Arrivals and Festivals

Arrival Day!
The UC kids no longer run the streets of Lund. August 21st marked the arrival of nearly 5, 000 other international students. I've met tons of undergrad and graduate students from Germany, France, Poland, UK, Italy, Asia...so pretty much every corner of the world.

The week consisted of typical orientation procedures. I felt like a freshmen again which made me really miss my brubru's! There were a few plus sides like...hmmm free candy/food and my new free water bottle equipped with an "Our tap water is safe to drink" post card reassuring me I am not in Mexico. (Noticing a trend? hah) On a more serious note, I finalized my schedule, met with other international psych students in my class, learned more about nations, gym memberships, student health, unions, etc. I also bought a ticket to the official "Welcome Party" put on by the uni. Later in the week I met with my Mentor Group where we BBQ'ed and played some traditional Swedish games.

I met up with Rebecca and two new friends from Scotland on Friday to check out the festival in Lund's neighboring city. Malmofestivalen is a week long cultural, musical, and art festival put on by the city of Malmo (thanks to the citizens' taxes). This year the festivities coincided perfectly with the end of my Swedish language class so I was able to make the 15 minute train ride to Sweden's third largest city.

Rebecca and I entering the festival!

New friends!

Rebecca with some delicious Thai food 

Malmo is one of Sweden's most diverse cities. There were all types of nationalities at the festival. I even watched traditional Chinese and Thai dance performances. This picture captures one of the main food areas of the festival. There is literally every type of food you could imagine including food from Chinese, American, Thai, Greek,  to Spanish, and Norwegian cultures. And trust me, that is just the tip of the iceberg!  

The streets of Malmo (outside of the festival).

Stumbled upon "The American Store" and found poptarts, pumpkin pie spice, American flags, cowboy hats, and weird pictures of Elvis Presley! The store also has a bunch of English goodies (according to Rebeka who is from Scotland). Apparently we are one in the same to the Swedes ;)

FOUND TWIZZLERS which was my obsession during finals at UCLA and UCI. This small pack of three costs $3!!! So if you ever feel the need to send me a care package, I wouldn't object to some of these babies.

Kayaking in Malmo

Food on food on food!

Who in the US hasn't had spin cream...? Right?

Twizzlers? JK 

Another new friend

On our way out we decided to stop at the information booth (yeah..shoulda been our first stop oops). We found out that a well-known American rapper, Mac Miller, would take the stage for a free performance within the next hour. What are the chances?! So, of course we stuck around a bit longer!

All in all, it was quite a successful day in Malmo. This coming week I will venture out of Sweden and explore a little bit of southern Spain with a couple friends! Can't wait!! 

Until next time,
Xo