Hotell Pilen Umeå

... for 5 weeks each, but we go for 3 hours a day, and about 4 days a week. At the end of the 5 weeks, we start a new class. Each semester I will take 4 classes total. This system keeps students from studying many different subjects at once, and focuses our attention to tiny details that could be overlooked by taking 4-5 classes at once. Right now I am taking a class called "International Business Environment." It's fantastic.

I've been hanging out a lot with ...

Has it already been 7 days in Umea? I cannot believe it. I must confess, I have spent a majority of this past week catching up on lost sleep and getting unpacked. Horribly unexciting tasks - definitely not considered "blog-worthy." But here's a taste of what IS:

I finally got a chance to get some grocery shopping done - and acquired a pillow, which really didn't make a difference, since I could barely notice on ...

... His name is Lionel, and he is a student from Congo studying computers here at the Uni. but he would ultimately like to return to Congo and work in Politics to help his people. He did not speak very good English, but was fluent in Swedish and French - I was able to use a bit of my French to communicate as well. My new friend does not understand my hair color; "Are you blond, or brunette?" He had just shaved his head ...

Left by Train on SJ Rail (7012 & 98) with change of train at Boden. Train stopped at following stations. 1) Umeå, Vännas ...

... clothes. People muss their hair up attractively with a holding foam. Dread-locks, too, come in every color. Fashion can also be bright. One liquid-eyed punk girl wore a colorful-blue and black skirt outfit with her blond hair painted down against her head. Another night, her outfit was bright-vibrant-red striped with black, and her hair was up in thick, footlong spikes making a blond mohawk. Punk guys wear tight, black jeans and t-shirts and ...

... schools were bombed. Many Vietnamese had to live underground, with rats and no sunlight. Arsenic was thrown on their crops. Other times, their rice patties were sabotaged so that 80% of the output was lost. Sara Lidman talks about the politics of the war, in a revealing way which I would guess most Americans are never allowed to read about. The Vietnam War was driven by American politicians who were driven by big American companies. The National Planning ...

... gook you would scrape off the inside of a garbage can. Yuk! I think it's the sort of tradition everybody dreads. With my new-found freedom away from work and disgusting surströmming, I figured it would be a good time to enjoy one of my favorite traditions. The tradition of the Hitchhiking Scavenger Hunt! Some day this week, I'm going to thumb out in hot pursuit of Swedish fun. And, in keeping with Hitchhiking Scavenger Hunt tradition ...

... al Augusto Pinochet. During the infamous, oppressive dictatorship that followed, Pinochet and his henchmen murd**ed and tortured tens of thousands of opposing Chilean voices. In the 1980's, Ronald Reagan ord**ed the U.S. invasion of the tiny island of Granada, because it was becoming too close a friend of Cuba's. In Venezuela, populist Hugo Chavez won the country's most recent election. A military coup was led against him; the U.S. is suspected to have been involved ...

... and three-letter answers. But, then, Anders gave me a puzzle meant for the types of kids who could probably read Pippi Långstrump in a single afternoon. "This puzzle's impossible!" I yelled, convinced it was meant for Swedish geniuses. Anders has recommended I watch one tv show titled, "Fem Myror Är Fler Än Fyra Elefanter." (Five Ants Are More Than Four Elephants.) It's a kids' show, where they pronounce the words slowly so kids can repeat along. It ...

... friends so far have been three crazy girls I met Saturday night. They were twenty and drunk and funny, and their funny drunkenness made them aggressively try to keep from ever being one of the ones not talking. They were very nice. But, they pushed their "snus" on me. I trried to resist, but I told you before Swedish girls are strong. Pippi Långstrump can lift a whole horse over her head! "Snus" is a Swedish alternative to cigarettes. It's tobacco in a little ...