When in doubt, mumble.

Things are going well these days. After getting home from Ireland I decided I would settle into my life here in Jonkoping. Mainly because at the rate I was spending money I would be completely broke by March. I arrived home early Wednesday morning and by Friday I was having a melt down. I’ve been going through this strange shift personally and coming to Jonkoping just expedited the process and shoved it into full swing. My issue stemmed from an urge to be true to who I am and live in a way I can feel good about and proud of, while still meshing with everyone socially. When I surveyed my contacts on Skype, no one was better fit for this conversation than Granny Bird. She assured me that there was nothing wrong with me and that I need to continue being authentic and live my life how I want to and stop concerning over what others think or are doing. It always sounds so easily put. As days pass I only see improvement in my confidence and ability to make the right choices for myself. I continue to swallow double doses of growth in my independent ability as I’m realizing I'll simply starve if I continue to expect being spoon-fed. It’s invigorating to see past guidelines and boundaries and I’m finding that attitude is being spread throughout all aspects of my life. Life is only as restricting as you allow it to be. Nothing is ever for sure. Don’t be afraid to change it.

The cereal here is awful. All they sell are flakes! Corn flakes, bran flakes, oat flakes, wheat flakes.. just a bunch of shitty tasting flakes. I miss Kashi Crunch and Mini Wheat’s.

Speaking of food… in my dorm we have Sunday dinner and everyone cooks something representative of where they’re from. Well I am letting the US down, big time. The first time I tried cooking nachos. Growing up we always had Friday nacho night and I always looked forward to a big plate of chips, cheese, and veggies with a big dollop of Daisy. Perfect! Tostitos really needs to tap into the Swedish market because there are NO good tortilla chips to be found here. I settled for an unfamiliar brand but it just threw everything off. I cut up a bunch of veggies but I didn’t have any shredded cheese. I took sliced cheese and laid it over the top of the chips. Ugh. They were pathetic. I was so embarrassed. Last Sunday I decided to try chocolate chip cookies. The Turkish guy down the hall did a year abroad in the US during high school and said he missed his housemothers chocolate chip cookies. Yes, got that! If there is one thing I know how to make its definitely cookies. So I go to the grocery store to buy the ingredients. No cookies from a package. Ok… flour. There was no such thing as all-purpose flour so I opted for the bag that had what appeared to be a cinnamon bun on it. No baking soda, but they did have baking powder. The guy said they are the same thing but they’re not, right?? Most recipes in the US call for both don’t they? Anyway, I bought baking powder and went to look for chocolate chips. They don’t have chocolate chips either!!! My only option was a $5 bag of M&M’s that was comparable to a king size bag you buy at the checkout. Practically gold. Then, the cooking begins. All the ingredients added and it looked like I’d made porridge. It was soupy and doughy and clumpy. I added a little more of this and a little more of that and threw it in the oven. A guy and girl from Mexico were cooking enchiladas for our floor. All 15 of us sat around the table and ate together, savoring over the delicious meal. Time for dessert. FML. My cookies turned out flat, stuck to the pan, the M&M’s had lost all their coloring and looked like brown craters, and the consistency was just all wrong. We all had a good laugh but once again.. I retreated from the kitchen in despair.

There is a girl named Sandra who I met in Fayetteville last semester while she was doing an exchange program from Jonkoping. We’ve been in touch as we are both attending school here now. I’ve got an in with the Swedes! We watched a movie at her apartment the other day and I almost swallowed my tongue when she told me that she only pays aprox $25 more in rent a month. It’s a studio apartment and so nice, and new, and clean, and QUIET! Too late now to dwell, but damn I’d wish I’d known. She also informed me that these beautiful blondes are not all necessarily natural.. There are salons on almost every corner; I was wondering how they stayed in business. 

I have a prediction. I predict that shortly, the chunky heel will be making its way back into current fashion trends. I’m seeing it everywhere! Could be wrong, but be on the lookout.

A little etiquette tip while shopping in Sweden: When you put your items on the black rubber thing in the check out line, you always put down a divider after your stuff. I noticed everyone doing it so I caught on, but one time I forgot, and you’d of thought I had spit in someone’s face. One sure way to get a quick ‘go to hell look’.

I got a position writing an article for the JIBS United magazine, a magazine the business school publishes three times a year. I’m so excited as I’ve really enjoyed writing since arriving in Sweden. School is going really well. I’m learning a lot and warming up to this independent studying. I wrote a paper for Research Methods the other day I felt so good about I could have screamed. I read all the time, continue to study, and add to, my large stack of Swedish flashcards, I write, I research, I’m beginning to walk or workout daily, and rarely sleep. It takes me hours to fall asleep lately, and when I finally do, its well after 2-3 a.m. I guess I have a lot on my mind.

That’s all for now,

L

Ireland.. Where the Guinness flows like wine and the redheads flock like the salmon of Capistrano.

Well it has certainly been quite a week. I hardly had time to shit, shower, and shave before I saddled up again and took off for another trip. I did make it to class, and let me tell you, stamina is required for these 3-hour lectures guided by a man who could potentially croak at any moment. Thursday came and I was off bright and early to catch the bus. I sparked up convo with a middle age man and what do ya know, he’s Irish! As we go to get on the bus he says, “Go ahead and put your suitcase under the bus and I’ll grab us some seats!” I didn’t realize that was the beginning of our 13-hour trek together. I don’t think there was a consecutive 2 minutes of silence once that man got started. I’ve heard the Irish are talkers so I wasn’t too surprised. I enjoyed his company and it certainly made a long day of traveling go by quickly. We were so tight by the end of the day he even held my hand as we landed. First, Swedish granny and now, old Irish man! I wonder what’s next?! Aaron, a friend of mine who recently moved to Ireland from Canada, was waiting to pick me up. After a lost buzz and slight ear exhaustion, once I’d arrived I was pretty much ready for dinner and some zzzz’s.

The next day we set off for fun in Dublin. Aaron really wanted to see the Book of Kells at the Trinity College library so we went there first. I was most impressed with the handwriting. It’s insane to think about how long it must have taken them to write even a page. The lines are perfect and not even the slightest mess up occurs. Well, that I could see anyway. I would love to know how many old people have grumbled to one another, “Look at that penmanship. There’s just no appreciation for penmanship anymore.. The damn youth have ruined it!” I included a picture I found on Google as your not allowed to take pictures. 

We then went to a couple museums where we saw some other old shit and after feeling like we got our bore fix, headed to a pub for a Guinness. I had a few on this trip but I must say, this first Guinness I might possibly remember for the rest of my life. It tasted absolutely splendid! 

We savored those for an hour or so, ate some cheesy fries, and headed off to find the old Guinness factory.  My impression of Dublin surprised me a bit as it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I guess because what I’ve seen of Europe so far has been so clean and polished. Ehhhh I wouldn’t give Dublin that much. The city felt a bit rough and industrial but it did have some beautiful buildings, mainly churches. 

We did make it to the factory and had such a great time. The tour was at your own pace so we took our time winding up the factory, checking things out, taking pictures, and stopping for a couple Guinness’s here and there along the way. We got to pour our own Guinness, which was fun. We spent most of the day there and before leaving we decided to go up to the glass bar at the top, where you have a 360 degree view of the city skyline. Lights at night are my favorite! It was a beautiful sight and we hung out there for 15 minutes or so. 

We wound our way down to the exit and I think we were literally the last ones to leave the building. We stumbled outside, not realizing how wasted we were, and all of a sudden these 3 guys start walking towards us. I clung to Aaron quickly as the situation just didn’t feel right and instantly made me uncomfortable. One of the guys walked straight up to Aaron and hit him across the face at what looked like a 90 mph blow. He went down in a flash, and as his body lay there limp, one of the other guys snatched his wallet and camera. I was standing there alone, when it hit me that I had to make a move fast or I was going to find my self in a very unfortunate situation. I took a deep breath and calmly said, “You messed with the wrong woman this evening gentlemen.” I side kicked the one coming towards me in the right kneecap, sending him to the ground screaming. I pulled out my pepper spray and nailed all three of them in the face, elbowing one and punching the other I hadn’t had the pleasure of assaulting yet. While they were crying like babies and clawing at their eyes, I picked up Aaron and ran through the alleyway back to the street area. Alright folks… there is one thing I can assure you about my writing. It is that I never lie, and if I do, Ill tell you. I just lied. Damnit, but I was so cool for second! Alright, lets take it from “we stumbled outside.” We walked outside, hoofed it back to the hotel, had one more drink at a pub and listened to an Irish band, and then called it a night. Told ya, the adlibbed version is way more fun. Though, I’m sure Aaron appreciates my clarification.

The next day we had breakfast and headed up the coast to Belfast, Northern Ireland. I love landscapes and much prefer it to the city. Ireland was much more mountainous than I had pictured and the rock formations on the coast are absolutely beautiful. 

I wasn’t able to make our yearly family trip to Maine last summer so when we stopped to take a picture and I opened the door to the salty, coastal smell that I love so much, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. It made me feel so warm and at peace inside. 

There were lots of sheep of course, which I found far more thrilling than Aaron. 

We played this game along the way where when you see a horse, you call “horse” and if you see two horses, you call “horse, horse,” and so on. You add them up as you see them, trying to call them out before the other person. If you see a graveyard, you call “graveyard” and then you bury the other person’s horses and they are back to zero. Anyway, I think all the horses were hanging out in the stable that day because our game was very low scoring. Unbeknown to him, on the way to the airport (on Tuesday, I’ll explain in a bit) I scored 56 horses and as our bus was pulling into the airport there was a massive graveyard and I buried all of his horses. So, I win. I just want that one to go down in the record books. The trip was about 3 hours before we arrived at Giant’s Causeway. This landmark is very unique as it consists of thousands of rocks that look like columns or pillars stacked side by side. It is the remnants of volcanic activity some 50-60 million years ago. It was beautiful and such a great night to be there. The sky was blue and the sun shown, the moon was out, and the weather crisp and cool.

We drove back to Belfast where we were staying for the evening. We decided to go out and enjoy some local nightlife. The first pub we went to was really packed but we managed to snag a booth and did some serious people watching, my favorite form of entertainment. Aaron continued drinking Guinness but I was back to the usual Gin and tonic at this point. To finish the night off we danced the night away at a club below our hotel. I haven’t been able to be very active since the tata’s arrived, so it was nice to break loose for an hour or so. My hips were not lying the next morning as apparently dancing also counted as a much-needed legwork out.

So here is where things get a little hazy. We woke up thinking we had most of the day to walk around and as long as we left by 2 pm, we should have no problem getting to the airport in time. Wrong. Mistake number 1. We left at 2:30 and stopped at a gas station for 20 minutes. Mistake number 2. We drove 30-45 minutes West, not South. When finally back on track, Aaron stepped on it. My flight was to leave at 5:10. We got to the airport at 4:45, had a quick goodbye, and I dashed off. I got through security surprisingly fast, literally ran through the mall of an airport, and arrived at my gate right as the last people were boarding the plane. The guy checks my ticket and says, “You don’t have this signed by security. You have to show them your passport and they check you off here.” WTF. My heart sank to the pit of my stomach as my hope of getting on that plane slipped from my fingers. Let me warn you, if your traveling in Europe, particularly Ryanair and you check in online, you must have your passport checked at the very beginning of the check in process and you have to tell them to check it otherwise you’ll get through security just fine, arrive at your gate, and then be told you must go back. I also forgot to do this in Stockholm the first time but because of the way security was laid out, it was caught earlier and wasn’t a big deal. I looked at the man and said, “So, If I go back, the plane will have departed, and I’ll miss the flight…” He says, “Yes, I’m sorry but your not going to make this flight.” I think the worst part was having to walk all the way back through the airport, past all the people I’d just sprinted past in a flurry. They knew. I had “I missed my flight and I’m really sad,” written all over my energy. I called Aaron from a pay phone to let him know I hadn’t made it and he turned around and came back to pick up my sorry ass. We’d both known that was a viable option given the circumstance. The next flight left Tuesday so I settled into the fact I wouldn’t be home for a couple of days. He bought us dinner, drinks, and dessert in honor of my missed flight. It ended up being a wonderful night.

I had a paper due Monday at midnight so when Aaron went to work that day, my plan was to finish and submit my paper. He left around 8:30am and soon after I got up for breakfast and a shower. Now, ok… remember I’m safety girl. I lock doors and am cautious of my surrounds, especially when naked and in the shower as that feels like a vulnerable place to be if someone were to break in. Ok, soooo I lock the bedroom door. It’s not just a normal lock on knob, but more like a deadbolt you lock with an old fashioned key. I get in the shower and clean up. 15 minutes later I dry off and attempt to unlock the door. Not a budge. That lock was not even slightly turning as I practically ripped the skin off my fingers trying to turn that dang key. I put the key in, I took the key out, I turned it around, flipped it up side down, turned it to the right, and tried and tried and tried turning it to the left. Nothing. I noticed the key had a hole in the end that I was using to turn it. I thought, maybe if I could just get better leverage. So I stuck a pair of scissors through the hole and tried to turn. The head of the key snaps off and I’m left holding the evidence of my stupidity. How the hell am I supposed to turn it now! I have no clothes in his room, no keys to his house, no phone, not a single thing that could help me but apparently my wee size brain. There’s a window and the drop isn’t far. I put the tights and tank top on that I was wearing before and Aaron’s hoodie and shoes. I shimmy my body out the window and onto the side street. There’s a massive rod iron gate that I must get through to be on the main road. I later learned there is a button that easily opens a side door to the gate, but at the time, I had not discovered that yet. I begin to climb. Honest to God, that moment, as I was perched atop the gate, looking like a wet street rat, will forever be solidified in my mind. A man pushing a wheelbarrow, accompanied by his dog, just stopped and stared. I climbed back down and asked him for help. He didn’t understand what the hell I was doing and as crazy as my story was, I don’t blame him. Anyway, he helped me over the fence regardless. Ok, now what do I do. The day before, Aaron had showed me where the library was. I decided I would walk there. They weren’t open until 10am and it was 20 till. I decided to walk through the mall next door and see if there was a cell phone or computer shop I could hit up. There was but apparently they don’t connect their devices to the Internet. No help. I walked back to the library and waited. I explained myself to the librarian and she was so kind to let me use the computer for free. I got on Facebook, of course, to try and reach Aaron. I did and after 30 minutes of back and forth, he met me back at his apartment. He had to call his landlord and have him come let us in. This is a picture of me outside his complex as he couldn’t believe the get up I’d just strutted around town in. So embarrassing.

PS That is not the rod iron gate I climbed- it is the
Everest equivalent to this puny thing. 

I did get my paper completed and turned in on time so all was well. I went grocery shopping, cooked dinner, and after work Aaron and I just hung out and watched a movie. The next day I walked to the local bus station and caught a ride to the Dublin airport, where I did a lot of horse sight seeing. The flight was smooth and I arrived to Stockholm safely. 

Because my Swebus ticket had expired, I had to get a new one. I thought I would do this at the airport in Stockholm when I arrived. A lady told me to catch the local bus and I could buy one at the Nykoping bus station. When I arrived at the local bus station, it was closed. Another pickle. A cell phone would have solved all problems but not having one makes things more interesting. Acquiring life skills, ya know. I walked through the town and found a hotel. I explained to the girl at the desk that I needed to buy a bus ticket and wondered if they had a computer in the reception area I could use. She points to one in the corner and says, “Please, feel free!” It even had a printer right there where I could print the ticket out. Pure luck. Then I went to a local pub and had a massive dinner while I sat and read until my bus arrived at midnight. Another 3:30 am arrival and this girl is ready to take it easy for a while. I don’t plan on going anywhere until March rolls around. All in all, it was a wonderful trip.

I finally received my books for class so this weekend I will be doing a lot of catching up. Looking forward to it!

L