Well the weather outside is frightful ...

It's snowing outside right now in Lund, and once more I have done an awful job updating this journal. I only have 17 days left in Sweden and it's brought me around to some reflection of the time I have spent here, the people I've met, and the things that I have experienced. But let me recap for a moment.

Since I wrote about my trip to Stockholm, I have gone to Dublin, Budapest, and then Stockholm again (för andra gången). I didn't realize that I would ever be so busy with school and traveling, and the simple task of living while abroad. I definitely could not have predicted the things that have happened to me and there is no way that I could have guessed that this is how I was going to spend my time in Sweden. My life is so different on this side of the world that I can't imagine returning home, to my old life and my old self. Well, I imagine that I will never quite be my old self again.

One of my best friends at UCLA last year, Maura, always told me that studying abroad would change me -- change who I was. She said that I would have such a different perspective of the world, of life, and of myself. Well, I can say that at least one thing is changed: I now speak Swedish! I have noticed how small the world is, how within a few hours I can be across the continent in Italy, or Ireland, or how near I have been living to Russia and the Arctic Circle. But I have always realized how large the world is at the same time -- I have experienced how far away I have been from my family in Chicago and California and also from Maura, who is teaching English in Japan. I have experienced how hard it is to get together with friends who are only a few hours away, like my German friends who are just too busy to travel non-stop and who I haven't made enough of an effort to it into my hectic life. So I ask, why must the world be so big? Why can't Sweden and Japan be neighbors? Why can't I travel from Los Angeles to Göttingen (Germany) within the blink of an eye? Even though the world is so connected, I have still seen how far apart us humans can be.

So, even as I sit here watching the snow fall and watching my time in Sweden wind away, I still am not sure what the lesson is that I have learned during my six months in Europe. I will keep thinking about it. But my best answer is that I haven't learned one, but many. I think what is most important is that I have really learned how to live.

Well, I have a research paper to write. I promise to write more again soon. Take care.

Here is some Swedish for you to learn:
för andra gången -- for the second time
sex månader -- six months
snö -- snow
is -- ice
världen -- the world

Jag åkte till Stockholm för första gangen!

Wow. I've been incredibly lame and haven't posted here in over a month. It seems I've ever been fantastically busy, or just plain lazy. Well, let's say that it's a mixture of both. I've been in Sweden for four months now, and I'm very sad to say that there are only two months left in this wonderful adventure. As I continue the downhill leg of this trip and reluctantly look California straight in the eye, I'm going to try my best to really live up this experience and truly enjoy my last two months as a viking. Honestly, I'm just going to have tons of fun (don't worry, Mom, not too much fun!)

So this last weekend I finally made the trek north to the capital city of Stockholm. It's the first time that I've traveled outside of Lund, but remained in Sweden. I didn't think much of it, but I quickly realized that hearing Swedish around me was actually shocking. I realized that I was really expecting to hear German, Italian, or some language that I don't understand. I was not expecting to be traveling on the metro, listening to a little girl talk about a friend who is two years younger than her -- and actually understand the story she was telling her father. I had to keep reminding myself that even though I was traveling, I was still in Sweden! Although, I must admit, it was a bit easier to understand Stockholmska Swedish than the Skånska Swedish that I am mostly surrounded by (since I do live in the southern Swedish region of Skåne). Here's an example:

The Stockholmers turn "s" into an "sh" sound, while Skånska does not. So in Stockholm, the word "thursday" (torsdag) is pronounced "torshdah" rather than "torsdah"

Stockholmers also do not pronounce heavy "h" sounds like those in Skåne (a relic of Skåne's Danish heritage). Therefore, the word "maybe" (kanske) is pronounced "KANshuh" in Stockholm, but in my Skåne dialect, I always say "kanHWAY" (heavy with the "h")

Also, I think Stockholmers are a bit more nasally than Skånska speakers. It's actually a bit offputting when a really beautiful girl says "hej" ("hey") so far up in her nose that she sounds like a cartoon character. But then, I hear this in Skåne sometimes too (probably by displaced Stockholmers!)

I also learned a very important cultural gesture in Sweden, in relation to people from Stockholm. The rest of Sweden tends to view Stockholmers as a bit stuck up. And whereas in America, we might represent this by turning our noses in the air and raising our eyebrows in a hauty manner -- in Sweden, they run their hands through their hair in a "slicking back" motion to portray a stuck-up attitude. See, I'm learning very important cultural things here!!

So anyway, I went to Stockholm. Finally. I was actually waiting for my friend Courtney to move up there -- she studied Swedish with me in Lund over the summer and moved up to Stockholm for a job in September, so I was planning on visiting her when she got all settled in and was ready to show me around town. It was lots of fun to see Courtney (and her boyfriend Blake, too) again. Stockholm was absolutely beautiful and I think it is one of the most beautiful cities that I have been too. Stockholm likes to advertise itself as the "Venice of the North" -- as do most cities that lie anywhere near water. But Stockholm isn't like Venice very much: Venice is one island, Stockholm is 14 connected by bridges. Venice is decaying, sinking, a relic of its past glory. Stockholm is in the midst of its glory -- colorful, bright, glowing, and sprawling. Forget that Stockholm is a lot colder, and it is hands-down the more beautiful of the two cities. But maybe it's just that I'm a little biased -- I much prefer the pink, red, orange, and green six-story buildings of Stockholm to the Turkish-inspired spires and vaults of Venice. However, I can say that having family from both Stockholm and Venice is a treat and it made me look at both cities with wider eyes.

I also finally tried some pickled herring. Courtney insisted that I had to try it at least once, and she knew a place where it was good. We went to the oldest restaurant in Stockholm -- a place founded by German monks in Gamla Stan back in 1491 (for those of you who are historically challenged, that's a year before Columbus sailed the ocean blue to discover the land which would later become my country of origin. Now isn't that something?) Well, what can I say? The Swedes aren't so crazy after all, that was some delicious pickled herring! I honestly would have some more!

My favorite part of the city was, of course, the oldest part of the city: Gamla Stan (literally means "The Old City"). We also went up into Gondolen (The Gondola), which is a viewpoint in Slussen (an island neighboring Gamla Stan), where you can get a gorgeous panorama of the whole city. It was windy, and cold, but absolutely worth it. I just can't describe the sheer elegance, quaintness, and beauty of this city. I know that most people would never think to include Sweden on the Euro-Trips, and most people never even imagine themselves going anywhere as far north as Stockholm -- but seriously people! Do it! Go! I promise you it's worth it!

So here's some Swedish for you to learn:
gammal -- old
staden (shortened: stan) -- the city
två år äldre än hon -- two years older than her
Jag åkte till stockholm för första gangen! -- I went to Stockholm for the first time!

The Cinque Terre

I have noticed that the leaves have begun to change color in Sweden. Suddenly, I feel like I am in one of the college movies, that take place at Harvard or Yale in the fall, where the old buildings are covered in ivy and all the leaves are dancing colorfully in the brisk autumn breezes ... except the buildings here are a lot older, and the autumn breezes here are breezier and crisper, I'm sure.

So let me recap on my travels, which I have been ignoring in fantastic form since my return from Italy. Seriously, I think that month of traveling really wiped me out and I didn't even want to sit down and think about the mind-boggling experiences that I had -- lest my head explode. So --

After Venezia, Lauren and I headed back west to the fabled Cinque Terre, or Five Lands. On the train ride from Venice back to Florence (en route to C.T.), we ended up sitting with a group of very old nuns, who were very kind and pleasant and offered us their sandwiches (but seriously, who takes food from a poor old nun??). They were really impressed that Lauren speaks some Italian (and thought it was funny that I did not -- after all, I'm the one who looks Italian, not Lauren!). And even though Lauren was at first skeptical about sitting with these beacons of faith (being atheist scum that she is, and partially I am), she had a good time talking to them and I have the sneaking suspicion that they blessed us underneath their breath, because for the next week or so we were amazingly lucky.

Somehow, we found our way onto the right train from Viareggio to Riomaggiore, the first of the five towns that makes up the CT. Once in Riomaggiore, we found that the hostel we were planning on staying in was closed indefinitely. So we were without a place to stay. It was wickedly humid, we had our backpacks strapped on still, and Riomaggiore consists of one main street which is impossibly steep up into the mountain-side. We trecked up this hill, stopping and asking at every door that said they had rooms, but everybody was full. We even tried to convince a hostel owner, who had only one bed open for the night, that we "could snuggle" and share the one bed. But I don't think he was buying it. Finally, we found a place that would rent us a double for the 3-nights we were staying -- for only 50 Euro a night! That's 25 Euro each, for those bad at math (like me), and since most hostels at 20-22 Euro a night, it was a deal to get our own room with bathroom and locking door!

Once in the room we immediately got into our bathing suits and went down to the "beach" in Riomaggiore to wash off our sweat and to celebrate our good fortune (we actually called it "nun-luck"). The "beach" was just a bunch of large rocks, and while it was fun swimming around in the waves, I got pretty cut up trying to get back onto the beach.

At night, we walked the "Via dell' Amore" (Path of Love), that wound around the mountain-side from Riomaggiore to the next town, Manarola. It was here that Lauren took me to a Gelateria which blew my mind. Hands down, this was THE BEST gelato in the world, at this small cafe overlooking the small inlet of ocean. We actually did this every single night we were in the Cinque Terre -- walked the Via dell' Amore to Manarola, where we quietly enjoyed the best cantaloupe gelato and watched the sun set and the waves crash onto the rocky coast. Heaven.

We spent most of our time in the Cinque Terre laying out on the beach and getting fantastic Italian tans. The only town with anything resembling an actual beach (i.e. sand) was in Monterosso, the most touristy of the five towns. We stopped in Vernazza for a little while too, but it was pretty much like the other three towns we had visited, and I thought Manarola was much cuter and less touristy than Vernazza (and with better gelato), and we didn't even stop in Corniglia because it was high up in the mountain and we didn't feel like walking all those stairs or paying for the bus. There wasn't much to see anyway.

Beyond that, there isn't much to report on the Cinque Terre. They were beautiful for a mid-backpacking vacation from vacation. Beautiful views, delicious gelato, and best of all -- no museums, no artwork, no ancient sites. Just pure and heavenly enjoyment.

So from here, I should continue on and tell you about my trip to Rome. Ahh, Rome. This city absolutely blew me away like no other place in Italy or Sweden or Germany had. I think I would have to give Rome it's own lengthy post for all the wonders and surprises it presented to me (including reunification with some old friends). But for now, my fingers are tired from writing papers for my Swedish class, so it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Here is some Italian for you to learn:
camare -- rooms
cinque -- five
spiaggia -- beach
melone -- cantaloupe

Ambassadors

My stay in Sweden is now more than halfway over. Seriously. I've already been abroad for over three months and I've only got less than three months left. It felt like just yesterday that I was sitting on that SAS flight on my way to Copenhagen, just yesterday when Lauren and I were sitting at my house in Rocklin scheming about our Italian vacation, just yesterday that I was turning in my application to study abroad. But here I am -- it's a success story, already, of my ability to not only live on my own but in an entirely different culture than my native one. I've dealt with so many things since I've been in Sweden -- sickness, class scheduling conflicts, and internet troubles. I even helped my friend call a locksmith when her key broke off in her lock at midnight. So I think I've been pretty good these last three months, and I'm not scared of the next three. That said, I'm already dreading coming home.

Yes, of course, I want to see my parents and my brothers. I can't believe that life in America hasn't stood still since I've been gone -- Kenny went to Hawai'i on business (lucky!), and Steve got a brand new job in Boston, MA!! So now my family is spead all over the world, Ken in Ohio, Steve in Massachusetts, and me in Sweden. My poor mom -- now Ken is the closest one to her, and he's over 2,000 miles away! And of course I want to see my dog, Cisco, most of all (miss ya Bobbaloo!), but it's the idea of going back to UCLA that I'm not fond of. I'd much rather come back to Lunds Universitet.

I also realized last night that I actually feel sort of bad for these Swedish people. I mean, don't get me wrong, they are so lucky to be Swedish and live in this wonderful place. But as I've been teaching them the meanings of various English swear words which they've picked up, the Soulja Boy dance, and what it means to be "hyphy", I've realized -- I'm not really the best ambassador for these things. Honestly, half the time I don't even know where swear words and insults come from, and who am I (very white and not ashamed) to be instructing even whiter people on the Soulja Boy dance? I feel sort of sad for them that their access to learning these things from American pop-culture has to come from such a bad representative. But then, maybe they are better off not learning these things altogether.

And now I've realized that I never finished describing my trip through Italy, or my stay in Eastern Germany with Daniela's hilarious family, or even my most recent trip to Bruges. So I'll have to spend the next few days chronicling these adventures. But first, let's focus on Sweden -- I mean, it is the country which I decided to come to, and I have had the bulk of my experiences and learning right here in Scandinavia!!

All in all, I'm surprised by the professors here. Firstly, I don't know any of my professors last names. Seriously. They insist that I call them Jens, Anamaria, and Annika, respectively. And they're so relaxed, it seems. Honestly, Jens once asked our class if we had done our readings for the discussion. He said, "If not, that's okay, in that case I'll have something else for you to do." Seriously! Thankfully no one owned up to not having read the book and we plodded along through the discussion just fine.

Also, there are much more limited resources here in Sweden than back in California. I've grown used to a 24-hour library where I can check out books and do my readings at leisure. But here the libraries are only open from 10 - 18 (that's 10am to 6pm), which is totally ridiculous if I have class until 17 (5pm) and want to get some reading done after class from the library reserves. I realized that this isn't just a complaint of Americans either, as I ran into a Canadian girl who absolutely agreed with me about the ridiculous hours of the library. I mean, the libraries aren't even open on Sundays! What about last minute homework and readings that must be done?

The main library is also the only place where students without printers can print out their papers. At UCLA there was a large computer study room in each building grouping (one for rieber, one for hedric, etc.) that were ALSO open 24-hours. So what's up Sweden? Do Swedish students not really need all that library time? Well, probably not, since their professors don't even mind if they don't do their readings! But I'd at least like to learn SOMETHING while I'm here. If I just wanted a six-month vacation from school, I would have gone to study abroad somewhere like Italy or Spain (sorry Lauren), where there are more disko-clubs than classrooms. But honestly, I really am learning quite a bit, especially since I'm taking classes a bit outside the realm of UCLA anthropology. It's nice to not have to listen to the same things over and over again (anthro classes can get sort of redundant). So far, none of my professors have thrown up a big pictures of Indiana Jones on the powerpoint and said "This is NOT anthropology!" Duh.

But my fellow (Swedish) students are fantastic. I've even gotten to be pretty good friends with my floormates (or corridor-mates as it translates here), though it's taken some time. My friend Fredrika was shocked when I told her that the expensive types of mascara only cost $8 in America (that's 50:- crowns, whereas cheap mascara here is 150:- crowns!!!) She insisted that there must be something that is cheaper in Sweden that in the States. I told her if it exists, I have not found it! And then she told me that my favorite chocolate brand here is sold in IKEA -- so guess where I'm going once I get back to California? :-)

Here's some Swedish for you to learn:
choklad -- chocolate
fantatisk -- fantastic (that's an easy one)
antropologi -- anthropology (ok, there's another easy one)
Social- och- Beendevetenskap Biblioteket -- The Social and Behavior Science Library (that's my home library!)
lärare -- teacher/professor

Swedish Academia

So I've been doing a pretty terrible job of writing updates in this blog (and also in my own personal journal, to be perfectly honest!) The problem is, I think, that so many things are happening and it's all going so fast that my brain can't keep up -- or slow down long enough to thoughtfully represent my experiences abroad to all my dear family and friends.

I've finally started classes at Lund University. I haven't actually attended all of them yet, one doesn't start until Wednesday, and another on Thursday, so I've only had one of my four classes so far. Lund has an odd system of scheduling. My "Gender, Social Change, and Modernity" class, for example, meets mostly on Tuesdays from 2-4 or 2-5pm. But sometimes it meets on Wednesdays, and at least once it's going to meet on Thursday at 9am! And these classes alternate between the Gender Studies Dept. and the "Yellow Villa" -- which is literally a house in the Botanical Gardens which is painted yellow. Thank God, or I would have never found it. Also, most classes don't span the entire semester. "Gender, Social Change ..." began last week and will end in late October. My "New Europe" class begins this Wednesday and ends in December (this one does actually span the semester). "Swedish Social Policy" doesn't begin until early October and will end mid-November! As for my Swedish class, I don't know how long it will be. But I'm guessing that I'll have Swedish 3 for the first half of the semester, and then bump up to Swedish 4 in the second half. It's quite an interesting system.

There is also an ancient and proud tradition of "akademiska kvart" here in Sweden. It's actually only practiced at the older universities, and by that I mean, only Lund and Uppsala do it. It translates to the "academic quarter-hour." Broken down, it pretty much means that if a class is scheduled to begin at 2:00pm, nobody expects you to show up until 2:15pm. That's when the professor will come and if you come earlier (i.e. on time) you're going to be sitting around and waiting. So far I keep forgetting about it. It's an interesting system in a land which is so concerned with timeliness. Honestly, if you invite a Swede over to your house for dinner at 7pm. He will not arrive at 6:59pm nor will he arrive at 7:01pm. He will be there at 7 on the dot, barring catastrophe and even then ... it's questionable as to whether he still might be on time. So this policy of constantly be 15-minutes late is a bit questionable to me, but so far I've experienced it twice (I arrived on time, only to wait for 15 minutes for everyone else). I should explain to my Swedish friends how it works in California -- if a professor is 15 minutes late in California, you just leave -- expect class to be cancelled, the prof. is not showing up. What an interesting difference.

I've also learned the secret to attaining Swedish friends -- drinking. You don't have to get rip-roaring drunk with them and share your darkest secrets to be friends. But I've found that Swedes are very shy and reserved -- until they have a beer in their hands, and then you are instant friends. They don't even have to have drunk any of that beer. But I think the feeling of the glass (or metal can) in their hands that makes them instantly confidant and friendly.

In these same situations, I've learned that Swedes are not very good dancers. Lund has a system of "nations" which are student social groups. The closest thing in comparison in America would be the Greek system of fraternities and sororities. But the nations aren't tied up in homo-erotic paddling and hazing. They're just groups of students, both male and female, who like to get together and organize events. They serve cheap dinners made by student volunteers each night, they have "clubs" where there's good music and cheap beer (and bad Swedish dancers), they have "sittnings" which are 3-course meals where you dress up in a theme and have a lot of fun singing and eating and drinking. (I've also noticed that Swedes sing a LOT!) I haven't joined a nation yet, I'm still weighing my options, but I wish that UCLA would adopt the same system and get rid of fraternities and sororities altogether.

Well, as I continue with my classes and learn new things about Sweden, I will certainly slow down long enough to share what I've learned. Wish me luck!

Here's some Swedish for you to learn:
dansa -- dance
köns -- gender
öl -- beer
klubb -- night club
måndag, tisdag, onsdag, torsdag, fredag, lördag, sonndag -- the days of the week (MTWTFSS)

Firenze and Venezia

What a feeling to be back home and well-rested again. It certainly felt like a blessing to be back in my own room, sleeping nights in my own bed, and showering in my own shower -- where I didn't need to worry about sleep-sheets and shower sandals and weird hostel-mates smoking in the bathroom in the middle of the night! (That happened to us in Sorrento, actually, at the end of our trip) So I think once more I have regained the strength to begin to relate this tale, this awesome adventure which I am lucky enough to have taken. Really, I think I have to count myself among one of the most blessed people in the world, because I don't know a lot of people who have had this opportunity to travel around Italy (and indeed Europe in the next few months) like I have now.

Lauren and I stayed in Lucca for only two days after my arrival. Nanda's house is actually in the neighboring small town of Guamo, so I rented a bike from her neighbors one day and we biked into Lucca to check out the ancient Roman soldier-colony. There is a wall surrounding the old city, only about 4km around, so we biked that first and took a good stock of the city. Very quaint and adorable, I think, and it was my first taste of Italy. I think I was already in love. I had my first taste of gelato that day also, but I didn't think it was very good. I was hoping that it would get better, or else realize that the hype had made it into something that it was not. We left early in the morning on Friday, 8 August, for Florence (Firenze). That's also the day that the Beijing Olympics began. We tried very hard during our trip to watch some of the Olympics, but we really didn't see much of it and it really is unfortunate that the Olympics coincided (im)perfectly with my backpacking trip. They were over by the time I was traveling home again.

Florence from the train station was a disappointment, as I think is every city. Rick Steves (our perpetual tour guide) warned in his book that the train station was full of pickpockets -- so, green tourists as we were, we held tight to our bags and purses, strapped our money belts tight, and walked out into the wonder of Florence. By God it was beautiful! We walked across the river Arno to our hostel, thankfully they had rooms for us. This good luck was to follow us our entire trip.

Florence was teeming with tourists, street-vendors with carts full of cashmere scarves and "designer" purses, japanese tour groups, and asian weddings (for whatever strange reason). We went to the Central Market (Mercato Centrale) and bought some fruit, bread, and cheese. For just two or three euro each, we had food for two meals and snacks -- and we ate like kings. What can beat fresh bread and delicious local pecorino cheese? And peaches so ripe and delicious that the juice runs down your fingers and chin? I don't think we could have been any happier sitting at a three-course meal in a fancy restaurant. We felt like we were living the real Italy, like jeering locals surrounded by those "idiot-tourists."

We did a mad tour of the museums that Florence had to offer as well, and there are a lot. We went to the Accademia and saw Michelangelo's David. At first I didn't get all the hype. Here's this giant guy, supposedly the David but he looks more like Goliath, and he doesn't look life-like. He just looks like a white statue. He's not going to turn his head and look at you. He's a freaking statue. I was hopping mad that I had to pay 10 euros to see this statue that really did turn out to just be a statue. But I looked a little closer and, like everything, you start to notice details -- the rib cage, the muscles about his abdomen and hips, the way that his calves are flexed from his stance (yes, this is what made me really admire Michelangelo's skills -- the calves were just so real and perfect, my mom will understand how funny this is, calves that Megan could be jealous of!). I managed to snatch a bench at a good angle for us to sit at and admire him for a while. I was still mad about the 10 euros though, even if it was a brilliant statue. So I took a picture, which was technically illegal. Do you see Lauren's hand fan blocking me? I think it turned out pretty well, actually, and it was worth 10 euros!!!

We also went to the Uffizi Gallery, which was astonishing. My favorite was the Botticelli room, which had both La Primavera and the Birth of Venus. If you leaned in close, you could actually see the brush strokes. I don't think I really appreciated art until that day. There was also a marvellous view of Florence from the top floor of the Uffizi and it made for a wonderful picture, also on my flickr page. I made it my mission while in Florence to see "all four Ninja Turtles" as I put it -- Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Donatello. In the Uffizi that day I saw Leonardo, Michaelangelo, and Raphael. The next day we went to the Bargello, which is a statue museum, and saw Donatello's David, which seems to me a more perfect representation of the David anyway. Oh, also something to note -- Michelangelo's David has an over-developed right hand, which is supposed to symbolize the Renaissance, but it's just really freaky. And he needed to clip his toenails. Seriously. But Donatello's David was bronze and small, apparently it was the first male nude to be sculpted in a thousand years -- very influential.

Florence was beautiful, but I was glad to leave when we did. We had spent a few of our nights out on the town also, but we always seemed to run across the same band on the Ponte Vecchio playing the same old tired songs. All in all, I think Florence was Lauren's city and I was ready to move on to Venice, the ancestral home of my family.

We ended up having to pay 15 euro to make reservations on the train to Venice, but it was only for standing room -- there weren't any seats left. I won't complain about how it's Lauren's fault because she didn't see the little "R" in the travel book meaning that we needed to make reservations. No, I will not be bitter, despite the fact that it was a frustrating 4 hour train ride with no seats. But whatever.

We were finally in Venice! This time, there was no disappointment from the train station. you stepped right off the steps of the train station and into a piazza on the Grand Canal, right smack into the decadent splendor of Venezia herself. And the best part was, all you could smell was tourists -- the canals had no odor whatsoever. I was very much relieved! Our luck continued as we arrived at our hostel and sealed the deal on the last two beds for the next few nights.

I wish that we had more time to spend in Venice, it was really beautiful. It is just like you see in all the movies and the pictures -- singing gondolieri rowing their sleek black boats through narrow canals, tall buildings dripping with Byzantine and Moorish architecture, and impossibly narrow alleyways. Saint Mark's Square (Piazzo San Marco) was a bit dull by day, that's the place where all the stupid tourists let all the pigeons collect on their shoulders and arms and hands. Absolutely disgusting, if you ask me. Italian pigeons are lucky if they have even a few of their toes left, and they all look really diseased. Worse than normal pigeons, I think, and that's pretty bad. But at night San Marco was absolutely stunning, each cafe had a band, like a string quartet, that dueled with the other bands in the square. So every night was full of music. In the end, we weren't able to go into Saint Mark's Cathedral, but we did go into La Salute, a cathedral built in thanks to God for delivering the Venetians from the Black Plague. We also took a vaporetto ride (bus-boats) down the Grand Canal, and we cheated the expensive gondola ride (80 euro for 40 minutes!) by taking a cheap traghetto (50 cents) across the canal. So technically we were in a gondola boat, but it was only for 2 minutes or so! It was a lot of fun and infinitely cheaper.

Venezia is an interesting place. It was crowded with tourists, because we were there in August of course. But it is beautiful in a sad sort of way. You can see how the place would have been glorious and bustling a few hundred years ago. But now you can see the decaying decadence, the abandoned first floors which are regularly flooded and mossed over. Who knows how much longer Venice will stand as beautiful as it is now -- maybe the next time I am in Piazza San Marco, I will be standing ankle-deep in water. But I hope it will not be that long.

Some Italian for you to learn:
Piazza -- square
Vaporetto -- public transportation boat
Molto buona -- very good (as in food)
Museo -- museum
Augusto -- august

Oh, Back to School ...

My whirlwind trip of Europe (well, mostly just Italy with a little bit of Germany thrown in), is over. It was the most amazing, fantastic, beautiful, tiring, frustrating, and enjoyable month of my life. Well, just over three weeks. It will take me a long time to describe the things that I saw to you all, even if I just write a bulleted "laundry-list" of the sights that I went to (which, of course, I don't want to do!).

I started on August 1st and took an overnight train to Berlin. I had a few hours in Berlin so I went about 200 meters from the train station and happened upon the Reichstag, and another 100m and I was at the Brandenburger Tor! I was thinking about walking further down and seeing what's left of Die Mauer (the Wall), but it was pouring and I was already soaked. I had packed for Italy, i.e. I wasn't prepared for rain, so I decided to hop onto the next train to Göttingen and meet my friend Mona there. The train was smooth and uneventful -- German trains are as smooth and efficient as Swedish trains are, even more so actually, and I didn't know yet that I should really appreciate the efficiency of the Germans!

It turned out that the phone number I had for Mona wasn't working, so I was stranded at the train station in Göttingen, but at least the sun was off and I finished drying off (after a two hour train ride I was still wet from Berlin!). Thankfully, she called me about 10 minutes later to tell me she had a different phone number, and to call her on that one when I was in Göttingen -- but I told her I was already there! I had a fantastic time in Göttingen with her, and we also went to visit her parents in her hometown of Clausthal, which is in the Harz Mountains. We also went to Goslar, which was an important medieval trading city. It's totally preserved from the middle ages and was very cute, but I could tell that Mona and her sister were bored with it. Sort of like me when I take people to Old Sacramento -- it's boring for me but interesting for a first-timer! So I was loving it, but they were less than thrilled! Oh well!

I left Germany on the 5th and went south to München, where I had a few hours layover so I walked over to the Marielplatz and tourist-watched (my new favorite activity). I took another night train through Brenner Pass (I was very sad that I couldn't see the Alps because it was night-time), and arrived in Florence the next morning. I took a quick train over to Lucca, and I was finally there!!

Nanda's house is amazing. I think it is anybody's dream to have this cute little Italian lady cooking extravagant meals for you all the time. My first meal there was a lunch, which I thought would have been no big deal, but it turned out to be a five-course affair, finishing with cheese, fruit, and dessert. I could probably go on for ages talking about Nanda's meals. Even though I am glad to be back home in Sweden, I really miss Nanda already (and my stomach misses her more, I think!) It was just such a warm and happy place to be -- life revolved around the kitchen. I don't think I ever saw the rest of the house! We would sit there for 2 hours each meal at least, not counting the time we sat in there talking while Nanda was cooking! I really loved Nanda and her husband Caesare -- they are just such welcoming and warm people, I am thinking already when I can go back to visit! I think I have adopted them as my stand-in Italian grandparents!

There is certainly more to say, but I have some errands to run in Lund, since I have just returned yesterday there is a lot to do! But at least now you have some taste of what I have been up to -- and believe me, the adventure has just begun!

Here is some German for you to learn:
Bergen -- mountains
Zug -- train
Hauptbahnhof -- main train station

Here is some Italian for you to learn:
Buon giorno -- hello/good day
Molto bene -- very good!