...was a blast!
I was afraid it was going to be too crowded in our little korridor kök, but only about 14 people came, which made it perfect! We played a lot of flippy cup, a few games of beer pong, and thought about playing quarters (with authentic American quarters, whoa!) but never got around to it. Everyone has been telling me how great it was, for a Monday night. I learned a few things.
Spilling beer is a sign that people are having fun.
Portuguese men are competitive to the point of cheating(Franciscooooo....)
I should not be afraid to speak Spanish even if it completely sucks.
Birthday presents are good (Thanks Sascha!)
And if you think you bought enough beer, go back and buy that much again, cause it is never enough...
haha. Just kidding on that last one, but I thought I would have some left at the end of the night and I totally didn't. I forgot how much flip cup makes you go through, I guess. I also encouraged everyone to come to the states for the Indy 500. Just to show them American drinking spirit...and probably terrify them. Haha.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Ireland!
Ireland was incredible. I really want to go back and see more of the countryside and do more touristy things, but being a part of the whole environment was so great. The Irish people are very very different from Swedes. The Swedes have this idea that if people need help they will ask, or if they want to tell you about themselves, they will tell you. The Swedes are very good listeners once a conversation is started, but they probably won't offer help if you're standing in the middle of town holding out a map. They'll assume you have it figured out and will ask if you need to. The Irish on the other hand, have no boundaries. Everyone will ask about the scratch on your forehead or where you're from and what you're doing here and they genuinely want to know. You can become good friends with an Irish person in a night. They will get your information and contact you again, even just to say hello...but almost always they have talked long enough to find something in common with you and a need to bring it up later.
I got to the airport Thursday around 6pm, and Casey's friend Damian didn't get off work until 7, and Cole's flight wasn't in until 9pm. So, I sat around and read and ate the Bagel Factory --- OMG SO GOOD. I'm going to attempt to make an eggworks sandwich soon --- and waited for Casey and Damo. I went to the pub in the airport and got a Guinness (cliche, but delicious), and then Casey and Damo were there! We sat around and talked and I was already having a magnificent time, and then Cole got there which made it all even better! We went back to Damian's house where Megan and Melinda were (also SMC girls) and we got cleaned up, pre-gamed and went out to the Roost in Maynooth. It was a Halloween party so a lot of people were dressed up. One girl was even H1N1. I can't say that I remember this in the first person, but I'm told I met these guys that were amazed it was my first night in Ireland and kept buying me drinks. Ireland has Bulmer's, which is delicious yummy cider. The rest of the night is either a blur or completely gone. I woke up in bed with Meg and Mel, though, so the night turned out alright.
Friday we went into Maynooth again and ate at the Bagel Factory for breakfast (again it was delicious) and walked around the town and campus. The church there is really neat and the grass really is greener in Ireland. I don't know how or why, but it is. Then we caught the train to Dublin and checked into our hotel room. Damian works at a hotel, so he got a really good deal on this AWESOME apartment-hotel room. We were right on the Liffey and on the fifth or sixth floor. It was incredible. We hung out there for a while to try to recover a bit more and take in the amazing view. The rest of the day went something like this--Karl, Stephen, and Gavin were around here and there, we bought frozen pizzas and ate them. We drank some disgusting 6 euro wine and went to a place called the Porter House Brewery. There was a guitar man playing there who was pretty awesome. He played covers from all the good songs that you want to hear. It was weird hearing songs I actually knew. Needless to say, the rest of the night was just amazing. It was so great to be hanging out with old friends and new friends and just...being alive. We stayed up until 5 am...but every minute was worth it. We moved one of the couches so it sat right up next to the window-wall and just talked and looked out at the river for hours.
Saturday we got up and had the most AMAZING breakfast at the hotel. It was really amazing just because we were so hungry, I think. Scrambled eggs, Irish sausage, toast, fruit, and coffee. I did try a white pudding and a black pudding --which is no dessert. It's basically oatmeal and, as Damo put it, "pig bits" all kind of wadded together. The black pudding contains pig's blood, too. It was completely edible, but not very good or flavorful when you get right down to it.
We thought about going to the Jameson factory, but after staying up that long, I don't think anyone (except Cole) was really in the mood to walk that far and then drink whiskey. So we walked along Grafton street, which is a pedestrian street that has a ton of shopping and street performers -- musicians and statue-men. And these street performers are crazy-good. Like, insanely. I could have stayed and watched the string quartet for probably an hour or more. But we made our way to the end and laid around in St. Stephen's Green the rest of the day until we caught the train to Clonsilla, where Stephen lives. His mother made us the best dinner and it was so nice being in a home and having home cooked food that isn't made to feed just one. And they have a 4 month old golden lab named Lucy who was freaking adorable.
Then we went back to Maynooth to someone's else place...Sean's I think. And watched some X-factor before going back to Damo's to drop off our stuff and change and shower. We were planning on going to Mantra, which is a new club in Maynooth, but apparently it's pretty upscale. As in, they didn't let John in with vans on. So we went to another bar/pub called Brady's, which was pleasantly not packed, due to Mantra, for the most part. After having an absolute ball and getting thrown around by this guy in a South Carolina shirt, we went to Supermacs and I got my first curry chips (fries). Absolutely delicious. American's are too narrow-minded about fries. Branch out from ketchup!!! It's so worth it!
So it was absolutely wonderful, the next morning we all went to the airport, except Cole, who stayed til Monday, and flew to our respective homes. It made me really sad that Casey and Meg and Mel were all going to the States. But I don't know if it was like a jealous sadness or if I will be sad to leave when I go home. Time will tell.
Me, Cole, Damian and Sean Thursday night at the Roost
The Church on NUI-Maynooth's campus
View of the River Liffey and mountains in the background from our hotel in Dublin.
I got to the airport Thursday around 6pm, and Casey's friend Damian didn't get off work until 7, and Cole's flight wasn't in until 9pm. So, I sat around and read and ate the Bagel Factory --- OMG SO GOOD. I'm going to attempt to make an eggworks sandwich soon --- and waited for Casey and Damo. I went to the pub in the airport and got a Guinness (cliche, but delicious), and then Casey and Damo were there! We sat around and talked and I was already having a magnificent time, and then Cole got there which made it all even better! We went back to Damian's house where Megan and Melinda were (also SMC girls) and we got cleaned up, pre-gamed and went out to the Roost in Maynooth. It was a Halloween party so a lot of people were dressed up. One girl was even H1N1. I can't say that I remember this in the first person, but I'm told I met these guys that were amazed it was my first night in Ireland and kept buying me drinks. Ireland has Bulmer's, which is delicious yummy cider. The rest of the night is either a blur or completely gone. I woke up in bed with Meg and Mel, though, so the night turned out alright.
Friday we went into Maynooth again and ate at the Bagel Factory for breakfast (again it was delicious) and walked around the town and campus. The church there is really neat and the grass really is greener in Ireland. I don't know how or why, but it is. Then we caught the train to Dublin and checked into our hotel room. Damian works at a hotel, so he got a really good deal on this AWESOME apartment-hotel room. We were right on the Liffey and on the fifth or sixth floor. It was incredible. We hung out there for a while to try to recover a bit more and take in the amazing view. The rest of the day went something like this--Karl, Stephen, and Gavin were around here and there, we bought frozen pizzas and ate them. We drank some disgusting 6 euro wine and went to a place called the Porter House Brewery. There was a guitar man playing there who was pretty awesome. He played covers from all the good songs that you want to hear. It was weird hearing songs I actually knew. Needless to say, the rest of the night was just amazing. It was so great to be hanging out with old friends and new friends and just...being alive. We stayed up until 5 am...but every minute was worth it. We moved one of the couches so it sat right up next to the window-wall and just talked and looked out at the river for hours.
Saturday we got up and had the most AMAZING breakfast at the hotel. It was really amazing just because we were so hungry, I think. Scrambled eggs, Irish sausage, toast, fruit, and coffee. I did try a white pudding and a black pudding --which is no dessert. It's basically oatmeal and, as Damo put it, "pig bits" all kind of wadded together. The black pudding contains pig's blood, too. It was completely edible, but not very good or flavorful when you get right down to it.
We thought about going to the Jameson factory, but after staying up that long, I don't think anyone (except Cole) was really in the mood to walk that far and then drink whiskey. So we walked along Grafton street, which is a pedestrian street that has a ton of shopping and street performers -- musicians and statue-men. And these street performers are crazy-good. Like, insanely. I could have stayed and watched the string quartet for probably an hour or more. But we made our way to the end and laid around in St. Stephen's Green the rest of the day until we caught the train to Clonsilla, where Stephen lives. His mother made us the best dinner and it was so nice being in a home and having home cooked food that isn't made to feed just one. And they have a 4 month old golden lab named Lucy who was freaking adorable.
Then we went back to Maynooth to someone's else place...Sean's I think. And watched some X-factor before going back to Damo's to drop off our stuff and change and shower. We were planning on going to Mantra, which is a new club in Maynooth, but apparently it's pretty upscale. As in, they didn't let John in with vans on. So we went to another bar/pub called Brady's, which was pleasantly not packed, due to Mantra, for the most part. After having an absolute ball and getting thrown around by this guy in a South Carolina shirt, we went to Supermacs and I got my first curry chips (fries). Absolutely delicious. American's are too narrow-minded about fries. Branch out from ketchup!!! It's so worth it!
So it was absolutely wonderful, the next morning we all went to the airport, except Cole, who stayed til Monday, and flew to our respective homes. It made me really sad that Casey and Meg and Mel were all going to the States. But I don't know if it was like a jealous sadness or if I will be sad to leave when I go home. Time will tell.
Me, Cole, Damian and Sean Thursday night at the Roost
The Church on NUI-Maynooth's campus
View of the River Liffey and mountains in the background from our hotel in Dublin.
Monday, October 12, 2009
In the cold and dark...
Sorry it's been so long. Nothing really exciting has happened, so I've put off blogging about it. My Biostatistics class is pretty labor-intensive. We have three homeworks and 4 computer labs and a computer project. I know that may not sound like a lot, but keep in mind that this course is only 4 weeks long. It's SO much material for that amount of time. I'm afraid of the exam, but so far I think we(my partner Jochen and I) have gotten all the points on the hw and labs. So that'll help. I only have to get 50% to pass, 85% is more than satisfactory, but it doesn't matter because I only get transfer credit anyway. So, I hate being the underachiever, but I only need to pass.
Sarah Dews and I went to Sarah Moyneur's birthday party on Friday. After some shuffling of locations, we ended up at Sparta, where we met an absolutely completely drunk 27 year old (28 this month) Swede named Erik Johanssen. That's like the most Swedish name you can have. On top of that, he could barely stand, let alone speak proper English. Every time he couldn't think of a word, he just growl/roared instead. We then went on to call him Fun Time Erik, or FTE, for short, for the rest of the night, which didn't last very long. The party was good, but it had come about in such a round about way, I was exhausted by the time everyone was getting into it and Sarah Dews and I went home.
I have new boots! I got them when Kara was here, but I'd like to note how awesome they are. Boots and tights are like the Swedish girl's uniform. And I love it. Kristen Krueger, tights can be worn as pants, and under dresses, tunics, or skirts. And it's good and warm and cute.
This weekend, I'm going to do SOMETHING. I don't care whether it's by myself or someone comes along, I just don't want to party in Lund and grocery shop and clean my room for another weekend. So my plan is to go to Copenhagen or Gothenburg, or both, for that matter. Gothenburg is like two hours away by train, but it's Sweden's second largest city and seems cool. But of course I also want to do Copenhagen, too.
And then, I leave for Ireland the week after that! My first big trip! And after I get back, I take an exam, turn in a film essay, send my Russian visa application off to the Finnish travel agency, and then I'm free! Monika and I are going to Stockholm for Halloween weekend, and the weekend after that I'm going to Prague to see Kara. And the next weekend is free, but I am going to book a flight to Krakow in the next couple days so I can do the Poland thing. Then RUSSIA for a week. And after that, class starts again :-( but Christmas break is in the middle there somewhere and I still want to go to Berlin and Amsterdam and Brussels. It'll be awesome.
Sarah Dews and I went to Sarah Moyneur's birthday party on Friday. After some shuffling of locations, we ended up at Sparta, where we met an absolutely completely drunk 27 year old (28 this month) Swede named Erik Johanssen. That's like the most Swedish name you can have. On top of that, he could barely stand, let alone speak proper English. Every time he couldn't think of a word, he just growl/roared instead. We then went on to call him Fun Time Erik, or FTE, for short, for the rest of the night, which didn't last very long. The party was good, but it had come about in such a round about way, I was exhausted by the time everyone was getting into it and Sarah Dews and I went home.
I have new boots! I got them when Kara was here, but I'd like to note how awesome they are. Boots and tights are like the Swedish girl's uniform. And I love it. Kristen Krueger, tights can be worn as pants, and under dresses, tunics, or skirts. And it's good and warm and cute.
This weekend, I'm going to do SOMETHING. I don't care whether it's by myself or someone comes along, I just don't want to party in Lund and grocery shop and clean my room for another weekend. So my plan is to go to Copenhagen or Gothenburg, or both, for that matter. Gothenburg is like two hours away by train, but it's Sweden's second largest city and seems cool. But of course I also want to do Copenhagen, too.
And then, I leave for Ireland the week after that! My first big trip! And after I get back, I take an exam, turn in a film essay, send my Russian visa application off to the Finnish travel agency, and then I'm free! Monika and I are going to Stockholm for Halloween weekend, and the weekend after that I'm going to Prague to see Kara. And the next weekend is free, but I am going to book a flight to Krakow in the next couple days so I can do the Poland thing. Then RUSSIA for a week. And after that, class starts again :-( but Christmas break is in the middle there somewhere and I still want to go to Berlin and Amsterdam and Brussels. It'll be awesome.
Friday, October 2, 2009
I am bad at clever blog titles.
First things first, Daisy came today (and Tom's letter)! So I'm listening to it right now. I bleed Brand New. They are inside my soul somehow. It's crazy. I know.
The rest of Kara's stay was really fun, it was just unfortunate that she came
a.) the few days before my exam
b.) from Sunday to Wednesday, instead of the fun part of the week. Which is Wednesday - Saturday.
We walked around Lund on Monday and shopped and checked a bunch of stuff out. The Domkyrkan really is way awesome. I bought some boots! They are short and black and I love them. Having Kara ride around on the back of my bike was an interesting experience. All the Swedes make it look really easy, but it's no small feat to have two people balancing at the same time, but we did it.
Also, my mom's package came this week and I had to bike all the way to Nöbbelövsvägen...through the suburban area of Lund and also there was a potato field and horse pasture and a cool park, in which I discovered the BEST sledding hill. So if it even does snow and stay for a while, I'm going to figure out a way to make that happen. But anyway, I eventually got my package so I could upload pictures finally. You can see all of them on facebook...162 so far and I took more last night.
My first exam for Sequence Analysis was on Wednesday morning. I'm pretty sure I passed, or I'm close. But if I failed, I get another chance to pass, so all is well. After my exam, I came home to sleep a little to make up for my late night of studying and then went to meet Sarah D. at Matteannexet (Math annex bldg) to buy tickets for the Sea Battle. The Sea Battle is put on by ESN (Erasmus Student Network) for students on exchange in Estonia, Finland, and Sweden. It's an overnight cruise from Stockholm to Tallinn and then back. The tickets include food and drinks (except hard liquor) for 1000 kr...which is less than $200. Tickets were going on sale at 4pm, so to be 'safe', we got there at klocka 15.30 (as they say in Swedish). Well, turns out there were people waiting since like 10 am and Lund only has 124 tickets available. So we didn't even wait and gave up. So not worth six hours of waiting. Then I went on the big journey of picking up my package. I saw the cutest tiger-tuxedo cat along the way. I wanted to take her home. She looked mischievous. Then, my class planned to go the sports pub at Hallands nation at 7pm. It was fun, and a bunch of the Germans(Lisa, Jonas, Andy and Markus(they count as one), Bianka, and Antonia) and Simon and Camilla were there as well planning their weekend trip to Stockholm. I really wanted to join, but my Biostatistics class has homework due on Monday and they weren't coming back till Monday night. Oh well, some other time. Simon and Jonas went to VGs after, and I thought about it, but decided against spending the 50 kr cover.
Last night I went to Sarah M.'s corridor and then we went to ÖGs club. It was not crowded at all, but there were a lot of fun people there, and it was a great time. Completely worth the 50 kr that night. And today, I've been in class and need to make a run to the Systembolaget before it closes at 6...stupid government controlled alcohol sales. I'm going to Monika's flat to pre-party and then, this is the time that Sarah D., Monika and I will ACTUALLY get in to Hallands club...lol. I hope.
I'm trying to think if there is anything else...does anyone have any specific questions? LOL. Here are some pictures...
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