Snow on October 22nd. Full ground cover, and great packing snow. Feels like Christmas is tomorrow and it’s not even Halloween yet! (Which for the Swedes is not about dressing up in costume, but rather, is about honoring the dead). Hope you are all toasty and not in negative temperatures yet! haha. xo!
Hej!
So as for the election, the right wing coalition won. Sweden is on it’s way to becoming more like Canada in it’s political representation and therefore social policies. The welfare state is changing! FIRST SNOW TODAY. Unbelievable- I haven’t even bought proper boots yet! haha. Spent 5 hours in the hospital the other day as I had a potentially broken finger after Saturday night. Couldn’t tell you what I did, but the next day it was blue and FAT. Still blue actually, but coming down to “regulation size”- Claire that was for you I hope you got the joke! haha. 4 x-rays, $460.00 Canadian later, turns out I just tore some ligaments. Hopefully the insurance will come through. My friend Louise from Ireland was nice enough to come with me and keep me company, so that was nice. Didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving really, except for cooking some squash at dinner. My friend Krista from Finland invited me for lunch at her place though, and she made a celebratory Finnish desert, so that was in the spirit of things:) Two days ago it was a really nice day, so I went to the lake and enjoyed the sunshine. There were people walking their dogs, a father and son playing, a man kayaking and an old woman sitting on a nearby bench looking out on the lake. What a cool place this is:) Had a Swedish dinner party not too long ago with crayfish as the main food and traditional Swedish schnapps which were disgustingly powerful! The flavours had names like “bitter flower” and “old wood boat”. You can imagine how that went. haha. This was followed by a group bike ride to a party hosted in a bomb shelter (constructed after world war two for the residents in the nearby apartment building). So this is Umea, Sweden for you. Drunken students, cycling, snow in October, lovely nature, cohabitation of different age and social groups, and so on. Needless to say, I am really enjoying it here. But of course, I can’t wait to be back in the homeland and see all of you who I love and miss! Lot’s of love and all my best!
Hej!
So my german lessons aren’t really happening, but my french is coming back a little because of hanging out with my french friend in my corridor. He and I also learned some swedish from our friend Andre who is from southern Sweden and lives in our corridor too. “Ha en bra dag” is one of my favourites, meaning “have a good day”. Last night there was a party here in our building which was quite fun, and we capped off the night with a 2am sauna session with about 15 people. First time using the sauna- I am a wimp but it was still really fun:) Explained to some people what a bloody cesar is, and what clamato is, and they could not believe we drank this. Nor was I able to convince anyone that it was good. Pretty hilarious though! Today we went to “Fika”, which means coffee/tea/pastries and things, to a place near campus that was like a lodge on the inside. Really cozy and reminded me of home and cottage country with moose heads and antlers on the walls. ahha. Swedish national election results will be announced tonight- first one since 2006 when the right-wing party came into power after a very long time of social-democratic rule. Really big deal here; I am even excited! It has been lovely skyping with people from home- I miss your beautiful faces! Looking forward to chatting with more of you soon. Lots of love!!
The hut on the left sits on a wooden platform in the lake. Inside the hut is a sauna. There are boats that people take out to the sauna, and they jump in and out of the lake. We may rent a “sauna boat” soon before it gets too cold. This lake is about a two minute walk from my building! :)
Hey all!
I am having such a great time here, I can’t even believe it. I have met some really awesome people from so many different places- everywhere from Germany to Honduras! Some new friends and I discovered the 7.5% beer in the liquor store, or “Systembolaget”, and I have already accomplished walking into a wall as a result. Something to check off my list! Haha. Umea is such a beautiful place, and while the air is cold, it is SO fresh. They say the first snow will fall in October, so I will be skiing in no time! My residence building is really great- we even have a sauna in the basement (the Swedes are very big on saunas, especially when it involves jumping into the snow after and in between). I am helping some friends with their English. Yesterday Matt and I, my friend from Idaho, taught our German friend, Daniel, what “homedawg” means. His favourite new word that he has learned so far is “squeegee”. Haha. He told me today that he will teach me one German word per day. I am excited! I hope everything is spectacular with all of you. Pictures VERY SOON. Big virtual hug!
Dad is gone now. Woke this morning and turned to Billy Joel for some smiles. Rebecca, I thought of you when I scrolled to “Allentown” to start with, and when “In the Middle of the Night” came on (what a two man dance party!). Of course, I thought of the Dal kids at lower deck when Piano man came on. “It’s a pretty good crowd for a SUNDAY”, haha. My room is pretty great with a bathroom/shower included, and orientation starts today so I should have an opportunity to meet some cool international folk. Lots of love!
Update on Guiness: was much better, but I still opted for other beers- O’hara’s Irish Stout beats Keiths red, I have to say. Dublin was a really cool city filled with history, old buildings and cobblestone streets, music and of course, pubs. From Dublin Dad and I went to Stockholm for a brief visit en route to Umea. The architecture in Stockholm was out of this world. We are in Umea, or “Ew-me-o” now and I am moving into the university tomorrow. This is the largest city in Northern Sweden, with around 115,000 people, yet it feels much more like a town. Very cute and quaint place surrounded by a vast landscape of trees and many bodies of water- cold though! Hope you all are well in our lovely homeland. Pictures soon! xo
Less than 24 hours to departure. Trying to honour my commitments to write on this blog—will take some getting used to! This time tomorrow I will be sitting next to Scotty on a flight to Dublin where we will spend two days before heading to Scandinavia. They say Guinness is much better in it’s homeland. I will let you know. Cheers and love!
