days 4, 5, and 6.

The past few days have not been super interesting as far as what I have been up to. I have just kind of been spending time around the apartment. I've still been trying to adjust to the time difference. We did however go to the grocery store on Monday night. That was interesting. It was three quarters of a mile, just to get to the store, and three quarters of a mile back home of course. All in all a mile and a half walk, just to get groceries.

One thing that I found interesting was that the grocery store was inside a mall.... of sorts. It was different. I also found it interesting, some of the deals were amazing, and other things, I was surprised by the price. We got three pounds of bacon for about 4 american dollars, while oreos, for 12 cookies, it would have cost us almost three dollars. I am pretty happy with what we did wind up getting though, because so far everything has been delicious. We got some more yogurt for breakfasts. We got some oats/granola to go in it. We got orange juice, more porridge, and some marmalade. We also got some very Swedish bread, and some fresh vegetables. I found the mexican pies that they sell here, and got one of those. (It was a good choice) I insisted that we also get supplies to make tacos... which, lead to a discussion that informed me that they do not eat soft shelled tacos here, just burritos. I found that interesting. After that we came home, and made dinner, which was hamburgers with cucumber slices, and french fries with lemon-pepper. Then it was time to sleep.

Day three. A day for adventuring!

I know that this whole trip has been an adventure, and technically, on day two I had some adventures, but today was the day that felt like a real adventure! We woke up, and ate breakfast, the same thing as day two, but on day three I tried something new. I tried toast with marmalade, and cheese. It sounds like a very odd combination, but the sweet of the marmalade, and the salty of the cheese, worked very well together!

After breakfast we waited for a bit, and took Anton's brother Isak to his gymnastic practice. Once we had dropped him off, was when I think the real adventure began. We went to a castle! I actually went to a castle in my first weekend! We had to try to figure out our way there, using the GPS on the iphone, which, worked, but kind of got me confused. It wasn't until today that I realized that Anton was totally serious when he had said that they had roundabouts EVERYWHERE. literally almost every intersection we came to, was not an intersection, it was a roundabout. It was so confusing. Once we made it to the castle though I was so excited! It was gorgeous! It was amazing that I could go up and touch it! Before going up to the castle though, we noticed that the ice had made some pretty amazing sculptures, and that half the lake that surrounded the castle was ice, and the other was not! Of course, I needed to know how thick the ice was. So I stepped on it... and almost fell in. It definitely was not thick enough to stand on! after looking as all the ice, we walked to the boardwalk, and I realized that I could read the signs, and got very excited! Finally we crossed the bridge to the castle. In my head, I envisioned that we would climb the hill near the castle, and then take the picture from there, because it would make the picture prettier! that was actually a pretty easy hill to climb too.

day two's fun!

After a long night's sleep I woke up and had breakfast. It was interesting to say the least, but not in a bad way. It was very different from what I am used to back home. We had yogurt, but its not like yogurt back home, it's thinner, and tastes better. and we put cereal in it. I also had some toast. The bread here is different from back home too! It's not flimsy and filled with preservatives. It tastes more natural. It is just all around better. After breakfast I took another nap, the time change is very exhausting. When I woke up from that, it was time for lunch, which was leftovers! I had a choice between many different things, but I wanted Swedish meatballs again! They are just so good! I can't get enough! After lunch digested, we decided to take a walk around town. This is where my day really got interesting! we walked all around town, well, maybe we missed one side, but we still walked a LOT. I learned a lot of things about Sweden. It was interesting, because we left for the walk about 4 in the afternoon, and by then a lot of the shops were already closing! That never happens back home! Stores are always open later on the weekends. That is prime shopping time for everyone, I guess. I was not there for the shopping though. I just wanted to see everything!

A lot of the winter decorations were still up, and it was very pretty. I actually got a picture of the street that I posted a picture of in one of my first blogs. I was very excited! It's an interesting town really, there are so many things to do, so many places to see. The first place that we went by was the movie theatre, I found it weird that some of the movies that we got back home in October are still just coming out here!

Puss in Boots, came out back at the end of October back in America.  It still  is just saying "Coming soon" here.

This was a speed limit sign, in kilometers of course. I thought it was interesting to look at. 

This is a cross walk signal. I suppose its not different from the ones back home, other than instead of  a red hand telling you not to walk, its a little red man.

This was the button at the cross walk. I found this one different from home, because it makes sounds. It makes ticking noises all the time and when its time to go the interval between the ticks gets faster. 

I thought it was interesting that on almost every street there was a bike path.

I am not sure if this next set of pictures belongs here, or if I should have talked more about them, but really it was all stuff I saw during my walk downtown.

This was the street that I found a picture of for one of my first blog posts. I was so excited to actually see it! 

I just found this statue, near an art gallery, and I thought it was very interesting.

This sign means, no parking, and it also means that the street is for walking only. 

This was one of the things that surprised me the most about Sweden so far. I guess I was not expecting to see much graffiti.

This is a payphone. I just thought it was cute looking.

This is for something called a zipcode lottery. Basically you pay  a small monthly fee, and then you are entered in to the lottery, and if your zipcode is drawn, you and anyone else who entered from your zipcode wins! 

this is a mail box. I just thought the color was cool.

I actually read this sign.  It just tells you what direction the hospital is in.  I guessed that the word for hospital translates to "sick house" and was right!

the little dashes around the numbers mean that if you turn there, you can reach those roads.  It doesnt mean that when you turn there you are automatically on those roads, just that you can get to those roads by turning. or following the sign... 

 We moved on to the library, I was excited I knew that the library was near, because of the street sign. In Swedish the word for library, is very very similar to the Spanish word for library, biblioteca, and the street was called library street. The library, oh my goodness, I could spend hours upon hours there! It was gorgeous. It was also very warm. I was very much a little child again, there were so many, as my amazing theatre teacher, Mrs. Best, would have said "Shiny things" around distracting my attention!

this is the outside of the library. I thought it was gorgeous. 

They are having a culture night in Växjö. It will be on the last Saturday in January, which it just so happens is when we were planning to be there next! 

this is the plan for the second floor of the library.

this was the street sign leading up to the library. the one that I could read!

this is some of the art or "shiny things" that were taking my attention!

more art! 

and even more art! 

But of course I couldn't let art distract me from the fact that they rent out sheet music at the library, and some good sheet music too! 

more art. I wanted to touch this, because it looked fuzzy, but I decided not to, because I didn't want to look silly.

the stairs leading up to the third floor.

the view down from the third floor. 

these are interesting. Basically the shelves are all close together to save space. When you want to get to a shelf, you turn the little wheel, and it will open up a space so that you can go in between. 

more art. I think these pieces were supposed to have a purpose, because it appeared that there were instructions on the wall behind them. 

more art.

more art.

This was a book exchange.  I thought it was interesting. You bring a book, and take one.

After the library, we passed by the most famous church in the city. Its humongous. It also is very beautiful. The details are more on the inside. The outside was very plain, but still pretty. I only got a glimpse of the inside, and hope to actually go inside during the next visit, because even though the door was open, we saw something going on inside, and didn't want to interrupt.

We then walked through a park, which I will get pictures of the next time, the sun was setting, and there were people on the equipment that I wanted to get pictures of. The park, led us to the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. Not once had I ever been brought to tears by the beauty of something, until that moment. We were at the lake. Växjö Lake to be exact. I sat on a bench by the edge of it, and it brought tears to my eyes, the sunset was so perfect, the air was so quiet, the lake was so peaceful, it was wonderful. Pictures definitely do not do it justice. It is one million times more beautiful than the pictures show! Just sitting there in the quiet, was so overwhelmingly great.

After my cry at the lake, we went home. Where we got cleaned up for dinner with Anton's grandpa! I was excited, because the food smelled delicious, and I had heard lots of good things about his grandpa.  Although there was a definite communication barrier, between his grandpa and I, we both tried. At first, I was just excited that he was talking to me, and wanted to learn about my culture, so I naturally started talking fast... Anton had to remind me to slow down some, on at least a couple of occasions, and had to translate sometimes as well. What  I did learn through dinner though was that I can understand more Swedish than I thought I could.  It was a bit overwhelming hearing everyone around me talk in Swedish at first, although once I realized that I can understand some of the words, it was a bit easier, and certainly exciting. I picked up on words, like "French, documentary, and English" I found a few others as well, but right now I don't remember what they were. We had a very delicious dinner, of Steak, and potatoes, and a sort of tomato sauce, with creme brulee for dessert. I was stuffed. The steak was so tender I could cut it with a butter knife. Anton's dad sure knows how to cook! I was so spoiled this weekend!  Again I forgot to take pictures of the food. Next time we go to his parents house I will be sure to remember. Because not only did it taste delicious, it looked simply beautiful.

After a short break from dinner, it was time for Midsommer Murders! Midsommer Murders is a British show, that apparently is huge in Sweden. It's a slightly cliché murder mystery show. It's actually pretty funny, and entertaining, and it seems to me that everyone comes up with their own theories as to who committed the murders. While watching the show, we munched on potato chips. Which was nice, because it reminded me of home.

So that was the end of day two. I've already completed two days and learned so much, about the culture, and myself, I cant wait to learn more!

First experiences!

After finally arriving at the airport, seeing Anton, and catching up for a moment, we went to book our train tickets back to his home town of Växjö. We decided on getting the later ticket, because it was only 20 minutes later, and about $33 of our dollars cheaper. Since we had some time to kill and I was getting hungry, we went up to the Burger King. Yes. Burger King. The fast food place from back home. They had one inside the airport in Copenhagen. I went to find us a seat, while he ordered us some food. When he brought the food back, however, I realized one of the first differences of Europe in general, from back home. A large here, is either a medium or small back home.

The cup on the left is a large. The cup on the right is a medium. Neither would match up to their size back home. The large is easily a small or medium back home, and the medium is a child size. 

It's something that I don't mind, it just surprised me. Sometimes I wonder how old I am, because I was very excited when I realized that you got bendy straws. I also found that size differences did not just apply to cup sizes, but also to fries. 

This... is a large fry. 

I would never have thought that was a large fry. It reminds me of a small fry back home. Although, again I don't mind it. It actually is a lot healthier. I'm anxious to see what other differences I find in food, and other things.

After finishing eating, we ran to catch the train!