Välkommen!

Hej everyone! Welcome to my blog. I will try to keep you updated on my travels in northern Europe as much as possible over the next few months via this webpage. And, for those of you learning Swedish, this will also be an opportunity for you to read some of my entries in svenska också.


So, anyway, it is Thursday and I am in Växjö, Sweden now. I am doing quite well! I haven't had access to Internet all week, because the airport charges for it and my host family only seems to have one line, connected to the only phone, and accessible only through my host dad Gunnar's laptop. I am having such a wonderful time here though, with only a few awkward moments thus far. Here is the day-to-day report:

Sunday
O'Hare Airport was a nightmare. It was as hot as a sauna, a mess to locate my terminal, no one at all spoke English or Swedish, and all the restaurants were located on the other side of security (something that I did not learn until I had already stripped off all my jewelery, coats, bags, shoes, laptop, scarf, toiletries - oh yes, and my satchel of important documents). I had to go through security all over again after supper, and I didn't even get to bring my bottle of water through. It's a good thing I had a 4 hour layover.
There were a lot of people waiting for the flight to Mumbai; I thought that was interesting. They clogged two waiting areas.

Monday
I arrived in Copenhagen! The airport looks so much like IKEA, with aisles and arrows and walkways. The other passengers and I must have looked like cattle being ushered through shutes, but at least it was easy to follow. My luggage was delivered right away, and the train station was so close inside the airport that I wasn't sure at first if it was the right place. Getting the ticket was very easy, $40, and they even let me pay in US dollars.
The train and the pay phone, however, were not so easy to understand. So many trains came and left in the hour that I waited, I was sure that I had missed mine. Ironically, it would have been hard to miss, since "till Växjö" was in bright orange letters on the side of it.
...

Ok, this may have to be it for me. I am so thirsty sitting here in the library and have a terrible headache, so it is time to ride my bike back home. I will continue writing another day. (Although perhaps not tomorrow, because I think I have Orientation then.) Just a few last notes:

Observations
1) Bathroom doors are always kept closed! You must look for the little red or white dot to know if someone is inside. (Which means that you must also LOCK the door if you are using the bathroom.)
2) Of the 12 channels on TV, 7 are almost always playing American shows (including America's Next Top Model reruns, Rihanna/MTV, or Days of Our Lives - haha, no wonder their views of American pop culture are so negative!).
3) No one says "bless you" when someone sneezes, a habit that I truly miss about Minnesota.