Blue Skies and Free Time

Is this really Sweden?  I woke up today to clear blue skies and semi-warm weather (40° or so with slight windchill - yes, this is considered warm(er)), and simply smiled because the weather is so beautiful.  Its certainly not the snow-covered, arctic tundra I was expecting when I was flying here 1.5 months ago.  Whoa...I've been here that long?  Wait, that means I only have 3 months to go, what is happening to my time?! Its okay, because I know I am making the most of this journey.  This post (like all of them) serves to share my experiences with those of you that read this blog, and it serves as a way for me to remember my adventure when I'm back home...and since I haven't recorded my time here for the last 3 weeks (since Amsterdam), I think its about time that I do.  Pssssheeeew (the sound of a jet landing)...so we got back from Amsterdam safely and sanely (as denoted previously), and I slept fantastically.  Waking up at 3 pm the next day (Tuesday, 2/12/08), I realized my body needed the rest and now that I was re-energized, it was time to party.  Haha just kidding, more like time to study.  I had en exam that friday (2/15), and although I had kept up in class, done the reading, paid attention and followed closely, I hadn't sat down and reviewed.  So tuesday afternoon I started to.  However, after a few hours I was bored, and being a tuesday, it was back to HG as usual for a night of fun.  The next day I went on a bike ride with Aussie-buddy Sam around town, showed him my little freedom-butte downtown...and returned home to study more.  There was question session for the exam that afternoon that I skipped because I felt I was better off on my own...I don't study well in a group.  That night I booked bus tickets to Stockholm for the weekend to celebrate my exam being over.  Thursday was studying almost the entire day...and by the end, I felt fully prepared to take my exam.  I made sure I found the room where the exam would be held on thursday, because I did not want to search for it at 7 am on friday.  I had got up early the previous two days to change my sleeping schedule, so when friday morning, 6:30 am came around, I was ready.  However, the night before I slept terribly, in and out of sleep, and I doubt I got more than 3 solid hours despite the true need for a rested mind and body.  The exam on friday went pretty well, I knew all the answers (nine essay questions, which took 2.5 hours), but what was interesting was the test-taking style.  Here at Linköping, you must register for the exam at least 10 working days before the exam (which I almost forgot to due, being an exchange student), and the test is taken in a huge room with hundreds of students (only 13 in my class) taking exams from various courses.  You must have your ID card on the table, no bag nearby, sign out to pee, one bottle of water or coffee on the table, and some other strict rules.  I was very relaxed before the exam (normally am, and I felt confident), and had a smile on face because I thought the experience was interesting...one girl in my class asked me "why are you smiling?" I said, "I know this sounds weird to you, but I am about to take an exam in Sweden, about biology, in a huge room, in a style never before experienced, and I think its fun".  She looked confused.  Oh well, I finished, rode my bike home in nice weather and felt relieved.  That night I went out with Sam (intending to go to sleep early because I was leaving early for Stockholm the next day) had one drink, and then, was unknowingly convinced to drink some 10x caffeine espresso.  I know, how does that happen, right? Well, it was such a small portion, I thought I was just trying a sip of it, but no, it was a whole portion (thanks Italian guy)...and I realized I was going to be buzzing with caffeine.  To put it simply, I feel asleep at 4:15 am, and woke up at 5 am to leave for Stockholm.  Hilarious, but not at the time. Me, Arne, Chris and Laura rode our bikes in freezing weather to the bus/train station to catch the 6:30 bus to Stockholm.  We all slept on the way, got to Stockholm cold and tired, and just started walking.  We found a coffeeshop (not Amsterdam-style) and I downed a double espresso and muffin, then five minutes later a regular cup of coffee and a sandwich...now I was ready for the day.  We headed down the right street, it turned out, because it took us to Gamla Stan (old town Stockholm) where the Grand Palace (the King's spot), Nobel Museum, and other beautiful, historic places were.  It was a gorgeous part of town, with old houses and buildings, tiny streets and other great sights.  Very different from Amsterdam, but European indeed.  We watched the changing of the guards (they had funny white boots), saw the Palace and other big buildings, and ventured through the Nobel Museum which held the current exhibit, "Design for Science", which was all about biological enzymes and mechanisms and the fusion with technology (just my thing).  I was fascinated to be in the presence (relatively speaking) of great minds and great achievements...it really was inspiring.  One quote that was on display stood out to me: "What is Now Proven, Was Once Imagined".  I liked that...and decided that I would receive a Nobel Prize someday (we'll see about that :) ).  We left old town to walk to City Hall which held the Blue Hall where the Nobel Prize is awarded...we couldn't get in but looked through the windows, took some photos in the courtyard and along an inlet of the Baltic Sea, and, as always, simply took in the sights and experience.  McDonald's for lunch, haha.  Then we strolled through downtown towards the Science and Technology Museum, which was boring (the museum), but the was walk to and fro was fun.  Arne and I threw lots of rocks and sticks at the frozen water, which sounds stupid, but it was childishly amusing.  They tried to get me to walk on the ice, but, no thanks, I'm not interested in wet feet for the next 10 hours.  My camera stopped working because it was so cold outside (the batteries quit on me despite a full charge), but we got some good photos.  We walked to the southern part of the city to find a place for dinner, and seeing as we had a cheap lunch we wanted something nice.  We all had a great dinner and some beer, then followed that with more coffee and chattin' to kill time before the nighttime bus.  We walked through the town a bit more, then boarded our bus, upon which I slept the whole time before we had to get off and ride our bikes home from the station.  Stockholm was great.  Beautiful, historic, large, grand...all the adjectives you would expect, and some others, like strange, cold, clean, packed. I enjoyed our day trip and the group that went a lot.  I did nothing that sunday.  Really, I don't even have anything on my calendar to remind me except "Relaxation".  The next morning (2/18) at 10 am I had a Bavarian Breakfast with the Stockholm group plus one Austrian guy and Jerritt, another German friend.  The breakfast consisted of Bavarian sausage, baguette with a cheese/garlic/onion spread and some delicious German beer (yes, at 10 am - I love the Germans).  We all fell asleep after the breakfast (could have been the beer, probably was).  After my evening Swedish course, I watched "Bucket List" at Arne's with the breakfast group.  The next day I bought tickets for tonight's Kravall (woohoo, not really), went on another bike ride with Sam, this time across the river to explore new parts of town, and then rested to prepare for the night (tuesday, HG night, again).  I had the Aussie boys over to my place for some pasta and bread for dinner (cooking was interesting), which culminated in a pre-party with more friends in my corridor, after which we headed to the club/pub for our weekly international drunkfest.  The next day was a certified hangover and a very messy room (which was spotless the day before), and the desire to do nothing but sleep.  However, I was invited to go to a Sauna with some friends (you can book them for free for a few hours, there are three in my area), which was ideal for a hangover.  I sweated vodka for the first five minutes.  After that I felt great.  The next day I downloaded movies and researched for my biology project, not leaving my room for way too long.  I decided I needed to get some fresh air so I rode my bike to campus for coffee and to put air in my tires.  The next day was more research and too much free time (as has been the case lately), followed by a desire for Mexican food...however, there are no mexican restaurants here, so me, Arne, Kayla and Jerrica (two American girls from W. Virginia) cooked up some burritos.  It was delicious.  We said grace to Wesley Snipes, Claudia Schiffer and a toy gorilla that all resided on the dinner table (why, I do not know, but it was hilarious).  That night I went out to the pub for about an hour, which was a complete bust, boring, useless, etc.  I stayed up really late talking to Colleen on skype, booking our hostels and bus rides for our upcoming trip to France and Italy.  Saturday I did nothing...well, a little bit of research and a solo bike ride, but nothing much.  Sunday (2/24) I took a day trip to Vattern Lake, the second largest lake in Sweden and fifth largest in Europe, with Arne and the W. Virginia girls.  The town was dead, as in, we maybe saw 15 people the whole day.  But, the lake was nice, kind of cold and windy, but we had fun.  Lunch at a cafe, walkin' around, climbing trees and tables and taking random photos.  That night I had a pasta dinner with Arne again (the man can cook I tell you), which consisted of homemade carbonara (sp.) sauce and some wine.  Delicious.  I slept in the next day and proceeded to work on my biology research project.  That night was my evening Swedish course, and, when I arrived, I had the pleasure of watching Brody (Aussie) and Matteo (Italian) walk in, coffee in hand, looking dead tired and overall terrible following their 5 day trip to Lapland/Kiruna (N. Sweden) with an exchange group.  They said it was a blast; tiring, drunk, interesting, cold, and they had returned (22 hour train ride, plus bus ride) only three hours before, just woken up and came to class.  That made me laugh.  After class, me, those two guys and Arne had some burgers for dinner from a little place called Andreas' Gatukök nearby that has better food and better prices than McDonalds, hence, we chose it over the golden arches. I worked on my project the next day, fixed up my bike, then went to Tornby (IKEA place) with some of the guys to go shopping at a cheap supermarket.  We all loaded up on the essentials (for me: pasta, chicken, bread, cheese, green tea, bbq sauce, and much more) and had one hell of a ride home with full backpacks and tired legs.  We all got home, showered (it was raining a lot), ate dinner, then pre-partied before, as usual, HG (three times in one post, granted, three tuesdays have passed).  As always, it was fun.  Yesterday I woke up and ate a huge fried egg/cheese/meat sandwich before biology class (three weeks since the last), which was simply a project report/question session with the professor.  I am on track to finish on time, due 3/7.  We also got our test results back...and yay, I passed with a B+, meaning I don't have to retake it in June (which is good, since I'm leaving June 1).  I made myself some delicious chicken pasta after class, watched a movie, cleaned, napped, then around 9:30 the Aussie boys came over so we could glue patches on our overalls/drunksuits for tonight's Kravall.  Today I slept in again, made some tea and had a Nutrigrain bar (you don't care, I'm just rambling), and wrote this post.  I've realized lately that I've had tons of free time because I only have Swedish class once a week, no bio class because we have independent project work, and am sort of just on vacation...which is really nice.  I am still a full time student, and the second half of the semester will be really busy again, but after the first five weeks of intense classes, adjusting to life here, meeting friends and finding my place, its really nice to just live alone, relax and be bored.  It's helping me clear my head and get my motivation back, which seems backwards, but it works for me.  This summer I will be busy, next year I will be extremely busy, so this study abroad trip is, so far, ideal. I'm learning (in class and in life), growing, having fun and getting a nice break from the past seven or so years (actually, for every year of my education) of working really hard and stressing over schoolwork.  Its difficult for me to take a deep breath and say "its ok, this is why you are here, enjoy the free time", because I always feel like I should be working hard, doing homework, studying, etc.  But, this is the European study system, I am a student and I am fulfilling all requirements both here and for Willamette U., and I have been preparing myself for summer research by re-reading all the complex journal articles I read last semester.  For now, I'll just keep doin' what I'm doin'.  I found the balance that I need, I feel comfortable in my environment and think everything will work out just fine.  So, that is the last three weeks, in a nutshell.  I need some food, and I'm tired of typing.  Until next time...thanks for reading.  

Amsterdam

Well hello again. Its been two weeks since my last post..I've been busy, but mostly I've been too lazy to sit down and write.  Amsterdam and the journey to and fro were fantastic, so here's a review: 12 people went on the trip; me, two other American guys, 4 Aussie guys and two Aussie ladies, two french guys and one french girl...it turned out to be an ideal group.  We rode a bus to the airport near Stockholm and got there way too early just to be safe, and were bored for three hours in the tiny airport.  We boarded the RyanAir plane that looked like it was leaking fuel, but it was just de-icer...funny nonetheless.  The flight went fine...good moment: I took a photo of a flight attendant and she got angry and demanded I delete it, so I pressed some buttons but kept it on my camera...a humorous photo.  We got off the plane in the Netherlands and waited for our bus to Amsterdam, which, when we boarded, was only taking the 12 of us to the city, so the bus was ours and we think our driver was high.  We all slept on the two hour ride to Amsterdam, and woke up on the outskirts of the city, all of us getting very excited.  We got dropped off on what seemed like a random street corner, but I guess it was a legit drop-off location...didn't matter, we were there.  It was night already, and the city was alive.  People everywhere, bright lights, cars, bikes, trams, busses, honking, yelling, drunks...woah, so this is Amsterdam? Ok guys, where to go...find the hostel? Where is the hostel? Again, didn't matter, we had two hours till check-in, and we were ready to explore.  We were all hungry and thirsty, so were ventured through the city and found some grub, and then, our first coffeeshop.  Yea, that kind of coffeeshop, as in walk in and get bombarded by the smell of marijuana.  No way...these places are real?  No details, but I'll just say that that was an interesting experience, and only could happen in Amsterdam.  We found more food after that, the munchies you could say (haha), and then tried to find our hostel...key word: Tried.  We wandered and laughed and walked down random streets, past a huge building with all red windows: our first glimpse of a whore-house (is that the right word? Yes, I think so).  I took a photo, and found out later that it's illegal to take photos of the red-light windows and/or the women inside and that I could have been arrested and my camera smashed.  Oh well, I got the photo.  We somehow stumbled upon our hostel that was 5 minutes from the heart of downtown and in what we thought was a somewhat dirty area, later realizing that all of Amsterdam was like our street (the big whorehouse from a few sentences back was 5 buildings from ours!).  We checked in, found our rooms which were surprisingly nice (they better be, we paid way more than we would have liked), dropped our bags and headed back out to explore.  The night was rather uneventful...we wandered around for a while but were all pretty tired so called it a night early.  However, we did locate the main square, Red Light District, and some key locations...and figured out the best way to and from our hostel.   The next day we woke up early...there was breakfast available until 9:30, so we ate, showered and walked to the main street in town.  During the day the city was a little more calm (but not really)...the buildings were huge, gorgeous, historic...simply amazing.  All of them; central station, houses, hotels, random places: all were truly European and exactly what I expected, but nothing like I had ever seen.  It felt so great to be in a real, BIG European city (oh yea, it was saturday, 2/9/08, we got there friday).  Our first stop was the Sex Museum, where we wandered through the exhibit: Sex Through the Ages (again, only in Amsterdam).  This place was hilarious.  I can't even begin to describe what we saw...from disgusting images to funny models/robots and interesting art; bottom line, it was a sex museum.  We wandered through town more (we wandered a lot), stopping at whatever place looked interesting (from coffeeshops (both for coffee, and coughee) to pizza places and tourist shops) and just explored this crazy, beautiful city.  We made a long stop in the main square where we took photos and videos and took in the experience.  We then walked to try and find the Van Gogh Museum, which we eventually found, but it was about to close so we didn't go in.  Right around there were other gigantic buildings that looked like castles and also some amazing historic houses...I can't explain how cool/different the architecture was, especially from anything I had ever seen, even in Sweden.  We headed back towards our hostel and got lost, not bad-lost, just "well, we're lost, let's go that way and see where it takes us" kind of lost.  Which was great.  We made it back to the main square and headed for the Red Light District, and oh man, it's everything you would expect.  Whorehouses, coffeeshops, bars, offerings of cocaine and extacy every 50 feet, potential pick-pockets...it was strange, shocking, and, well, the Red Light District.  We explored, laughed at the half-naked dancing women in the red windows, pretended we were interested, drank some beer, and ate more food.  Food killed me on money, it killed everyone, we didn't drink much at all and bought few souvenirs, but the food was sooooo expensive, but not surprisingly, the place was one huge tourist trap.  The night was fun, but after 10+ hours of walking we were all exhausted.  The next morning we woke up early again and headed for the Anne Frank museum.  Half the group went in and the other half went to explore Amsterdam more (I explored, there was a long line, it was expensive, and I wanted to see the city, not a museum, plus we were going to Van Gogh later).  We walked through town, through the backstreets and real life areas.  It was amazing.  Canals were everywhere, lined with boats and beautiful homes, gorgeous bridges, again, I just can't explain the sites, it was just so amazing to look at the city.  Our half-group walked to the Van Gogh museum to wait for the others, where we sat against the museum looking out at a gorgeous park with people walking, kids playing, birds flying...and everything/everyone was so relaxed, it was just a "no worries" feeling the whole time.  And oh yea, we had clear blue skies and warm weather the whole time, which was simply perfect.  We met up with the group near the museum to get some food, we plopped down on a little statue to eat and drink coffee, and were pleasantly surprised by a band that started playing about 30 feet from us...none of us said a word as we laid in the sun, listened to music and enjoyed our food and drink...that was a great moment.  We were all smiling, no one needed to say a word, it was all just about being there, living, being free and enjoying life.  I just got the chills thinking about it...it was a perfect moment.  Anyway, we headed into the museum, observed gorgeous, inspiring Van Gogh (and other artists) works of art, and tried our best to stay awake.  Afterwards it was back to the main square, Red Light District again, and some bars.  We went down some side street to get a beer, sat down inside a bar near a stage and drank and had a smoke, and then a good band started playing.  It was so cool.  We had front row seats to some good music and great times.  Everyone loved it.  It was our last night, we didn't drink much at all, but it was a great finale to our time in Amsterdam.  The next morning we had to check out early...we walked into town to buy souvenirs and postcards, take our last photos and get some food, and take in the beautiful city for the last time.  Overall, I think my favorite moments were the three or so times that the whole group was sitting together, either in the park, on the statue, or on the edge of a canal eating lunch, when not one person said a word for at least ten minutes because we were all so astounded, inspired and complacent with where we were.  I've said that to friends here and they said "oh yea cause you guys were so high".  No.  Not the case whatsoever.  Yea we did the whole coffeeshop thing, but that was not the point, nor the reason for being quiet together.  We would just sit, look at each other and smile, but no one had to say a word, because everyone felt the same way and was just happy being there, in the moment, relaxing and enjoying life.  Amsterdam, despite how crazy and shocking things could be, was such a relaxed place.  Although there were people everywhere, trams buzzing by and nighttime parties, the whole vibe of the place was laid-back, free-spirited and "live and let live".  It was freeing.  It was inspiring.  The group that went was a great group to go with...we are all better friends now, we all appreciated the adventure, getting lost, being shocked, having fun.  I don't think I can really be surprised by anything anymore, I mean, the Red Light District and other parts pretty much had no reservations, no rules, no inhibitions, no restricions...you get the idea, and thus, I've seen the worst of the worst, and the best of the best.  The city was amazing.  The adventure was great.  Though expensive, I am very happy I made that journey.  I saw things I've never seen before, and will never see again.  I appreciated the buildings, the European lifestyle (the Amsterdam lifestyle), the canals, the parks,  the streets.  I loved the freedom, I loved relaxing and being open-minded.  I'm sure some of you will hear more details when I talk to you personally, so ask questions, I'm more than willing to answer.  It's been almost two weeks, so my recollection isn't exact, I know I left stuff out, but you get the idea.  My next post will be about the two weeks since Amsterdam, cause they too have been fun (including a day trip to Stockholm), but maybe a few days from now.  In less than one month Colleen and I will be in France and Italy, doing the European spring break together, and I can't wait.  Also on my list is Norway, Finland, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, and maybe Russia.  I love Europe.  I love being here, alone, living my life and meeting people.  Amsterdam was great, but that's just one step in this amazing journey of mine.  Until next time...Thanks for reading. 

I hate Swedish doors

It's been a boring week.  That's not to say I haven't enjoyed myself.  I sit here on thursday night (2/7/08) rather anxious to go to sleep and wake up, because tomorrow I leave for Amsterdam.  I'm going to Amsterdam? Wow, this is gonna be crazy.  But that's a story for next week.  So, reeeewind to last friday, when I posted last.  Twas the night of the welcome dinner, and welcomed we were.  Dinner was good, but not filling.  We had mushroom soup, pork wrapped in bacon, mashed potatoes (I loaded up on those), chocolate cake and coffee for dessert, and, as always, beer, but this beer was provided by the university, oh yea. We were sat with other random exchange students to "diversify", which was awkward at first, but now I'm friends with the people that I met at my table. There was a cool slide show about Sweden, it famous people and accomplishments and some funny additions, everyone enjoyed it.  The dinner lasted around 2 hours, and after it was the usual party at HG, but everyone looked nicer than normal.  I don't need to recap that, you've all heard it already.  However, the next day, I woke up to check how much money I had left (as it tends to crawl out of the wallet unintentionally), and was surprised that I had saved so much, except that one thing was missing: my ATM card.  Oh Sh•t. Pants, no. Shoes, no. Jacket, no. Floor, no. Sink, toilet, bed, ears, socks, ceiling, no no no. What happened? It was gone, and that is my only source of cash. Ok, breathe, think, when did you use it last. Hmm, two days ago, why would it be gone? So I went through the usual panic, walked my route home from the night before, but it was nowhere.  Fortunately, when HG opened the next day, I was standing at the front door and asked if any cards were recovered. Blue, Selco, David J Anderson.  Yes? YEEESSS!!!!! I'm saved, and I didn't even have to tell mom and dad (until now, sorry guys) and better yet, I didn't cancel it.  Ok, back to normal. Bought some beer and chips with Sam, then went back to my place.  It had snowed quite a bit that day, so Sam, Brody, Arne and I stood outside my window with the music playing and sipped our beers that had been cooling off in the powder.  A cool, unique Sweden experience.  Then came the usual Saturday night corridor party, this time, next door to my building.  Again, no need to explain; just plain craziness. The next morning I woke up feelin' good, made eggs and toast with avocado, sat around lazy all day, read a little and watched a movie.  That night I went to a corridor to watch the Superbowl (which started at midnight my time), but only got through half of it.  Boy did I watch the wrong half.  Giants 17-14? What the hell? Sucks for you Brady.  Class the next day at ten, followed by reading and boredom, then I feel asleep, waking up 30 minutes before my first Swedish class at 5:15.  I ate a slice of pizza on the ride to the University, it was cold (not the pizza, the weather and my bare hands).  I made it to class, learned how to say Jag heter David, vad heter Du? (guess) and some other things, like the numbers, the alphabet, and how to actually pronounce the letters, which is not an easy task.  Oh well, I'm learning.  I have that class each monday night with two buddies, which is good.  That night our group went over to Mick's (another Australian) for a pasta dinner and conversation, it was nice, relaxing because everyone was tired.  I headed home early.  The next day I met with my Bio-class group to create a powerpoint presentation, and ended up taking over because I understand the material and spoke/wrote better english.  We presented today, it went well, I'm just glad its over with.  That tuesday I bought my drunksuit, I mean overall, the blue onesie that is a very Linköping-only item (more like phenomenon). Also bought my swedish textbook and dictionary, woohoo (not really).  That night (Fat Tuesday, oh yea) I had the boys over to my place to eat pizza before we went out.  We went early to HG so we didn't have to stand in line, and the night got progressively drunker.  I didn't have class the next day, so I was out until around 2 am, doin' the exchange student thing.  Went on a little bike ride with Sam the next day in search of a gym we had heard about, but could not find it.  I cooked dinner with Arne that evening (actually he cooked, he's good); we just had some pasta with homemade, delicious sauce. I fell asleep on the couch watching the simpsons (he has cable, which I'm jealous of because I only get three channels and the TV cuts out half the time, so his TV is better).  Speaking of falling asleep, I have been taking lots of naps lately, mostly because I have been sleeping horribly.  I don't know why, I just can't stay asleep and I've had some really strange dreams. And so it goes. Last night Sam, Andreas and I booked our rooms in the hostel in Amsterdam.  They were more expensive than we preferred, but we paid for the stupidity of waiting this long to get the rooms, again, so it goes. Today (thursday) was 4 hours of class, including the presentation, and then hangin out in my room.  I'm pumped for Amsterdam tomorrow, we get on the bus for Stockholm at 9, then fly out at 2, and check into our hostel at 8.  If everything goes as planned, by this time tomorrow I will be enjoying myself  in Amsterdam, maybe having some delicious *cough* coffee.  Well alrighty, that's been my week.  Pretty boring huh? Yes I know.  But oh well, I have to write it down, its part of the process. Actually, three of the nights were really good parties, but I left out the details cause most of you don't care to hear about them, but they're in my head, and photos. Ok, I'm gonna go eat some cookies and milk and watch 'Crash'.  Happy Chinese New Year.  Thanks for reading. 

Balance

As of 7:50 am this morning, I have been in the country of Sweden for exactly 3 weeks.  On one hand, I realize that time has passed somewhat slowly as I have done my best to adjust to a new country, new environment, new people and new ways of thinking and acting.  It certainly has had its ups and downs, but, even more now than last week, I think I am finding my way and getting into the groove here.  On the other hand, I realize, oh man, three weeks have past, its now february and I have exactly 4 months left.  I can see why this experience will fly by, so I need to appreciate each day, each difficulty and triumph, and each experience I have.  To pick up from last week: wednesday (1/23/08) was burger and jazz night at the pub, that was real good; the burgers were huge and I had a "Stella Artois" beer that was consumed in honor of my bro.  It was an early night for everyone, as the night before was kinda crazy.  Thursday was the "big" kravall, an on-campus, all-student party.  I compared it to a high school dance with beer.  It was fun, but nothing too great, however, there is one every couple of weeks, so maybe they will get better.  Friday I rested all day, assuming I would stay in that night, but the Australian guys called me and invited me to go Flamman with them.  We stopped by a pre-party nearby to drink and chat with a big group of Swedes, and ended getting in line for the pub only to stand there for 45 minutes, making it halfway in.  I left, the Aussies stayed and got drunk.  I rode home with an american girl I had met that night, she is from Seattle (and thus, thinks similar to I do); we talked about our significant others and agreed to meet for coffee sometime.  Saturday was Australia Day, and we had a barbecue on one of the fire-pits in our little community.  The requirement (at least for me, Sam, Andreas, Mick and Brody) was shorts and sandals, and sunscreen, and I had a towel that functioned as a windblock.  It was freezing.  Our fire was weak, but we cooked some hotdogs, onions and potatoes, ate chips, drank beer and had a good (cold) time.  Overall, maybe 25 people stopped by, maximum 15 at once.  Everyone who passed looked at us like we were crazy, maybe we were (are?).  Photos on facebook.  That night we had a party at Mick's, with the intention of moving the group to another "bigger" party, but that didn't happen, and the other party ended up coming to us since we were just plain cooler.  I had a push-up/pull-up contest with Sam and then we wrestled (proving our manliness, of course); we both had bruises the next day, and it was fun.  Matteo (Italian) taught me a cool snap, clap, hit the chest and make a beat sort of thing, now I do it all the time. That was a great day.  Sunday, hmm, sunday, I think I just stayed in my room and read.  I don't remember.  Monday was the same, but I had class (I do almost everyday, except today, woohoo!).  Maybe I should write stuff on my calendar so I remember, I've been good about doing that but got lazy recently.  Tuesday was class as usual, Arne was back from Germany, and that night was HG international night again.  I had him, Jerrit and Laura over to my room for a little pre-party (we google-earthed our homes to show each other, which was cool to see, but it made me miss home), then we headed to HG to meet with the group.  Drinking and dancing and laughing and blah blah blah as usual (notice my excitement is falling).  Oh man, they have a really good chips/salsa/olives/sausage plate there, I helped consume two of them.  I was up way too late, and had class the next morning at 11.  But wait, (wednesday, 1/30) I show up to class at 11 thinking I'm right on time, but nooooo, everyone is already on their computers, notes on the board, and I'm thinking "what the hell is going on?".  I sit down after entering to looks like "oh, thanks for showing up", and ask the girl next to me what time class started.  9 am.  WHAT?! How did this happen?  She quietly explains that on the course schedule (different from the online schedule that I always look at) the professor scheduled class at 9 (to 10, then 10 to 12), marking the change in bright red.  Damn.  I'm never looking at the online schedule again.  So I had class for less than one hour, missed the seminar and half of the lab, and felt like a complete idiot.  Oh well, I'm an exchange student, it happens.  I spoke with the professor afterwards, I just have to write a one-page summary to prove that I read the paper, and I caught up in lab, but I still need to figure out some stuff that I missed.  Wednesday night was a trip/tour of the sister city Norrköping.  I sat in the back of the bus with Aussies and drank, um, water.  I brought with me a bunch of candy and beef jerky which few of them had tried (thanks to boonie (sister for those that don't know) whose package I had received earlier that day).  We had a fun time there, walking around town at night, joking, laughing, taking photos and such (soon to be posted).  Dinner was at some pub and we had greasy tacos/burritos, drank some cheap beer and continued our good times (one tequila shot was in there somewhere).  The bus ride home was hilarious, and I have many photos/videos of our trip.  Now, just a pre-cursor: the Aussies are crazy (you know its true, dudes).  We got back and the night was not over, oh no, it had only begun.  We stopped by my place to finish the *cough* water, and I have photos of Sam and Brody pretty much riding a bike in my room.  They ate more of my candy, we were really loud, and I forced us all to the leave.  Over to Andreas'.  A corridor party ensued.  Craziness.  No photos (not risking taking the camera), but good memories, including a way-too-drunk Sam.  I was the good friend that night (infer what you want).  I slept in and then rode my bike to the hospital campus for a tour of a real biotech/genetics lab with my class.  It was cool to see the real thing (not just educational like I'm used to, though, that's not to say our labs aren't real).  Real scientists, oooooh.  Following that, I rode my bike around to kill time before I could pick up the package Colleen sent me (I had to pick it up after 3 pm).  There is a little butte/hill right by the hospital with what looks like a lighthouse on it, it overlooks most of the city and it makes me feel free to be up there.  I have a feeling that I will go back there many times.  I had my camera so I took numerous photos (including some of me with the timer, also to be posted soon) and some videos of me riding around the park and downtown (dangerous, but worth it).  I went to pick up the package from leen, and had to ride home (about 1.5 miles, not too bad) with the package on my handlebars/hands/in my arms.  No fun, but the package (and boonie's) were great.  I now finally have sheets and a pillowcase (why I didn't them from IKEA, I do not know) and lots of junk/munchie food.  I had a lazy night last night, watched Talledega Nights and ate candy and cookies, and lots of water since that's all I have to drink, but hydration is good. By buddies went to a club, but that was a no-no for me, because my body needs the rest.  I fell asleep early and slept great.  Today I have no class, but I will catch-up on reading and drink coffee.  I woke up with a slight sore throat and stuffy nose, so I popped some vitamins, fish oil and echinacea, and I'm going to take a nap.  Tonight is the official, 3-course, formal welcome dinner for the exchange students at 6.  It should be fun.  I don't know what's happening afterwards, but that will be the next post.  The Aussies and I booked tickets to Amsterdam for next friday, they were really cheap, and it should be an awesome weekend.  However, I need to get my balance back.  I have been drinking a lot (though legal, fun, and good for friendship, its just not normal me) and need to reevaluate my actions and goals.  I need to be nerdy Dave again.  I need to focus on school more, maybe still go out but drink less, and I need to spend less money.  I know I can do all these things, but, as my Dad said, I just need to put my mind to it.  I'm a little down on myself cause I know I've been acting crazy and out of my usual controlled, rational self, and hey, I'm in Sweden and can understand why, but I need to swing back and get my center back.  It will happen, it already is since I can reason my decisions and recognize my actions are somewhat abnormal.  I don't know, there are two sides to it, I'm here, living and loving it, but I also am here to learn, to grow, and to "find" myself.  Oh well, its been three weeks, they've been great and the rest of the trip will be great too.  I know I'll be alright.  Ok, it's time to get off the computer and into a textbook (sigh), so this is the end of this post.  I hope everyone is doing well.  Thanks for reading.