Ramada Botnia Umeå

Before arriving in Sweden, I had the idea that I was somehow moving to an alien planet. Everything would be different in Sweden. Animals would talk, trees grew upside down, people would speak in a strange language that would sometimes make me giggle. Fortunately, I was only 1/3 correct. Umeå has deemed itself a fairly normal place to live (as far as I can tell), but at the same time, more than anything I could have dreamed for myself.

I don't know how it's ...

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 ...

... foam! Despite my lack of pillow, I fell asleep very quickly. Also could be from the fact that I didn't sleep for 2 days straight. Either or.

Tomorrow I will go exploring, I want to actually see my university, haha. Everything here is SO green, it's seriously just a country full of trees with places cut out for roads and buildings. It's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I'll try to get some pictures of that.

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

... v**fügt. das warten auf den bus gestaltet sich dann üb**raschend**weise als reinfall, d** bus kommt nicht, obwohl ** auf ein** elektronischen anzeigetafel angekündigt wird. zu uns**em glück sind wir all**dings nicht alleine am warten und so will es d** zufall dass wir eine mitfahrgelegenheit duch eine and**es, auf den bus wartendes mädel bekommen. puhhh, also nochmal gl ...

... and GREAT PERSONALITIES. Swedes have great personalities when you get to know them. They stay young for a long time, I think. Elaine and I hung out with and said good-bye to some of my Umeå friends: Anna worked with me at the boat-cafe/restaurant; she's a tall, cute, short-haired light-blond who's sarcastic and witty over the phone and fun too. Shorter Clara worked with me too; she has a freckly face which looks like a lynx kitten's, and her ...

... 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 ...

... nose in to contribute millions of dollars to the campaign of the Santanistas' rightwing opposition. The Santanistas lost this last election day, and many spirits w**e broken. These are just a few examples, without getting into Southeast Asia and the U.S.'s bombing campaigns th**e. And I'll leave with one more statistic. This is for those people who think that when a third-world country begins trading its valued resources and boosting its "economy," that this enhances ...

... the river and see nothing but the river's flow and tree-settled islands. These spots are perfect for going to with a little red-haired girl. "Gorka borka magorka bajorka!" - the Swedish chef P.S. - A gray-moustachioed gentleman checked into my hostel room tonight. He was a rare Swede in that he didn't speak English. He and I had my longest Swedish-only conversation to date: about four minutes. My Swedish confidence is going up, slowly, but surely! Woohoo.