... Euro Shopper costs 8SEK (just over $1) so OF COURSE I refused to buy Hinez, but was repremanded by Jonas that Euro Shopper sucked. Well, we were at a discount store and found some Hinez Ketchup for about $3 (OH HAPPY DAY!) so I suggested we get some since Jonas has been suffering due to the cheap ketchup. And let me tell you... from the moment it hit my lips, i knew, that it was a superior ketchup. But, although I am admitting defeat, I refuse to pay $7 for ketchup and so Euro Shopper will still be my brand of choice :)
Alright, enough of that. The student paper JUNITED sent an offer for students to write about a "culture shock" since arriving which would then be featured in the paper. Sure that would be cool, but I was intrigued by the promise of... "best entry receives a handsome prize." Handsome prize?! That term is only used on game shows... so I had to take the chance in finding out what the student Swedish paper considers a handsome prize. I tried reviewing my blog for good ideas, but none that I thought was good enough to compete. So I wrote a story from my first visit to Sweden.... here it is!!
"Since arriving in Jonkoping, my Swedish friends have been raving about Max burgers. The evening came when we were finally going to treat ourselves to this highly praised meal. My friend Anders has a car, but instead the guys informed me we were going to walk 30 minutes to get there. I am from the States, so walking 30 minutes to get anywhere, especially fast food sounded like a long time! Not only that, I was surprised that Max is conscious of their carbon emissions and plant trees to offset the effect. Now that’s a breath of fresh air, literally!"
It could only be 100 words, but I hope I win!! Other than that... I should be studying for my final exam or working on my final paper. I'll get around to it, what I really want to do is watch Hocus Pocus tonight! Well I want to wish Kat a happy 21st birthday on the blog :) I hope you had a great day (yesterday)!
Alright, enough of that. The student paper JUNITED sent an offer for students to write about a "culture shock" since arriving which would then be featured in the paper. Sure that would be cool, but I was intrigued by the promise of... "best entry receives a handsome prize." Handsome prize?! That term is only used on game shows... so I had to take the chance in finding out what the student Swedish paper considers a handsome prize. I tried reviewing my blog for good ideas, but none that I thought was good enough to compete. So I wrote a story from my first visit to Sweden.... here it is!!
"Since arriving in Jonkoping, my Swedish friends have been raving about Max burgers. The evening came when we were finally going to treat ourselves to this highly praised meal. My friend Anders has a car, but instead the guys informed me we were going to walk 30 minutes to get there. I am from the States, so walking 30 minutes to get anywhere, especially fast food sounded like a long time! Not only that, I was surprised that Max is conscious of their carbon emissions and plant trees to offset the effect. Now that’s a breath of fresh air, literally!"
It could only be 100 words, but I hope I win!! Other than that... I should be studying for my final exam or working on my final paper. I'll get around to it, what I really want to do is watch Hocus Pocus tonight! Well I want to wish Kat a happy 21st birthday on the blog :) I hope you had a great day (yesterday)!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
HAPPY NATIONAL CINNAMON BUN DAY!
Well today is national cinnamon bun (kanelbulle) day here in Sweden. Has this made headlines all over the news and papers... I wouldn't know :) but it seems to be a pretty well known 'holiday' here. Jonas and I took a walk today (to be described later) and tried to find an open bakery... but they were closed. Do they not want to capitalize on this day devoted to the nations favorite baked good!? So instead of eating a cinnamon bun, I'm lighting my cinnamon bun scented candle from IKEA, that's pretty patriotic.
So this walk... the afternoon looked like a sunny autumn day. We decided to take a walk around the lake. We stopped in my favorite imitation dollar store (รถ&b.. i call it an imitation because everything is U.S. dollar store quality, but normal priced!) When we left, it was pouring out! The store is about a 35 minute walk away... we tried to wait out the rain a bit... but finally decided to head out. Bad idea. I had my scarf (you always have to wear a fashion scarf in Sweden, its like country dress code) wrapped around my head like an old Russian grandma and tried to bear the weather. Okay, my face was freezing and we had to walk around the lake to get home... which is the worst place to be when its bad weather because its colder there and the wind is even more intense. Needless to say I was a baby and pretended like we were never going to make it back. As you can see from this blog, we did.
Good news everyone. Starting at the end of the month I will begin a Swedish course. I hope I learn more than I already know (because I've learned quite a bit on my own.) I also hope that they offer more than just this introduction course for us and that I can get into higher levels later. Oh, I'm almost done with my first 2 classes. Just 1 presentation, 1 paper and 1 exam. Yay!
Okay Jonas and I are about to watch District 9... have a good week!
So this walk... the afternoon looked like a sunny autumn day. We decided to take a walk around the lake. We stopped in my favorite imitation dollar store (รถ&b.. i call it an imitation because everything is U.S. dollar store quality, but normal priced!) When we left, it was pouring out! The store is about a 35 minute walk away... we tried to wait out the rain a bit... but finally decided to head out. Bad idea. I had my scarf (you always have to wear a fashion scarf in Sweden, its like country dress code) wrapped around my head like an old Russian grandma and tried to bear the weather. Okay, my face was freezing and we had to walk around the lake to get home... which is the worst place to be when its bad weather because its colder there and the wind is even more intense. Needless to say I was a baby and pretended like we were never going to make it back. As you can see from this blog, we did.
Good news everyone. Starting at the end of the month I will begin a Swedish course. I hope I learn more than I already know (because I've learned quite a bit on my own.) I also hope that they offer more than just this introduction course for us and that I can get into higher levels later. Oh, I'm almost done with my first 2 classes. Just 1 presentation, 1 paper and 1 exam. Yay!
Okay Jonas and I are about to watch District 9... have a good week!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
IDOL UPDATE
i thought this was soo embarrassing... so right now they are in the semi finals of Idol. So the Swedish Ryan Seacrest announced the name of the girl going through to the next round. BUT the girl who lost, thought that he was announcing the name of the girl who lost... so she starts screaming, hugging the other girl joyously and jumping around, EVEN HUGS the ryan seacrest wannabe... and on live television he has to tell her she lost. OMG so embarrassing. And think of this, it was all in Swedish and even I felt the horror of this moment. Oh my oh my. Well she can always make it through during the Wild Card round!!
House music sucks.
Hi!
So last night Elin and I walked 45 minutes to Caroline's house. Her friend Sybil was visiting from Switzerland and they were preparing a girls night dinner for us! We decided to get some exercise before hand... ya know so we could have an extra portion. The walk wasn't bad, but then we couldn't find her place in the dark... and it was starting to rain. Anyway dinner was REALLY good... seafood pasta (Kel, if it had been spicier it would have been like our pasta from Bahama Breeze!!) With swiss chocolates and mousse for dessert, yum yum! Sybil was super sweet and I was happy to meet her. It made me want to go to Switzerland... or drink some Swiss Miss (jk). After dinner Caroline, Sybil and I went to the student pub for some dancing. Yaaa the DJs sucked. And everyone dancing sucked. Hah, I just think everyone was super drunk and were partaking in some serious dance moves... throwing elbows and trying to break dance. There was was a guy who was super flamboyant (not common here) wearing a dress and crazy high high heels... which he stepped on me with... OUCH. Possible highlight of the night, when I look up and one of the duo of crappy DJs (they were playing 'house music' aka similar to techno) WAS PLAYING A JAZZ FLUTE. bahahaha I started thinking of Anchorman... and just giggled at the idea.
Sooo tonight 'everyone' is going to Club Caj to see this "world famous DJ" perform (Joachim Garraud). I was planning on staying home, especially since I went out last night... BUT just to make sure I wasn't making a mistake, I looked up a video of him. BOOOO more HOUSE MUSIC, yuck. I just don't know how people can enjoy dancing to it! So here I am, kinda watching Swedish Idol and about to watch The Time Travelers Wife and eat some Reese's Pieces sent from home. Waaay better. Missing friends/home more than usual today, MWAH... love you all.
So last night Elin and I walked 45 minutes to Caroline's house. Her friend Sybil was visiting from Switzerland and they were preparing a girls night dinner for us! We decided to get some exercise before hand... ya know so we could have an extra portion. The walk wasn't bad, but then we couldn't find her place in the dark... and it was starting to rain. Anyway dinner was REALLY good... seafood pasta (Kel, if it had been spicier it would have been like our pasta from Bahama Breeze!!) With swiss chocolates and mousse for dessert, yum yum! Sybil was super sweet and I was happy to meet her. It made me want to go to Switzerland... or drink some Swiss Miss (jk). After dinner Caroline, Sybil and I went to the student pub for some dancing. Yaaa the DJs sucked. And everyone dancing sucked. Hah, I just think everyone was super drunk and were partaking in some serious dance moves... throwing elbows and trying to break dance. There was was a guy who was super flamboyant (not common here) wearing a dress and crazy high high heels... which he stepped on me with... OUCH. Possible highlight of the night, when I look up and one of the duo of crappy DJs (they were playing 'house music' aka similar to techno) WAS PLAYING A JAZZ FLUTE. bahahaha I started thinking of Anchorman... and just giggled at the idea.
Sooo tonight 'everyone' is going to Club Caj to see this "world famous DJ" perform (Joachim Garraud). I was planning on staying home, especially since I went out last night... BUT just to make sure I wasn't making a mistake, I looked up a video of him. BOOOO more HOUSE MUSIC, yuck. I just don't know how people can enjoy dancing to it! So here I am, kinda watching Swedish Idol and about to watch The Time Travelers Wife and eat some Reese's Pieces sent from home. Waaay better. Missing friends/home more than usual today, MWAH... love you all.
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