Plaza Umea Umeå

... kids from my program (same kids that will be in all my classes for the next 3 years) and we're getting along really well. Saturday we had a party, watched futbol, danced to music, and then all left together to go to the bar on campus (reserved especially for the business students) called E-Puben. It was great. Everyone keeps approaching me saying "You are the girl from Texas?" followed by a million and a half questions, or stories of their holidays in America ...

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 ...

I am safely in Sweden, and I do believe that trip was one of the loneliest things I have ever done - especially because when I arrived in Sweden, I was all by myself AND everyone was speaking in Swedish. Kind of refreshing though - it's easier to relax when you're not listening to everyones conversation. I almost missed my flight to Umea, I had misread the gate number! But luckily I made it.

Everyone here thinks I ...

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

... tax on their cars, plus they're obliged to pay for yearly check-ups on their cars and to pay to fix anything on the cars they're told they have to. Sweden has a hefty tax places on owners of SUV's, which I think is good. 5. ****** MUSIC - Radio stations and nightclubs play talentless Swedish pop-music or talentless American pop-music. HONORABLE MENTION points go, aptly, to SNUS. Man, I'm a critical s.o.b. Oh, well, you gotta take the bad with the ...

... wrote Niemi. And, then, something struck me. I had a revelation. The Christian God, in simplest terms, is "power." He tells people how to live. He can kill them by merely willing a natural disaster. He brings them good fortune and bad luck and can teach them lessons. He can save them or damn them. He has hundreds of millions of followers who build churches to Him, pray to Him, give donations to Him, and worship Him. People worship Him. They worship Him ...

... American consumer who pays taxes - will he call for higher prices just to be able to call the USA self-dependent on oil, or will he call for larger imports and lower prices?" I don't know if Sara Lidman's books have been translated into English, nor if they're allowed in every country. But, I'd recommend reading them. Another alternative is Noam Chomsky's "At War with Asia." Reading "Alternative in Southeast Asia" by Eugene Black could also be eye-opening. Later ...

... need to read Noam Chomsky. I, and most non-Am**icans, believe U.S. foreign policy goes something like this: The U.S. gov't tries to make sure poor, weak countries are run by someone who will allow U.S. int**ests to benefit while the country's poor lose even more rights. The U.S. gov't really doesn't care if hte country is a (corrupt) democracy like Argentina or Lib**ia or Iraq will soon be, or if it is a dictatorship as in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. gov't helps to create a ...

... really good. Anders, for his part, doesn't watch "Fem Myor Är Fler Än Fyra Elefanter." He watches his favorite football team play. They're called "Hammarby" or "Hammerhead" or "Hamperbaby" or something stupid Swedish. Their team has a good chant, though. Anders taught me to say, "Bajen, Bärs, och Rakade Bruder!" This translates to: "Our team, some beers, and shaved women!" In the past, Hammerby used to have a large fan base that were shaven-headed women ...

... bag that you put below your upper lip. It causes your lip to stick out. When I put a "snus" below my upper lip, one of the girls said, "Aah, now you look Swedish." Eww. The "snus" was all drippy and foul-tasting and gross. I'd never even taken a hit off a cigarette before, so it affected me strongly. I told my friends I was feeling "yr" (dizzy). We were walking down an Umeå street, and the girls and the street and the buildings got all wobbly. Actually, I ...