the weekend

2005-01-16, Solna, Sweden

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my first night here was a little bit rough. i slept from 9 to 12 and then was up all night. i finally fell asleep again around 7 and woke up at 10. my first full day here though was enjoyable and much better than the day before. a very nice girl from the international committee took amy (the other exchange person from the states) to IKEA. IKEA is like a really big and really cheap linens n things. we both got some things for our room and some supplies for the kitchen so that we would feel more at home. after we went for an early dinner at the asian restaurant in my square (neighborhood). when amy and i asked for boxes to take home the leftovers, it became quite the process and the waiter didn't really know what we wanted. when we asked cecilia why it was so difficult she responded with "well we don't really do that here, i mean take food home from a restaurant". amy and i were quite surprised that you were not suppose to take you chinese leftovers home for a second meal later.

i came back home and took a short nap and then went out for my first night out on the town. amy and i went with four others from the committee. it was alot of fun but we came home early because jet lag was really getting to us.

sunday i slept through the night!! and then well into the day. i rose at about 13 and only had a couple more hours before the sun would go down so i went out for a walk quickly. i came back hung out with amy for a bit and then we went and got dinner together. there is a small market about a hundred yards from our building. i am still just eating peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches though; comfort food i guess.

after dinner i went to a local pub with a girl that lives down the hall from me. her name is aileen and she is an exchange student from iceland. she lived here in sweden for a couple of years though so her swedish is good and she also was an opar in the states for a year so her english is good as well. it is a big help to be with people who speak both languages well.
at first this place was scary and confusing but each day is better than the one before and i have already met some wonderful friends. the language is different and the currency is very different so that will take some getting used to but other than that everything feels pretty comfortable.
so that has been my agenda so far, tomorrow i am headed to campus for a meeting and to get my class schedule.´

i still don't have a phone but should get one soon. i do enjoy to get your emails though so please write to let me know how things in the states are and let me know if you have any questions about stockholm or my visit so far.