What can I say about my week in Berlin? Lordsy. I don’t even know where to start. Phrases like “life changing” keep popping into my mind and I know that I’ll only tell how life changing it was when the life sort of continues a bit… but I do feel comfortable telling everyone that they MUST visit Berlin at some point. Must. And bring me with you. And if you want the ultimate Berlin experience, bring along everyone from Uppsala University Informatics and Media Course from 2011-2012. That’s all I’m sayin’.
Berlin fascinated me every day, not only because it’s a huge, gritty, beautiful city, but because it is scattered with such relevant and sobering history. You could be out having a great time with your friends and an obscure hole-in-the-wall restaurant and suddenly notice that you just crossed the line where the Berlin Wall used to stand. Remembering that only 20 years ago that that possibility to just step from east to west was impossible is a constant reminder of how all people are simply born on either the right side or the wrong side (I feel overwhelmingly fortunate to be born where I was…). I’ve never been in such a blatantly bittersweet city. I imagine that when (when!!) I travel around eastern europe, that I will remember this emotion from a city, but this was the first that I have encountered it so forcefully. It is as if Germany is determined to educate their people and visitors about our past mistakes as human beings and to remember the devastating consequences. There are areas in (mostly east) Berlin where there is always construction going on… not because they’re renovating or building something new but because they are STILL rebuilding from WW2. The DDR in the east didn’t put as much effort into rebuilding as the allies did, so today we are still seeing the effects. Parts of the wall still remain, holes punched through and graffiti scraped off. I can’t imagine how it felt to be the first wave of people that could step over the boarder freely. Our professor who came along with us, Peder Hard auf Strafsgård (he always apologies to us about his name… he told me on the trip that it dates back to the medieval ages!) was actually there in Berlin the day that the wall came down. He had so many stories about when he wanted to travel from west to east and had to wait in line sometimes for hours at checkpoint charlie. He said that Berlin was a dying city, people and companies were leaving, birth rates were going down along with the economy, and that the wall coming down marked a rebirth of the city. Now it seems as if the city is back on it’s feet. It integrates old and new, glued together with the remains of neo classical buildings and giant graffiti murals (and some döner kebab joints in between). One thing that I have missed while in Sweden is being surrounded by art. Yes, Sweden is unbelievably clean and gorgeous, but I love seeing the marks that people leave behind (and you find that in excess in Berlin… I think I have enough art to hold me over till Paris in December :P). Anyway, I can’t say enough good things about Berlin and the people that I got to travel with, and while I’m writing this on my train ride back to Uppsala, I still feel like I’m on a high from being there (or was it the guys smoking weed in the public toilets near our hostel….??).
I arrived in Berlin on Saturday night.. I think we went over this on the last blog? yea? OK. So on Sunday, the boys and I explored the city. We first checked out the Heart of Gold hostel where most of the other people were staying and that served as a meeting point for all the organized tours. While there, we ran into Jack and Katie, so we joined forces and had a look around the city. We visited the Reichstag, but were disappointed to find that you had to make a reservation to climb into the dome, but we got some good pictures. After that we headed back to the hostel where Gio made us shrimp pasta (mm looove having our own kitchen!) and then we hit the town on a pub crawl. It was called the *anti* pub crawl and promised to take us to the most alternative and obscure pubs in Berlin… oh and it did. We started in “yesterday” which was 60’s and 70’s themed and really funky with lots of good music. Then we went to a goth bar which was owned by a member of Rahmstein. Scary but fun. After that was a ping pong bar, where you rent a paddle and play it around-the-world style with other people in the bar. It was so fun! Then we stopped for snacks at a kebab stand, then another funky bar which name slips my mind, and then the club at the end, but we were all so tired and didn’t stay there for too long. It was so so much fun and I met people from the Uk, Australia, more Americans, a Canadian, more Aussies… it was so fun!
The next day was a bus tour of the city which helped give us a feel of where we were. We got out at Brandenburg gate and got some nice pictures. The tour was a few hours, and now that I think about it, I realize that even though every day was so busy, there is so much of Berlin that I didn’t get to see! Oh well I guess I just have to go back. That afternoon, Oscar and I played house at the apartment and cooked and straightened up a bit… that boy is so good to talk to about stuff. That night, we met up with other people on our tour and explored a bit. We found ourselves in this huge warehouse, absolutley covered in grafitti where artists had studios and sold their items. We found a Berlin-er artist that we all fell in love with, who used cutouts to make some of the coolest pieces I’ve seen. Alex Kels and Chaney get to see some of his work soon ;) then we didn’t quite know where to go, so when we saw a group of people all wearing wristbands, we tagged along and found ourselves on another pub crawl (shh don’t tell anyone) and got to slip into a place called “the pub” (haha) where there are taps on each table and you can pour your own beer. AMAZING. and so german. We stayed there for a bit and chatted with other pub crawlers, but had to turn in at a reasonable hour because the next day was an early morning.
And I’m so glad that we did take it easy that night because wednesday was amazing! We got to visit the Dpr which is like the Associated Press in the states. The dpr is an international company with offices all over the world, and journalists in even more places which provides news agencies with world wide news. Our guide walked us through the work that they do there and the different branches of the company. Incredible. I’m going to see if I can find an internship in their english-language branch maybe in Sweden or back home in the US next year. We had a few hours break in which Allison Amy and I went to an H&M and stocked up on cheap clothes for winter. I’d been holding out on shopping for winter things and clothes were much cheaper in Germany, so that was a successful trip, even though my backpack is SO heavy now. After the shopping spree, we got to go to the RBB which is a German public broadcasting company. We had a private tour of the entire premises, which is gigantic, and got a lot of history of the company which was used in WW2. We checked out the news studios along with the radio studios. They have an elevator that has no doors and never stops moving… you have to have a permit to use it and it is the only one in the city. It was so goofy to just see people going up and down. Talk about klämrisk!
After our studio tours that day, Elise, Suzane, Tomomi and I visited the DDR museum which was all about the everyday life in eastern Berlin. It was very interactive and I was suprised how people still strived for individuality. Although there was a specific “eastern” kind of dress, people would sew to make things personal and had DIY type projects to individualize their home (which buildings reminded me a lot of flogsta…). So much of the education and mass media had do with “community building” and “loyalty” which I just call brainwashing. The problem is that it is easy to see that the west side was “good” and east was “bad” making the russians the wrong corrupt ones, however I think the US and the allies are just as much to blame. How could this continue if it was so blatantly wrong? But then again, what makes the US the “police force” in the world. Why did the allies let the two sides of berlin continue the way they did for so long? How did they think it was ok to simply split one city in half, with two completely different idologies? A question I continued to ask myself this whole trip is “who do we think we are?”
The next day, we visited the Museum of Kommunikation. So good! We checked out different forms of communication technology, from their birth to today. People make fun of me and my crappy old nokia, they should check out the first cell phones! Imagine having a huge box strapped to your belt with a phone and chord attached. I’m sure it looked really slick. We discussed the communication and secret coding and hacking used in WW2, early tvs, wire cables, the birth of the internet… you name it. The rest of the day consisted of wandering around the museum after the tour. exploring Alexanderplatz, climbing the giant Berlin Dome, and then returning to “the pub.” After a döner kebab, all of us sharing the hostel were ready to head back, but the others talked us into juuuust one beer… you’ll be in bed by 11! So we were talked into taking the advice of the people that worked at the hostel and go to a place called “the White Trash” which, I promise Mom. was nothing like it sounds and ended up being one of the best nights I’ve ever had! At first, it was so crowed that our group of seven had to split up and we were all sorts of bummed about it. However, there was a cover charge and the atmosphere was really cool (think a more steampunk/hipster/gothic Mekka if it were a bar and had more money to spend on interior decor) and eventually a large table opened up and we could all sit together. We were chatting and enjoying ourselves and thinking about heading home when a french band took the stage who were so good! They were very retro, and one looked JUST like George Harrison and sounded like a super upbeat version of the doors. So we stayed a little longer and listened. Then our waiter asked us if we wanted free beer… we said “of course!” and he said cool… you have to carve a pumpkin and we’ll give you a free beer. score. I would probably pay to carve a pumpkin. So there we were, 7 students from sweden, france and the us, in a bar in berlin, scooping seeds out of pumpkins and listening to a live french band. It was incredible.
The next day was rough and that’s when I knew it was time to head back to Uppsala. We started the day at the Topographie des Terrors, a museum depicting the horrors of the Nazi regime and their rise and fall. The museum presented it in a very cut and dry way and the images and information was really hard to take in all at once. I continued to wonder who do we think we are? what is it about humanity that we must prove superiority? I don’t understand people and don’t suppose I ever will. I was really quiet and touchy the rest of the day. We went to a contemporary art museum with some fantastic pieces, but there were many about Berlin’s history and the disaster in the past. I hate to admit it, but I was feeling really moody, maybe due to the fact that I haven’t had any alone time in a week, plus the disturbing history along with PMS, I decided it be best to have another solo adventure and catch the morning train to Uppsala on Saturday instead of Sunday. The decision was solidified by an email from our professor saying that the first day of class is Monday at 11 and I knew I would need one day between travel and school. So that night, Oscar cooked us dinner (curry chicken, rice and veggies… so so so good), I packed my things and the other people in our group met at our hostel and I got to say goodbye, Anthony tucked me into bed and I rolled over and it was four in the morning and time to grab my train. By some divine intervention, I made it from east berlin to haupbahnhobf (quite a tram ride) with time to buy myself my denmark passage (not covered by my rail pass dummmmb) and barely jump on my 5 am train. Then after the transfer to Hamburg, the ferry to Nyköping, the bus to Copenhagen and I’m finally en route to Stockholm and Uppsala. I met the nicest lady on the bus who has helped me so much. apparently we needed a reservation to get to stockholm and she gave me a hand I ended up with the LAST seat! Good travel karma or something.
Now I have about two hours till I’m “home” in Uppsala and I’m excited to go back to work at Snerikes, go to a hocky game with Öykü and Suzanne and start Media Analysis (ok maybe).
Miss you all! Go to Berlin!
xxxx
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Everything Always Works Out
Grüße aus Deutschland!! Last night after a weekend in Göteborg, two trains, a bus ride and a ferry, my train pulled into Berlin Hbf, finally arriving to my highly anticipated study trip. Ever since I found out that the Communications students were going to visit broadcasting companies in Berlin and London, I've been so excited to go. And now I'm here, sharing a hostel room (with it's own bathroom and kitchen!) with 3 of my homies (actually three of my guy-friends from class... I love them to death but I'm probably going to kill them by the end of this week :P) in East Berlin. Today is a free day for us because we arrived a day before our study trip actually starts so we're planning on walking around the city and getting oriented. So stoked!
Göteborg was incredible. That city is basically the love child of Stockholm and San Francisco. It is very gloomy and overcast, with giant steep hills and tram lines everywhere, and always a short walk to the harbour. The old town is a labyrinth of bakeries and cafes and the city is dotted with monuments and museums. I went with my friends Ryan, Lene and Anna (greek, german and a fellow cali) who were so much fun to travel with. I was amazed, however, that we actually made it all to Göteborg, considering the fiasco it was that morning in Uppsala. The night before we left, I had a four page essay to do (because I was leaving for Göteborg at 5 the next day, I lost a day to work on the paper), so I was up until the wee hours working on it. After a 2 hour "power nap", I didn't hear my alarm go off, so I figured that I woke up before it and had plenty of time to finish packing and have breakfast before catching my 5:28 train. However, when I sauntered into my bathroom I looked at the watch on my counter... 5:18. My alarm didn't go off (AGAIN. that claus ohlson piece of s****) and I had ten minutes before the train left! I had 6 missed calls from anna and I spent a good 3 minutes running around my room in my undies, half packing, half calling, half looking up later trains, trying to decide if i should try to catch a taxi now or wait. After Anna talked me down on the phone, I remembered that I had a rail pass and could take whatever train i wanted and that I didn't need to worry about catching a particular train. I looked at the time table online and oddly enough, the train that left at 7 arrived in Göteborg only 10 minutes after Ryan, Lene and Anna's did! So I had a luxurious breakfast, could finish packing, put my bike in my room and take the bus down to the station. After sleeping in the train, we got to Göteborg and were all amazed to acually all be able to get ourselves to Göteborg at the same time. Once we checked into our hostel (OH side note: the hostel lost our booking, so we got set up in a private room for the same price as a dorm! it was so nice!) we wandered around the gardens near our hostel, took some pictures, stumbled into a zoo, and checked out the natural history museum which brags the world's only stuffed blue whale (we know why there is only one in the world.. it was greasy and looked like it was actually decomposing) We were so tired tho and by eight we were back at our hostel and nodding off while watching a film.
The next day we had an early morning and headed into town. We wandered around a bit, checked out the City Museum, the Art Museum and the Cultural Museum. I got to see the remains of a viking ship, viking coins and swords, some Picasso and Van Gogh, and a really cool exibiton on why people travel. There was even a cork board at the Cultural Museum where you can tack up tickets, recipts, busniess cards or whatever from where you are or been. In a rush of hometown pride, I stuck the Ikes Quarter Cafe business card on the wall (adrienne, be proud). Also I lost my phone in the cultural museum and as we were leaving, Ryan called my phone, and someone at reception had it. Everything works out.
That day we also ate. Let me rephrase that: we A.T.E. We had kanelbullar the size of our faces, coffee, amazing vegetarian lasagna, endless salad and snacks all day long. The quote of the day is "we should have taped those buns to our ass because that's just where they're going." Hilarious. but it was delicious. After that, ciders in town, but alcohol in sweden is insanely expensive if it's not in the nations, so we gave up on the idea of a pub crawl pretty fast.
I ended up talking to Ryan that night about how nervous I was about the travel day the next day. I was planning on taking the "berlin night express" whose website makes it seem like every night there is a direct sleeper train between Stockholm (and Göteborg/Malmö) and Berlin. However, when I tried to book it, it turns out that the sleeper trains are only offered on october 28 and november fifth. ??????? so when I planned my train route, it turned out to be an 11 hour excursion between Göteborg and Berlin, changing in Køpenhagen and Hamburg. There was construction going on in Køpenhagen, so I would have to take a bus to the next station and I was so nervous about getting there. Ryan talked me down, telling me that somehow everything always works out. More people are out to help you than to harm you, and it's hard to go wrong if you're not an idoit. I thought back to Kelsey's advice right before I left: take things one step at a time. You're only allowed to stress about the next step and nothing else. first, just worry about packing and getting to the Göteborg station. After that, all you're allowed to worry about is getting on the right train. Then, it's only about finding the bus. This made my travel day sooo much easier, and it ended up being such an incredible day.
I got on my train to Køpenhagen, and happened to sit near a group of students who are studying in Denmark and had been traveling around Sweden that weekend. I talked to a girl from Michigan the whole train ride, and we compared notes about studying abroad and how different (or similar) scandinavia is to the US. We also sat across from a Polish guy who was also really interesting to talk to. He was in charge of engineering train tunnels, and got to tell us about the tunnels we were riding through. I have a huuuge new appreciation for tunnels. Folks, don't take your tunnels for granted.
After that, I had to hop on a bus to get to Hamburg. I sat down next to a fellow from Mexico and we had an instant connection talking about the lack of (proper) Mexican food in Scandinavia. We spent the entire bus ride talking. We have the exact same travel philosophy. We talked about the importance understanding cultures, getting know locals instead of staying further away from the honest society by staying in expensive hotels and sticking to tourist attractions. He told me about travel societies and networks of familes who are interested in hosting people from other countries, much like couch surfing but more personal and with more of a backgound check. We ended up having to take a ferrry for a half hour, then a train to humburg. He and I studied a little german in the train, cramming for the big test of getting ourselves to the next destination. We parted ways in Hamburg, but it made me realize how travel is a constant stream of the unexpected and traveling alone is one of the most gratifying experiences you can have.
finally I made it to Berlin with the help of the friendly gents I sat next to in the train (they laughed when I practiced my "entshuldigungs and danke shöns") and took the s-bahn to my hostel's stop where my roomies came to get me. It was so good to see my boys and catch up with them a bit before going to sleep. Now that we're in Berlin it's time to get out of the hostel and do the German thing
xxxx
Göteborg was incredible. That city is basically the love child of Stockholm and San Francisco. It is very gloomy and overcast, with giant steep hills and tram lines everywhere, and always a short walk to the harbour. The old town is a labyrinth of bakeries and cafes and the city is dotted with monuments and museums. I went with my friends Ryan, Lene and Anna (greek, german and a fellow cali) who were so much fun to travel with. I was amazed, however, that we actually made it all to Göteborg, considering the fiasco it was that morning in Uppsala. The night before we left, I had a four page essay to do (because I was leaving for Göteborg at 5 the next day, I lost a day to work on the paper), so I was up until the wee hours working on it. After a 2 hour "power nap", I didn't hear my alarm go off, so I figured that I woke up before it and had plenty of time to finish packing and have breakfast before catching my 5:28 train. However, when I sauntered into my bathroom I looked at the watch on my counter... 5:18. My alarm didn't go off (AGAIN. that claus ohlson piece of s****) and I had ten minutes before the train left! I had 6 missed calls from anna and I spent a good 3 minutes running around my room in my undies, half packing, half calling, half looking up later trains, trying to decide if i should try to catch a taxi now or wait. After Anna talked me down on the phone, I remembered that I had a rail pass and could take whatever train i wanted and that I didn't need to worry about catching a particular train. I looked at the time table online and oddly enough, the train that left at 7 arrived in Göteborg only 10 minutes after Ryan, Lene and Anna's did! So I had a luxurious breakfast, could finish packing, put my bike in my room and take the bus down to the station. After sleeping in the train, we got to Göteborg and were all amazed to acually all be able to get ourselves to Göteborg at the same time. Once we checked into our hostel (OH side note: the hostel lost our booking, so we got set up in a private room for the same price as a dorm! it was so nice!) we wandered around the gardens near our hostel, took some pictures, stumbled into a zoo, and checked out the natural history museum which brags the world's only stuffed blue whale (we know why there is only one in the world.. it was greasy and looked like it was actually decomposing) We were so tired tho and by eight we were back at our hostel and nodding off while watching a film.
The next day we had an early morning and headed into town. We wandered around a bit, checked out the City Museum, the Art Museum and the Cultural Museum. I got to see the remains of a viking ship, viking coins and swords, some Picasso and Van Gogh, and a really cool exibiton on why people travel. There was even a cork board at the Cultural Museum where you can tack up tickets, recipts, busniess cards or whatever from where you are or been. In a rush of hometown pride, I stuck the Ikes Quarter Cafe business card on the wall (adrienne, be proud). Also I lost my phone in the cultural museum and as we were leaving, Ryan called my phone, and someone at reception had it. Everything works out.
That day we also ate. Let me rephrase that: we A.T.E. We had kanelbullar the size of our faces, coffee, amazing vegetarian lasagna, endless salad and snacks all day long. The quote of the day is "we should have taped those buns to our ass because that's just where they're going." Hilarious. but it was delicious. After that, ciders in town, but alcohol in sweden is insanely expensive if it's not in the nations, so we gave up on the idea of a pub crawl pretty fast.
I ended up talking to Ryan that night about how nervous I was about the travel day the next day. I was planning on taking the "berlin night express" whose website makes it seem like every night there is a direct sleeper train between Stockholm (and Göteborg/Malmö) and Berlin. However, when I tried to book it, it turns out that the sleeper trains are only offered on october 28 and november fifth. ??????? so when I planned my train route, it turned out to be an 11 hour excursion between Göteborg and Berlin, changing in Køpenhagen and Hamburg. There was construction going on in Køpenhagen, so I would have to take a bus to the next station and I was so nervous about getting there. Ryan talked me down, telling me that somehow everything always works out. More people are out to help you than to harm you, and it's hard to go wrong if you're not an idoit. I thought back to Kelsey's advice right before I left: take things one step at a time. You're only allowed to stress about the next step and nothing else. first, just worry about packing and getting to the Göteborg station. After that, all you're allowed to worry about is getting on the right train. Then, it's only about finding the bus. This made my travel day sooo much easier, and it ended up being such an incredible day.
I got on my train to Køpenhagen, and happened to sit near a group of students who are studying in Denmark and had been traveling around Sweden that weekend. I talked to a girl from Michigan the whole train ride, and we compared notes about studying abroad and how different (or similar) scandinavia is to the US. We also sat across from a Polish guy who was also really interesting to talk to. He was in charge of engineering train tunnels, and got to tell us about the tunnels we were riding through. I have a huuuge new appreciation for tunnels. Folks, don't take your tunnels for granted.
After that, I had to hop on a bus to get to Hamburg. I sat down next to a fellow from Mexico and we had an instant connection talking about the lack of (proper) Mexican food in Scandinavia. We spent the entire bus ride talking. We have the exact same travel philosophy. We talked about the importance understanding cultures, getting know locals instead of staying further away from the honest society by staying in expensive hotels and sticking to tourist attractions. He told me about travel societies and networks of familes who are interested in hosting people from other countries, much like couch surfing but more personal and with more of a backgound check. We ended up having to take a ferrry for a half hour, then a train to humburg. He and I studied a little german in the train, cramming for the big test of getting ourselves to the next destination. We parted ways in Hamburg, but it made me realize how travel is a constant stream of the unexpected and traveling alone is one of the most gratifying experiences you can have.
finally I made it to Berlin with the help of the friendly gents I sat next to in the train (they laughed when I practiced my "entshuldigungs and danke shöns") and took the s-bahn to my hostel's stop where my roomies came to get me. It was so good to see my boys and catch up with them a bit before going to sleep. Now that we're in Berlin it's time to get out of the hostel and do the German thing
xxxx
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Örebro, where the mushrooms grow and the people talk funny
Hej alla, ledsen att jag inte skrivit på några veckor!.... I think that's how you say it. :) Anyway I haven't written for a while because all have been pretty routine... school, work, still being in awe of sverige... standard things. However, this weekend we shook things up a bit at took to the rails and headed west to the raging metropolis of Örebro! Ok, exaggeration. If you haven't heard of it, I understand.. I didn't know about it till my friend Suzanne suggested going there... but I'm so glad that I did! Initially we wanted to take a road trip up to Sundsvall on the highway by the sea, but because I was the only one with a valid licence, I would have to drive, but seeing as automatic cars (damn it, america for spoiling me with automatics) are much more expensive, we couldn't really swing it. Instead we took a train to Örebro, which is one of the main cities of my nation, so it was so good to see a little part of what I represent.
Örebro was so good! Although it was a pretty small town, Öykü, Suzanne and I found plenty to do to fill our day there. First, we made a beeline for the Ratthus (city hall) because our guidebooks promised a show of moving figurines from the clock as it strikes 12:05. Let me tell you, it was a life-changing experience. The 4 tiny undistinguishable figures going around in a circle just couldn’t be topped and we decided then and there that we weren’t going to see anything cooler and should just go home then and there. ;) Kidding. It was one of the most anticlimactic moments of my life which threw the three of us into laughing fits all day long about the wonders of the Örebro ratthus. After that, we headed to the Stadsträdgården which at one point was voted the most beautiful park in Sweden, which was something we all agreed. It was HUGE and had many flower gardens, play grounds, and a medieval village that we could wander around. There was also an art walk along the river with a couple really cool pieces. After hours exploring the park and taking the goofiest pictures, we wandered back into the city center and walked around the giant castle (Slott på Svenska). It was really cool to see because there is a huge painting of this castle in the Snerikes building, and it felt like a true Snerk seeing it, surrounded by a glittering moat under the bright autumn sun. Ah Sweden.
Anyway we were really hungry by this point, and found a cheap buffet place called Pacos where we had the pizza/pasta buffet (don’t ask… I don’t understand the logic behind the name either). It was so good to have a chance to totally fem out and talk about tampons and boys with some good friends. I realized that I hadn’t really had “girl time” for a while and it was so nice to indulge my estrogen levels. I strongly believe that you can be in the most spectacular place in the world, but if you’re with the wrong people, it’s not worth the trip. The same goes for this trip. There honestly isn’t that much to do in Örebro, but the girls made it one of the best days here in Sweden. Anyway… gushing. Moving on.
We were running out of things to do, and read in our book that Örebro is home to Sweden’s first mushroom water tower, and decided to hike to the outskirts of town and check it out. Turns out we could take an elevator to the top which provides a great view of the city. We stayed up there for a while, took some pictures, then came back into town. At this point we were starting to get really tired which is where the loopy random jokes started to surface, and honestly, I can’t tell you why Öykü pressing the traffic light button with her boob was so funny, but we couldn’t stop laughing about it for a solid 10 minutes. We killed the last hour in Örebro drinking (EXPENSIVE) beer at a sports pub and checking out the university boys who were regrettably engrossed in the hockey game on the tvs. After that, 3 sleepy hours on a train, a chilly bike ride home, and crashing in my bed, my sides and cheeks sore from all the laughing I did that day.
Pictures Soon!
xxx
Örebro was so good! Although it was a pretty small town, Öykü, Suzanne and I found plenty to do to fill our day there. First, we made a beeline for the Ratthus (city hall) because our guidebooks promised a show of moving figurines from the clock as it strikes 12:05. Let me tell you, it was a life-changing experience. The 4 tiny undistinguishable figures going around in a circle just couldn’t be topped and we decided then and there that we weren’t going to see anything cooler and should just go home then and there. ;) Kidding. It was one of the most anticlimactic moments of my life which threw the three of us into laughing fits all day long about the wonders of the Örebro ratthus. After that, we headed to the Stadsträdgården which at one point was voted the most beautiful park in Sweden, which was something we all agreed. It was HUGE and had many flower gardens, play grounds, and a medieval village that we could wander around. There was also an art walk along the river with a couple really cool pieces. After hours exploring the park and taking the goofiest pictures, we wandered back into the city center and walked around the giant castle (Slott på Svenska). It was really cool to see because there is a huge painting of this castle in the Snerikes building, and it felt like a true Snerk seeing it, surrounded by a glittering moat under the bright autumn sun. Ah Sweden.
Anyway we were really hungry by this point, and found a cheap buffet place called Pacos where we had the pizza/pasta buffet (don’t ask… I don’t understand the logic behind the name either). It was so good to have a chance to totally fem out and talk about tampons and boys with some good friends. I realized that I hadn’t really had “girl time” for a while and it was so nice to indulge my estrogen levels. I strongly believe that you can be in the most spectacular place in the world, but if you’re with the wrong people, it’s not worth the trip. The same goes for this trip. There honestly isn’t that much to do in Örebro, but the girls made it one of the best days here in Sweden. Anyway… gushing. Moving on.
We were running out of things to do, and read in our book that Örebro is home to Sweden’s first mushroom water tower, and decided to hike to the outskirts of town and check it out. Turns out we could take an elevator to the top which provides a great view of the city. We stayed up there for a while, took some pictures, then came back into town. At this point we were starting to get really tired which is where the loopy random jokes started to surface, and honestly, I can’t tell you why Öykü pressing the traffic light button with her boob was so funny, but we couldn’t stop laughing about it for a solid 10 minutes. We killed the last hour in Örebro drinking (EXPENSIVE) beer at a sports pub and checking out the university boys who were regrettably engrossed in the hockey game on the tvs. After that, 3 sleepy hours on a train, a chilly bike ride home, and crashing in my bed, my sides and cheeks sore from all the laughing I did that day.
Pictures Soon!
xxx
Sunday, September 25, 2011
FRED UT is peace out in swedish.
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| At my friend Ivana's birthday party! Ainara, Zuzanna, Danny, Sahori and Veronica |
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| the 10:00 flogsta yell! |
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| Ivana's birthday! We played a game where we had famous people's names on our foreheads and we had to guess who it was |
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| Sunset over building Four |
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| Procession before the Gasque |
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| The main university hall... stunning |
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| the Snerikes band! |
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| My girl Hanna doing her flag bearing thing |
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| university band |
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| incredible acapella choir.. they sang some beautiful swedish songs, then their last song was a version of dance till the world ends that blew me away |
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| I understood maybe 20% of the speeches |
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| the place settings for the gasque |
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| aaannnnd the afterparty |
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| flogsta yell again with anne! :D |
why ike's quarter cafe would be so jealous, a few thoughts on homesickness and swedish oreo's
As I may have mentioned before, I got a job here working as a waitress at Snerikes and it is so much fun! It is student-run so working there is very low-key and everyone really appreciates everyone else's work. Also, the only people that eat there are also students, so their expectation isn't so high. So far I have waitressed twice, worked the club once (which means running around the dancefloors and picking up bottles from under peoples feet... so dangerous!) and worked at the brunch where I cooked and then brought food out to the buffet. Because it is student-run, it is so different than working at Ike's (ps Ike's is the restaurant that I worked at for 3 years at home and is basically the reason I could come to Sweden. I made money but it also mentally prepared me to work as a team but work hard at being strong and independent. Basically, I owe them everything). For example, during the brunch, my manager and I got hungry so we went out to the buffet and just went down the line of food snacking on everything. It's ok to sit down at work and talk to friends or sit behind the bar with coworkers and chat for a bit when things are calm. However, we're not lazy. When it is busy in the resturaunt, we are all running and trying to keep everything smooth. We aren't paid very much, but I think we work hard because we all share a love and appreciation for the nation and for eachother and want to make sure we're pulling our weight. It's really fascinating because I have found that in America, most students don't really work unless they're getting paid, or unless it's for a student club or cause. We are sort of working with bits of both I guess. Anyway it feels good to be part of a team and to accomplish something together. Also, I just want to point out (Ike, Adrienne, don't read any further) that their facilities are HUGE. We have TWO full kitchens both about double the size of Ike's, we have four bars, a banquet hall, during clubs we have three dancefloors, a dining hall... not to mention housing for students as well. All of the student nations are like this, and I'm curious as to how it happened. Did the government give them money or are they completely self-run? I secretly hope that Danny or Hanna will read my blog and answer this question, because I am constantly amazed at how nice all the nations are and how lucky we as students are to have them. Without them, I don't think very many of us could afford to go out to restaurants or pubs or to go clubbing, not to mention allowing exchange students the chance to work. Finally, I saved the best for last. After work, everyone that worked that night get free food and basically have free run of the nation building for as long as they want. These afterparties are called sexta (i'm not 100% on the spelling) and no one really knows why they're called that, but the theory is that it has something to do with the fact that they usually go until the wee hours of the morning, and sex is the swedish word for six (yes there were giggles during that day in swedish class). Anyway sextas are so much fun and the best way to get to know the people you're working with.
Ok that's enough of that.
I talked to the family today on Skype for a really long time and it was so so so nice. I feel so lucky to be able to talk to them for so cheap. BTW skype is a swedish invention, so once again, i love sweden. I do admit that I get pretty homesick sometimes, but I usually just use that as motivation to keep myself busy so that I don't have time to think about it and am forced to be with my friends here and do the things that make me happy. It's funny the weird things you miss. I was watching an episode of The Office and couldn't finish because I was thinking about sitting in our living room watching the office with kels and eating something probably unhealthy together. I also miss driving around in my Datsun with my friends and listening to journey or ke$ha and eating lunch at wonderful 3. Oh, and the river. Grass Valley was so boring when I was there, but now it seems like it was so nice! I want to be sure that you know that i LOVE it here and have NOOOO intention of leaving any time soon, but I'm just surprised at the little things that I miss. I know that once I leave Uppsala, I'm going to miss living in a corridor and going on ICA trips with ryan and going to the nations, but that is all far away... :P
finally, the swedish version of oreos are called ballerina cookies (kladdkaka vanilj) and are AMAZING.
Oh yeah I was going to upload some gasque/kulturenatten pics... I'll go do that now.
Miss you all!
xxx
Ok that's enough of that.
I talked to the family today on Skype for a really long time and it was so so so nice. I feel so lucky to be able to talk to them for so cheap. BTW skype is a swedish invention, so once again, i love sweden. I do admit that I get pretty homesick sometimes, but I usually just use that as motivation to keep myself busy so that I don't have time to think about it and am forced to be with my friends here and do the things that make me happy. It's funny the weird things you miss. I was watching an episode of The Office and couldn't finish because I was thinking about sitting in our living room watching the office with kels and eating something probably unhealthy together. I also miss driving around in my Datsun with my friends and listening to journey or ke$ha and eating lunch at wonderful 3. Oh, and the river. Grass Valley was so boring when I was there, but now it seems like it was so nice! I want to be sure that you know that i LOVE it here and have NOOOO intention of leaving any time soon, but I'm just surprised at the little things that I miss. I know that once I leave Uppsala, I'm going to miss living in a corridor and going on ICA trips with ryan and going to the nations, but that is all far away... :P
finally, the swedish version of oreos are called ballerina cookies (kladdkaka vanilj) and are AMAZING.
Oh yeah I was going to upload some gasque/kulturenatten pics... I'll go do that now.
Miss you all!
xxx
Sunday, September 18, 2011
festivals, schnapps and the sun bidding farewell
I can't believe it, but I've almost been here for two months. That is 20% of my entire stay here... I can't believe how quickly that went by. This last month has been glorious. There have been some big events, but I'm getting into more of a routine here as well which is nice. My room feels more and morel like a home everyday as it slowly fills with pictures, posters, ikea doo-dads and dozens of swedish flashcards. The weather is getting progressively worse and my Swedish friends keep reminding me that the first snow might be just a month away. We're still having some good days of weather and no one wants to be inside on those days now that we know how rare the sun is getting! Class is going well, I only have one more week of this course (media culture and society) and then next month I start Media Policy and Regulation.
Last Saturday was a big event in Uppsala called Kulturnatten (Culture Night). It happens every year and we were told on the first day of Swedish class that we should do everything in our power to attend and I'm so glad that I did! It was such a fantastic day! My friend Ryan and I were there from 1 pm to 1 am... 12 hours of culture! Our feet hurt by the time we got back to Flogsta. :P At Kulturnatten, the streets are all closed off and there are food vendors everywere and maybe 6 full size stages in different parts of the city. There were events going on all day: african drumming, street performers, belly dancing, parcore (how do you spell it?)(it's like free running and jumping all over the place. people are pretty into it here and all i think when i see it is that episode of the office...), choirs singing in the cathedrial and bands playing all day. The best part was a band people dressed like pirates and singing sea shanties! It was so good!
The next weekend we had the Reccegasque which is a big formal dinner for all the newbies in Uppsala. These are hosted by each nation and have traditions that go back who knows how many years. I'm a member of Södermanlands-Nerikes nation, but they sold out of gasque tickets before I could get one, so my friend Chris and I got tickets for Uplands gasque which was just as good! The evening started with drinks and mingling at the nation. We had redwine mixed with orange juice... so tasty. After that, we lined up two by two and followed our flag bearer to the main University building in the center of town. It was so incredible... All 13 nations were there and had everyone dressed up all fancy following the flags and then lining up in a specific order in front of the building (i'm sure there are reasons behind each little thing, like how Uplands got to go inside and sit first etc). Then we listened to some speeches in Swedish and I could maybe pick out about 20% of the words. The university band played and an Acapella girls choir sang (soooo good!), and then we all lined up again to go back to the nation building. We got our seating assignment and filed into the great hall where there was chilled tomato soup and cornbread (haven't had cornbread in ages! so yummmm!!) waiting for us. The servers came around with the Schnapps and then we sang songs and toasted in the very specific swedish way, which is to look at the guy on your left, then right, then across from you, then you drink your Schnapps, then look back at the guy across from you, to your right and then to your left and then you can put your glass down. Phew. Before we could eat, the international officers tied all of our wrists together to "prove our inner strength and sense of community" and we had to eat our appetizers by taking turns with our hands. It was so funny and a really good ice breaker! After that, more songs, more schnapps, more speeches. The main course was chicken with sweet potatoes and veggies with this amazing spicy sauce that was sort of like bbq but made with chocolate... believe me it was incredible. I was nearly licking the plate by the end. During dinner, the Uplands band came in for a performance. "Came in" is an understatement. They barged and paraded is more like it. While we were eating, the main doors flew open and the band, carrying the director came whooping inside wearing crazy hats and uniforms and yelling and banging their drums. So cool! They played a few songs, made a beer bong out of a saxophone, and then they were gone as quickly as they appeared. Apparently it's tradtion for the people in the band to never wash their uniforms, and they get medals for doing goofy things like walking on their heads and being able to shotgun a beer. They would have made Kelsey wet herself. After that, Uplands improv group performed in Swedish which I'm sure was hilarous but I didn't understand what was going on. Finally, we had dessert which was icecream with custardy sauce and strawberry jam type stuff on top. Once again, amazing. More songs. More schnapps. Swedes love their drinking songs. One guy told me that they sing before they drink so that they don't feel so guilty about drinking all the time. The very last song is a huge tradtion at Uppsala where everyone sings a different verse depending on what they study, and then they all stand on their chairs and sing the last verse and hold hands together, and after the song if you sit back down in your chair you will have bad luck and will fail all your exams. After dinner was the afterparty! All the nations had their clubs open and we cruized back "home" to Snerikes to party with our fellow Snerks there and see how everyone else's night was. We all had such a good time! That was another loooong night which ended with Ryan and I cooking kötbullar and onions at 3 am... as if we didn't have enough to eat that night. I'm so excited for the next gasque... the International gasque on the 14 of October!
Some other things that I have been up to... We tried the Swedish "delicacy" surströmming which is basically rotten fish in a can which is notorious in sweden. The smell is of "dead cat covered in fermented semen" (Ryan Arathimos, 2011) and although the taste isn't as bad as the smell, it was horrible. Surströmming is illegal on a plane because it is classified as a weapon! So bad. I'm glad that I can now say that I've tried it, but never again. I also got to go to a crayfish party which is another swedish tradition (MORE singing and Scnapps!) which was really fun. Eating crayfish is so goofy because you have to sit there and pull bits apart and crack stuff open and dissect like mad for a good five minutes and all you get to eat is this tiiiny bit from the tail and maybe some tastes from the claws if they're big. A swedish girl said that you shouldn't show up hungry to a crayfish party because you're not really there to eat much but to drink Schnapps and to be with friends. Luckily I was invited last minute and wasn't so hungry! Also also also.. our class had a Mexican food dinner party together last night... It was so so fun! My friend Gio is from LA and is Mexican, so he took charge, but all of us from Cali helped. It was amazing to have some tacos and burritos which were about as close as we could get to the real thing. I haven't uploaded pictures from the gasque or the mexican party yet, but I will soon and post them here!
Last thing before I head off to class. I'm going to the Czech Republic for Christmas! My friend Ivana "adopted" me for Christmas with her family and I'm so excited! Another one of our friends, Ayana from Japan might come as well. I hope so! And during my Christmas break, Kelsey is coming to visit! Oh and I"m going to Berlin with my class the last week of October! I have so much to look forward to!
I'm missing Grass Valley despite myself, but still loving it here! I hope everyone is doing well and APPRECIATING THE CALIFORNIA SUN. and reeces. and avocados.
Miss you all! Please send me updates on your life if you can!
xxxx
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| you can barely see the pirates but I was having too much fun to be bothered with taking pictures |
The next weekend we had the Reccegasque which is a big formal dinner for all the newbies in Uppsala. These are hosted by each nation and have traditions that go back who knows how many years. I'm a member of Södermanlands-Nerikes nation, but they sold out of gasque tickets before I could get one, so my friend Chris and I got tickets for Uplands gasque which was just as good! The evening started with drinks and mingling at the nation. We had redwine mixed with orange juice... so tasty. After that, we lined up two by two and followed our flag bearer to the main University building in the center of town. It was so incredible... All 13 nations were there and had everyone dressed up all fancy following the flags and then lining up in a specific order in front of the building (i'm sure there are reasons behind each little thing, like how Uplands got to go inside and sit first etc). Then we listened to some speeches in Swedish and I could maybe pick out about 20% of the words. The university band played and an Acapella girls choir sang (soooo good!), and then we all lined up again to go back to the nation building. We got our seating assignment and filed into the great hall where there was chilled tomato soup and cornbread (haven't had cornbread in ages! so yummmm!!) waiting for us. The servers came around with the Schnapps and then we sang songs and toasted in the very specific swedish way, which is to look at the guy on your left, then right, then across from you, then you drink your Schnapps, then look back at the guy across from you, to your right and then to your left and then you can put your glass down. Phew. Before we could eat, the international officers tied all of our wrists together to "prove our inner strength and sense of community" and we had to eat our appetizers by taking turns with our hands. It was so funny and a really good ice breaker! After that, more songs, more schnapps, more speeches. The main course was chicken with sweet potatoes and veggies with this amazing spicy sauce that was sort of like bbq but made with chocolate... believe me it was incredible. I was nearly licking the plate by the end. During dinner, the Uplands band came in for a performance. "Came in" is an understatement. They barged and paraded is more like it. While we were eating, the main doors flew open and the band, carrying the director came whooping inside wearing crazy hats and uniforms and yelling and banging their drums. So cool! They played a few songs, made a beer bong out of a saxophone, and then they were gone as quickly as they appeared. Apparently it's tradtion for the people in the band to never wash their uniforms, and they get medals for doing goofy things like walking on their heads and being able to shotgun a beer. They would have made Kelsey wet herself. After that, Uplands improv group performed in Swedish which I'm sure was hilarous but I didn't understand what was going on. Finally, we had dessert which was icecream with custardy sauce and strawberry jam type stuff on top. Once again, amazing. More songs. More schnapps. Swedes love their drinking songs. One guy told me that they sing before they drink so that they don't feel so guilty about drinking all the time. The very last song is a huge tradtion at Uppsala where everyone sings a different verse depending on what they study, and then they all stand on their chairs and sing the last verse and hold hands together, and after the song if you sit back down in your chair you will have bad luck and will fail all your exams. After dinner was the afterparty! All the nations had their clubs open and we cruized back "home" to Snerikes to party with our fellow Snerks there and see how everyone else's night was. We all had such a good time! That was another loooong night which ended with Ryan and I cooking kötbullar and onions at 3 am... as if we didn't have enough to eat that night. I'm so excited for the next gasque... the International gasque on the 14 of October!
Some other things that I have been up to... We tried the Swedish "delicacy" surströmming which is basically rotten fish in a can which is notorious in sweden. The smell is of "dead cat covered in fermented semen" (Ryan Arathimos, 2011) and although the taste isn't as bad as the smell, it was horrible. Surströmming is illegal on a plane because it is classified as a weapon! So bad. I'm glad that I can now say that I've tried it, but never again. I also got to go to a crayfish party which is another swedish tradition (MORE singing and Scnapps!) which was really fun. Eating crayfish is so goofy because you have to sit there and pull bits apart and crack stuff open and dissect like mad for a good five minutes and all you get to eat is this tiiiny bit from the tail and maybe some tastes from the claws if they're big. A swedish girl said that you shouldn't show up hungry to a crayfish party because you're not really there to eat much but to drink Schnapps and to be with friends. Luckily I was invited last minute and wasn't so hungry! Also also also.. our class had a Mexican food dinner party together last night... It was so so fun! My friend Gio is from LA and is Mexican, so he took charge, but all of us from Cali helped. It was amazing to have some tacos and burritos which were about as close as we could get to the real thing. I haven't uploaded pictures from the gasque or the mexican party yet, but I will soon and post them here!
Last thing before I head off to class. I'm going to the Czech Republic for Christmas! My friend Ivana "adopted" me for Christmas with her family and I'm so excited! Another one of our friends, Ayana from Japan might come as well. I hope so! And during my Christmas break, Kelsey is coming to visit! Oh and I"m going to Berlin with my class the last week of October! I have so much to look forward to!
I'm missing Grass Valley despite myself, but still loving it here! I hope everyone is doing well and APPRECIATING THE CALIFORNIA SUN. and reeces. and avocados.
Miss you all! Please send me updates on your life if you can!
xxxx
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
first week of class, my swedish final, and a conversation that is sticking
I just started my first week of my communications course! These classes are in english (phew) and even though half of us are the CSU exchange students from California (sigh...) I'm really enjoying the class and everyone in it. The education system is so different here... I hate to say it, but I feel much more taken care of. They go through great lengths to make sure we have a welcome meeting, reception AND fika to make sure that we meet all the teachers and administrators in the Informatics and Media (Communications) Department. Even people who I'll probably never meet again were introduced to me, along with everyone I'm going to get to know very well. A lot of PhD students will be teaching us, and they seem so enthusiastic and energetic and I'm very excited for their classes to start. Also, we are going on a trip together to Berlin from October 24-29 to visit the DPA (international news center), the Haus des Rufunks (a public service broadcaster), Die Tageszeitung (a newspaper company) and the Topographic des Terrors, a holocaust museum (which will be hard to see, but very important i think). A group of us are trying to organize a group to leave a weekend early or stay a weekend later to be able to explore Berlin a little bit on our own. I'm so stoked! Also, a classmate is organizing a pub crawl for all of us on friday. It will be so good to get to know everyone... and it's so funny that when he announced it in class, the teachers nodded approval. Professors here KNOW that we drink, ask us about it, tell us which nations have the best beer, and if a lot of people are missing one day, they ask us if the party last night was good. They don't push it away like the professors in the US. Just some things I'm noticing....
I also had my swedish final exam today! I'm so glad to be able to stop stressing about it! I thiiiiink I passed... we shall see. I studied a lot of things that weren't even on the test... but if a swede asks me about furniture, parts of the body, or clothes, I will know what they're saying. I think results will be posted on friday. Fingers crossed!
Finally, I had a really interesting conversation with a friend from Germany today. He said that he thought it was funny that a lot of the people from the USA say that they're from "California" or a lot say "San Francisco" "Los Angeles" or "Chicago." He said that people in Germany just say that they're from Germany, and that they'll tell you which city or Provence if they're asked. I said that I got advice from many people to introduce myself as from "cali" instead of the "usa" because California is much more liberal and a better reputation abroad. I told him this, and said that even though I'm very ashamed of many things the US has been responsible for, I'm proud of being from California and (tend to) agree more with the way people in California think as opposed to other places in the US. He said that he understands that and had never really thought of that before, but it also sounds a bit pretentious to assume that everyone knows where Los Angeles is or that it is a part of the US. He said that it sometimes comes across like we assume that our city is more important because everyone will know where it is. This was such an eye- opening thing to say. There are so many little things that we don't even think about that show how engrained culture is in everyone. He is so right, and I feel so lucky to be here, learning about my culture from an outside point of view. We are CONSTANTLY communicating, and when I say "I'm from San Francisco," I'm saying so much more than just sending basic information. Depending on who I'm with, I'm saying that you should know that city, should know that it is in the States, and should know that it is important for some reason. It's making an assumption that everyone knows this city. I want everyone here to be that honest with me. The conversation continued when I realized that if i said that I was from "America," that is immediately diminishing all other countries in the Americas. Yes, there is common understanding that America usually= the USA, but technically we are only a part of all of America.
WHERE AM I FROM NOW?! I asked what he would think if I just said that I was a temporary Swede. He laughed, but said that that might be a good idea. It says that I come from a place that I'm willing to disconnect myself from and that I respect and am interested in the place where I am. Goodie.
I'm just going to have to pay closer attention to everything I say and do. Thankfully, I'm not saying that I'm from Grass Valley and chastising the people who never heard of it (if you want to know how many, it's no one) or anything, but everything I do and say is communicating some sort of message. If I can figure out why the "american" messages are looked down on, then I can begin to learn how to communicate more effectively with more people. That's what a comm major does, right??
Anyway speaking of communicating, I have a pub crawl tomorrow and I need to rest up. There will be all sorts of communicating going on that I need to prepare for. ;)
xxx
I also had my swedish final exam today! I'm so glad to be able to stop stressing about it! I thiiiiink I passed... we shall see. I studied a lot of things that weren't even on the test... but if a swede asks me about furniture, parts of the body, or clothes, I will know what they're saying. I think results will be posted on friday. Fingers crossed!
Finally, I had a really interesting conversation with a friend from Germany today. He said that he thought it was funny that a lot of the people from the USA say that they're from "California" or a lot say "San Francisco" "Los Angeles" or "Chicago." He said that people in Germany just say that they're from Germany, and that they'll tell you which city or Provence if they're asked. I said that I got advice from many people to introduce myself as from "cali" instead of the "usa" because California is much more liberal and a better reputation abroad. I told him this, and said that even though I'm very ashamed of many things the US has been responsible for, I'm proud of being from California and (tend to) agree more with the way people in California think as opposed to other places in the US. He said that he understands that and had never really thought of that before, but it also sounds a bit pretentious to assume that everyone knows where Los Angeles is or that it is a part of the US. He said that it sometimes comes across like we assume that our city is more important because everyone will know where it is. This was such an eye- opening thing to say. There are so many little things that we don't even think about that show how engrained culture is in everyone. He is so right, and I feel so lucky to be here, learning about my culture from an outside point of view. We are CONSTANTLY communicating, and when I say "I'm from San Francisco," I'm saying so much more than just sending basic information. Depending on who I'm with, I'm saying that you should know that city, should know that it is in the States, and should know that it is important for some reason. It's making an assumption that everyone knows this city. I want everyone here to be that honest with me. The conversation continued when I realized that if i said that I was from "America," that is immediately diminishing all other countries in the Americas. Yes, there is common understanding that America usually= the USA, but technically we are only a part of all of America.
WHERE AM I FROM NOW?! I asked what he would think if I just said that I was a temporary Swede. He laughed, but said that that might be a good idea. It says that I come from a place that I'm willing to disconnect myself from and that I respect and am interested in the place where I am. Goodie.
I'm just going to have to pay closer attention to everything I say and do. Thankfully, I'm not saying that I'm from Grass Valley and chastising the people who never heard of it (if you want to know how many, it's no one) or anything, but everything I do and say is communicating some sort of message. If I can figure out why the "american" messages are looked down on, then I can begin to learn how to communicate more effectively with more people. That's what a comm major does, right??
Anyway speaking of communicating, I have a pub crawl tomorrow and I need to rest up. There will be all sorts of communicating going on that I need to prepare for. ;)
xxx
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