Barsebäckshamn

On Sunday (Sondag), Susan took me to a place called Barsebäckshamn. It is the most beautiful little coastal village! All of the houses are so darling, and yet they are so sturdy because they have to stand up against the harsh winds that blow off of the sea. It was a particularly windy day when we were there, and the air felt like autumn. It is refreshing for me to be living in a place with seasons again, although I do miss the clear, sunny, warm days in Santa Cruz. Even though the air felt cold, there were quite a few kids swimming in the waves. A sign said that the water temperature was 18 degrees (about 65 in Fahrenheit), but the kids looked like they were just in a bath. Susan and I decided not to join them, needless to say. There is an amazing path that goes along the water and passes by the houses and we walked on that for a while. It was very windy, though, and I was feeling a little under the weather, so we went back to the little café by the harbor and had coffee and a little waffle. I feel so privileged to be shown around by a local, who knows all of the best spots! Thank you so much Ralph and Michelle, I wish you were here too to show me around!

Parties and Sightseeing

My Swedish class is going very well. I love the people in my class. There is only one other American in the class, and to me, our Swedish accents sound terrible. It sounds like all of the various European accents are so much closer to Swedish, but I have been assured that we all sound about the same. By the end of week one, I can introduce myself, count to 1000, name the days of the week, months, and seasons, I can tell the time, and name conjugate a list of verbs. It was a long week with 3.5 hours of class a day, but I have come to know the coffee shops around my classroom well, and I frequent them on our two fifteen-minute breaks. I have class in the afternoon, so I have been able to sleep in, and give myself enough time to bike down to campus. I have one more week of this class and then my regular classes will commence.
Somehow, I have not figured out the quickest way to bike down to the center, and I go a different way each time. I look forward to being confidant that I am going the right way. Last night I think I took a route that I had taken before with someone, and if I can do it again, I think I will be set. There are amazing bike paths everywhere, and it is much faster to bike than to drive or take the bus. The bike paths are very well planned, which goes to show that if cities in the US really wanted to become bike-friendly, they could do it.
On Friday night I went to the International Student Welcome Party. It was a lot of fun to be with people from all around the world. I spent most of the night with friends from my Swedish class. They are from, Holland, Germany, Austria, and France. It seems like it will be more challenging to meet people from Sweden since so many international students surround us. I am very thankful that I live in a Swedish corridor. When I got home from the party, the guys in my corridor were having a little after-party and singing Swedish drinking songs. Everyone had a little book with the words to a lot of festive drinking songs (you can’t find this happening in any international corridor). I look forward to getting to know my neighbors better, but it seems as though they are all very busy and hardly ever in their rooms, other than to sleep.
On Saturday I went on an excursion with international students. We visited a castle from the middle ages, and saw a Viking monument that looks like a little Stonehenge. My German friend Eva, and I hung out and had lunch and walked around the monument. The benches above, looking out over the ocean is where we had lunch. It was very beautiful, but I was pretty tired from a very late night, and I felt like such a tourist as I got out of the bus with my camera and a hundred other students. There are other trips planned for this fall for all of the UC students, which will be a lot of fun.
Today, Sunday, it is raining on and off, and it is pretty cold out. I was planning on going on a long bike-ride with Susan and Maria, but that plan has been ruined by the weather. I guess I have to get used to being flexible with plans.
I miss all of you very much and I would love to hear how you are all doing! Email me updates in your lives! I love you and I will post more soon.

Caviar… in a tube

This is quite popular here… I actually have yet to try it, but I’m sure it will be splendid! This is most commonly put on top of a sandwich (made with just one piece of hard cracker-like bread “crispbread”).

Some pictures from Malmö Fest

Here are some pictures from the Malmö Festival. I went there with Stellan and Susan and somefriends of their who were visiting and used to live in Lund. They were a lot of fun to hang out with. These picture doesn’t give a very good overview of the festival though. There were so many people everywhere and there were tons of food stands and music tents.

registration

Today was a very long string of registration lines, paperwork and errands, and then I finally go to move into my dorm. I got to the registration building at 9am (as soon as it opened), and the lines were already out the door. They just got longer though, as the morning progressed, so it paid off that I was so excited to get registered. Most of the students were just arriving in Lund, so they were carrying all of their luggage, and it made me so thankful that I got to leave mine at Stellan and Susan’s house. Not having to deal with my luggage should have made me very relaxed, but somehow in going from California to Vermont this summer, I lost my official letter of acceptance to Lund University. Oops! It ended up being fine, but I was quite worried as I stood in each line watching student after student be asked to show the letter, and then pull out the letter in some fancy folder and some even seemed to have it laminated. I am usually very organized about things, and I don’t know what happened. It was all ok though, and I soon had my student ID number, by Swedish language books, and a key to my room. (I also signed up for some trip on Saturday and got a ticket to some big party.) The registration people were driving vans up to the dorms, so without any of my luggage, I hopped in one and rode to my new living quarters. It’s a little farther from the center of town than I was expecting, but it will be about a ten-minute bike ride. Most of the student housing is up here, though, so I don’t think I will feel far away from anything. My room is at the top of a building on the fourth floor. There are twelve rooms in a corridor and then a shared kitchen and living room. Each room is a single and has it’s own bathroom. It’s a lot nicer than any dorm I’ve ever lived in, and I’ve lived in quite a few! I decided to walk back to the center from my dorm to get a feel for where I was, and wasn’t even deterred by the fact that it started to rain as soon as I got outside. By the time I got to Susan and Stellan’s I was absolutely soaked! I guess I just have to get accustomed to being wet sometimes. The people around me didn’t seem to mind, I so will have to adjust. I dried off and walked into town again, but this time it stopped raining and was all of a sudden warm and humid. The weather here is very weird! In town I did a bunch of errands, such as getting a phone, bedding, etc. by three o’clock in the afternoon, I was totally exhausted, so I took a nap until Susan and Stellan came home from work. After dinner they drove all of my stuff up to Delphi, where I live, and helped me move in. I am a little worried about how comfortable my bed will be, because it’s about three inches thick and hard as a rock. I think I’m so tired though, that it won’t make a difference tonight. I met a lot of people today, and I can’t remember half of their names (probably because most I cant even pronounce). I am excited about getting to know so many international students, and I hope that I will have more energy tomorrow to socialize.

*the picture is taken from Stellan and Susan's block looking toward the town center

a little history about sweden

*Stellan next to a fabulous bike rack
The reason we don’t hear about Sweden often is that they haven’t been involved in a war in 200 years. That’s a record! They are also so content with the way that they do everything, and do not feel compelled to convince anyone else about it; they just keep their citizens warm and healthy. All citizens pay up to 55% of their salary in taxes, which may seem very steep, but then all of their medical appointments and services are totally free, giving everyone a fair chance to stay healthy. Another way that the Swedes stay healthy is to bike everywhere. I have honestly seen more bikes in these few days than I have ever seen in my life. There are places to park and lock your bike everywhere. I even saw one that was two levels! The landscape is pretty flat so biking is not too hard. Susan and Stellan told me that I could bike about 30 minutes and end up at the beach! I think I will do that next weekend! I go to pick up a bike tomorrow that Stellan and I set aside at a used bike shop. It’s pink!

I have been amazed at how beautiful people and places are here. The old buildings are complimented by the chic shops and well-dressed Swedes. It’s really a lovely little city. Even the police cars are nice, brand-new Saabs, Volvos and Volkswagens.

There is a funny rivalry between Swedes and British and I am getting a first-hand view of it because Susan is from Great Britain and Stellan is Swedish. It seems as though both countries feel they do most things right. So far, I am just witnessing the intelligent things the Swedes do, but I’m sure that I’ll see both sides. One amazing thing here is that restaurants with outside seating have blankets on each chair, so you can stay warm while you’re eating and enjoy yourself longer. Genius! Another funny thing is traffic lights. I guess I haven’t noticed this anywhere else, but a red light turns yellow for like two seconds before it turns green so you don’t have to slow down as much if you think it will turn green soon. I know these things sounds weird, but I find them pretty interesting.

I went to the Malmö Festival tonight with Susan and Stellan, which was a bit overwhelming. It is a huge festival south of Lund in Malmö, with rides, tons of food stands from around the world, and tents set up everywhere with all kinds of music and dance. There were thousands of people everywhere, and I would have been content to sit around watching people for hours. We ended up doing a lot of walking, though, so now I’m pretty tired. I ate good food and got to hear some music, but the atmosphere at big carnival-like places is not for me. It was nice to get back to quiet little Lund, although I have heard that they do know how to throw quite a party here too. I am really quite enamored with the culture here and I haven’t even started at the university. I do miss home and my friends, so don’t think you have lost me to this beautiful place yet! I will post pictures soon!

first few days in Lund

Lund is beautiful! I got a grand tour of the city by my host, Stellan. I am staying with him and his wife, Susan for two nights before I can move into the dorms. The city is so old and Stellan knows his history well. I can hardly believe that I have only been here for a day. It feels like I been here for a while because I have been on the move ever since I arrived. Stellan drove me around the city so I could get a sense of how big it is and the layout; his tour worked and I already feel so comfortable here. The university is incredible. The buildings are so old and established and the campus is right in the city. It is a very small city, so I think I will be able to find my way around very easily. Stellan and Susan live very close and it will be nice to have them so near in case I need anything. I know that I will love it here!
I just got a taste of a very strong Danish schnapps of some sort and I can feel it throughout my body. Apparently drinking is a very big part of Swedish culture, and I don’t know if I will be able to keep up!
I have found that I can understand many words when I see them in writing, but when people say something it sounds like gibberish to me. For instance, Cykel Parkerings Förbud, means Bike Parking Forbidden.
Tomorrow is registration and I am very excited to find out where I will be living and what classes I will be taking. I will also get to meet my mentors and fellow international students.