Svenska and 'merican Football
Let me say right off the bat that Swedish (svenska) is a surprisingly pleasant language, it's not in the class of say French or Italian in terms of beauty when spoken, but since I was expecting the it to sound something like German I was pleasantly surprised by how nice it sounded. However, attempting to learn a language in a lecture class of over 150 people near impossible... I haven't started studying for the test yet but after 3 classes the only phrase that I've managed to add to my repertoire is "my name is Olivia" (Mitt namn är Olivia). On the bright side I don't have to learn a completely different alphabet like I did with Hindi (42 letters plus 6 vowels.... they gave me nightmares) nor do I have to worry about a ridiculous number of accents (I'm looking at you French!) and pronunciation, though not intuitive, has consistent rules. So maybe after some severe cramming for the exam I might just be able to order a kaffe without embarrassing myself.
Fun anachronisms about swedish:
-The swedish word for married is the same as the word for poison (gift) hmmm...... not sure what this says about the swedish view of the institution.
- It is completely legitimate as an american to tell someone that you speak americanska (american) in swedish, its also acceptable to say you speak englseska (english) as well.
Now on to, the Superbowl. The game was surprisingly televised on Swedish TV using the feed from NBC which meant that my viewing experience was nearly identical to what it would have been in the states... aside from the fact that the commercial breaks were filled with swedish game analysis (none of the million dollar commercials were broadcast here) and I spent a decent portion of the game explaining various rules to the Europeans in attendance. And there were a surprising number of europeans willing to watch the game.... especially given that they only had a vague idea of what was going on and the game started at 12:30 in the morning (there were only 4 americans in attendance and we lost 2 of them at half time, compared with some 10-15 europeans most of whom stayed through all 3 and half hours of the game).
Given the fact that the few of us who did understand what was happening had to serve as interpreters (I can't tell you how many times I explained what a first down was and how the scoring system worked) I was thankful that the game ended up being relatively straight forward with blessedly few challenges. However, the Giants' safety at the beginning of the game was a pain to explain. Not only, because it hardly ever happens and is an inherently weird way to score; but also because it was due, not to a tackle in the Giants' endzone, but to a penalty in their endzone involving intentional grounding (which in turn required us to explain the concept of "the pocket" and how it relates to what the quarterback can and can't do).... all of which is generally information not needed to have a basic understanding of football (thanks for that Giants). But I guess I should be happy that an explanation of something like "the tuck rule" wasn't required, that would have been tricky.
What I really got out of this experience is that Americans really have no excuse for not understanding the offside rule in soccer.... we have rules up the wazoo for all of our sports, not just football but also baseball (fair/foul along the baseline) and basketball. And yet, we can't manage to master the only rule in soccer that is even remotely complex.... frankly we're just not trying.
Also madonna's half-time show was excruciating to watch... it caused all the americans to hang our heads in shame and everyone else to scratch their heads in confusion, we gotta pick it up for next year.
My idiot moment of the week:
Going to get my residency permit biometrics done then realizing once we got there that I had neither my paperwork nor my passport with me... Woops, I'll be making a return trip friday.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
So... I have been woefully negligent in updating this blog and I have no excuse for it. Sorry Guys!
These past two weeks have been full of adventures and exploring. Some birthdays have been celebrated (Happy 21st Sarah!), Stockholm has been explored and much fun was had!
Sarah's 21st was this past Thursday so we and a bunch of our friends went out to Herman's, a fantastic vegetarian restaurant in Södermalm. 20 bucks (cheep by Stockholm standards) gets you access to an all you can eat buffet full of awesome vegetarian food. So yummy!
The wednesday before (its great having random days off from class) me and a friend of mine from my microbio class went exploring in Gamla Stan, the old city of Stockholm. The area is really amazing and beautiful, full of cobblestone streets, cute stores, nice cafes and beautiful old buildings. This part of the city is actually a little island at the heart of the Stockholm archipelago which makes it very compact and perfect fore exploring on foot. Also because we visited in the middle of the week in January we pretty much had the place to ourselves (understandable really cause who decides to come to Stockholm in the dead of winter.... haha, oh right I did).
The other highlight of my explorations was the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a ship build by Sweden in 1628 that made it all of 1500 meters in the water before a gust of wind caught her wrong and down she went (Marine engineering tip of the day: don't build your ship too tall and too narrow and for god's sake put enough ballast in her!) But other than being a lesson in how not to construct a vessel the museum provides a view of Sweden during the 17th century (not such a fun place to live). However my favorite aspect of the museum was looking at how they reconstructed the Vasa after salvaging her from the ocean floor after 300 years, yep in 1961 they pulled the Vasa out from the ocean (in one piece) and stuck her in a museum. Cool biology factoid: the critter that normally munches on wood thats been left in water for too long can't survive in the Baltic water's low salinity so the Vasa's wood survived over 300 years of sitting on the sea-floor in the outer Stockholm archipelago. Needless to say I though the museum was awesome and I think its a must see for anyone coming to Stockholm (ie if you come visit me you're going to this museum).
Unfortunately, I think my explorations of Stockholm will have to be put on hold for a little while at least. This pas week the weather has taken a turn for the worse and instead of being a relatively balmy 2ºC the temps have dropped down to -12ºC which is a bit too cold for outdoor exploring. But, I'm not going to feel too guilty, I still have 5 months left in the city and so for right now I'm going to stay in and stay warm.
Up next on my agenda are: pulling an all-nighter to watch the superbowl tonight (starts at 12:30, yay!), getting my residency permit sorted out, joining a gym and planning my trip to barcelona in May (thanks for the Springsteen tickets Dad!)
Now as penance for being a negligent blogger, Pictures!
These past two weeks have been full of adventures and exploring. Some birthdays have been celebrated (Happy 21st Sarah!), Stockholm has been explored and much fun was had!
Sarah's 21st was this past Thursday so we and a bunch of our friends went out to Herman's, a fantastic vegetarian restaurant in Södermalm. 20 bucks (cheep by Stockholm standards) gets you access to an all you can eat buffet full of awesome vegetarian food. So yummy!
The wednesday before (its great having random days off from class) me and a friend of mine from my microbio class went exploring in Gamla Stan, the old city of Stockholm. The area is really amazing and beautiful, full of cobblestone streets, cute stores, nice cafes and beautiful old buildings. This part of the city is actually a little island at the heart of the Stockholm archipelago which makes it very compact and perfect fore exploring on foot. Also because we visited in the middle of the week in January we pretty much had the place to ourselves (understandable really cause who decides to come to Stockholm in the dead of winter.... haha, oh right I did).
The other highlight of my explorations was the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a ship build by Sweden in 1628 that made it all of 1500 meters in the water before a gust of wind caught her wrong and down she went (Marine engineering tip of the day: don't build your ship too tall and too narrow and for god's sake put enough ballast in her!) But other than being a lesson in how not to construct a vessel the museum provides a view of Sweden during the 17th century (not such a fun place to live). However my favorite aspect of the museum was looking at how they reconstructed the Vasa after salvaging her from the ocean floor after 300 years, yep in 1961 they pulled the Vasa out from the ocean (in one piece) and stuck her in a museum. Cool biology factoid: the critter that normally munches on wood thats been left in water for too long can't survive in the Baltic water's low salinity so the Vasa's wood survived over 300 years of sitting on the sea-floor in the outer Stockholm archipelago. Needless to say I though the museum was awesome and I think its a must see for anyone coming to Stockholm (ie if you come visit me you're going to this museum).
Unfortunately, I think my explorations of Stockholm will have to be put on hold for a little while at least. This pas week the weather has taken a turn for the worse and instead of being a relatively balmy 2ºC the temps have dropped down to -12ºC which is a bit too cold for outdoor exploring. But, I'm not going to feel too guilty, I still have 5 months left in the city and so for right now I'm going to stay in and stay warm.
Up next on my agenda are: pulling an all-nighter to watch the superbowl tonight (starts at 12:30, yay!), getting my residency permit sorted out, joining a gym and planning my trip to barcelona in May (thanks for the Springsteen tickets Dad!)
Now as penance for being a negligent blogger, Pictures!
Old Church in Gamla Stan
Gamla Stan
Mini Stockholm!
View from out my window, there's Sun!!
Returning from Herman's
Sun!
Me and a cool blue gate
The Vasa
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Snow!
This has been a relatively mild winter for Stockholm and snow is a new arrival in the city. But, now that it's arrived, it doesn't seem to want to stop. Right now flakes are swirling around outside my window and every once in a while the wind will stop and everything gets frozen in mid-air for a second, it's really quite pretty.
The snow has also made things a lot safer for walking around as it provides much more traction than the graveled ice that normally coats the sidewalks.
Yesterday Sarah and I made our way into the city center and explored the malls and shopping areas that surround the main Tunnelbanna station T-centralen.
Here are some random observations/musings on life in Sweden:
- Everything does actually come from Ikea. I do not think there is a single furniture item in my room that did not come from the store.
- H&M is VERY popular. From outside the T-centralen station there are 4 stores within maybe a quarter-mile radius.
- The Swedes are not all blonde-haired and blue-eyed but they are, on the whole, a beautiful and very well dressed people.
- It is quite difficult to me Swedes, they're kind of aloof and there aren't too many of them living in the student housing areas, however you can meet just about every other nationality wandering around the halls.
- I honestly don't know where Stockholm university students live... 95% of people I meet in the housing areas are from KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology, which is a fifth the size of Stockholm University. (The housing areas are available to students from any of the Stockholm metro area's Universities, also SU has about 50,000 students so it's not like they can be easily hidden...)
- It is still socially acceptable to wear Uggs in Sweden, I am very thankful for this since their warmth is perfect for this climate.
- I have seen the sun twice in the past week :(
- I am still on the upper end of the height spectrum, I'm just less of an outlier.
Hej då!
This has been a relatively mild winter for Stockholm and snow is a new arrival in the city. But, now that it's arrived, it doesn't seem to want to stop. Right now flakes are swirling around outside my window and every once in a while the wind will stop and everything gets frozen in mid-air for a second, it's really quite pretty.
The snow has also made things a lot safer for walking around as it provides much more traction than the graveled ice that normally coats the sidewalks.
Yesterday Sarah and I made our way into the city center and explored the malls and shopping areas that surround the main Tunnelbanna station T-centralen.
Here are some random observations/musings on life in Sweden:
- Everything does actually come from Ikea. I do not think there is a single furniture item in my room that did not come from the store.
- H&M is VERY popular. From outside the T-centralen station there are 4 stores within maybe a quarter-mile radius.
- The Swedes are not all blonde-haired and blue-eyed but they are, on the whole, a beautiful and very well dressed people.
- It is quite difficult to me Swedes, they're kind of aloof and there aren't too many of them living in the student housing areas, however you can meet just about every other nationality wandering around the halls.
- I honestly don't know where Stockholm university students live... 95% of people I meet in the housing areas are from KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology, which is a fifth the size of Stockholm University. (The housing areas are available to students from any of the Stockholm metro area's Universities, also SU has about 50,000 students so it's not like they can be easily hidden...)
- It is still socially acceptable to wear Uggs in Sweden, I am very thankful for this since their warmth is perfect for this climate.
- I have seen the sun twice in the past week :(
- I am still on the upper end of the height spectrum, I'm just less of an outlier.
Hej då!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Hej! hej!
I've taken a little time between blog posts because for the past few days I have been grumpy due to jetlag and malnourishment, but now that I have had sufficient hours of sleep and have gotten some food in my belly (thanks to my shopping spree and my hallmates) I'm feeling much better.
A contributing factor in my mood's improvement has been that I now have my life in order. I've settled into my room in the student living area called Kungshamra (pictures will come later I promise!) I've started my microbiology class and have registered for my Polisci class (but it may overlap with my required Swedish class so we'll have to see how that goes). Now the two major things to do on my list are to purchase a cell phone and get a 3 month metro pass (an essential because I use it to commute to school).
Microbiology has been going well, but it is a very lab intensive class (if I don't get superlab credit for this monster I'm going to kill someone) we start lab at 9:15 most days and end at 4 with a one hour break for lunch. Luckily this is only going to be for the beginning portion of the class, but still this is several weeks of all day labs!
Last night Sarah and I went out into Stockholm with some of her hallmates and their friends which was great and we had a lot of fun. Today I had no class and slept in late then went to ikea. I got all the essentials, or at least I though so till I was sitting on the bus and realized that I had forgotten to buy sheets! Luckily Sarah has some extra in her room so I'll be able to sleep comfortably until I'm able to get back to Ikea.
The weather has been relatively good here and has stayed around freezing. And apparently this is one of the mildest winters they've had in years. The first snow of the season came on the day I arrived and continued on to the 16th, but there's not much left on the ground. The downside of the warm weather is that it's the result of the constant cloud cover we've had it keeps the temps up but I haven't seen the sun, stars or sky since I've arrived, hopefully this will change sometime soon.
The Swedish cinema classic that my blog's title is in reference to is the Seventh Seal by Ingmar Bergman, its very good. The other reason that I've called it this is that according to Haverford's online records Sarah and I are tied for the seventh Haverford students to come to Stockholm University.
All the Best!
I've taken a little time between blog posts because for the past few days I have been grumpy due to jetlag and malnourishment, but now that I have had sufficient hours of sleep and have gotten some food in my belly (thanks to my shopping spree and my hallmates) I'm feeling much better.
A contributing factor in my mood's improvement has been that I now have my life in order. I've settled into my room in the student living area called Kungshamra (pictures will come later I promise!) I've started my microbiology class and have registered for my Polisci class (but it may overlap with my required Swedish class so we'll have to see how that goes). Now the two major things to do on my list are to purchase a cell phone and get a 3 month metro pass (an essential because I use it to commute to school).
Microbiology has been going well, but it is a very lab intensive class (if I don't get superlab credit for this monster I'm going to kill someone) we start lab at 9:15 most days and end at 4 with a one hour break for lunch. Luckily this is only going to be for the beginning portion of the class, but still this is several weeks of all day labs!
Last night Sarah and I went out into Stockholm with some of her hallmates and their friends which was great and we had a lot of fun. Today I had no class and slept in late then went to ikea. I got all the essentials, or at least I though so till I was sitting on the bus and realized that I had forgotten to buy sheets! Luckily Sarah has some extra in her room so I'll be able to sleep comfortably until I'm able to get back to Ikea.
The weather has been relatively good here and has stayed around freezing. And apparently this is one of the mildest winters they've had in years. The first snow of the season came on the day I arrived and continued on to the 16th, but there's not much left on the ground. The downside of the warm weather is that it's the result of the constant cloud cover we've had it keeps the temps up but I haven't seen the sun, stars or sky since I've arrived, hopefully this will change sometime soon.
The Swedish cinema classic that my blog's title is in reference to is the Seventh Seal by Ingmar Bergman, its very good. The other reason that I've called it this is that according to Haverford's online records Sarah and I are tied for the seventh Haverford students to come to Stockholm University.
All the Best!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Greetings from the land of ABBA and Ikea!
I'm writing this jetlagged at 4 in the morning (local time, middle of the day anywhere in the States) on the floor of Sarah's room (A fellow Haverford student who kindly donated her floor and sleeping bag to me this first night since I arrived too late to get into my housing) so I apologize if this becomes incoherent.
I got into Stockholm safe and sound last night after some 16 hours of traveling. The flights were thankfully uneventful, and I was incredibly blessed on the first flight getting a bulk-head, exit row seat! For those of you who are not vertically gifted (or cursed depending on the situation) this may seem like I'm getting overexcited about nothing, but this seating arrangement meant that I did not have to contort myself into yoga poses for the duration of the 11 hr flight so I believe that my excitement is justified. Also since I was flying on Swiss airlines they gave us chocolates at the end of each flight, this made my day. The only downside to my travel experience was the outrageous price of the taxi to the university, my fare was twice Sarah's!
Tomorrow (today?.... the 16th?) is going to consist of actually moving into my room, getting orientated and figuring out class stuff. Should be a good time.
More to come! (hopefully)
Also kudos to anyone who gets what the blog title is in reference to.
Hint: It relates to a classic in Swedish cinema
I'm writing this jetlagged at 4 in the morning (local time, middle of the day anywhere in the States) on the floor of Sarah's room (A fellow Haverford student who kindly donated her floor and sleeping bag to me this first night since I arrived too late to get into my housing) so I apologize if this becomes incoherent.
I got into Stockholm safe and sound last night after some 16 hours of traveling. The flights were thankfully uneventful, and I was incredibly blessed on the first flight getting a bulk-head, exit row seat! For those of you who are not vertically gifted (or cursed depending on the situation) this may seem like I'm getting overexcited about nothing, but this seating arrangement meant that I did not have to contort myself into yoga poses for the duration of the 11 hr flight so I believe that my excitement is justified. Also since I was flying on Swiss airlines they gave us chocolates at the end of each flight, this made my day. The only downside to my travel experience was the outrageous price of the taxi to the university, my fare was twice Sarah's!
Tomorrow (today?.... the 16th?) is going to consist of actually moving into my room, getting orientated and figuring out class stuff. Should be a good time.
More to come! (hopefully)
Also kudos to anyone who gets what the blog title is in reference to.
Hint: It relates to a classic in Swedish cinema
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