Photographers in action

Sam's photo of me and Josh taking pictures of Stockholm's waterfront. Her cold and shaky hands gave this photo a unique, artistic feel!

Stockholm's Sights on a Sunday

On Sunday, me and 5 other newbies from Ekeby traveled to Stockholm for the day. The weather was great and we all had a wonderful time! Here are some photos...

Sideview of a church in Stockholm

The park and cemetary of the same church

The Ekeby newbies! Nefeli, me, Josh, Sam, Johanna, and George

A massive dala horse

An alleyway in the old town with a very modern sign

Drummer boys Infart = entrance

Graffiti in the old town

The most expensive hotel in Stockholm

View of Stockholm's waterfront

Sunset on the water

Sunset and a view of one of Stockholm's islands

Sunset and a boat

Stockholm's castle

The water and lights

I also loaded a counter onto the site to see how many people are actually reading my blog! So, if you're reading silently and lurking in the shadows, leave me a comment and say hi!

Fun things to do in Uppsala

1. Pose in front of slut signs

2. Play cricket in the hallway with frying pans and tennis balls

3. Climb huge piles of snow

4. Make snow midgets and give them kisses

(note: "kiss" means pee in Swedish)

5. Throw chunks of snow at people on the balcony

6. Lick homemade cream off of mixing blades

7. Make semlas with love

8. Learn how to create music with bottles

9. Perform a unique rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" with bottles as instruments and a singer from Finland who only knows the Swedish version

A walk through Uppsala in photos

A photographic walk from the center of town to Ekeby

Cross the bridge to the other side of the river...

Walk through the arch...

Pass by the Cathedral...

Cross the street... watch out for people carrying man purses and kitties crossing!

Make your way through the graveyard...

Leave the graveyard... notice the beginning of the sunset.

Walk through a little neighborhood...

And finally, you're on the road to home.

What I've learned so far, Uppsala at night, and long walks in the snow

Though my classes don't start until Wednesday, I learned a few important things during my first week in Uppsala:


1) Systembolaget - state-run liquor store and the only place to buy alcohol over 3.5% in Sweden... and its a very entertaining word to say


2) Malakas - Greek for asshole... also fun to say, it rhymes with maracas!


3) The word "slut" does not mean slut but "final." For example, a slut rea is the final sale


4) Avoid the crazy Swedish woman who follows me from store to store and speaks incomprehensible Swedish while wildly shaking her hands for no apparent reason



Now, a few pics of Uppsala at night... perhaps not as entertaining as run-ins with crazy ladies, but noteworthy nonetheless!

A shot of the Cathedral of Uppsala's rose window

A shot of a street in the center of town

Aside from expanding my vocabulary, me and some of the people I live with went for a 2.5 hour walk through the snow and forest. My butt and hands felt frozen for more than an hour after we returned home, but the scenery was beautiful.

Claire (France), Josh (Australia), Nefeli (in back, Greece), Me, and Anne (France) on our walk

A view of some buildings and lots of snow

The sunset... which sets around 4pm!

Exploring Uppsala and celebrating new friends!

The past few days in Uppsala have been great! I've been exploring, having fikas, shopping, meeting great new people, learning to convert fahrenheit to celsius, navigating on the ice-filled sidewalks, and trying to stay warm!



I have an awesome view of the center of town and the Cathedral of Uppsala from my bedroom window! Its about a 15 minute walk from the apartment to the center of town.

The view from my room on a clear day...

and on a snowy day!

It's pretty cold here - around 10 or 15 degrees Fahrenheit every day. And, unlike Texas, Swedes are expected to trudge through the ice and... but I'm managing well and haven't slipped and fallen yet!

Me and Josh (from Australia) posing in front of Uppsala's cathedral

I live with a bunch of international students from all over the world - Greece, Prague, Australia, Lithuania, Ireland, Japan, France, Spain... It's really cool to meet so many people from such diverse backgrounds. We had our first party a few nights ago to celebrate 3 birthdays. It was a great party - lots of food, people, and learning to say "Cheers!" in different languages. But, I still missed the pina coladas and margaritas that characterized parties in Austin!

Me and Nefeli (from Greece) in the kitchen

A bunch of people from the Ekeby international crew... Josh is one lucky guy!

Me and George (or Juraj, from Prague/Slovakia)

Jester, eat your heart out!

A few photos of my new casa!


The exterior of Ekeby - I live on the fourth floor

The kitchen and common room are shared by 12 international students. We have 4 fridges, 4 freezers, 2 stoves, 2 double sinks, lots of food, and lots of trash! Surprisingly, it's kept in good shape. And, its filled with tons of Ikea stuff!

A view of the corridor and my door... each corridor has 6 rooms

Enter my door...

Through the hallway and past the bathroom and closet...

The right side of my room...

And the left!


It's very nice and much bigger than my previous college dorm/apartment. And, I have great neighbors!




PS. Does anyone know why you can click on some of the photos to enlarge but not others??