*Warning for you--This one is very long, so go got yourself a tea, perhaps a piece of cake, and have a fika while reading this! [fika-coffee/tea and cake/sweet with someone else and having a conversion, Swedes do this often]
What's that mean?
What's that mean?
Well, Lördag is the Swedish word for Saturday. It really means Laundry day!
Onwards we go! That morning I believe I worked on one of these blogs! After that I decided it was high time to go get real food, so I began out and ran into three other exchange students who live in my building who are all from Hong Kong. They were on their way to IKEA and asked if I wanted to join, so I did! [This was very good, coming from where we don't have one of these, I was more than lost. They did have one in Hong Kong, so knew how to get around]. We took the bus to IKEA in the a6 shopping center (27 SEK later, but we will learn currencies later). We talked a bit on the bus and learned even more talking to them in the store!
It just kept going on and on and on and on and on and on and .. ... ..
I was able to pick up things they don't like on planes like scissors, things I have never heard about before, like duvet covers (it's like a pillow case for your quilt).
When we first got there we headed to the food court because they had cheap food.
~~Yes, people after my own heart, they used "cheap" in a sentence, and made it better with "food"
While we while eating I asked a mother what this drink that was offered was. Called "Lingon Dryck" she was very helpful and nice, but could not come up with the word, so I got "it's made from a small thing you find in the woods"--holding her fingers to indicate it was about 1 cm large. "Berry?"--and that was it! I also asked what a traditional Swedish food was, much like Apple Pie is considered for the United States of America (I have to use the full thing over here), she told me it had to be swedish meatballs, so I asked if there was really anything you could only say in Swedish. "I suppose Lingon!" I got confirmation that my one Swedish phrase was correct [as a marker, I've needed it twice as of today ;P]. And thanked and said goodbye to her as we tried this new drink.
It is a very different kind of taste, it is sweet first then tart like that of cranberry.
So on our way out I picked up some Swedish meatballs and concentrated Lingon juice.
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| My new friends modeling the juice.... perhaps forced. |
Speaking of them:
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| Gigi, Jessica, and Simon |
Also, I learned that Chinese students get to choose their own English name. Gigi is a nick name, Jessica chose hers, and Simon got his from his 1st grade teacher.
We went off to go get bus passes and from there to get food! I'll talk more on this in the currency one, but you can get some things pretty cheap, but overall it is more than in the States.
We were coming home and ran into a student from Columbia on the bus who taught us a much better way to use the buses and a couple hints how to do things in Jönköping, he said they just let you find things out for yourself and never really tell you to much. So it was much appreciated!
Jessica showed me where she had found the cleaning supply, so I used them! No more dust everywhere for this guy!
This one wasn't nearly as long as some, so on to Söndag!
SÖNDAG
Ate real food this morning, not bars!! But got ready for Mass, and learned that all three of my friends wanted to go (Gigi is the only Catholic), so I waited for them while they ate, and a girl came out and joined us. Emenine from France. After an initial encounter of me being confused what she was doing (think of the usual French greeting), plus side, learned I can lean back very fast, she sat down to breakfast with us and we all decided to go exploring after Mass [Emenine also ended up being Catholic]. We ended up taking the bus downtown and walking to Mass from there, which was farther than we bargained for!--now we now we have to switch buses!
Mass
Mass was definitely new! The homily did completely nothing for me, I man it could have been the greatest homily in the world!--But all I understood was förstår (fur stor) which is understand, irony, and it isn't even shiny. Oh no!--puns!~~I believe this is from lack of chocolate, I may have to fix this, good thing I'm going off to find an ATM I can use tomorrow!
Random off tangent (it only touches the circle once! mahahha)
Because "no" is only Spanish ;P
Through all of Mass I was doing the english responses under my breath and at the sign of peace just told the guy next to me I don't know Swedish, and he told me the word I need.....pretty sure I messed it up, but he just nodded. After Mass a lady in front of me [she must have heard me say I had no idea what I was saying] gave me a booklet and said that it should help, it was all the responses in Swedish!! YAY!! I'm prepared (and will prepare) for next week!
We then walked over to the lake and walked almost entirely around it.
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| About 7 km, which is about 4.4 miles! |
*Warning--prepare for a LOT of pictures....
We saw quite a few things as we took our walk, and met a really cool couple! And still pretty sure I should just become a photographer......
At this point a couple came up and said hej (hi) so I said it back oh nellie! I got a lot of Swedish back at me! Good thing I could ask if they knew English! [And they answered me in Swedish first, and I understood!--good sign!] They asked why we were taking so many photos, so we explained we were exchange students. They had me take a picture of them and they in turn took a picture for us.
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| The whole gang, Jessica, Emenine, [me], Simon, and Gigi. |
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| See? Why am I still doing Engineering? |
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| Closest I've been to Swans in a long time. |
This is where we got very confused. Is this some sort of odd tradition? I tried looking it up and found nothing. But it wasn't just neck ties, it got weirder....
A lot of ducks.
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| it's an egg!...??... |
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| What are these things? |
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| The School of Engineering |
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| School of Business |
After we got done exploring, we were a slight bit hungry. We walked about for a while and picked the cheapest restaurant. It was very nice and we talked able our schools at home, our actual homes, and our families. I did take pictures of this, but my camera decided it had been working too hard, so they're not that great, but here we are anywho!
It was a very nice supper, even though I think the waitress was a bit angry for use skipping out on having drinks (the drinks were the very expensive part!). I then came home and worked on this! planned Monday's adventures, and we actually had a house meeting (it wasn't until 11PM ish --I was getting ready for bed!) and we just got to ask a few questions and I mostly talked to a guy from Germany, Albrecht [I can't say his name right, you add the ch in an odd way, he thinks it's hysterical to listen to me try]. He is already done with school and works in Göteburg, Sweden, and was just visiting a friend. We talked about school programs, where we have visited, the different cultures in those areas, food, and the board game clue. He also doesn't drink!--and he's a German!--I was very excited if you can't tell. :D I finished this in the morning here, so I'm off to start another day of finding my way around!
Blog ya later!
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