Adventures and Mishaps

Friday was a convergence of happenings. Right now I'm not sure where to begin!

After much hassle and no small amount of Swedish kronor, I became the proud owner of a black second hand bicycle. Even though the front wheel wibbled and made a funny noise, I was really grateful to finally have my own set of wheels replete with a basket on the handlebars.

After a run (I run about 7 kilometers every other day now)Carl and I got the bike, went shopping, and ate dinner. Ah, I forgot to mention that Carl finished his Chinese classes and was invited to a party hosted by some of his classmates. I tagged along but under slight duress. I mean, I don't speak either of the languages affiliated with that party: Swedish or Chinese. In fact, I could be seen as the enemy for speaking Japanese. But oh well. Carl didn't know where the party was so we followed a friend of his by bike.

The party was pretty cool and I imagine it would have been a lot more amazing if I could speak fluent Swedish or Chinese. The people were great. Quite a few of the students made the effort to speak in English when I was around. As soon as two chinese girls came, things got a little easier for me because they could only speak English as well (it was only when they started speaking Chinese that I was in a rut). They had chinese decorations up and (this is how I could tell they were my kind of people) a bamboo chair with a picture of Mao taped to it with the words: Fullast Tag Plast. That means "Drunkest person sits here".

Some great points in the evening:
1. A Swedish girl told me that every American girl that she had ever met was called "Katie." What's worse, there was even a Katie K! Oh, the tragedy.

2. A full length conversation was had on the appearence of Mao and how he resembled a Star Trek figure. More specifically, a Vulcan because he seemed so wise and peaceful in the picture.

3. Two very skinny Swedish boys were inspired to play their accordian and violin in a style of music they called "Gypsy Jazz". It was amazing. I have video.

4. Two said Swedish boys promised to partake in a music exchange because when I looked at their music files on their computer I didn't recognize a single band.

It was a really nice evening and I met great people. Swedish college students are fairly similar to American college students except that they aren't as loud or high energy.

I was getting tired, having been awake since 7am, around midnight Carl and I left. The sky was still alight with the last traces of the sun (a trait of Sweden that I for once became very grateful for). My stomach fell, however, as soon as we left the door and Carl said "I have no idea how to get back." Now, I could make some cracks about men - how come you never ask for directions? How come you always trust to luck and gut feelings? GAH. Well, Carl and I head out and immediately get a bit lost. To add insult to injury, the rear tire on my new bike makes a loud popping noise and suddenly I'm struggling to not fall over and lose control. We dragged my bike to the sidewalk to find that the wheel had slipped out of position and was wedged against the rim. In other words: NOT a quick fix. The bike was down a wheel and we were lost. *sigh*

At this point, Carl called a friend to help Mapquest us a way back home. Unfortunatly, he was unsuccessful so we tried to retrace our steps. After a moment of walking, when Carl expressed doubts that we were even going the right way back, we asked two guys standing on a porch holding beers and cigarettes if they knew the way. It's a very good idea to have a tall and fearless Swedish guide in these cases! We got pointed in the right direction and managed to walk the hour walk home.

Now I have learned several things from this encounter.
1. Make sure your Swedish guide has his glasses with him. Even though they might not be cool, they are necessary when in unfamiliar territory.

2. Don't buy a bike on a Friday from a shop that will not open again until Monday.

3. Don't buy a bike from supicious and lecherous old men.

4. Solid frame bikes are heavy and lugging them any amount of distance is no picnic. Because my rear tire would not move at all, we had to hold up the back and push the front for about 5 or 6 kilometers. We locked the bike in town and will retrieve it on Monday.

5. Maps are good things.

So I'm pretty much a free bird today. Carl is working and I have the run of Sweden to myself. The unfortunate part is that I'm dead tired so I'll spend the day writing, relaxing, and researching things to do in Stockholm, Uppsala, and Sweden. If anybody has any ideas... heard anything on the grapevine that might be fun... here's the chance!!

No Glory!

There is no glory or justice in waking up early in this country! I am completely confounded. This morning I got up at 6:30am to eat breakfast with Carl before he headed off for his last exam.

In America, early mornings are beautiful. The last cool of darkness in the air, moisture on the grass, and the morning birds are satisfying rewards for the hardworking morning person (hard work, in this case, being the opening of the eyes and the crawling out of the bed). Here in Sweden I pulled back the big black shudder blind to find the sun standing tall in the sky, the room getting hotter by the moment, and the morning birds finishing their song about five minutes later. Gosh darn it all! Where is the satisfaction in that? The only difference in waking up at 11am and 6:30am is that the kitchen appears to be cleaner at 6:30 and we were the first one's to read the paper today. Those, in my book, are not equitable rewards for waking early, in a country that does not favor the morning bird. Getting up at 4am to see the sunrise is too much work. I am going to take a nap.

To continue with yesterday, I was veritably kicked out of the room and at 4pm I embarked on the hour trek to town (still working on that bike). Last time I was in Uppsala it was in the thick of winter and the sun, always in winter, avoids Sweden like Michael Jackson does the law. Anyway, there is a giant castle right smack-dab in the center of town positioned quite appropriately on the highest hill. It was my goal to reach that castle again and see it in daylight. So I did. The walk was fine but I over estimated the comfort of my flip-flops. Finding the castle wasn't too bad. I had a vague feeling; judging from the canal and the big church, I was able to find it after some walking. When I got there, I was more tired than I thought. I snapped a few pictures and lay down in the grass under some trees by the outlying wall.

Now, I know many people want to know more substantial information about things like castles and cities. I plan to make that a priority and publish it in its very own post. That, along with a post about food replete with photos. The problem is that I forget and devour the goodness before remembering to take a photo. Until next time...







I wonder how those bricks got like that. Not only am I thrilled with the macro setting on my camera but I also wonder how bricks can become concave while the grout stays the same... Any ideas?

Small note and big pictures.

It's fun being slow but it's not something to which I am acustomed. Lately, while Carl studies, it's been just me, my mp3 player, and a gregarious collection of Jane Austen novels.

The reading is good. I started at the beginning, which is Sense and Sensibility - a great experience because the movie production is a favorite of mine. My best loved spot to chill is on the roof of this building. The sun seems to love Sweden and from up there you can get a full dosage of Vitamen D (or is itE?) in about 30min.

Too early in the day for much to have happened. Here are some pictures:





I will report more later!

Running to the Grocery

I am not helping my jetlag in any way. I refuse to do so. Today I woke up at 9am and promptly fell right back to sleep. I did not get up again till around noon. My parents understand this best about me. When enshrouded in complete darkness, I will sleep and sleep till the sun comes out. The shade was left pulled in the room and so I slept through the day. I am kind of like a bear. Hibernation is good. On the up-side, it is nearly 11pm and the stars have yet to come out.

I blame my exhaustion on several things. 1. I basically didn't sleep for 50 hours straight. 2. Time zone change kicks me everytime. 3. And I ran about 5 miles yesterday. AT LEAST. The most I have ever run in my entire life and it was amazing. Once I got past the threshhold of pain and exhaustion, it felt like I could go on for (not ever) a decent amount of time.

Currently, the search for a bike is on. Carl and I are hesitant to buy or rent one when someone in this complex just found a bike and might possibly let us have it after he fixes the flat on his old bike. Sounds a bit sketchy? Well, bikes nearly grow on trees around here. In fact, the guy found it in the woods. Clearly a case of abandonment.

Uppsala is a university city, gorgeous and full of lively young people. Every night in the housing complex - a series of tall apartment buildings - a bunch of students go to the roof promptly at 10pm and scream like hooligans. I was really surprised last night and sorta curious. When it happened again tonight, promptly at 10, I couldn't help but laugh and grin. Who knows, maybe I will join them someday as they scream away their stress.

On a lighter note, I have brought Japan to Sweden! Tonight, I made Japanese curry for Carl. The batch was huge and I think we both ate too much but it was terribly delicous. I made it with pork for the first time, pork being the cheapest meat we could buy. Isn't that strange? In America, the cheapest meat is chicken. Food is expensive here but AMAZING. I could shout that to the world. AMAZING! One of my favorite professors at Wittenberg said that researchers had found that Europeans have more taste buds than Americans - more taste sensitivity. I don't think that is true because I taste food over here and I know it's great. Heavenly. I feel bad for us Americans. We are trained into a comestible passivity where there is no time for flavor in our lives. Which is entirely too sad.

More to come tomorrow!

Sweden = Black Lotus

Not of the car but rather a land of black metal, which is the metal of screaming, growling, and rapid guitar riffs. Carl is a fan. We are staying in his dorm-like room in Flogsta, a suburb of Uppsala. Every morning so far, while taking a shower, I can hear the bass drum pounding away from Carls choice of tunes. For those of you that do not know, Sweden is THE homeland for black, death, and hard metal. For all their passive politics, the music sure is angry. This is my sarcastic observation that makes me laugh. I hear the growling and I just cannot help but laugh!

Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself. Sweden is gorgeous. With a somewhat flat terrain reminiscent of Ohio, everything is green and blooming. The weather is cool to warm and the sun barely sets. Last night it did not go down until around 10:15pm. It rises before 7am. If I were awake earlier, I would give a more accurate time but with the black shade that Carl pulls over his window (I finally see why it is there) I can hardly tell the time of day.

I arrived yesterday at the Arlanda airport that lies on the outskirts of Stockholm. It is so far out in the bush that my thoughts upon approaching landing were: grass grass tree road grass tree tree Runway! I am not sure of the geography of Stockholm but there is a giant river running through and around with many small and large green islands. It looked like a dream that Alice in Wonderland would come across in her travels.

A bike is necessary around here. Without a bus card, the bus is expensive running about $7 bucks a shot. Carl and I are on a mission to get one by hook or by crook (really, by hook!). In the meantime, I have to walk to town. It is about an hour from Carls place to the main square where I met him today. Carl has two more exams so he had to run to town for a partner study session.

I will have to write more later. Carl and I did a lot of running this evening and I am beat and hungry. We are off for Kebabs, Turkish food. Bye!