Stockholm...

Yesterday we went to Stockholm. We met at 8:45 at the bus stop, and since it was so cold, we took the bus. The train was 15 minutes late and when we finally got on the train, we apparently went to the wrong section....we were in first class, and the train was crowded, so when we got up to move, we ended up having to stand in the stairway for the duration of the trip. We arrived at Stockholm's Central Station at about 11ish. We then had to figure out our Copenhagen trip for next week. We ended up getting a train ticket for the way there and then a bus ride home. Anyways we split up after that, Jackie, Stefan, and Matt went to Parliament, and Jenny, Kylee, Mary Beth, Caroline, Emily, and I went to try and find the shopping area. I need to reiterate the fact that is was COLD! About 9 degrees and we were very very chilled. Out strategy was to get into shops as frequently as possible. What surprised me is that there are 3 H&Ms within 5 feet from one another. We walked briskly along the touristy road. We found an underground mall where a demonstration ( I think) was taking place, but we left the area soon enough. We were hungry and wanted to eat, so we decided to eat in Old Stockholm. It took us a few minutes, but we finally found an awesome little restaurant in Old Stockholm. I had a tuna sandwich, which was amazing! And I also ended up getting a hot chocolate which warmed me up. After we begruginly left into the cold, we tried to find the center, which we eventually did. We went into the Nobel Museum, but didn't feel like spending money to go in, so we went towards the water front. Stockholm is a beautiful city which I think I would've enjoyed more if I were able to feel my body. Anyways, we continued our shopping warmage scheme and ended up hanging out at, guess where, MAX! It's becoming our hang out place. We sat there for a long time warming up and what not. We eventually made our way down a block to Central Station and were able to sit in a seat on the way back. We took the bus from the train station to Flogsta, and a few of us went to ICA to get some food. When I got home, I ended up having a nice chat via Skype with my parents, and I am happy to say that they have their plane tickets! So I will be picking them up from the train station at 8:30 on June 5th!

Tomorrow I plan and observe people for my ethnology class then meet up with Emily and others to go and get Uppsala University sweatshirts! Then I have class at night. Then I will be leaving for Copenhagen early Tuesday morning.

Right Now we are trying to figure out Dog Sledding for next week because the place we were going to go to is fully booked. So we'll see if we can even do that. And I think I may be going to Ireland and Scotland in April. I am thinking of not traveling much in May since I will have my "papers" and test then.

Well, check in with y'all later :)

Lindsay

2 weeks in...

Hej Everyone!

First, thank you all for commenting! It's always nice to read :).

The pub crawl was pretty lame. We left at about 5:30 and waited in line to get on the bus (there was a lot of people waiting to go to the same thing). When the second bus came, it actually stopped right in front of us, which was awesome. We didn't know where the first stop was so we wandered and we luckily found it although we had to wait outside for another 20 minutes. When we got inside, we HAD to check our coats which I didn't like. We sat around and chatted, although once we got in it was time to go to the next stop. We decided that we would go to the third one and just wait. However, we didn't find it any fun so we decided to leave. It was really cold out so by the time we got to the town square, we decided we wanted to eat at MAX, it's becoming our place and will be one of the things I will miss when I leave. After about an hour there, we decided to head back to Flogsta. I was completely okay with this, although every time we try and go out, we end up getting too cold and leaving.

Today was a very relaxing day. I woke up at around noon and I felt amazing. I then rearranged my room and now there isn't as much empty space and it feels more cosy, however it still needs color. For dinner I went over to Emily's and we made Quesadillas. YES I ACTUALLY "COOKED"! We had those with some salsa and some apple sauce and chocolate milk (we had to, her milk was expiring). Once we finished cooking however, Jackie and Stefan came in and they actually cooked, and it looked quite delicious. After we cleaned up, we found a french deck of cards, so we played card games for a long time. I lost at pretty much everything, but oh well. I'm going to sleep early tonight because we're leaving for Stockholm tomorrow morning, leaving the bus stop at approx. 8:45. I will take lots of pictures and let you all know what we did.

And I am pleased to have been right about something: before I left I said that I would probably be comfortable after 2 weeks being here. Well, I was absolutely correct! I am doing great, and can fathom being sad to leave in June. Talk to you guys soon!

BYE!!!

Getting Better...

Hej!!!

So that last time I reported I said I was feeling homesick, and now I am happy to report that that is no longer the case. I think I had to get through that phase to get to this new accepting one. I don't know why I'm fine now, but I am. Today it was blizzarding and I had to go out. Emily and I went at about 1 to pay her rent at the same convenience store. Then we trudged against the wind and snow, up the hill, to English Park to turn in my Basic Swedish application. People's opening hours are ludicrous over here. The International Office is only open Monday through Friday from 9:30 to Noon. Anyways, the lady wasn't there so I slipped it through her door and emailed her to see if she got it, and yes, she did, thank goodness. We did everything in an hour which is amazing. I got back and watched Regis and Kelly and The View, I know, but I like those shows and they make me happy. I helped empty the corridor's garbage, or as my neighbor, Sophie, likes to say "rubbish." She's from England. Anyways, at 6 we went over to Emily's to try and buy train tickets for our trip to Copenhagen next week. We failed in the end to which someone said was probably due to our American credit cards. So we decided to go to the Central Station tomorrow and work it out. We then started to plan out our trips for real, researching prices and such. We also changed a few things.
These are the dates and places I will be going up until April:

Jan. 30th- Day trip to Stockholm

Feb. 2-4th Copenhagen

Feb. 11 (or 12th)- 14- Dog Sledding

Feb. 26th- Mar. 6th- Berlin, Prague, and Auschwitz (Poland)

Mar. 9-11- Paris

Mar. 26th-Apr. 3rd- Spain with a trip to Morocco

I am so incredibly excited about all of this! I think this is what made me not be homesick anymore, but I was feeling better before.

I ended up not going to that International Bible Study only for the reason of the fact that it was a blizzard outside. I have another skype date with my mother tonight.

I skyped my brother Tom today and he says its almost good that he's coming here. He also convinced me to go back to IKEA to spruce up my room and make it look un-cell-blocky, arguing that I would want to get back from my trips to a cosy room, not one that's prisony. I am going to be a very good person to the next person who lives here. I am considering writing a note to them as well.

Anyways, that's it for now. Tomorrow we're buying train tickets and there's an international pub crawl that goes to all the nations. I'm going but not participating, just want to see all the nations. See? I'm getting out :) hahaha. Friday I think I'm going to clean and re-arrange my room.

Once Again, leave comments, they make me happy!!!

Hej da!

Homesickness...

Yesterday was a bad day for me. I woke up and was feeling a little homesick. I had to meet everyone at the bus stop at noon and we were going to see if we could pay rent. That didn't go as planned. For the first time paying rent we had to use cash, and all of us could only take out so much in one day, so we said we'd come back and do it later. Anyways, we came back and I hung in my room for a while, which was really boring, but I had class at 6:15 so I was happy to get out. I left at about 5:30 and took the bus to a close stop and walked the rest of the way there. When I got there, the door was closed, so I sat and waited. I met a girl named Sarah who is a little strange. She's been here since the fall and she's from California. She sat next to me in class and when we had to break into groups of 3 with the others you were sitting next to her weirdness came out more. She reminds me of a Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter reference), but with more Californiaishness. I really like the class, it's basically what love. I get to observe people and write down my observations about what they're doing. If we do these observations, that's basically the final "paper", so it should be fine. I decided to take the bus back since it was so cold out and I couldn't remember the last part of the walk. We were going to do laundry at 9:30 so I waited in my room. At 9:30 I went to Emily's building, but all the machines were taken, so a few of us had to split up. Thank goodness these things are free because they pretty much suck. I did laundry until like 11:45, and I was not happy. I don't know why but I got more homesick during this and I started tearing up on my walk home, maybe because I was tired and my clothes were still a little damp, who knows. Anyways, I got to my room and wanted to talk to my mom, and thankfully she was actually on, so I called her. It made me feel a lot better seeing and talking to her. I didn't want to hang up, but she had to leave. I immediately went to sleep and was zonked out until my alarm woke me up at 10:45. I was still exhausted and I don't know why. Today was better than yesterday. We paid our rent, which was at a small convenience store in the center of town, I'm not sure why that's where we pay, but we did. We then went shopping and it was really fun. My mom told me to shop to fell a little better, and you know what? It worked. I bought a shirt and a dress from H&M, I love that store, and I bought leg warmers since it's so cold at another store. We continued to window shop for a long time, and I am happy to say that I controlled myself. We took the bus home at about 5:00 because we were so cold. I have been in my room ever since, but feeling better than yesterday. In a minute we're hanging out at Kylee's kitchen. I'm not going to stay long, but long enough so that I get my nightly dose of social interaction. Plus I have a skype date with my mom at midnight. I don't know what's planned for tomorrow, but I hope tomorrow, Thursday and Friday go as fast as today went. I think as soon as I start traveling I will start feeling better, and time will start flying by, which at this point, I want it to. I think I'm going to try and go to an international bible study, but we'll see.

Please leave comments because they make me happy and gives me something to read!

Love you all.

Lindsay

More Pictures...

Planning...

Hej!

We've planned out or travels for February. since many don't know when they have class after February, that's as far as we could plan. This Saturday we're visiting Stockholm for a day, we're taking the train there and just doing a day trip, we can always go back. The following week we're taking the train to Copenhagen for a few days. The, I think, the next week after that we're taking the ferry to Helsinki for the weekend and then flying home. Then the week after THAT, for Emily's Birthday, we're going to Norway, again, by train. I will definitely take pictures while I'm there, don't worry. I am excited to travel because it will make the month of February pass faster. And I think the last week of March I am going to Spain and a brief trip to Morocco with as many people who can go.

I finally know my schedule! I have Swedish Society and Everyday Life on Mondays from 6:15 to 8 every Monday until Easter, then two weeks off and then every other Monday up until May 31st. I am wishing to have Basic Swedish on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-6. It starts on Feb. 16th and goes until mid May, I'm not sure when I have weeks off yet. My Dinosaur class only meets this past weekend, Saturday and Sunday, from 9:15 to 4, then we don't meet again until March 6th and 7th, same time. The last time we will meet is Saturday April 24th. It's good that we don't meet often because it is the most boring class that I have ever attended, and it doesn't help that it lasts 7 hours. It also doesn't help that I already know about what was taught and we haven't really talked about Dinosaurs yet. It's also good because it means I will be able to travel more!

Yesterday was Mary Beth's Birthday. During out class, those who weren't in it went to Malin's apartment where she made her a homemade Swedish cake. I didn't get to have any, but it looked delicious! After we were done with class, we went out to dinner at our Nation's Pub (V-Dala). It was quite nice there. I once again had a hamburger. My mom says that it seems that that's all I eat here, but it's pretty much the only source of meat I'm eating here, plus they're delicious! They have this sauce that's mayo and dressing mixed together, and it is magical! We hung out until 9 when the club opened, Jenny and I decided to go home because we were tired and had class in the morning. Apparently we didn't miss anything, so that's good.

I skyped with my parents when I got home and I'm looking forward to showing them around, although you can see Uppsala in a day or two.

I'm going grocery shopping soon and then I have a corridor meeting at 8. I am actually looking forward to it because I haven't really met anyone and would like to know my way around the kitchen. After my metting the group is getting together to discuss our travels again and buying the train tickets for Copenhagen.

That's it for today!!

Lindsay

Getting Settled...

Good Morning Everyone!

Yesterday was a nice relaxing day. I got to sleep in a little bit, about 10:30 or so, and met up with most everyone at the bus stop at 12:30. We were planning on walking into town, but no one felt like it today, so we took the bus. Our destination was V-Dala Nation, the Nation that we joined. We looked at the map and seemed to know where the general vicinity was. Apparently we were wrong because it took us an hour to get there and was in the complete opposite direction than we thought, we found it thanks to the people we asked on the street. The fee to join a nation is expensive, SEK 450, but the upside is that they had free candy that was addicting, but I controlled myself. After we were done we wanted to go shopping. We entered a few stores only to realize how expensive everything was, but we eventually found something. We went into the mall where we saw that the shoe store was having a big sale, we were looking to buy boots since that seems to be a staple item here. I bought a pair of leather boots, they were originally SEK 1000, but they were 50% off, so they were SEK 500! They were worth it because they are very walkable in this town. We went to one last store and I bought a dress that makes me look Parisian, or at least I think so. We ended up taking the bus back because, again, we didn't feel like walking. We were to meet up again at 8:30 to go to a party at Stockholm Nation. I had a few hours on my hands so I watched Regis and Kelly and The View on my Slingbox, I LOVE THAT THING! I then saw that my mom was apparently on Skype so I tried calling her. She didn't answer so I called her cell phone. I told her where I was supposed to be going that night and she encouraged me to go, and thankfully Emily, another ISUer, is the same as me. We met up and took the bus into town once again. We ended up lost again, but eventually found it. There was a humongous line. We waited for about a half an hour until we gave up, we were freezing, and we decided to go back and just hang out. Our plan was to go to ICA, the grocery store, and buy some chocolate and to go hang out in Kylee's common room since no one is ever in there. I stayed until about 12:45 because I had a skype date with my mom. I called her as soon as I got into my room and talked to her for a good 2 hours, I was up until 3am. I was told to go to sleep, so I did. I didn't have to wake up at any certain time today, so I slept in until noon, and it felt amazing! We're having a relaxed day today and that makes me glad because I could use it. We're planning our trips today when everyone else wakes up, but only Emily and I are awake, so it's probably going to be a while. I will let you know where we are planning to go!

This weekend I finally have class! YAY!

Lindsay

Pictures...

Hey Everyone!

So the past few days have been pretty much walking around town and getting better acquainted with it. I think I am getting a lot better at knowing where I am now. I have walked back to Flogsta a few times now and see why I would want a bike, I'm just not sure how I would fare with riding it in the snow. We're joining a Nation tomorrow, a nation is kind of like a sorority or fraternity but not really, you join it and they have free stuff. I went shopping a little today, just a new scarf (since I lost mine on the flight here), and a hat.

Today we just went around taking pictures and being really touristy, but we didn't care. I didn't take a lot, but I will be working on it. I just got back with having dinner with everyone (we just brought our own food to Kylee's kitchen and hung out for a long time).

Tomorrow I am going to find one of my teachers so I can know my class schedule. One of my classes only meets Saturday and Sunday in January and March(just once), and once in April!

We aren't going anywhere this weekend, but we are planning on a trip to Stockholm for next weekend. Tonight when we were hanging out we discussed where we want to travel to and we pretty much all agreed that we'll go anywhere. It looks like we will be going to Finland, Norway, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Scotland, and maybe Russia and Itay. We can't decide anything until I know my schedule, but most likely these trips will be long weekends. We don't have much class time, so it should be ok.

I am adjusting rather well although I do look forward to coming home in June. I am also excited to show my family this beautiful city!

Lindsay

The Arrival: The Longest Day of My Life...

Getting here was probably the longest days of my life. On the way to O'hare I was starting to freak out, but felt a little better when I saw Caroline, one of the girls, and that she had no clue what to do either. I said goodbye to my parents after we ate dinner and I didn't really want to let go of my mother, but I did, and went through security. I hate security. We waited at gate M15 for about an hour before we boarded. I had the window seat and sat next to a guy who was from Minnesota and studying abroad in Copenhagen. The flight was very warm and I had a hard time falling asleep. I tried after I ate dinner, but I didn't eat a lot of it which was a mistake because I got really hungry. When we were flying over Canada I started to freak out again, why am I doing this? This is completely out of my comfort zone, actually WAY out of my comfort zone. I opened my eyes with about an hour and a half left and I snarfed down the "continental breakfast" they served which wasn't enough. When we arrived at Copenhagen Airport, we had to go through security again. We tried to see if we could make the earlier flight, but it was full and we didn't have enough time to get to the gate, in which we got lost and was helped by someone. Our flight didn't have a gate yet so we found a place to sit. I was thirsty so we tried to find beverages. All I had was a $10 so I had to pay with that but get Danish Kroner change, so I have no clue how much I have. The water ended up costing $4.50, very expensive and it was only about 8 oz.. We sat and talked for the extent of our 5 hour layover. We were all exhausted so we pretty much all fell asleep on the hour flight to Stockholm. When we landed at Arlanda, we had to use the bathroom, which was very modern looking. We got our luggage next and went on our way. We didn't go through immigration or anything for some reason so I didn't get a stamp in my passport, just from Copenhagen. We had to trudge across the airport to the train station. We tried to fit on the train but we barely managed because we had about 18 bags to 6 girls.

We took the train to Uppsala and waited there for Mary Beth's buddy. Mary Beth had to use my phone to contact her which ended up being a good thing the next day. We met Malin, her buddy, at about 9pm. She showed us to our keys. This was the start of my breaking point. I lugged about 127 lbs up hills in the snow, not fun. When we got our keys we found our way to the bus station which was my breaking point. Right as the bus was arriving, I got to the stop..I was very far behind. We arrived at Flogsta about 5 minutes later. Again, another hill. I missed information when we got there which was bad the next day. I tried to get into my building, I have to swipe a card, but I couldn't figure it out. Thankfully someone helped me with it and I finally got to my room. I immediately fell on my bed and called my parents. I sobbed quite a bit. They tried to calm me down, and I did a little. I took a shower and fell asleep, not well, but i tried.

SUNDAY:

I was under the presumption that we were meeting at 10:30, but apparently that was for the previous night to go to the grocery store, and they changed the time for the next day to 9:30. So I looked back in my phone and called Malin to see if she knew anything. She told me they were downtown and to get on the bus to the city center. I got on the bus, while trying not to freak out, and I got off at a random spot. We passed the Cathedral when we were getting our keys so I used that as a guide...but when I got there Mailn called me and asked me where I was, I didn't know but knew I was at the Cathedral, so she came and got me, I was so grateful since I was by myself. She told me how to get to the mall were her sister, Sophia, and Mary Beth and two British guys we picked up at the train station the previous day. I found them and was elated! I was starving so I ate something, but nothing much. We were missing the others, but we went to our first store, and there we found everyone plus a few people. They picked up a few stragglers, Donia from Florida and Stephan from Canada. We bought all our essentials and we met up with Malin to get our Welcome Packets. After talking to people for a while we all went to Ikea, Donia left though. We immediately went to the food and I had the Swedish Meatballs. We shopped and left. When I got back to my room I unpacked and then fell asleep.

MONDAY:

We all met up at 1o at the bus stop to go an register for our classes. We passed a beautiful cemetary to get to one place. I wasn't able to register with any class because no one was ever there when I went to see them. It was me, Caroline, Kylee, Jenny, Jackie, and Stephan (he's now one of our group, and honorary American..in Sweden) and we split into twos and went to our places. Caroline and I were surprised that we made it to her campus, but they gave her the wrong room number so thankfully people were helpful. We finished and got our temporary student IDs and we got lunch in the city center. We decided to walk back to Flogsta, which is long, and we had already been walking for about 6 hours and I was not wearing adequate shoes, so it was tough. We met with each other again at 7 to go to the grocery store. I had been surviving on a bag of Swedish fish, not enough. I then lost my entry card...and I fell asleep. I need to go get a new one.

Well thats all that's happened so far. Now that I have internet posts will most likely be shorter than this. I think I am adjusting ok, but I still miss home. Be back soon!

Lindsay

Today's The Day...

Today I leave for Sweden for 5 months. We're leaving home at about 6 and arriving at O'hare at about 7ish. We plan on eating my last American meal at the food court before I have to go through security. My plane takes off at 10 and I have an 8 hour flight to Copenhagen. Then I have a 5 hour layover there and another hour flight to Arlanda Airport. I will then take the train from the airport to Uppsala. That's all I have been able to work out for now because I don't know how exactly I am getting to my room. Thankfully, one of the people I am traveling with lives one floor below me. I'm all packed and ready to go, and yes, I was able to make the 50lb. limit for my luggage. I am checking two suitcases, one large and one on the smallish side. I am carrying on a backpack and my big purse that I got for Christmas from my Aunt Nancy. When I get to Uppsala, I have to pick up my keys and sign my housing contract, then I will probably pass out. It would be awesome if the person who stayed there before me left some stuff for me, but I'm not counting on it, but still, it would be nice. I have to figure out how to feed myself too...oh well. Well, the next time I write I will be there and hopefully settled in a little, I'm not quite sure if I will have internet right away, so hopefully I can survive that.

Now that I'm all ready to go, I just want to leave and get the 14 hours of traveling done with, I can barely stand the 2hr. drive to ISU! I will feel much much better when I am in my room and have my computer up and running!

Pray that I don't end up on LOST please!!
Goodbye for now!

T minus 6 Days

Welcome everyone to my blog! I have created this to document my adventures while I study abroad in Uppsala, Sweden. I leave on Friday January 15th at 10:00pm from O'hare Airport :) I will be living in Flogsta, aka Sernandersvag, Building 9 room 322. I hope you all enjoy my posts, I will try my hardest to be as detailed as I possibly can.

Lindsay