The View Doesn't Get Any Better

Taking a walk in Sweden is like taking a walk in every dream you've ever had. You almost don't believe that this is where you're living. 

A few of us decided that we would be the good Americans we are and head to a bar to watch the US play fotball (because in Sweden we get scolded if we call it soccer). 

I actually didn't drink this beer. I just wanted to hold it. Whoops! Pictures are very deceiving aren't they? I wish I could be the cool kid and say I love beer, but turns out I don't like it and would much rather take something more girly like a mojito or a vodka cranberry. Oh well...I tried and by the way, the US lost. That sucked.

More to Come...

The whole purpose of traveling to Sweden was to study abroad and immerse myself in the language and culture. So far, I think I have done that. However, I feel like I've failed to document some of the most exciting moments. Nonetheless, since schooling has actually begun, the picture uploading has come to a halt because I have been forgetting to take pictures throughout the day. Fail.

Don't worry though... I have decided to make sure I get picture crazy these next couple of days and blog more about it. Until then, I leave you with one picture of some amazing sandwich I ordered today. 

Coffee Point is a small, quaint coffee shop located near Lund Central. They have incredible deals on meals which is perfect for us students who are budgeting. I always get the skinka och ost (ham and cheese) toasted. It is so good I can't even explain to you how many times I have eaten this so far. If your tummy rumbled, then I've succeeded my goal. 

Sweet Tooth Weakness

Now I would like to say I'm not a coffee addict but who am I kidding, I am on a mission to try every single coffee shop in Sweden. I have yet to be disappointed. So far, each place has had the best views and amazing coffee. Can I just live here forever? 

Have you ever had a dried up marshmallow? The ones that come in pink, green and white? Well here you have bilar, the candy version of that. The man at the store told me its probably one of the most authentic candy you can buy when it comes to Swedish candy. I wouldn't say I hated it, but I probably wouldn't buy it again. Swedish chocolate on the other hand is delicious. I'll let you know when I find my favorite. (Update** it's called Marabou Mjolk Choklad) 

I kid you not when I say this: Sweden is by far the best place to go get candy. I mean this is just a piece of how much candy they can provide you. How could you not want to stick your hands in each and eat it all? It took so much will power to resist the urge to basically buy it all. The Swedish have definitely got their marketing strategy down. I would have been one heck of a fat kid if I were able to get my hands on this. 

Midsummer's Eve

Goodmorning from Sweden. I'm going to resume from where I left off from my last post and explain to you what Midsummer's is. In the most basic terms, its the period of time that is centered around the summer solstice and is often considered a fertility festival... hence the rituals such as dancing around the maypole. Legend states that Midsummer's Day is a time for love. Girls are often seen with flower crowns because on their way home, women are supposed to pick different species of flowers, lay them under their pillow and have their future husbands appear in their dreams. Pretty cool if you ask me. 

The day started off with a group of us heading to the park to meet up with the summer/fall students who lived in different buildings. It was of course the wrong park we were supposed to meet at, but we didn't mind the view. In fact, the day was beautiful and I loved the architecture of each building we saw. It's basically something you'd see out of a romantic comedy you wanted to live vicariously through. 

Finally we had made it to the right place. Our group was given the chance to dance around the maypole (even though none of us had no clue on what the man was saying or what we were supposed to do). It was the funniest and sweetest thing we got to do. We probably all looked ridiculous to those watching but at least we tried. Luckily, I got a little 10 year old next to me to help guide the way in each dance. 

And of course we have to end with some food. Now look at the size of this calzone.

I kid you not it was bigger than my face and oh so delicious. I mean you can just tell how thick this was with the knife that one my friend Andres so kindly stuck through it. (Side note: Big thanks to Daniel for the recommendation). I wish I could be super cool and tell you I finished it but who are we kidding. This thing was massive.  

Little Bunny Foo Foo

The day was off to an amazing start. I had woken up early (which is a a rare occasion for me) and stumbled upon this coffee shop where I had received this cute little latte art. I didn't want to drink it because it was so adorable. Along with this amazing vanilla latte that I wish I had with me at this moment, I ordered an apple pie with a vanilla sauce. Don't ask me how or why that combination was chosen...the man asked and I said why not? And I don't regret eating the whole thing one bit. 

Seeing that quite a few of us hadn't gotten sheets and stuff from IKEA, I decided to go again for the heck of it. I mean, my JoJo (pronounced yo-yo) pass allowed me to come and go as I pleased. There I ordered the not-so-surprising Swedish meatballs. Obviously I'm so original. Let me just end this with a few words. It. Was. Delicious. 

Being 20 means I am of legal age in Sweden and I ordered my first drink at a bar. Let me just bask in the glory of sweet freedom and little girl excitement. Ok I'm done. Also... sorry mom and dad but you two saw it coming. I decided to go for a beer (don't ask me the name, it was on tap, recommended by the bartender, and it was in Swedish) because I figured that's what the big kids do and all. However, even I could tell it was probably a weak beer because the bartender obviously knew I wasn't too keen on beer in the first place. I digress. The night was really laid back and fun, seeing as though all of Sweden is preparing for Midsummer, which is a huge holiday here. But I'll elaborate more on what that is tomorrow. 

Getting Lost

Day 2 was off to a pretty great start. I had some Swedish Waffles which were to die for. This picture doesn't even do it justice. Also, Reddi Wip has nothing on the vanilla flavored whipped cream they serve.  

Today is the day that I had my first orientation for studying abroad. I had no sense of direction in trying to find where Lund University Housing is. With a large map in my hand and a few people telling me where to go, I had not made it very far. That is until I met a wonderful lady who had not only walked me to where I needed to be, but was patient enough to stick with me even after one of the wheels to my luggage had popped. Let me explain this...I have blisters the size of Pluto on my hands from trying to lug around my luggage from the hotel to the city center. Lund is not a town with a college in it. Lund is a college with a town in it. 

This school is so massive I am never going to complain about how big my school is ever again. It takes me approximately 30 minutes to get to the center of this school and there are classes and residence halls distributed all around town. Needless to say I am feeling so sore. 

After I had arrived (thank goodness), I had finally met some fellow EAP students. Surprisingly, there were a lot of fellow Slugs ( repping the best mascot out there). I was so relieved that there were finally faces I could talk to and get excited about the whole experience with. We were handed the keys to our mini apartments and left to our own independence from there. (Side note: learned my lesson and took a taxi to my home for the next 6 weeks...there was no way I was making the same mistake again). We put our stuff down and gathered together so that we could tour the town while getting to know one another. We were clearly all very very different people but it helps to have common ground in the sense that we all came to Sweden for one thing: to get an education, but to have an adventure while doing it. 

When we finally settled in our studio flats we realized a couple of things. For one, those stairs you see are no joke and requires a lot of precision and balance for someone who holds no balance. (*cough cough me, so thankful I am on the first floor). Secondly, the rooms are singles with a kitchen, bathroom and shower, desk, and mini dining table and bed, which is pretty awesome. And lastly, we had no sheets. So that brings me on to my IKEA adventure. 

The IKEA trip itself was smooth and the small group of us that went got everything we needed. When we came back, Andy and I (the summer abroad kids) split up with Naomi, Dan and Vincent (the summer/fall study abroad kids), because we were placed in different housing. But of course, Andy and I took the wrong bus and it lead us to its last stop of the day on the opposite side of town. We both wandered around aimlessly for a couple of hours until we found a couple who directed us to a bus stop that would take us back to where we started. Guess we should have walked the first time. 

But I guess the getting lost thing wasn't so bad, seeing as this is the view at the end of the day. Did I mention the sun is still out by like 10 o'clock? 

Arrived In Sweden

Getting to Sweden isn't exactly what I'd call easy. My flight was scheduled for 5:40 am on Monday and I had a layover in New Jersey. From New Jersey, I had to take Scandanavian airlines to Copenhagen. Overall things were smooth with just a minor panic attack along the way to Denmark. I think it had just dawned on me that I was truly alone. I had yet to meet fellow abroad travelers and I was really nervous about the whole experience. However, I have no power to make a plane turn around.

So there I was, 20 year old me on my way to Europe. I can do this.

After a bus and train ride from Copenhagen, I arrived in Lund. Finally. 

It was 7:15 am and I was so extremely exhausted and I had no idea where I was supposed to go. Luckily taxis exist and the man took me to this really cute place where I was served some coffee and was granted wifi so I could finally reach my family. At this point of exhaustion and nerves I got emotional speaking to them. I didn't really know what to do, seeing that there was going to be lack of communication due to time differences and no cellular data to reach them. Crazy how we rely so much on technology. However, being the wonderful parents that they are, they convinced me to explore the town. And I'm glad I did.

Realizing I had yet to eat I decided to stop by a place on the corner of the street. This little cafe with a hidden terrace is called Mondo. It had this black and white Parisian themed with a view of the town that basically came out of a movie. 

I ordered a chai latte and a mozorella, avocado and pesto sandwich. The sandwich was technically a bagel, beautifully presented and had a thin layer of cream cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and arugula. 

Overall day 1 was quite an emotional roller coaster. I think for someone my age it's probably normal. That or I'm a big baby. Either way, I'm the baby that decided to go on an adventure and travel across the world to figure out a piece of life on my own. And so far I'm loving it.