An American in Sweden

An answer to Elamb's question, and scroll down, I've done some backposting on Oslo

2007-12-10T15:33:00.000+01:00

Elamb asked me: Sweden is on of the few places I've considered moving to. How is the racial climate? How do they feel about black people? I heard that there is actual FREEDOM there... is that true?

Now, keep in mind that this is only a semester's worth of impressions, and I'm generalizing, which automatically means that for someone I am wrong, but I'll go out on a limb and write some of my impressions up here.

The Racial Climate is interesting, from what I've heard and read about. Remember, this is only one person's observations though.

Sweden is of two minds. You have the political mind, which embraces multiculturalism and works hard toward helping immigrants get used to Sweden. The majority of people are a different matter. Until recently, (within the last 60 years) Sweden has been racially and ethnically homogeneous. Oh, you have some immigration and people adopting, but for the most part, Sweden has been blonde people. However, that has been changing, and it creates tension in the cities between "Racial Swedes," "Ethnic Swedes" and "Immigrants." Often in schools, children who are Swedish Citizens, but don't have Swedish names or look Swedish, will be asked where they come from. There is a political party that has been gaining headway in Sweden that calls for a stop or severe restrictions to Immigration. Swedes for the first time are having to deal with the fact that their country is becoming Multicultural, and they are struggling. Not so much as places like, France for instance, but still.

As for Freedom, Sweden has a very different view of it than America, which was quite a surprise to me. While in America Freedom is thought of as the ability to do what you want as long as you don't break laws, in Sweden Freedom is more thought of as the Government enabling you to not have the disadvantages that would prevent you from having your freedom. Two very different views.

I've heard Swedes complain that Sweden isn't very free- the prices are really high for everything, housing in cities is a nightmare, and taxes are high. But, that's because wages are generally high in Sweden, housing is kept down and affordable by the government, and the government provides a host of benefits that Americans can't even conceptualize (free meals in schools? Monthly pensions for children? Free medical care for all children until their 18? Paid sick leave after the first day? The list goes on...)

Keep in mind also that Sweden's government also takes a very active role in the family... insuring that parents aren't messing up their children too much. Sex ed is mandatory and really explicit from a very early age- so if you believe that third graders shouldn't know the ins and outs of sex, sorry. Children are encouraged by schools to think independently from their parents. This upsets some very religious people who feel these things should be left up to the family.

From an American point of view it sometimes unnerves me how involved the government is in people's lives. So, I didn't really answer your question Elamb, but I hope I provided some insight. If you would like to know more, I just took a public policy course on Sweden,a dn I know where you can get some really interesting, informative information.

Now that you've read all this serious stuff, scroll down and read about my adventures in Oslo!

2007-12-04T19:41:00.000+01:00

Ok, so I know I haven't been around much, but that's mostly because I forgot what my password was, and then I got sick and a whole bunch of things happened.

But I'm going to be doing some serious backpostage.

Soon.

Old Man Encounter, #4

2007-11-11T17:34:00.000+01:00

There's more I need to blog about, but for now, I'll share this brief story.

For those of you who aren't aware, I have this sign that only old men can see, that tells them that I'm a good person to approach and compliment and generally talk to. And because I'm a smuck, I generally let them talk to me (some strange thing about respecting your elders and all that, even if they are are crazy).

Since coming to Sweden I've had three old men encounters.

Now, I would like to add a fourth, that happened while I was in Oslo.

So on Friday I'm walking down Main Street in Oslo (a wonderfully touristy place that is a pedestrian street) and I stop at a light and suddenly I feel a hand on my arm. I jump, turn and some older man is speaking to me in Norwegian (which is close enough to Swedish that it sounds familiar, but not close enough that I can understand anything he is saying.) Throughly startled, I respond, "Lo siento, Ya talar bara lite Swedish," managing in one sentence to mangle three languages.

The man gave a long slow blink (I'm fairly certain he thought I was a native- at least, I didn't have a map out), and asked, in English, "Where are you from?" I have to say, I think I throughly disarmed him. "The States" I reply, as I realize what I had just done. (again, showing how mixed up I've become, Americans don't call the States the States, only English speakers not from American do that)

Well, he recovers. "I want to give you a compliment."

Me: "Ok."

Him: "I'm not trying to be a... scary man, but you have a... nice... a good way of walking. I noticed as you were walking."

Me: *wonders* Does that mean he was looking at my butt? "Uhhh, thank you."

And then the light changed, and I hurried off.

I don't know if it's just a cultural thing, and an older generation of European Males have it hard wired into their systems to give women compliments, because I haven't noticed younger men doing this. I can't just write them off as creepy old men, because this one, similar to the others except for Crochet man, seemed sane and, well, rather charming in the way that only old men can be. But it does provide a sense of amusement, and I have to say, the rest of the day I was more aware of how I walked.

I suppose, when it all comes down to it, the whole thing makes me smile.

In Oslo, Norway, Day 2.5 (AKA: OMG BACKPOSTAGE BECAUSE I WAS LAZY)

2007-11-10T14:47:00.001+01:00

So I went to a museum in the fort that was on Norway's resistance when they were taken over by Germany. The most striking thing about it? A wall of guns. I don't know why it was there (the explanation was in Norwegian) but when I saw it I thought of a certain someone who would appreciate it.
*coughMichaelcough*
It was kinda scary to behold.

After the Museum, I went across the street to the City hall. I really liked the statue out front... The Swans are so pretty, and in a strange way, romantic.
At least I think so. I think I'm going to play with this picture ot see if I can get rid of the buildings, so you just see the swans against the blue sky.
The inside of city hall. It was actually kinda funky decor, but I liked it. Very impressive in the way that you could kinda tell they wanted to intimidate you. I think I accidentally snuck in, there wasn't a person at the desk so I just walked in and followed behind a tour. I think I went to some places I wasn't supposed to go, but if you walk like you know like you're going somewhere, and you hung your coat up before you got in so it isn't obvious you're a tourist, and your camera bag kinda looks like a purse, well, nobody stopped me. A lot of my pictures didn't turn out so well though.
But this was my favorite room. It was a beach scene, with NAKED PEOPLE. YEY! I love Scandinavian sensibilities about Saunas, nudity and HEY HERE I AM NAKED.
Ok, next to the Tiger's Balls, I loved this. See what the little boy is doing? *giggles*

On a much more serious note... notice all the people in the painting are Blonde. Norway is so ethnically homogeneous.
More imposingness- but look at the medallion above the door with the horsie!
Swans! They were all over the place, and they never told us in English WHY. I wanted to ask, but I wasn't REALLY part of the tour.
Seen through a window while wandering around an open air market.

The great thing about Oslo, is if you have a map it's really hard to get lost. The Main street runs the length of the main part of the city, and almost impossible to get lost. This is good for me, because I decided to be adventurous and go to an outdoor market in a part of the city that wasn't as touristy. It was a lot of fun, but I wasn't quite comfortable taking a lot of pictures, because there were a lot of ethnic people there and I didn't want to seem rude.
Duckies!
And this guy was just hanging out on the street made up of... I think computer parts. Or odds and ends. It doesn't really matter other then he was REALLY COOL. And he has a tail. And a staff. And ARMOUR. Coolness.

And that was my second day in Oslo

In Oslo, Norway, Day 2 (AKA: OMG BACKPOSTAGE BECAUSE I WAS LAZY)

2007-11-10T14:08:00.000+01:00

So on my second day in Oslo it was beautiful out, if cold. I decided to go walking to my destination (Main Street) a slightly different way, and I happened to come across this guy.

"Tyger Tyger burning bright, in the forests of the night...." except, not.
GRRRR! Oh look, you can kinda see it here, but his tail is all shiny while the rest of him is rather dark in color. That's because (as I discovered) his tail is really comfy to sit on. And attempting to climb on him is A LOT OF FUN.
His nose is also just a little shiny, from having people rub it. Now, you might ask why I'm calling this Tiger a guy. HE COULD BE A GIRL! (In fact, I thought of him as a girl until I sat on his tail and noticed this:
*Insert profuse snickering and me nearly falling off of the tail in surprise* AHHH! GINORMOUS BALLS. He's going to make his girlfriend happy.
I couldn't reisist a picture of him, even if my arm wasn't long enough to get us both fully in the picture. THIS GUY was HUGE!!!

I then proceeded to go visit Oslo's REALLY COOL FORT. Now it serves as a University for Norway's military type people, but it was sooo cool to wander around in. I took lots of pictures. (Hey, at least I'm consistent!)

But before I got there I had to stop and take a look at some stuff.Like this guy dressed up to be Mozart playing the... I actually have no clue what it is, but it was really cool. The next day there was a big game in the city, and he dressed up half and half- one half for each team. The street bussers in Oslo are so much more entertaining!
Tehehehehehe. There are lions all over the city, but this was one of my most favorite statues.

I came across this store while walking down to the fort, which specialized in really beautiful, handmade traditional Nordic clothing. SEE? (Look down)
The view from the fort walls of Oslo's harbor... or part of it. Oslo has lots of harbors.
View of City Hall (to be talked about later.)
A building in the fort. REALLY COOL!
LOOK AT THE WALLS! THEY'RE MASSIVE!
Another view of the harbor. It was beautiful.

A view of the cool house, the big walls, and a strange statue.

Cannons! Who doesn't like cannons? And it's so pretty!
This Church is the oldest building in Oslo, and was what the fort was built around. Because churches are just that cool. And pretty.
Me with a Cannon! *Grins*
Cool doorway that drops down 30 feet.
See? I was looking off rom the top of that tower on the other side!

So now, because this post is really long and we've only just gotten through the first half of the day, I shall post this and work on the second half of the day.

I'm gloating just a little...

2007-11-09T18:17:00.000+01:00

Some stats about my blog, from Google Analytics:

I've had visitors from 26 states.
I've had visitors from 35 countries.
I've had 496 visits, 860 pageviews, and 200 individual visitors (the stat that prompted this).

And how have people found my blog? 24.6% is Direct Traffic, 63.71% is referring sites, 11.69% is search engines.

I love looking at the different search combinations that pop up. Some of my favorites:

fika swedish
what to do when an old man in sweden approaches you on the subway
how to speak swedish "får får får"
http://anamericaninsweden.blogspot.com/ (someone searched for my blog directly)
pancakes and where they first came from
swedish male mannerisms
things i miss from america
you make me happy in swedish?
worm coming out fingernail (what would make you search for this?!?)

And I can't seem to figure out how to get rid of the links, so you're just going to have to deal.

In Oslo, Norway, Day 1 (AKA: The post that takes forever to load)

2007-11-09T09:11:00.000+01:00

So I decided I was going to head over to the palace, and see what it was like, and then from there perhaps check out a museum or something. I have to say, for so little planning, things went really well!

The first thing I did was look at the view from our hotel, the Radison, which is the highest building in Oslo.

I headed out of our Hotel in the direction of Main Street. I was told if you got to the church, you would find Main street. It was, actually, quite easy. And while Main street is rather touristy, it is also really pretty, with street musicians and nice buildings... and really great sculptures! I went a little trigger happy with my camera (but then, when do I not?)

I took several pictures of this lady at different times of the day, because the shadows around her kept changing.
The church was quite beautiful, or at least, what I could see of it, because it looks like it's under restoration.

Pretty buildings!The quite talented street musician. There was a really neat couple that was watching him that I wanted to photo, but they kept looking at me strangely and I didn't want to seem too weird.

Oh god, the amazingness! *drools*
Oh, come on. You know your inner child wants them so badly!Ok, so the first picture you see here is the view of the Palace, and I'm still not so good with my camera so it's blurry.

To the left are gardens... and the National theater. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

To my intimidate left (you can't see it in the photo, is the Parliament Building, which is GEORGEOUS!

I'm SO planning to go there.

Here you have one of the lions out in front of the parliament building, which I'm going to go take a tour of on Saturday... since that's the only day they let you in. Isn't he cute? I always like the daydream I have where the statues come to life in a city, and it tickles me pink to think of this guy roaming around Mainstreet.

You guessed it, the Parliment Building.

When I first saw these deer, I thought they were real. Surprised the heck out of me.

So I was just starting to get hungry (it was just after noon, when I came by this place. They were doing some type of promotional gig, and they were giving out free soup. God, It was AMAZING soup. The Beef was nice and soft, the vegetables well flavored... if you're ever in Oslo, and want someplace that has good food, this place is what it says, fast good wholesome food. YUM.

NOW I can talk about the National Theatre!

This place was surrounded by statues, the most prominent being three of Norway's biggest playwrights, one of which is Ibsen (*loves on Ibsen*)

I took a picture of my favorite statue.

I then proceeded to make my way up the hill that leads to the Palace. This is a picture of the view.

And this is my attempt to photograph the roses that are still in bloom. (Are they aware that it's cold out? )

And finally, I made it to the Palace!

MORE PALACE!

So after looking at the palace, I was just about to leave when something started happening! I really don't know what it was, but it was cool:

After the palace I went to the Ibsen Museum, which is the apartment where he lived out his last years. It was a really cool place that I could write a whole post about just in and of itself. It was really sweet because when I got a tour of the apartment, I was the only English speaker, so they gave me my own tourguide, who not only was really nice, but tolerated me peppering her with questions.

In Oslo,Norway baby!

2007-11-08T11:08:00.000+01:00

I'm in Oslo, Norway and ready to take on the city! Dad has to work, so I'm going to be wandering around on my own.

FUN FUN.

NOT in Oslo

2007-11-07T09:04:00.000+01:00

Now, you may be wondering why that is since I was supposed to be on a bus this morning to the Airport so I could meet up with dad. Turns out snowstorms in the states have got the planes out of sync, so dad missed his flight to Oslo.

I found this out sometime this morning, or last night, just after Midnight when Mom called me.

So now I'm flying out TOMORROW morning, same time.

God, I hope things go all right.

REALLY bad day.

2007-11-06T20:50:00.000+01:00

The following is an edited version of the series of events I sent in a letter:

This is one of the days that you just shouldn't leave the house. Really. Forgive me if I sound a bit bitter, and perhaps part of it is being in an unfamiliar place, but today was a day I do not want to repeat again.

Things went all right until lunch. Then, I decided I needed to get my food subsidy money cashed and my graded papers from the University, since it looked like I wasn't going to get to a museum or to do anything really productive.

A quick internet search later, I left armed with the different locations of the Nordisa (I know that spelling is wrong but we'll go with it) in my pocket, and determination. I got on the subway and started heading to the nearest one. I went there, and they informed me that I needed to have a Swedish person with me because they could not know if I was the person on my passport. Ok. I get frustrated, but that's all right, they're probably being strict so I'll just go to the next bank. After all, I know I CAN cash at check at Nordisa, I did it in Visby all right. So I get on the subway and head to the second location. It turns out just to be an ATM kisok, after I walk about half a mile. OK. Great. Excersize. That is good considering I've been an invalid for the past four days.

I go to the next place. Oh, they're relocating. Wonderful. At this point, I'm close to the University, so I go and pick up my papers and stuff. Then I turn around. I'm frustrated, it's cold, and it's getting to be almost three o'clock- banks close at four. I get on the subway... and happen to notice a sign for the Mika concert I'm going to. Except... wait a moment. It says the 9th. That's the day I'm leaving to go see Dad in Oslo. But I thought the concert was on the 8th... Well, I just happen to have the tickets with me, I'll just take them out and look at them and... SHOOT.

I have the wrong day.

Now, take note, these tickets have caused me some trouble, being more expensive than I was first quoted, then the girl that was planning to go with me having to cancel, (so now I'm saddled with two tickets and she never paid me for hers), so then Anita offers to go with me, and now, wonder of wonders, I've got the wrong day. I've been functioning thinking that the concert was on Thursday, but no, it's on FRIDAY. And I'm going to miss it. Because I GOT THE WRONG DAY.

Of course, because I'm on the subway, I now have time to think of the repercussions of my actions, and the fact that Mom is going to be furious with me because she already gave me the talk about keeping my spending down while I'm in Sweden (because when I first got here I got the conversion rate wrong AND I didn't know that there was a service charge on my credit card... I asked and the people SAID there wouldn't be). And now, I'm being frivilous about money because I've just sunk 100 dollars into tickets to my first ever real concert and in EUROPE of all places and Anita thinks she's going with me on Thursday but it's not Thursday it's Friday and well, SHIT.

So I stew all over this while I go to the third Nordisa bank, and they flat out tell me they won't cash my check because I don't have an account with them.

I go out of the bank and cry.

I then proceed to go back home and cry to Sam who tries to be supportive but I'm having none of it because all I have in my brain is thinking about looking really really stupid in front of Anita and telling my parents and them being FURIOUS.

Narrator intervention. I then proceeded to rehash the whole argument, which, unless you were there, was not very interesting other than both mom and I loosing our tempers, me getting off the phone and crying. I also spoke to dad before speaking to mom; and dad was a lot calmer.

A while later I get back on the phone with them again, and we figure things out so that I can go a two days earlier, on Wednesday. And now, on with the excerpt:

I'm happy I'm leaving earlier, but I'm also emotionally wrung dry, and I keep ocliating between wanting to cry and just feeling ambivalent.

So... yeah.

I'm still smarting from everything. Gabe's delighted about the tickets, now that the show's on Friday he can go, and take a friend if he wants. And I need to be packed and leave the apartment by... 5:15 am tomorrow morning. And I have no clean Laundry, because that was what I was planning on doing tomorrow. That is, I have clean laundry to go, but I'll have to clothes to wear when I come back.

Joy.

SNOW

2007-11-06T10:44:00.000+01:00

My first snowfall in Sweden. It's been raining like Noah's flood lately, and finally it got cold enough that I woke up this morning and looked out the window to snow! You have no clue how delighted I was.

It didn't stick for long, which suited me, but it was still quite exciting to see. I took pictures!

The view is from the apartment.

Backpostage... 'cause I'm behind

2007-11-04T08:32:00.000+01:00

I'm actually writing this on the 9th, but filing it on the 4th, because my sense of Order demands it so.

So what has been happening lately? Well, I was sick from Friday the 2nd until Monday the 5th. However, on Saturday I THOUGHT I was all better, so I decided to go with Anita and Magnus to see the "Day of the Dead" celebration thingie they have. It's not called Day of the Dead, and it isn't the festival you hear about in Spanish-speaking countries, but on the Saturday after All Hallows, many Swedes go to the graveyards of the people they've lost, light candles and honor them. The sentiment was something I appreciated, and something I kinda wish was more popular in the 'states. We went to one of the biggest Cemetaries in Sweden to light our candles- because both Anita and Magnus' family live far away, and the importance of the holiday is about remembering, not where you are.

It was, quite simply, beautiful. It's one of the few cemeteries that has a forest in it, and as we walked the cemetery you could see all the candles- oftentimes more than one candle- at almost every grave. There had to be traffic control to channel the flow of people.

Unfortunately, it was more walking than Anita made it sound, and I very quickly discovered that I was not up to my normally charged batteries. I had to go home because I was feeling faint. Still glad I went though.

In other news, take a look at this:

Yes, it's what it seems. A purple potato. It comes from Gotland. Anita says something in the soil makes them look that way. I really want to make mashed potatoes out of them simply because of the color. It also puts a whole new spin on the song, 'Purple Stew' that's sung at camp.

Ugh- Day Two

2007-11-02T16:07:00.000+01:00

Warning: This post, upon re-reading, is not for the faint of heart!

I wish I had something more interesting to write about, but this is day two of not feeling well. The Nausea of yesterday has lessened, but general abdominal cramping and misery have taken it's place. I have that wonderful mixture of being hungry yet having no real urge to eat. And my stomach and lower intestines have been making some really interesting noises.

Probably stemming from my stomach distress, I had horrible dreams of intestinal worms and strange writhing creatures. The best one was when I met this woman in the dream who thought she was pregnant, but when she went into labor had snakes and worms coming out of her belly button and other... areas. She managed to live and was taken to the hospital, where they gave her a drug that should kill any of the remaining worm/snakes in her body. However, she wasn't able to expel them... she was susposed to digest them apparently. So a doctor decided to open up her stomach (and they didn't even put her to sleep- they just stuck a needle into her spine and numbed everything below her ribcage) where he proceeded to open up her stomach and look at her intestines (which resembled stuffed sausages), and when he split one open, it was filled with dead baby snakes, which they took a vacuum to and sucked out. Unfortunately, it was one of those clear vacuums, where you can see the dirt in the container, and so you could see the dead snakes getting stuffed wetly into the container, some of them splitting open so black juices collected at the bottom.

I woke feeling quite sick, and proceeded to stare at the wall, and put my covers on me and get too hot, only to take them off and get too cold.

I went back to sleep, and this time I was in a park I had went to with Anita where there was a lake. I was sitting on the shore, when suddenly, this blue and yellow dragon/serpent came out of the water, crying, "I am the Swedish Dragon, hear me roar!"

And I asked, "Don't you think Swedish Serpent is a bit more catchy?"

The dragon paused in it's ferocious and terrible display to peer down at me. "Do you think so? 'Cause I was afraid of getting mixed up with my cousin, the Loc Ness. She is, after all, a serpent."

"Sucks, I was always thinking she was some type of prehistoric water dinosaur."*

"Nah, she's a real serpent. Now our aunt who lives in the Great Lakes in the US is a real plesiosaur. But she's a sweetheart. Only eats fish. Unlike me, who has found you, a non-swede to eat!" Because of course, the Swedish Serpent couldn't eat Swedes, because that wouldn't be very nationalistic of him, and after all, he's got the coloring and everything so he has to go along with his role.

But I convinced him that I would better be served as his publicity person, because being the Swedish Serpent he'd need someone to spin the news the right way so he wasn't seen as a threat. So I hopped on his back and into the air. (Because he was after all, more like a dragon, with wings-even if he did live in the water)

Unfortunately, he also was a bit of a show-off, and decided to go into a free-fall dive, whereupon my stomach did somersaults and I woke up.

But as I said, today has been been getting steadily better. And I get to look forward going to Oslo to see my dad at the end of break, from Friday to Monday morning, when I come home.

YEY!

*Note: I found out after doing a bit of research that there were no such things as prehistoric water dinosaurs. They were more like reptiles that gave birth to live young. Interesting.

Ugh

2007-11-01T19:14:00.001+01:00

God, I'm not feeling well. I wanted to finish up my proposal, but somewhere around ten I just started feeling really car-sick, without the being in a car. It's been coming and going in waves.

And I hate not feeling well in an unfamiliar place. And while I'm getting more and more comfortable in Sweden, I'm not that comfortable.

So I'm going to bed at an early hour and hoping it's gone by tomorrow.

Swedish Test

2007-10-31T23:21:00.000+01:00

My Swedish test kicked my butt and left me whimpering. I'm still recovering.

But, I was able to wear the really cute Halloween socks and stickers Michael sent me, so life is good.

Happy Halloween to everyone!

Grrrr

2007-10-30T18:26:00.000+01:00

I have a Swedish test tomorrow, and I'm studying my butt off. Seriously. If I wasn't so busy keeping myself studying I would be flipping out. A LOT. I have this program, BYKI (before you know it) that does flashcards. Today I found out you can change the hand that holds the flashcards. I changed it to the one that has pink painted fingernails with butterflies on them, and a big pink ring.

Small things make me happy. Isn't it great?

In other news, I got a package today from a certain... someone *grins* and it says I can't open it until tomorrow. This is driving me more than a little up the wall. Det är stå på matt, driving me crazy. (See? I'm praticing my Swedish! that means, there it stands, on the mat. I think. If I got it right.) But it's standing there mocking me. Telling me to open it. Like that plant that says "feed me!" in Little Shop of Horrors. 'Cept the box is saying,

Open me! Nobody will know! And I might have some wonderful distractions in me. Think of how you can procrastinate!

Or I might just be going crazy.

Well, back to studying! Now what was the name for butter...

Oh! Smor!

*mutters to self*

Strange Men and Time Changes

2007-10-28T23:59:00.001+01:00

I swear, I have a sign that hovers over my head that indicates to old men that they should talk to me. I went to the bank to cash my food subsidy check. Now, here in Sweden it's fairly common when you go into a bank (or any place where you normally have to wait in a line in America) for there to be a little ticket-issuing machine that gives you a ticket, and then you wait for your ticket to be called. So, like any good Swede, I hit the button, take my ticket, read it, take not of where they are in the numbers (ten people ahead of me) and go sit down. There's one seat available. It is by an old man.

I sit down, open up my book, start reading.

The old man shifts.

I hold my book closer to my face, ignore him, and pray to god that he won't talk to me.

No luck.

He says something in Swedish, I reply back that I don't speak Swedish.

He then proceeds to use lots of pantomime, and wears a big smile as he talks to me. For emphasis, he touches my arm.

After struggling to be polite for five to eight minutes (during which the line only moves about three) I finally tell him that I need to read the book for my class. Then I turn my back on him and BURY my face in the book.

WHY ME? I DO NOTHING TO ENCOURAGE THEM. WHY?

The world may never know. This brings the strange man incident count up to four. The Italian guy, the bug guy, the crochet guy, and now the bank guy. *Fumes*

AND THEN, so make things oh so much better (can you sense the sarcasm here?) the bank won't let me cash the check, even though I had ID up the wazoo and I went to a bank that was the same type as where the check was issued. Apparently I have to have a Swedish person with a Swedish ID to verify that I'm who I say I am. ARRAGH! So I don't have my food subsidy money, which is a bother, but not a hugely big deal. But still, frustrating.

In other news, the European equivalent of Daylight Savings time started today, and we rolled our clocks back an hour, which meant that around 3:30/4 pm-ish, it started getting dark. By 4:45 pm, it was pitch black. See the stars black. This is greatly un-nerving. It's getting to be hardball time.

My Field Trip to City Hall, Video Version, Part 3

2007-10-26T23:40:00.001+02:00

So now we go to the Gold room, which was created by a young artist. He wasn't really that famous before he did the Gold room, and in Sweden he wasn't very famous afterward either. This is because the old artist who was going to do the room died before he could start. The new guy was found, and he was very promising... but he first estimated that the room could be done in seven years, only to be told he had two years to do the work. So there's a few mistakes. Like St. George the Dragonslayer's head is chopped off.

Now, the Gold room is rather controversial because the artist did it in a style not typically thought of as "Swedish" Or even classical, in keeping with the rest of the building. Rather, this room is rather foreign in flavor, more in keeping with Roman or some other mosaics. However, all the motifs are Swedish.

The best thing about this room though is the woman who dominates the artwork. She's susposed to the the spirit of the lake that joins up with the sea (Where Stockholm Lies) and the artist thought her quite beautiful. After all, she is a protector, so she is a little more muscular than most people think a woman should be, but the artist thought she was quite beautiful. Conventional Swedes disagree. Plus, she holds Stockholm in her lap, and seems to stand at the center of the world- see, there's the Eastern countries on one side, and there's the Western countries (including, yes, the statue of liberty and an American flag) on the right side. And she is in the center of the constellations also.

And Finally, I have some other random footage of the blue room and other stuff. But I'm tired and want to go to bed, so you're going to have to figure out what the rest of the stuff is without my help. Here we go:

(oh, and the stairs in the blue room are exspecially designed for females walking down in heels and doing it gracefully. The architect and his wife (in heels) spent THREE WEEKS STRAIGHT walking up and down the staircase together trying out different models.)

ahhh! The video quality is SO BAD

2007-10-26T23:38:00.001+02:00

Really, I'm looking at what I've posted thus far and I"m thinking that youtube has the worst video quality ever. I swear my videos are better than this. But I will persist, because I know of no other way of doing it.

My Field Trip to City Hall, Video Version, Part 2

2007-10-26T21:34:00.000+02:00

This is the room where congress meets. The dais is there not because of any sense of grandeur (heaven forbid Swedes raise someone up higher than all the others and perhaps imply that he or she is better than all the others) but because of acoustics... because the room is so high.

The beams. Originally the beams were supposed to be covered, but the architect decided he liked the effect, so he left the concrete beams in, covered them with wood, and had them painted. The motifs in the "sky" are supposed to invoke the Vikings, who held their meetings under overturned boats in the winter. Apparently the Vikings made very quick decisions because nobody wanted to be out in the cold that long, and this was the architect's way of trying to tell the governing body to keep things brisk and efficient here. To one of the sides there is seating for people to watch. What's funny is often the members of the council will bring their children with them for their meetings, because most of the people who meet there have day jobs, and when they meet they want to spend time with their children, so they bring them along. Of course, Swedish children are much better behaved than many other cultures children, so it isn't that big of problem (that wasn't me saying that, that's what the tour guide said, and I have to agree with her. Swedish children ARE really well behaved.

6

A glockenspiel, I think is what our tour guide called it. It shows the Swedes beating the Danes. Of course, the tower in the Stockholm City hall is just one meter taller than the Danes one, because Swedes are better than the Danes. *wink*

7

The only really old things in the building which are really old. The room was designed for the tapestries, and it's where on Saturdays people can come get married for free, regardless of nationality or gender. The longer ceremony takes three minutes, and you're married by one of the council members. There's a 5 month waiting list.

8

More tapestries.

9

My Field Trip to the City Hall

2007-10-26T20:37:00.000+02:00

So today the whole of the Swedish Program got up really early to go see Stockholm's City Hall- the place where the Nobel Prizes are awarded. It's coming up soon, and already people are starting to get excited and talk about it.

This first video is of the courtyard. The City Hall is actually only just over 80 years old, even though it looks older. They made it to look and fit in with the other historical buildings in the city. And while they succeeded in some areas, they did not in others (some of the rooms are quite modern looking, or quite... other country looking. You'll see what I mean, later)

*EDIT: MY ORIGONAL POST HAD THE "COURTYARD" AS MY DINNER FROM LAST NIGHT. IT HAS BEEN CHANGED. MY APOLOGIES. I hope you have been amused.

This is of the view of Gamla Stan and the sorrounding area that can be seen from the City Hall. The Bridge goes over the island that was once the prison, and is now a Youth Hostel.

This the the Blue Room- which was supposed to be blue, but the architect decided at the last moment that he liked the natural brick better. Originally this room was supposed to represent the sea- with the green-blue tiles being the sea bottom, the walls being the sea, and the open ceiling being the sky. It was also supposed to be like a courtyard, but because of heating problems, the roof got changed from glass to a solid ceiling.

This is the view of the organ. Ideally Organs should be place 3/4 to 2/3 of the way up on a wall to get the right resonance. Here however they have been placed at the top- which means when there are a lot of people in the room and it gets warm, the organ sounds funny. Another interesting fact- when changes had to be made a while back, the keyboard had to be removed, and was changed to a remote system, where the organist is on the floor. This results in a HALF SECOND delay between what the organist plays and what comes out. (For those who don't sing- that's a noticeable difference- it's got to be confusing as heck.)

Video of my dinner

2007-10-25T20:33:00.000+02:00

Just in case you needed proof.

Small things make me happy

2007-10-25T20:22:00.001+02:00

Like getting to sleep late in the morning.

Or wandering around until noon in your pj's.

Or getting almost my whole proposal done (except for part of the thesis, which I'm stuck at but not totally helpless on)

Getting my laundry done (which I have to take out of the washer- remember that Jen before you go to bed!)

Making dinner tonight (real dinner, not just boiled eggs for myself) for myself and Gabe... and having it be edible! And rather tasty too! I made stir fry, (with fake chicken and lots of veggies) and put it over grits (because I wanted to be adventurous and prove to Gabe that I could at least cook SOMETHING)

Just as proof, I took a video of it, but I'll have to put it up at a later point.

My connection is shaky right now.

I'm feeling rather off, and I had a grand intention of writing a witty and funny post, but now I'm just feeling tired.

Later

my last day of International Relations

2007-10-24T21:59:00.000+02:00

So get this: my International Relations course was only half a semester long (same amount of course hours though because it was twice as long as the rest of my classes... and added to that he often ran 45 minutes over- and the class was supposed to end at six- so sometimes I wasn't getting home to 8:15). And today was the last day. Now don't get me wrong, the class wasn't that bad... I just think that there was a cultural difference between how American teachers teach and how Swedish Teachers teach. It meant that at times there were crossed wires and miss communications. And well, the subject matter could have been presented in a more interesting way. But the class itself was informative, and the evaluations were papers, so I'm pretty happy, because that's my preferred method of learning.

Anyway, with the exception of a final paper, the class is done, which means I now only have three classes, that happen mostly in the mornings. It's actually quite exciting, because I'll have my afternoons entirely FREE! *dreams of going to museums dance in my head* And my course load is going to drop considerably now. It was really hard to keep up with all the reading with the class moving at double pace, but now that it's done I'm quite happy. It also means I'll be able to take advantage of the sunlight more often!

I had a particular Swedish observation I wanted to point out... AH!

So big news in one of the local papers today... a new cafe opened in Södermalm (I think that's how it's spelled), or near there. It has entirely white walls, and it's really bright in there. Apparently the lights are special ones that simulate sunlight. See, many Swedes go to have light therapy during the winter to counteract seasonal depression, 'cause it gets dark here (the sun's been going down just after five now... or somewhere close to there). Well, this guy had it really bad, and decided to invest in his own lights. Well, then he thought of how nice it would be if people could go to a place where they normally spent time to get the doses of light, without having to spend time out of their day going and just sitting in the light.

Thus, this cafe is born.

I think even if I have to pay a cover charge it might be worth it to go once a week. I'm starting to get really nervous about this whole dark thing. Although, I think the Swedish version of Daylight Savings Time is starting to come up, so I'm looking forward to that a bit.

In other news, Halloween is coming up in the US, and it is greatly saddening to me that I'm not there for it, because it's one of my favorite holidays. I know the precise costume I would use though... involving hot glue guns, feathers and leaves. *evil grin* I'm debating if I want to do that here, or just pay a smaller tribute to Halloween in Sweden. The Swedes might not take my attempt at American Pride in stride, and I'm afraid there's not as many crazy harmless people as there seem to be in other cities. I would actually attract attention dressing wired, where in other American cities it would just be like, eh!

My last and final thing- I've noticed wandering around the city occasionally these knit or crochet... objects wrapped around lamp posts or other places. Finally, I took a close look at one, realized there was a tag that went to a blog. This neat a frivolous (yet in a serious way) site is about knit graffiti. I have to say, I might be in love. Check it out: Masquerade.

For your Viewer Entertainment

2007-10-23T14:27:00.000+02:00

On impulse, because I had the camera with me the other day in Swedish when we were working in the language lab, I decided to take some video of me Singing in Swedish, just so you could see how far I've come!

So, with no further ado, I bring to you, JEN Singing in Swedish! (also, take note that I've only had barely two months of Swedish so my pronunciation is TERRIBLE. If your a Swede, please don't get offended.)

The song is about the days of the week, and how the person doesn't do anything on any of the days because of various reasons.

And yes, there is a second song, as if the first wasn't embarrassing enough... It's a love song, but a lighthearted one. The lines proceed something like this, Do you like me? Yes, I do. (another question) (another affirmative) It's cute, and it's an ear-worm.

In other news, I FINALLY managed to send the package off. Now, you might think this isn't that hard of thing to do, but consider this: In Sweden there are no post offices. You're local grocery store or novelty shop could be part of the postal service. Now, this is great because there are better hours and it's more efficient now that the government isn't funding it, but it also means for us Ignorant Americans who can't read Swedish, Finding these places is rather difficult, seeing as the indication that they are a post office is normally a small sign which I CAN'T READ. So I go into different places asking for directions to the local post office. And well... me and directions... let's just say that it made the whole thing an adventure.

PS: Just got finished looking at my blog counter, and yesterday was a record-breaking day with 28 Views by 17 individual computers. That breaks the day we had 20 views with 15 individual computers. *does dance* How cool is that?

Also, just a reminder, if you feel any type of urge, go ahead and comment in the comments section. I fixed it to people can actually comment now.