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!