Just fluff up that aura

So, I know I keep talking about it, but busy is the understatement of the year as far as my time in Stockholm. Another understatement to go along with that is lazy. Not only have we been going about 8-8 on the regular, but we have been walking every where!! Like probably walked at least the length of a marathon which coincidentally is occurring on Saturday. I might pull a Boston and hop in the race for a photo op or something. Of course that would still require energy and the trend seems to be I'm lacking in that. Not even 3 cups of coffee a day is helping. But I know chances are I'll only be in Stockholm once in the foreseeable future so I just have to push through it.

Yesterday (Wednesday) was a rough one haha It started around 8 with breakfast on the boat. Breakfast consisting of cucumbers (?) some sorts of lunch meats (similar to turkey and ham and mystery meat but I'm following the don't ask policy), hard boiled (well basically hard boiled) eggs, yogurt (newsflash it has no added sugar so it was a little bit tart), applesauce, Quaver (don't worry, I skipped it), bread (mer), and coffee. The group then headed to the bus station (in the drizzling rain I might add), to catch the bus to the Karlinska Institute. The Institute is sort of like a University (from my understanding at least). The cool part is that the Institute is where the Nobel prize for Medicine winner is chosen. The faculty have connections to an (American) at the Institute who led us (via yet another bus) to the hospital/clinic where he works/does his research. Dr. Flanagan then gave us a (TWO) hour lecture about his research which was interesting because I could really tell how passionate he was about his work but at the same time it was a teeny bit over my head. After the talk, we ate lunch at the cafeteria in the building which consisted of the typical rice/potatoes (that I hardly ever eat at home but eat everywhere here #gluten probz). Drained was the word around the lunch table for sure. Crappy weather+ too much mental stimulation=bad news bears. After going down and back up and back down the escalators, the group finally got on the right Metro train back into the city. We walked over to some museum that ended up being closed then decided to continue with the theme of the day and tour the Nobel Museum. In all honestly, the museum was a little bit of a letdown but it was still really fascinating to learn about the different prize winners. Dinner was fantastic yet again. It was a quaint little Italian place where, you guessed it, I had the salmon. Don't worry though, I mixed up my ice cream choice and went for vanilla/chocolate chip this time! The funniest part of the entire day/night was definitely waking up in the middle of night to my roommate sleep talking straight to me. It made her wake up and we seriously were in stitches laughing (probably waking up the entire boat) for a good 10 minutes. It's that type of stuff that's making me love the group on this trip.

Now finally on to today. Remember things that happened two days is tough stuff. Another early start-this time 8:30. The group met Fran (our fearless leader) at the train station (She's been staying with a good friend since we got to Stockholm) to board the train to Uppsala. A bit of a hiccup when some of us sat in the "first class" cabin when our seats were for "second class" (whatever that means, there were no signs and the ticket lady didn't tell us to move haha). Once we got to Uppsala, a little hike/walk thing led us up to this castle/fortress looking building that had some crazy cool views. Next up was this completely majestic cathedral. St. Eric and Carolus Linnaeus even had their tombs inside. The hunger was striking but before lunch a tour of Linnaeus' house/garden was in order. By this point I was a wah wah (hot/tired/hungry=problem) so I did a "quick tour" followed by a little cat nap on the bench out front (ah that warm sun, so nice). Lunch was at this cute little restaurant (alright, who am I kidding, every restaurant is "cute" and "little") and it consisted of , take another guess, SALMON! It's just so yummy I can't help it (3 weeks of a basically all fish diet won't give me mercury poisoning...right?). Food babies in tow, the last group activity in Uppsala was touring the Medical museum. It had all sorts of cool/weird medical artifacts and even an anatomical theater (where they used to do directions...on people...with an audience...date night?). Free time consisted of just walking around into shops and stuff before meeting the group to head back to Stockholm for dinner (you should be getting the vibe that we eat a lot...because we do..). Dinner was at this adorable restaurant. The restaurant's version of a group room was this basement sort of cellar room which was perfect because we could be loud/obnoxious Americans without bothering anyone. I sat at the teacher table, so fun. That's another one of my favorite parts of this trip-the faculty and all the interaction we get to have with them. It's a really neat opportunity to be able to connect with them on a level different from the classroom setting (they're pretty cool cats, I'm not going to lie). Dinner options ranged from moose burger (I passed) to pizza to salmon. Which one do you think I got? SALMON! It was the best I've had since I've been here for sure. My flavor of the night (ice cream) was mochachino and it ranks pretty high on the greatness scale as well. I finished the night off with a short little hike up these stairs to this vantage point that had some of the best views of the skyline I've seen so far, I can't wait to post pictures!!

Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm!

So today I said goodbye to the adventure that was my time at Raslatt. I had to get back on that stinkin bus for 5 hours to get to Stockholm but thankfully I didn’t throw up this time. I’m kind of bummed I didn’t get to say goodbye to my roommates (at least the 2 I met) but I ended up running a little late and you know the Swedes and their punctuality so I had to hurry haha

Once we got to Stockholm, we hopped in some taxis and headed straight for our oh so lovely accommodations for the rest of the trip. Imagine a shoebox, then cut it in half and that the size of the room. Like, I think my Barbie’s had a bigger house then this. Oh and there’s two showers between 16 of us (2 people lucked out and are on a different floor). I’m thinking our group is about to get REAL comfortable with each other REAL quick. Speaking of the group, I’m starting to realize just how great everyone on this trip is. It seriously would be a completely different experience without each and every person here. We’re so stinkin precious.

So after check-in, the hangry-ness was making an appearance so the group headed straight to dinner. We ate in the dungeon/bar/basement of this pretty neat Irish pup right in the middle of Stockholm’s old town. The views are beyond amazing (it’s messing with my amazedness scale for sure). All the streets are cobblestone and all the alleys are narrow and all the buildings are old- absolutely breathtaking! After getting stuffed to capacity at dinner, of course we had to stop for ice cream (blueberry is quickly becoming a favorite). Then we just wandered around the streets for a while, sort of taking everything in. We passed the royal palace, which I cannot wait to visit later this week!

So I’m combining yesterday with today because I forgot to post!

Today, I’ve pretty much been walking from 9 to 5, basically a full time job! The group started with a subway trip to this crazy cool food hall with all these different vendors selling all sorts of fresh foods. Everything looked so nom (the cooked stuff at least, I’m not about the huge chunks of raw fish or anything). After, we walked walked walked to the “Vasa museum.” I thought it was going to be a total snooze fest but it was actually really interesting. It was about this ship that sank a bazillion years ago that has basically been completely restored. The freaking four-story ship was freaking IN THE MUSEUM! So neat!

Afterwards, we all walked over to the Nordiska Museum, which was this museum about tons of Scandinavian culture. There were different sections about everything from fashion to jewelry to place settings haha. I actually learned a few things, like some women used to give their husbands watch chains made of their own hair. Nothing says I love you like a necklace made of hair I guess? Also, the Swedish didn’t wear underpants for quite some time…interesting?

Fika was almost mandatory at this point and slowly but surely, we wandered back to Old town. I got my tacky t-shirt so all is right in the world. The group all met for dinner at this restaurant called Sally’s. I had fish (surprise surprise) and it was every bit of amazing! Then, it’s also becoming mandatory dinner means ice cream for dessert so we bombarded an ice cream shop. This time it was orange/lemon swirl that was actually pretty good!!

Even though it was only 7:30ish, I was about to pass out so the group consensus was just hanging out and playing cards on the boat for the tonight sounds like the plan! I can't post any pictures because the WIfi here stinks but get ready for them because it's gorgeous here!

On the road again

Today was a good last day in da hood. Unfortunately, it started with yet another bright and early wake up call to catch the good ol' bus. Some of the group met up with a few of our SUSHIs and caught another bus to Granna, which is a little island type thing about 45 minute away from Jonkoping. Now the cool part: Granna's claim to fame...CANDY! That's right, bring on the Willy Wonka/50 cent references all day erry day. Specifially, Granna's famous for a type of candy called Polkagris (basically like a peppermint stick). It all started when (after her husband died) this woman had to support hereself but at that time women couldn't hold most jobs. She wasn't takin' none of dat so she got permission to open up a bakery and there ya have it, getting stuff done. The shop we started in had a big giant window where people could watch one of the workers make the candy (which we got to see!!) so that was pretty neat. Sorry to spoil the surprise, but I'm definitely bringing back some as souvenirs so get excited=) (BUT NO ONE CAN HATE ME IF IT BREAKS IN MY BAG!!!). Once we got back, I've just been laying around and packing and napping (riveting stuff I know).

Tomorrow is when the real craziness begins, STOCKHOLM!!! I'll have to take that dang bus for 4 hours but I'm hoping some dramamine will knock me out a little so I can rest up. I don't really thing we're doing much else besides checking into the hotel/boat/hostel (whatever its classified as) and then having a nice group dinner. Speaking of these accommodations...cozy is an understatement. According to the professors, you can use the restroom, shower, brush your teeth, and wash your hands all without moving, at least the groups pretty comfortable with each other now! I think it'll be fun though, definitely an experience at least.

home sweet home...

So due to a sketch sketch sketchy wifi situation at the next destination, this could be my last post for a few days! I'm still going to blog then I'll just upload posts when I can.

I almost forgot! Still no verdict on rooms #3, does she exist? I will never know...

Asante...I mean no habla...I don't know what I mean

I'm not lying when I say I'm struggling to hold my eyes open right now I'm so exausted! Today has definitely been the most tiring so far so bear with me if I jump around a ton.

We hit the ground running bright and early to catch the train to Goteborg. It kept freaking me out because the train would be going forward, then all of a sudden after one stop it started going backwards. I could definitely see the whole motion sickness factoring in there but thankfully I was PASSED OUT. Two hours later we finally made it and of course I immediately starting being that tacky tourist with my camera attached to me taking pictures of everything. We went and walked to a boat harbor (or ships? I never know the difference but the boat/ships were huge and majestic. From there we could see the "lipstick building." Don't ask me why because I don't really think it looked anything like lipstick. By this point, my stomach was currently eating itself (as was the rest of the groups), so we quickly made our way to some gorgeous churches (including the Royal Cathedral) to glance around on the way to lunch. At lunch, I of course went for the grilled salmon (too die for once again) and ate so much I honestly didn't think I could stand up I was so full. I definitely haven't had to worry about starving on this trip hahah Mom, I hope you're ready to do a little shopping when I get home because my clothes are starting to get just a wee (lot) bit snug!

After lunch, we walked (and walked and walked) to an art museum which was pretty neat. Apparently I missed the Monet's and Picasso's which kind of bummed me out but I still saw some pretty neat things. Next was the Universium whcih is basically this huge indoor type park thing. I don't really know how to explain it but there are different sections about different environments that you can walk through and stuff (like rainforest, ocean, space, etc). It was pretty neat but now was about when my caffeine high was quickly fading so a fika was almost necessary. I keep seeing a few gluten free pastries at cafes now and then and I really want to try some but the problem is, I keep being fed so well I'm always too stuffed to eat another morsel!

Sweden has this cool law called the right of public access which basically states you can go anywhere as long as you don't mess up the environment. A few of us too that pretty literally when we went into a hotel just to ride the elevator up to the top floor to take pictures but hey! They turned out great!

After what felt like 5 minutes after eating lunch, the group all met together for dinner. I had char (man I'm loving this seafood action). I didn't think I'd even want to eat it after lunch but it was the perfect sized portion (so unlike America) and delish at that! The train left at 9pm so of course there was time to stop for ice cream after dinner. I had what I thought was going to be a orange creamiscle but it was actually "exotic" flavored aka yummy mango and pineapple with vanilla ice cream. The perfect treat to end the day. Since it gets dark so late here, I got to see the sun set (or fade to twilight) on the train ride back which was definitely worth fighting to keep my eyes open.

As far as my cultural goofs of today: I said thank you to someone in Swahili and I definitely said "no habla Swedish" to the convince store worker. Whoops.

I finally figured out what things I should have been photographing this whole trip. First off, there are a million different types of buttons/knobs/twist things to flush toilets! And there are SO MANY FLOWERS EVERYWHERE! Which I find strange, because I feel like all of them would die in the winter snow/darkness but they're pretty now I guess!

The lipstick building

I wish I had time to go here...

This guy was pointing to the exact spot he wanted Goteborg to be founded on

lunch

some scary modern art stuff

the view from the top of the hotel

stoppin to smell the roses..or tulips

The end of this leg

So, thankfully, the end of my journey at Jonkoping is upon me. Don't get me wrong, I've loved being here and loved everything I've gotten to experience but, I'm definitely starting to get that "small town" feel. I'm just ready for bigger and brighter pastures if you will (especially the brighter part, it's a teeny bit chilly here).

Before I dive in to the adventure of the next week or so, lemme recap last night. One of the girl's on the trip had a friend in Jonkoping (more like acquaintance) that she had met when the girl had been on an exchange to the US. Josephine (the friend) took us to the Mt. Sequoyah version of Jonkoping. If you don't know, Mt. Sequoyah is this look out point in Fayetteville where you can basically see the whole city. The weather was gorgeous yesterday so it was the perfect opportunity for lots of pretty pictures (see below).

Tomorrow, the whole group (TEACHERS INCLUDED!!!) are taking a day trip to Göteborg! Göteborg is this HUGE (about a million people!) city on the western coast. Apparently it's super gorgeous and beautiful. One of the professors gave a little mini lecture on it this morning and I'm almost too excited for words. I don't know specifics but I know we're going to the Museum of Art. Call me nerdy but there are pieces of art from crazy famous people like Picasso and Monet so it should be pretty legit. And I know that right outside is a huge statue of Poseidon so I'm definitely going to have to get a picture reppin' dem deltas! Something tells me I'm going to wish we had more time in Göteborg. We're doing a few things as one big group and then we're also going to split off if people want to do different things. The problem is, I want to do everything! There's an amusement park, a "House of Flowers" (whatever that is), a "fish church" market (yes, the market was designed to look like a church...), a  big ole park, and a cathedral! And that's just what we had time to hear a little about today!

I'm not going to spoil any of my other little adventure I have coming until I get to have them so be on the lookout=) But in the mean time, enjoy the beautiful Sweden landscape!

Who doesn't love awkward pictures?

Oh, ya know, just the selfie life

The view from the top of the Health school

HARRY POTTER IN SWEDISH

My trek...

The lookout

The day a stroll turned into a trek

So the past two days have been adventurous that's for sure. So many random things happened so be prepared for the random hodge podge that is this post.

First off, yesterday we went to a primary care clinic. With the exception of the crazy cool artwork it was kind of a snooze fest. The morning was pretty funsies though. One of our professors, Dr. Smith-Blair actually gave a lecture at the university (with other students from the school) on the United States health care system. I actually learned a lot about all that healthcare reform and all that jazz. It made me realize how goofy some people in the States are with all their misinformation. We ate lunch in the good ole caf again and for the first time since I've been here, i got fish!!! Color me happy. I keep hearing about all this amazing seafood in sweden and I finally had some! But i'm not going to lie, I'm kind of glad we only have to eat there one more time.

Last night, the group went to Akademian again and I think it was even more fun then last time. I knew what I was in for so I definitely came prepared with my party pants on. The only DUMB part (I'm still bitter) was the front desk people MADE me check my purse because it was "too big" even though they didn't last time. I had to pay like $5...CYA. They said it was because they didn't want anyone to steal the free water and cokes, um bye.

Today we had a late morning and only one lecture. I figured it would be intersting becasue the professor was talking about sleep apnea and I know a little about it from my brother but nope definitely not. Snoozefest. But after, everyone went out to lunch and then we had the afternoon off.

I could tell I needed a little me time so I sort of wandered off by myself. I just walked around for awhile people watching and going into random little stores because it was so gorgeous outside. After making a pitstop at the candy store (surprised?), I (stupidly) decided to walk from town back to Raslatt. I guess I didn't really figure it was SIX STINKIN MILES. That's right, six miles. By the time I realized it, I was already too far gone and also too stubborn to just wait at the nearest bus stop. It was a pretty walk though, definitely got my exercise (for the year). Then things got a wee bit dicey hehe The bus path follows the road (obviously) and so does the bike path so I was just walking a long it. Then at one point the bike path veered off and there was no sidewalk so off course I followed the path. Let's just saying I was walking through neighborhoods for quite some time trying to find the main bus road again haha Thankfully, I was pretty observant on our last walk because I recognized this yard we past that had a electric lawn mower so I some how got my bearings back. At one point, I almost considered pushing down a girl riding her bike so I could take it and get back faster I was so exhausted.  I'm pretty sure my legs have never been so happy to see that tacky pink stucco exterior of the 'Slatt. But on the last part of the path I did get to see a grandma hawk a lugi so I'd say the trip was a success.

Three random things I've noticed today:
1)there are playgrounds about every 10 feet and
2) People walk EVERYWHERE with their dogs and
3) The Swedish seem a little culinarily confused. I've seen a sushi/latino restaurant, Greek/Italian, and a tex-mex/burger restaurant. I'm thinkin they just need to pick a cuisine

I'm basically Swedish

So, I've been here long enough that I feel like a Swede (at least a Jonkoping Swede). I know when the bus comes, I found the cheap coffee, and I could probably be dropped off anywhere and find my way back to Raslatt (of course I'm not testing that out anytime soon). I'm not going to lie,I'm kind of ready to transition to the big city livin' of Stockholm. It sort of lake Fayetteville vs. New York City.

One thing I still cannot get used to it the doors. First of all, even if theres a handle that looks like you should pull it, most times you have to push, silly swedes. Then there's this whole twist the lock to open the door thing that tends to leave me banging around for a few minutes trying to figure out which way to turn it. Maybe by the end of the trip I'll master the art of door opening?

Today, we got to sleep in woooohoooooooo! We started off with a prosthetics and orthotics lecture from an Australian lady who is working at the university. She was freaking hilarious. She kept joking that it was nice she could actually talk at a normal (fast) speed in English for once! I didn't know a whole let about what she was talking about but she made it pretty easy to get the gist. She talked about the quality of good running shoes (using me and another girls shoes as examples, of course mine apparently stink hehe). It was nice because since she is originally from another country with a different healthcare system, she finally pointed out the flaws (that obviously exist) in Sweden. Everyone so far has been all "yada yada, the system rocks" but no one has a perfect system so it was nice to get a different perspective. So now for my favorite tidbits I learned: those vibram running feet/shoe things are terrible for you! Chacos are a pretty decent shoe as far as supporting feet goes. And shape-ups actually improve your balance (but not while wearing them so if you have sucky balance already stay away). It was by far my favorite lecture I've had to sit through so far.

After lunch in the oh so lovely school cafeteria, the next lecture was about Internationalism at the university...or so I thought. Yeah, the speaker talked about it a little bit, but mostly he talked about Swedish culture which was refreshing. SO MUCH ABOUT HEALTHCARE ON THE TRIP that we're starting to hear a lot of the same things so it was nice to learn about something more laid back.  It was during my usual afternoon lull so I alm...ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Now for my favorite part of today, the Midsummer party! The school of health held a goodbye dinner for all the international students (like the ones who have been here for the whole semester, and us hooligans who have been here all of .2 seconds) at this fancy historical building on campus. It was themed after the Midsummer party which is a big ol mondo Swedish holiday every summer with flowers and poles and food and dresses. Cute theme if ya ask me (even though it feels like anything but summer outside here). When the group arrived, we were seated randomly so we got to meet other international students and teachers. I even talked to a guest teacher from Tanzania (Dr. Ungar would have been proud, I told her all about my trip last summer!). I ended up sitting next to my advisor for back in Fayetteville which was nice because she definitely squashed some of my worries about Nursing school in the fall. I also met girls from Austrailia, Austria, the Netherlands, and Germany, so cool! The food was a little interesting (pickled herring, cured salmon anyone?) but the SUSHIs made sure I had some gluten free chicken and vegetables so thankfully I got to eat semi normal food hehe And that ice cream for dessert was stinkin' delicious. I still find it hilarious that we came just in time for the goodbye dinner which was more like halfway dinner for us hehe

I know I've been slacking on the pictures but trust me I have them!!! I'm just too sleepy to upload them!