Friday, December 22, 2006
Roliga Folk, Roliga Tider
De melk is in de koelkast
"The milk is in the refrigerator." That's my favorite Dutch sentence because it's pretty much the only Dutch sentence I know. Today I got back from visiting Bram in Holland. It was really nice to get to hang out with him a bit more. I also finally got to see Amsterdam. It was fun, even though I was pretty tired from having spent the night before on the train and in the airport. It's a really cool looking old city:
This is the house where Ann Frank and her family hid when she wrote her diary. There's a museum in it now, which is really good; definitely one of the highlights of Amsterdam for me. Luckily we did that in the morning so I hadn't completely crashed and burned yet.
After the Anne Frank museum, we walked around ate pancakes and walked around and went to the Van Gogh museum, and walked around had some yummy Dutch cookies, and walked around and looked in some cool shops, and walked around some more. By about 3 o'clock I really did crash and burn, so we took the train to Eindhoven, where Bram's apartment and university are. We slept in really late the next morning, and then just cruised around Eindhoven.
The stairs in Bram's building are really really steep.
This just a store in Eindhoven whose name made me laugh.
Can you believe I got to go to the "coolste" city in the Netherlands?
The Frying Dutchman. Get it??? Ahahahahahahah!It was a really nice couple of days because Bram is very cool, and I got to hear him speak a lot of Dutch, which I find incredibly adorable. He's promised to come visit me in California, and if he doesn't make good on that promise, I'm going to be quite unhappy! Thanks for having me over, Brammetje.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Getting close to the end
Today Bram went back to Holland, which makes me sad because it means I'm also going home in just one week. I won't have much time to sit around and be sad, though; I've got a busy week ahead. Tomorrow is my last psycholinguistics lecture, then I have to spend tomorrow night at the Copenhagen airport because I'm flying to Holland at 7 am Wednesday morning. Bram is going to come meet me in the Amsterdam airport and we're going to spend Wednesday hanging out in Amsterdam. Then we're taking the train to Eindhoven, where Bram studies and lives. We're going to spend Thursday hanging around Eindhoven, and then Friday morning it's back to Amsterdam and back to Lund. I'll have Friday evening and Saturday to pack and clean, then Sunday I take the train to Sofie's house for Christmas with her family. And the next day, I'm flying home!
I can't believe it's almost over. I keep getting all verklempt about it...Still I'm really excited about my trip to the Netherlands and my traditional Swedish Christmas Eve. I guess I'll have plenty of time to be sad once I'm home. Actually I'll probably be crying my eyes out all 12 hours of the way home. :(
On that note, here are some more sad faces that I've collected:
I can't believe it's almost over. I keep getting all verklempt about it...Still I'm really excited about my trip to the Netherlands and my traditional Swedish Christmas Eve. I guess I'll have plenty of time to be sad once I'm home. Actually I'll probably be crying my eyes out all 12 hours of the way home. :(
On that note, here are some more sad faces that I've collected:
Patrick
Aaron
Annika
Henning
And this was at Bram's send-off today:
Henning, Bram, and Annika. They always hated it when I called them the Three Musketeers.Now I really better hit the sack. I feel a bit like I'm coming down with something, and that would be "inte bra" considering the busy week I have ahead of me. Ta for now!
Julmat
Saturday was the UC farewell smorgasbord. Now I see where all my money goes; this was pretty fancy. It was inside Lund's Grand Hotel, and while the atmosphere was posh, the traditional Swedish Christmas food was maybe a bit too exotic for my taste.
The foyer, pre-chowfest. We're being welcomed by the maitre'de. (sp?)
The main staircase.
Have you ever seen so much herring in your life?
The foyer, pre-chowfest. We're being welcomed by the maitre'de. (sp?)
The main staircase.
Have you ever seen so much herring in your life?
This is blood. Really- that's all it is. And I ate some. Gross, huh?
To top it all off, the actual head of the actual pig that we munched on was decorating the buffet table, with pink frosting in his nostrils. I don't usually like to see the nostrils of the things I eat, frosted or not.
The eel was pretty good, believe it or not! And there was still plenty of potatoes and gravy and good old Swedish meatballs so that I stuffed myself pretty darn good. It was a nice way to end the semester. The Swedes are serious about eating and drinking, man. They're not wimps.
Lucia
Last Wednesday was St. Lucia Day here in Sweden, and my korridor mate Emilia got me a ticket to the University Choir's performance/ceremony in the old university building. I've been hearing about this tradition ever since I was a little girl ("American Girl" books :)), but this was the first time I had seen it live and it was really beautiful. Here are some of the photos I took:
The singers first entering the auditorium. Lucia entered first, and then the rest of the choir followed her singing "Santa Lucia." Each singer was holding a candle, and Lucia had a wreath with candles on her head.
The choir making its way through the audience to the stage.
Arranged on the stage. Lucia is in the center with candles on her head and a red ribbon around her waist. The rest of the girls have plain white gowns and plain wreaths on their heads. The guys all wore pointy wizard hat-looking things.
After the performance. Lucia leads the choir back out of the auditorium.Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Godis
Last Sunday was the scheduled Christmas baking day in our korridor. It was a GORGEOUS sunny day:
This is the windowsill in the kitchen catching some rays.
Left to right, Emilia and Sofie make knäck (Swedish candy that tastes a lot like almond roca), Annika and her German friend Sarah cut cookie dough for German butter cookies. I think Bram is in the back there trying to scam some cookie dough.
I made chocolate-chip oatmeal cookies (Betty Crocker's recipe). Love grabbed this picture of me when I wasn't looking. Don't I look domestic?
The cookies in the right a re mine. They were the best. Just kidding.
A Pippi cookie!!!
Finished knäck. The word loosely translates to "crack," which I have to say describes this addictive treat perfectly.
This is the windowsill in the kitchen catching some rays.
Left to right, Emilia and Sofie make knäck (Swedish candy that tastes a lot like almond roca), Annika and her German friend Sarah cut cookie dough for German butter cookies. I think Bram is in the back there trying to scam some cookie dough.
I made chocolate-chip oatmeal cookies (Betty Crocker's recipe). Love grabbed this picture of me when I wasn't looking. Don't I look domestic?
The cookies in the right a re mine. They were the best. Just kidding.
A Pippi cookie!!!
Finished knäck. The word loosely translates to "crack," which I have to say describes this addictive treat perfectly. "Is" Skating
The Canadians forced us all to go ice skating on Saturday, and it turned out very cute...here are the adorable photos:
(Bram and me): "Please don't make us skate!! It looks so cold and slippery!"
"Hey, this isn't so bad..."
Caitlin and Aya get fancy.
Mohamed and Lucas....hahaha....
Bram, me, Caitlin, Aya, Mohamed. Lucas was taking the picture. Are we not like the cutest bunch ever? I'm going to miss these folks so so much.
(Bram and me): "Please don't make us skate!! It looks so cold and slippery!"
"Hey, this isn't so bad..."
Caitlin and Aya get fancy.
Mohamed and Lucas....hahaha....
Bram, me, Caitlin, Aya, Mohamed. Lucas was taking the picture. Are we not like the cutest bunch ever? I'm going to miss these folks so so much. Monday, December 11, 2006
Ledsen
Emotional times here in Lund. I leave in exactly 2 weeks!! Everybody is sad about this, and I've been collecting the sad faces:
Martin
Mohamed
Caitlin
Love
Bram
I guess everybody's just going to miss me so much!These are all I have for now, but I'm sure I'll be acquiring more sad faces in the next couple of weeks.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Bilder!
Random pictures from the past couple weeks...
In Cafe Ariman last Saturday, before Thanksgiving dinner with the UC students at Lund and Copenhagen. This was in "the crying room"; all the pictures on the wall are of people crying.
Kevin posing with sweet potatoes at the Thanksgiving meal. It was mycket smaklig!
My friend Valerie and I went to a spex: a traditional Swedish all-male farce musical. Of the two hour play I understood about 3 or 4 jokes. But the Swedish people were all laughing a lot, so I assume it was pretty good. The singing was definitely good.
This is what a typical midday here looks like lately. Not extremely pleasant.
There are rare moments of sunshine, though! Here's my krukväxt Cornelius soaking up such a moment on my windowsill the other morning. Isn't he cute?
My friend Aaron and I wend out for (bad) Mexican food the other night and bravely tried the seasonal fruity alcoholic drink. It was sparkly like that stuff that comes in those tube things you squeeze and play with (you know, those things you could get from the Discovery Channel store?) I felt very uncomfortable ingesting it.
When Bram and I got home from shopping yesterday, Emilia was making lussakatter. They're little rolls made with saffron and raisins, and they're usually made for St. Lucia day, which is next week I think. When the lussakatter were ready, Love showed up with glögg, and we all had a little impromptu Swedish glögg party. It was very cute! Sweden!
In Cafe Ariman last Saturday, before Thanksgiving dinner with the UC students at Lund and Copenhagen. This was in "the crying room"; all the pictures on the wall are of people crying.
Kevin posing with sweet potatoes at the Thanksgiving meal. It was mycket smaklig!
My friend Valerie and I went to a spex: a traditional Swedish all-male farce musical. Of the two hour play I understood about 3 or 4 jokes. But the Swedish people were all laughing a lot, so I assume it was pretty good. The singing was definitely good.
This is what a typical midday here looks like lately. Not extremely pleasant.
There are rare moments of sunshine, though! Here's my krukväxt Cornelius soaking up such a moment on my windowsill the other morning. Isn't he cute?
My friend Aaron and I wend out for (bad) Mexican food the other night and bravely tried the seasonal fruity alcoholic drink. It was sparkly like that stuff that comes in those tube things you squeeze and play with (you know, those things you could get from the Discovery Channel store?) I felt very uncomfortable ingesting it.
When Bram and I got home from shopping yesterday, Emilia was making lussakatter. They're little rolls made with saffron and raisins, and they're usually made for St. Lucia day, which is next week I think. When the lussakatter were ready, Love showed up with glögg, and we all had a little impromptu Swedish glögg party. It was very cute! Sweden!Christmassy Lund
Hey! I'm still here. (For now.) One of the best things about going to Finland is that it made Lund feel nice and warm by comparison. I've been only having to wear knee socks under my pants instead of full-length leggings. And I'm trying to remember if there was ever a time in my life when I thought I would be wearing knee socks....Still though, the days have been getting gradually shorter and darker and colder. And now that it's December everything's all Christmassy around here. Last weekend was the first Sunday Christmas market and I took some pictures.
Sign by the highway. "Thanks for visiting, we wish you a Merry Christmas."
Christmas lights downtown.
Christmas market in the main square, Stortorget.
For some reason there are little pink bunny statues all over the square between the train station and the hotel. I'm not sure if they have anything to do with Christmas, but they're kind of cute and strange.
The sunset on my way home from downtown. This is a regular sight for me, extra gorgeous sunset that particular evening, though. Or I should say afternoon; this was about 3:30 pm.
Sign by the highway. "Thanks for visiting, we wish you a Merry Christmas."
Christmas lights downtown.
Christmas market in the main square, Stortorget.
For some reason there are little pink bunny statues all over the square between the train station and the hotel. I'm not sure if they have anything to do with Christmas, but they're kind of cute and strange.
The sunset on my way home from downtown. This is a regular sight for me, extra gorgeous sunset that particular evening, though. Or I should say afternoon; this was about 3:30 pm.Lund is just such a cute old tiny European adorable place. I'm really really going to miss it!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
A little more Helsinki
Here are some more photos from my trip to Helsinki:
The largest Orthodox church in Scandinavia.
Real live icicles!!
On the Finnish island Suommenlinna. The water you see is the Baltic Sea.
A frozen pond! There were people skating on it, just like in the movies!
We had fun walking on the ice.
The largest Orthodox church in Scandinavia.
Real live icicles!!
On the Finnish island Suommenlinna. The water you see is the Baltic Sea.
A frozen pond! There were people skating on it, just like in the movies! 
We had fun walking on the ice. Helsinki!
Last weekend Aya decided at the last minute that we should go to Helsinki. She said she would lend me money (still waiting on my new ATM card since canceling it after I lost my wallet in Stockholm) and I didn't have any other plans for the weekend, so I went along. The only people able to go were me, her, and Caitlin, which turned out pretty fun. We did all kinds of girly things: went shopping, went to the opera, got our ears pierced, and even got totally nekkid at a sauna (no pictures of that, of course.) I had thought Stockholm was cold, but Helsinki was definitely colder. It didn't snow while we were there, but there was snow and ice all over the ground, everywhere. 
Statue in the middle of the shopping district. You can see how icy the ground is!
Helsinki is purty in the morning.
View from our hostel kitchen window. I was grateful for all the sunshine, even if it wasn't warming me up.
My favorite Helsinki statue: "The Bear and the Anthill." I'm kissing the bear's nose.
Statue in the middle of the shopping district. You can see how icy the ground is!
Helsinki is purty in the morning.
View from our hostel kitchen window. I was grateful for all the sunshine, even if it wasn't warming me up.
My favorite Helsinki statue: "The Bear and the Anthill." I'm kissing the bear's nose. I don't quite remember how it was decided that we would all get piercings...all I know is I had agreed and didn't want to chicken out. I got one in the cartilage in the middle of my ear. I was scared until I was sitting in the chair; then I got really calm until the needle was shoved through. It HURT. Aya held my hand and I screamed obscenities, 40-Year-Old Virgin chest waxing scene- style. (I think I actually kind of scared the sweet little piercer man.) I'm pretty happy with the result, though:
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Stockholm, Day 3
On our last day, we got up early to see the palace and do some shopping. Here's some more Stockholm prettiness:
Cute little fact about this water: It has fish in it! The water is just regular sea water, so you can actually see people fishing smack dab in the middle of the big city! I just thought that was kind of neato.
It was ferrreaking cold!!!! Lucas and I each bought ourselves a Swedish mossa/touque/beanie (depending on what country you come from). By the way, we are dorks.
Caitlin and I sweet-talked this royal flautist outside the palace. Cuteness!
Changing of the guards in front of the palace.After we were done at the palace, we were on our way to some other touristy site when my cell phone rang. It was a man who had found my wallet!! I figured it was one of the workers from the subway. We went to meet him at the subway station, and it turns out he didn't work for the subway, he was just a guy who lived nearby and whose friend had happened to pick up my wallet. He had found my student card, called Lund University to get my cell phone number, and then called me. All the cash and cards and everything was still in my wallet. It was an absolute miracle! I thanked the guy profusely. I wanted to get a picture of him, but he declined, and we said goodbye.
That night we took a night train back to Lund. I think if I could get my bed to move like a train, I would sleep like a baby every night. Soooo nice.
