We showed up bright and early for orientation on Wednesday morning. We hopped on the 40 bus as it drops us off about half a kilometer from school. However, at the first stop, the driver said a bunch of things in Swedish and everybody got off. This prompted one of the Swedish students, who saw that we were completely confused, to tell us "you guys gotta get off." Not sure why, but it worked out as we hopped on the subway which drops us off right at school.
First thing we did was meet everybody and get a quick overview of the program. The UVA kids went with "I am (name), and I go to the Darden School"....loved it. The ladies that are in charge of us while we are over here, Viktoria and Mimmi, are what you might expect from Swedish ladies that work at a university.....easy to have a crush on. Joe and I have decided that they could be anywhere from 28 to 40 and we would not be surprised. It is extremely difficult to guess how old the local women are, they age very well. I think the cold weather causes your cells to move slower and therefore you age slower. We then got to meet the cabinet for the SSE Student Association. Let's just say that being on the student association board and being a dork is not a USA thing, it seems to be a global trend. The sports guy made the following two statements:
1) They had just won the indoor rowing championship in Barcelona (I play real sports. I'm not trying to be the best at working out)
2) They also played in the basketball championships and averaged 1.3 points. This leads me and Joe to believe that we might be able to be superstars on the SSE intramural BBall team. We are going to introduce the pick and roll Stockton/Malone style. Ja
Our catered lunch was Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes. After lunch, we had a nice 90 minute break to explore a bit. As we walked out the front door of the school, my instincts told me to turn right. Unconsciously, I walked into a bar called Dovans and asked for a nice cold beer. In return, he asked for 30 SEK ($4 and change). I thought this was very reasonable, so I paid him that amount. (everything is built into prices. tax and tip) I later learn from Gustav that Joe and I have found the absolute cheapest place to buy a beer in all of Stockholm. He is very confused as to how we found that having been in Sweden less than 24 hours.....it is innate, I truly can't explain it. And yes, $4 for a pint is as good as it gets. There is no Ham's franchise over here. I know understand why Gustav continuously called Chapel Hill the greatest place on earth.
After we are done at school, we meet up with Gustav for a drink at Dovan's. This place is pretty awesome if you like cheap swedish beer, soccer, and bartenders with face tattoos. Something tells me that if we are to get the group to come out as a whole, we will have to venture places without face tattoed employees. Gustav is in his work clothes (suit) and is clearly out of place. He calls this the "umemployed bar." No wonder Joe and I love it. Apparently there is a better bar closer to school that is a college bar with 35 SEK pints and no face tattoos. Investigation to follow. We then head to dinner with Gustav.
On the way to dinner, Gustav complains multiple times about how cold it is. Granted he is wearing thin suit pants, but it is nice to hear that people who live here think it is cold as shit. Because it is. This leads Joe and I to discuss those in the US that live in cold states. The following dialogue ensues while riding the bus home:
Joe: "It is a relief to know that locals think it is cold here as well"
Drew: "Yeah, so different than in the US when you get retards that claim they are from cold weather, so they are immune and then proceed to wear shorts in 0 degree weather"
Joe: "Yeah, I mean I am from Atlanta, but it doesn't mean that when it is 100 degree outside, I throw on long pants and a sweater because I am used to the heat"
Once again, Joe puts it better than I can. Thus ends day two. The bed remains very small, but at least now I have sheets and a comforter. And I am pretty close to a normal sleep schedule. I think I will be completely unjetlagged by tomorrow. 10 oclock start.
Lessons Learnt So Far:
First off, it is very odd being in a country where you understand absolutely 0% of the language. All of the signs are of course in Swedish, so you have to make some educated guessed based on the pictures on said signs. This is easy sometimes, but many times it is very confusing. As I found out
"Risk for Snoras, Istappar" means "watch out for falling icicles." Many Swedes have apparently died from walking too close to building in the winter time and taking a stalag(notso)tite to the top of the skull. The language is also very reliant on sounds and accents that I just don't have. However, we had our first Swedish language lesson this evening, so I will slowly learn. Another lesson that we have learned, things are very expensive in Sweden. Everything costs about 20-30% more than it would in the United States. Luckily, this is less of a shock to those of us on the dollar, since it is strong right now. Many of the other exchange students are very pinched depending on what currency they are using. There are 10 kids from the US (UVA, Chicago, Minnesota, and UNC) 14 from Canada, and then a mix from Europe and Down South.
Also, a "short break" in Sweden is about 20 minutes. Our built in breaks between sessions are like 60 minutes long. I am starting to get the idea that Swedes take their breaks very seriously.
Surely more lessons to come. I am a blank slate
Drew In Sweden
No comments:
Post a Comment