Cornell University

Hey Guys,

I got behind myself and came up a couple days late on the blog post.  Long weekend.  I am having a great time here and I think the speed at which the time is going proves it.   Before I left, the programs and seminars that gave me insight into the abroad experience told me that the first month could be quite hard as that is when the culture shock and home sickness is at its height.  The culture shock was a bit difficult but, for me, it was just the language that had me twisted.  Everything else was quite enjoyable to experience in a new culture.  Any sort of disappointment because of the language was gone by the first week when I met my international friends from around the world.  They did not know Swedish either.  Frida and Per (first Swedish friends) helped me figure things out that first week in Sweden.

I was talking last night to a good friend from Canada and the University of Saskatchewan , Kara, and we were talking about this theme of home sickness and students abroad.  We both agreed that it did not really affect either of us and this is because of the ability to use Skype.  It is FREE internet calling (with video) to any other skype account.  The following is the website to download the software and get an account if you want to talk to me:

http://www.skype.com/intl/en/welcomeback/

My username is ddemeree20 if you would like to find me.  

Chris-  you need to get this to talk to me about our plans when you come over to visit!

So this software has made it impossible for computer savvy people to get homesickness.

I will tell you about this past weekend.  It was a long one with late nights and now I am a bit sick because of it.  I have to make sure I get better before my journey to within the artic circle a week from now.

Saturday night- one crazy night.  A friend of mine bought me tickets to a viking themed dinner on campus at one of the student unions-the one for all the veterinarian students.  We had to dress like vikings and I was the worst dressed but I had my horns on and a shield to cover my torso.  The shield actually did not match the theme of the night because it had a cross on it.  The vikings were pagans and not Christians.  I was told this many times throughout the night.  The most common fabric there was burlap.   The dinner had no silverware and a clump of straw tied together was used for napkins.  It was a three-course dinner and when every course was served you had to turn over the slab of wood you were eating on to have a “clean” plate.  This dinner may also be the reason why I am sick now *consume a couple pills of echinacea*.   We then participated in a number of games.  One was to knock your opponent over with a heavy sack as you tried to balance yourself straddling a beam.  I went 5-2 on the night but the next day my inner thighs were quite sore and this is not good when your bicycle gets you places.  We then went on to some dancing.  It may have been viking style but I could not tell a difference from my usual dancing techniques.  The event was down on campus so I decided to ride my bike down there and was planning on riding it bike home when the night was through (a 6.4 km journey- I google mapped it).  I was not planning on the rowdiness of the vikings that night and one of them let the air out of one of my tires.  None of the air compressors work at 2 on a Sunday morning so I had to walk my bike home only it was too cold to walk so I ran my bike.  I can imagine anyone who saw me on this late night must have thought I was one sad case.  I suppose I was.  Halfway through my jog, I came upon a 7-11 gas station and thought that they may have had a compressor I could use for my tire.  With much happiness, I found that they not only had an air compressor; it was free, it was on, and it was in a heated/enclosed box.  And it worked!  At the top of my viking lungs (and in full uniform) I yelled, “Oh Thank Heaven for Seven Eleven!”  It was a good thing I had my Christ-shield on.  Got home and fell asleep at 4.30am.

Sunday- Not as action packed on the European side of the Atlantic.  It was superbowl sunday and I was able to bring along some international friends to enjoy my national holiday.  To watch the game, we went to O’leary’s Irish Sports Pub.  O’leary is a guy from Boston who fell in love with this Swedish girl when she was in the states and brought him back to Sweden where he then littered all of northern Europe with his sports pubs.  It was a good atmosphere.  It definitely had a American feel except that everything was in Swedish.  We rooted for the saints as did everyone in the place.  They are good sports fans in Sweden and rooted for the underdog team.  We were not able to watch the commercials however.  During the breaks, the coverage would go to a team of Swedish sports commentators that seemed to be analyzing what was going on in the game.  I did not understand them but I would have been interesting to see what they were saying about a sport that they are not that familiar with.  It was a good/fun night but again did not get to sleep until 4.30am and had a class at 8 am.  We watched it live and the game started at 12.30 am over here.  Go Saints.  

Gotta go to a dinner date so see ya! 1000 words!

Glad to get this post in before I get to bed for a good start to a new week.  Just got done discussing plans to go to northern Sweden with a group of friends.  While up there, we are going dog sledding, checking out the ice hotel, and hopefully will see some northern lights.  Should be fun.

These week has been a good one.  I can say that with confidence because of the speed at which it has passed for me.   I hope my stay here will not pass too quickly.

Classes are going rather smoothly and I am enjoying the relaxed nature of them.  The very small classes lead to interesting discussions from perspectives around the world.  I am in a group of three students to complete a term project and the group represents three different continents.  A guy from Chile, a girl from France, and yours truly from the great continent of North America.  It is really cool and it is fascinating to be in a class where practically every student has a different perspective from being from a different part of the world.  This makes studying abroad worth while in itself.  However, one major hardship I have to endure is the weather and because I bike two miles to class everyday, it makes it especially hard.  One day this past week, there was a snow storm during the day and my bike ride home took more than an hour in blizzard like conditions.  I could not bike most of it and therefore walked my bike a lot.  “When in Sweden” I guess.

On Tuesday, a group of ten of us went down to Stockholm for a day and it was a lot of fun but very cold.  It was very interesting to walk around Gamla Stan “Old Town” (the oldest part of Stockholm) and see these buildings that are truly old (some as old as the 13th century).  I guess have no concept of old buildings in the states because we are relatively new country *Europeans laugh*.   It is a really cool city to see.

This weekend I spent some time doing some outside activities and testing my bodies’ ability to keep me warm.   It has been especially cold lately- like -15  Celsius.  On Saturday, I went out with bicycle gang to north of Uppsala where lay Gamla Uppsala (old Uppsala), the original settlement of Uppsala.  Really neat up there.  We saw the massive burial mounds of the vikings- like 50 feet tall and 50 feet wide.  The kids were sledding down them.  My camera died so I was not able to take photos but I am sure I will be back.  It is only about 2-3 miles north of the city center but it feels like a lot more when your thinking that you could use your toes to cool down your drink (not suggested).

Earlier today (Sunday) we went out south of town by bus to a place where you could rent ski and skate equipment for some winter activities.  We rented some skates and went out on the ice over a lake.  It is quite popular to skate on frozen lakes and they have 80k races in this fashion.  The blades are longer and I suppose it is easier to skate with these skates but I am still quite the beginner-fell only once though!  Made sure that the landing of the fall wasn’t so harsh that I would break through the ice; it is my own technique.

Peace from the other side (of the Atlantic Ocean).

A lot has happened since my last post.  Let me try to do a quick recap of my experiences over the past week.

I had my first experience in a sauna and it was intense.  I was in a finnish sauna so the temp got up to about 90 degrees celsius!  If you breathed in through your nose it would feel like your nose hairs were singeing.  I did it naked because thats how you do and I also rolled around in the snow naked because that is also how you do.  Quite the experience.

I got to see the SLU campus and have my first week of classes under the belt.  The campus is small and feels especially small for me because I am used to being far above Cayuga’s waters.  Being here allows me to appreciate what Cornell has to offer even more.   Its not to say the campus is bad or anything.  It has a cozy feel because of the smaller size and a lot of the buildings have more of a rustic look to them.  The campus is growing as well.  I would say a quarter of campus is under construction and they will have three new, sizable buildings by 2011.  The classes are very laid back.  I am taking two courses now and they both have about ten people in them.  I think that the courses are easier here because they are taught in english and english is not the native language to most people in the class so the intensity of the subject matter does not match Cornell’s.  We will have to do a project in both courses and the grade we get from that will be the majority of the grade we get for the course.   I am enjoying the classes and I really like being in a classroom of people from around the world.  It is really neat.

I got my room and it is awesome.  I am very happy with it.  I have my own bathroom!  It is new to me to have to keep up with a bathroom.  I had to go out and buy tp and soap.  These new expenses are definitely worth have a bathroom to myself directly connected to my room.  I have no meal plan and going out to eat every time I need to eat is far too expensive so I have started to cook for myself.  Although I have never really done this myself, I feel that I am a natural at it.  Cooking for yourself is really enjoyable and satisfying.  By the time I am out of here I hope to learn some nice swedish dishes to take home.

The group of international students are really fun.  For the most part, the group is from Europe but there is also a Kiwi and a couple Canadian girls.  The four of us that came from Cornell this semester I believe are the only ones from the States at SLU.   There are about 30 students in the international group.  France, Austria, and Germany are all well represented in the group and there are also some from Italy, Holland, Portugal, and others as well.  It is great to be apart of such a diverse group.  We have gone out together at night and it has been a blast time spend time with the group.

I went out to IKEA today to try spruce up my room a bit and it was pretty cool.  I am not sure if we have IKEA furniture stores in the States but I know we have the brand name in furnishing.  In Sweden, it is the place to go if you want to get furniture or anything of the sort.  The place is huge and sits out in the country a bit where they have space for bigger stores.  The store is set up to promote the customer walk the whole store to check out; passing by all they have to offer.  The store starts with a cafeteria style restaurant to let the customer sit and eat before they start shopping and at the same time check out deals they have to offer in the store.  The IKEA was quite a nice and interesting experience but I do not want to spend to much more on my room since I will be leaving it in 5 months.

Everything cost more here which I here is different from the rest of Europe.  I have a grocery store located but 20 meters from the building I am living in (really convenient).  You usually will not see an item for less than approximately $2.  The grocery sort of jacks up it prices because of its proximity to all the college students without any personal vehicles.  I feel that the convenience of the shop is worth the slightly higher prices.   Everything, not just food, seems to cost more here than it would back home.

I have class tomorrow morning at 8:15 so I am thinking I will head to sleep soon because it will mean that I will have to leave my room by like 7:40 to bike down there.  It takes me about 20-30 minutes to get down there.  It seems like I am not going down the easiest way but it is hard to find you way around when everything is white and all the signs are in a foreign language.  The other morning I headed out of Uppsala west (as opposed to south for SLU) and I took about 20 min bike ride out of my way.  Quite annoying but I still enjoy biking very much.  It will be even better when it gets warmer.  Tomorrow will be the earliest class I have had since high school.

Signing out from Sweden

Hey all,

I am getting back to you after my first night with the swedes.  It was a blast.  From the SLU campus (about a mile south of Uppsala) we rode into town on our bicycles.  America should really adopt such a love for riding bikes as Sweden does- a whole lotta fun.  We went to a pub that is sponsored by the student union so there were mostly just students there.  This was really my first experience at a bar at all since I am illegal in the states.  It was a great time.  I do not want to disclose everything that happened last night because it may get me into trouble (one way or another).

The people at the bar I met were really open with me and interested to talk to me because I am American.  It is a lot of fun being a foreigner and representing another place.

My head really hurts so I am not going to right too much more but I am enjoying myself here more and more everyday.  On Monday, I will be getting my room and meeting some soon to be friends.