Thoughts on Swedish winter.

So on coming here I was told that Swedes are reserved in winter, winter can be quite melancholy, etc etc. After living here for about a month and having come back from Barcelona, I can understand that a little bit more. Having come from the merry old land of Oz, having never really seen snow before; you could excuse the first week. Of my walking around, taking pictures of everything, wide eyed and my jaw being dragged in the snow as I walked.

Again; perspective, perspective, perspective. If I had lived here all my life, I would understand the melancholy one would feel with a Swedish winter. Having just made an errand to the post office, trudging solo through the snow, things could have been so much different for me. If it wasn't for this awesome bunch of friends and foreign exchange students I've met, things would be all the more grim.

Just thinking of all my future trips this semester; Lapland early March, Tallinn in April, and some possibilities include Copenhagen, London and Paris. This exchange is turning out to be the experience of a lifetime, and I still look around now thinking that I got myself here, I literally worked my back out to save up for this, and I'm finally here in Europe.

I'm still in awe. Things are still interesting. There's always a little bit of interesting in every day.

Barcelona!

So a group of us went to Barcelona for the weekend. Things started fairly interesting when we missed our connecting bus on the way to the airport, but we figured things out and got there in time.

Catalunya. I had no idea that it was looking for its independence.
Or that it was separate from Spain to begin with.

Spain was never a deciding country for me to go to, but it's definitely one of those places you have to experience in your lifetime. The best things in life are low budget and experiences you can remember for years to come. We only spent a few days, but the history and culture is fantastic and we did as much as we  possibly could. La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, La Rambla and flamenco dancing show (with tapas and sangria included!) Much walking was done. The city, I must say, is glorious.

Highlights video.

Knowing the historical context of the place and seeing all the kids milling around in the 'My Immortal' video from Evanescence really hits home.

Crazy catastrophes, now with more svenska!

So a Swedish family live in Perth for a year and end up contacting the university looking for Aussie students to come hang out and talk.  The fact that they're being mentioned to you right now tells you the result.

They were very friendly and open, and this kind of opportunity usually doesn't come up for an exchange student. I've loved the nightlife (and the HUGE tequila shots), but sometimes I want to see the real Sweden. And this is definitely a gateway.

Daughters Klara and Moa, aged 9 and 7, are quite entertaining and open. Their mother and father are also quite entertaining with their stories about Perth and what they like and dislike about both countries. There was a lot of English thrown around, and the girls were especially encouraged to learn. We had pulled pork and vegetables, with a lovely berry pie to follow with ice cream (and some sort of vanilla flavoured whipped cream), and then these lovely ladies were encouraged by my reactions and dressed up to perform Gangnam Style.

I'll definitely be coming back, and they definitely want me back!

Two weeks later...

The stairs at my temporary apartment. Deadly.

So I'm back in my room. Clean clothes, food and my own bed have made me appreciate things and I'm looking at things a little differently. Right now I'm thinking about homework after a quick walk around campus. It's snowing a little today, a little windy and very idyllic. A quick cup of coffee, getting toasty warm inside, and then walking back outside; the resulting sensation is almost sinful, and fairly addictive.

What with all the North Americans I've been hanging around, my reaction to snow has been labelled as 'cute'; but again it's perspectives that you have to keep in mind. Two weeks of this weather and I'm still loving life! I was always searching for such pictures to accompany this blog; now I have enough of my own to last for two years at least.

I still keep getting the typical 'why did you leave during your summer?!' question, but as I keep telling people, I'm probably the least Australian person they'll meet. I love winter and hot beverages. I recoil from hot weather, and Vegemite is terrible in my opinion.

We're thinking of a few trips here and there. We have Barcelona booked for next week, and Copenhagen is being tossed around for this week. I'm looking at the places on my bucket list and everything on my Europe list looks fair game at the moment; and even more possibilities keep popping up. Amsterdam? Vienna? Berlin? At this point I don't care where I'm going, I'm up for (nearly) anywhere. It's all so much closer than Australia, so who am I to pass things up?

There's been a lot of clubbing involved and I'm kind of glad for my time in Mildura - it developed the liking for clubbing, I think. The music seems to almost be the same, and yet it's seeping into my subconscious, associating it with good times and friends. We're mastering the basic things. Laundry. Rubbish. Transport. Groceries. Fika.

Sometimes I miss Australia... but then I remember where I am and that it won't last for long.
So make the most of it.

Swedish catastrophes.

Due to a crazy set of circumstances (which could only happen to me, it seems), I've been locked out of my room. I'm also without my camera, winter coat and mobile phone. Long story short, it involves a night out, coat check, a lost ticket and the venue not being open today to retrieve my belongings. But no stress! It'll be open tomorrow, and I'll hopefully try getting it all back then.

So I'm homeless for a day.

Bright side, I'll be able to sympathise more with those who are full time homeless. Scared, alone, and wondering where to sleep at night. I'm just incredibly lucky that I've made a circle of wonderful friends who are willing to share their rooms, their clothes, their bus money, their humour... their help.

I'm going to go see Gangster Squad tonight with a wonderful group (Swedish subtitles included!) and hopefully see how the movie theatre experience compares with my own back in Oz. It seems promising. It's great to give my liver a break tonight and take things easy. Foreign rituals these friends partake in, such as beer pong and the Superbowl, are slowly becoming normal -- and it turns out I'm a decent shot at beer pong.

I'll look back on this day and undoubtedly laugh --well I'm kind of laughing at the moment.