Frat parties...

I will never be going to one again. Okay, so that's probably not true, but I do know that Greek night life will forever pale in comparison to my latest experience. What am I talking about? A traditional Swedish "sittning" of course! 

On Friday, my friend Alex and I signed up to work at Östgöta's (a nation) Novischfesten sittning. A sittning is a traditional Swedish seated meal that usually takes place before a party. This semi-formal sittning in particular welcomed all the new members of Östgöta nation. The tickets to the event included a three course meal and tons of drinks (bottle of wine, cider, and snaps), not to mention singing performances, speeches, awards, beautiful and tasteful cocktail dress, Swedish drinking songs, gag gifts and party favors. Working the festivities gave such an awesome behind the scenes to this completely student run tradition. I'll walk you through our night! 

3:00- All of the workers had to arrive early in order to begin prepping. When we arrived Alex and I changed into Östgöta polos and began setting up tables and chairs. Next, we shined 130 sets of silverware (this would be one of the few not so fantastic times of the night; I felt like I was back working in a restaurant, yuck). While we were doing this other students were folding napkins, cleaning candle fixtures and setting the tables. 

I'm not too sure why Alex looks so happy?

The final product! It took two hours and 12 workers but totally worth it.

5:30- Oh I kinda forgot to mention that when I say work I really mean volunteer haha. Everyone who worked that night were students; from prepping, cooking, bartending, bussing, serving, coat checking, and cleaning we did it all! It was actually really impressive and a great way to meet people. What better way to bond with some Swedes than by slaving away in a restaurant/ club from 3PM til 3AM? Anyway, at 5:30 we had some Swedish pasta and drinks, and sat around to get the game plan. 

7:00-Up until this time we were still essentially prepping everything. It was a lot of work! We had to stock both bars, clear the floors and hallways, etc. I had a bit of learning to do since I had never worked a sittning or club night. By seven though, we were all changed into our white blouses and ready for the guests! It was a semi-formal event and all of the girls were wearing stunning dresses (Swedes really like black anything) and guys in suits. Nearly 100 people mingled and drank in the entry way before finding their assigned seats. 

8:00-10:00 -Time to serve! The appetizer was a type of cold tomato soup full of flavor and spices. There were some speeches which I couldn't understand and of course a drinking song before the main dish. Clearing the used plates got trickier throughout the night as, how shall I say it, hmmm intoxication levels went waaay up haha. Next, we served lamb, salad, and potatoes. Oh also the student cooks always make extra plates for all of the workers. My first taste of lamb was delish. Finally, we had Key Lime pie (which really just tasted like cheesecake sans the lime) as dessert. After going around and serving snaps (shots) it was time to kick everyone out. But the night was far from over.

Server life? 

I thought US restaurants were hectic... It was funny hearing all the shouting and direction giving in Swedish. Throughout the beginning of the evening prep and clean up the cooks blared songs like "Footloose", "Living on a Prayer" and "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" in the kitchen.

Pie on pie on pie

10:30- Back to the not so fun activities. In the next 30 minutes we completely transformed the dining area into the club dance floor. We blitzed the place: tables and chairs were broken down, floors swept, dishes, glasses, cutlery bussed, bars restocked, lights turned off and music on. It was like magic! Mind blown. 

11:00- The club opened to both guests of the sittning as well as other students. We each had different shifts. For this hour I was manning the emergency exit which led to a few interesting conversations with random drunk Swedes haha. 

12:00- Coat check. Well I mean I don't know what else to write except...I checked coats. 

1:00- Bartending...? Hahaha Mom and Dad I assure you, I do NOT have a future in this line of work. Luckily, I was stationed at the "Lil Bar" in the back so I wasn't hit too hard with customers. But I definitely don't do well with foreign currency under pressure. Okay, I admit, I don't do well with ANY kind of currency because I don't do well with mental math... Ooops. I had to figure out the register and remember the prices all on like 30 minutes notice! Not to mention the actual alcohol part. We had three beers on tap; the first time I tried to pour one I couldn't figure out how to turn it off so it just kept over flowing lololol. Eventually, I figured it out and the customer was errr, feeling a little too good to notice! Despite how terrible I was at first, I got a hang of the whole thing and ended up having a lot of fun. The music was good and my co-workers were really fun to work with.

2:00- Clean-up. When the club closed we were back to the dirty work. Mopping, cleaning, putting the alcohol in the back, washing dishes, cleaning bathrooms, etc. My job was to pick up all the cigarette butts out front. Um, Sweden, let me introduce you to the ashtray? 

Sleepiness kicks in...

3:30- YAY! We're done!! Time to go home? Wrong. Now the workers' party begins upstairs. For the next few hours Alex and I hung out with a bunch of Swedes, exemplified a perfect game of "American" beerpong, and listened to music. I've decided, hands down, that cider is my favorite drink here in Sweden. In the end it was a good night (morning?). I met some friends and we plan to fika soon!

Alex doin' her thaaaang

7:00- I waited until sunrise to bike home. While the streets of Lund are safe at night, they're definitely not warm! I got to see theee most beautiful Swedish sunrise in town. The quiet of the early morning was only interrupted by the chirping birds. It was so blissful I almost didn't want to leave. Almost. I booked it back home just in time to Skype my family after Buddy's game! How much more blessed could I be? To have such a fantastic and entertaining night anddd get to see my entire extended family at their weekly post-football dinner?! It made my night just that much better (: 

I spent my entire Saturday recovering and sleeping, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Sittnings are such a unique part of the social life in Sweden; it's so unlike the rowdy, dirty frat parties. Don't get me wrong, the clubs can certainly get rowdy, but I think there is also a touch of class that is missing from the US college night life. Working was a blast and I can't wait to attend a sittning before I leave in December! 

Until next time, 

Xo

Autumn When It's Not 90

Fall has come! And by this I mean actual real autumn, as in "no Riverside, you are most certainly not experiencing fall; good joke though". During the first week of my first new season the temperature dropped about ten degrees and since then has been resting in the mid to high 50's. There has been little rain and the air is crisp and fresh. When I'm not thawing my hands out from my 8AM bike to class, it is quite nice. The leaves are already starting to fall and I'm itching to get a super cheesy picture of me throwing a pile of them in the air. I've already worn more sweaters and scarves than ever (that good ol' LA winter). The Swedes think its endearing that I am looking forward to the first snow experience; my professor literally said "Aw, bless your heart" today haha. Only thing missing is pumpkin spice EVERYTHING! Can't believe my first fall is without the pumpkin lattes, breads, butter, pies, (and poptarts according to Alyssa Schulz?!) etc. Don't get me wrong they have pumpkins here but I'm not about to go carve an entire one out just for anything pumpkin flavored...uh what about good ol' Libby's pumpkin in a can?!  But besides the pumpkin issue, there are no complaints about this brisk weather. I've spent afternoons in oversized sweaters, snuggled in blankets reading new novels and sipping tea. Super cliche but amazing all the same.

Fall also marks the start of school for my fellow Bruins! As if I wasn't missing home enough (Buddy's football games, my birthday etc.) a whole new bout of homesickness is about to come on for life in lovely Westwood. I absolutely love being abroad, meeting new people, and seeing new things, but sometimes I wish I didn't have to opt out of a quarter of UCLA in order to do so. Seriously, why is our school so awesome?! It's pretty hard to get a better college experience after two (very quick) years as a Bruin. Okay, that's it I'm done bragging ;) OH wait jk, I'm not...because I haven't even mentioned our football team's studly performance these past few weeks. Literally killing me seeing all the tailgating, cheering, face-paint, and baby blue in everyone's photos. I swear to never miss a game next season. Not to mention all the Bruin Belles activity that will start soon, as well as tryouts for volleyball. Ahhh! UCLA I misssss you!

Meanwhilllle, here in Lund I've just been chillin'. I pretty much have no other way to put it. I've never had only two classes each with one chapter of reading a week. That's like less than 100 pages of reading in 7 whole days!! My evolutionary psych class is interesting; we have different lecturers every few weeks and some of the material I've learned in LS15 with Professor Phelan at UCLA. As for the scandinavia history class... I've basically learned that Vikings did not actually wear horned helmets haha

Mornings when I don't have class I spend time at the gym since it's incredibly empty while everyone else is in school. Sometimes my corridor mate and I take a spin class together in the evening. I even got my hands on a volleyball playing in a rec league. Volleyball isn't as popular here as the states, especially living in socal, so its pretty much just for fun. But hey no complaints here!

Oh! Last Friday six of us from the corridor got together so the Swedes could show myself and the other international student on our floor how to make Swedish meatballs! We made everything from scratch including the meatballs, mashed potatoes, gravy/saucey thingy, and apple pie. It was super fun way to get to know everyone a little more. And of course the food was fantastic. The meatballs taste like realllly flavorful meatballs from home except Swedish peeps top it with some type of berry jelly. I'm totally making them when I get home.

I'm still enjoying my favorite run into the countryside, while the weather's nice that is. Next week I plan on going to the mall to buy some gloves and a thicker jacket so I don't freeze in October.

Hmmmm...what else? Oh! I booked a flight to see the lovely Molly Betts in Cork, Ireland in early November! I'll be spending 4 whole days in Irish countryside which I'm so stoked for, along with visiting traditional Irish pubs hehe. Yesterday, an email from UCLA Psych Dept. finally congratulated me on my acceptance into the major! Woooohooo! Not that I'm any closer to knowing what I want to do after UCLA, but hey at least I have a major weeeeeee (:

That's all for now
Xo

Skål!

CHEERS! Writing to let you all know I survived my 21st birthday ;) I spent my birthday weekend in the beautiful happenin' city of Copenhagen. But first, on Thursday some of my close friends in Lund came over to attempt a random cake recipe which (thanks to Katie) turned out amazing!

On Friday, a few of us headed to Copenhagen for some shopping and sight seeing. We met up with a high school friend who happens to be studying in Copenhagen for the semester as well. Melissa was so sweet to open up her home to us. Her Danish roommate took the time to make me a traditional Danish birthday cake even though we'd just met! Melissa even planned a small get together of other American students to celebrate. It was almost like home!

First stop...Danish bakery. To eat a Danish. What else?

Yup. In two days I got three cakes.

The baker herself!

So great to see a familiar face! Loveeee youuu Melissa!

Melissa and I found this hole in the wall cafe Saturday morning. Super Nintendo, record playing, Danishes and coffee. What is not to love? 

After a truly unforgettable weekend celebration full of sunshine, friends, Danish sweets, a few drinks, splurging and sightseeing, I am definitely ready to get back to my routine. Both the gym and my mountainous stack of reading are calling my name. Congrats to Buddy and Alyssa on another weekend of W's! You're both studs and make me so proud.

Thank you all for the birthday wishes. I'm so grateful to have such amazing people in my life. And for those of you back home, I can NOT wait to celebrate in December!!

Until next time,
Xo

Seriously, Studying in Sweden

It's been a while since my last post, I've been waiting for something as fantastic and interesting as Spain to write about... But, alas, school has officially started and long excursions to tropical beaches is definitely a thing of the past. It's not all bad though! In the past week and a half, I've succeeded in finding my classes, meeting all of my corridor mates, discovering my favorite snack, getting lost running in Swedish countryside, planning future trips, and improving my cooking skills.

As I mentioned in earlier posts I live in a single occupancy room in a corridor shared with 8 other people; I am one of two international students on the floor, everyone else is from Sweden. Everyone is really friendly and usually tries to speak English when I'm in the living room, so that's nice! We all share a kitchen, and its spotless. Always. It's actually quite impressive. They're all also students at Lund, though a mix of masters, undergrad, and law school. Similar to other European countries (so I've heard) students in Sweden go straight from high school into their preferred area of interest, meaning there really is no such thing as undergrad here. If you know you want to study law, you go straight to law school after high school; same thing goes for med school. While I said straight to law/ med school, I guess I should clarify that no additional education is needed, but it is not uncommon for students in Sweden to take time off before coming to a university.

I guess I'll stay on the topic of school while I'm at it. I got pretty lucky with classes only twice a week for the whole semester (Promise, Dad I didn't plan it that way!). But that's not really the norm for student's here. Most have class on average 3 or 4 days a week. The way the scheduling of classes is set up here at Lund is so confusing! From Sept-Dec I have my Evolutionary Psych class; from Sept-Oct 29 I have my Scandinavia Viking class; from Oct-Dec I have my Gastronomy class (which only meets on Tuesdays-score). Not only are my classes scattered throughout the semester, they're also all over the city. And it changes every time. Please, take this time to imagine me...with no coffee...at 7:15 in the morning...on a bike...in the freezing wind...lost looking for my psych class on a paper map filled with a bunch of Swedish street names I cannot pronounce. DUH you have too googlemap (is that a verb?) the location of your lecture before hand, how else do students get to class...

Lectures are pretty interesting here in Lund. Though the Swedes really like their breaks! Every 45 minutes or so every professor gives a 15 minute break when most students run the the nearest coffee location. My professors both seem kind and speak amazing English. My psych professor actually received her undergrad degree from UCLA ( Goooo brubru's we're everywhere!) and her PhD. at Yale before moving back to Sweden a few years ago. I've met a few other international students in both of my classes. I have one obnoxious English student in my Scandinavia class, and I swear I will never be able to hear an English accent again without cringing. Gah. There's the normal amount of assigned reading and only one type of examination at the end of the course. Also Swedes have "retakes" (called Omskrivning). Literally, the lucky ducks get to retake their final if they don't pass the first time!

The way Lund's academic departments function here is really cool. A lot of the times students in a dept meet up together for events put on by the students themselves. They range from educational things to excursions out to the bars in Malmo. A lot of the departments have "mentor" programs for incoming freshmen. Academic departments that care about the well-being of its students?! What a concept; UCLA psych dept should take note (Molly Betts haha). In addition, each department has a lounge on campus where you can refrigerate food for the day, hang out with other psych majors, or make coffee.

Well that's about it for classes so far! For as ridiculous as this sounds, it's taking me some time to adjust to how much I do NOT have to do here. Seriously, I cannot remember a time in my life where I wasn't in a hurry to fit something in my schedule. I considered getting a planner out here, but then I realized I literally have nothing to put into it! AnnMarie and I decided this is just a part of our "go, go, go" American culture. It's nice to get a break and I admit, I spent the first few days binging on granola and episodes of the show "24" (uh... Jack Bauer is a bad ass and whoever has not watched this show should seriously reconsider their life choices).

Here are some other random things that took place in the past two weeks:

- I got my residency permit card!

-I stole an American flag from an international corridor party

-I still don't understand the surplus of milks at the store...I end up with a different one every time
-I bought a gym pass; hello Swedish spin classes in pitch black
-I watched both of my stud siblings kick butt on the court and field (least some kids in the fam got talent;) )

Dad and I hold a sophisticated volleyball conversation during the game

-I watched another thunderstorm from under a blanky
-I booked a flight to Paris!
-I looked up and saved a billion different recipes (none of which I've actually made...)

My FAVORITE snack. Living off this yoghurt, fruit, granola and the salads below.

-I missed the first UCLA football game, marking the beginning of my homesickness for my wonderful school!

-I went on a couple runs which, to my surprise, landed me in the middle of Swedish countryside!

-And as my 21st birthday gets closer, I've come to the realization that all I really want for my special day is peanut butter, cookie butter, and twizzlers!!!

Missing all my friends and fam back home;; xoxoxoxo from Sweden <3

Until next time,
Xo

Paella, Tapas, Sangrias...Oh My!

I literally do not have the words to describe my time in Spain. Like I actually do not possess the capability of conveying how unbelievable that country is, but I will try!

Wednesday morning, I left Lund with my friends Rebecca and Nick to catch our 11AM flight from Malmo to Malaga. We booked the entire trip to Spain weeks ago, but for me it was kind of a random trip in that Spain really wasn't on my "to-do" list of countries to visit. In retrospect... I have NO idea why it wasn't; it should be on every living being's list of places to go before you die.

This was my first time flying Ryanair, which was an adventure in itself... As most of you know its the cheapest airline in Europe and for good reason! The three of us joked as we pushed and shoved to get seats, and exchanged nervous glances when we took off since it pretty much felt like we were going to drop right out of the sky. Everything was yellow and plastic, including the chairs... but, hey, you do what you gotta do! Four hours later we landed in super sunny Malaga.

Yeah we boarded the plane from the ground; it was weird.

Malaga is usually known as a resort city; a lot of Brits vacation on the warm beaches there. So the whole all-the-spanish-I-know-is-hola really didn't come to mind until we landed. And no one spoke English. Butttt, lucky for me (and Nick) Rebecca speaks Spanish fluently, so she proceeded to translate for us the entire trip.

The "lil translator" herself.

Once we (I mean Rebecca) figured out how to get to the train station, we took the subway into the city. From there we had a 25 minute walk with our 25 lbs hikers' backpacks in the tropical humidity (I used to think backpacking would be cool, my shoulders beg to differ). On the way there we saw tons of mopeds, palm trees, and fabric covered, marble paved plazas. Our hostel was located right at the hub of all the action which made it easy to find our way around at night! 

Malaga was an amazing vacation from my vacation. I spent hours lounging on the beach and walking through tropical-plant lined avenues (Paseo del Parque). I ate huge plates of paella, tapas of fried calamari, and drank sangrias every night. I visited the Pablo Picasso Museum and hiked up Roman ruins to get a view of the city at night. One of the nights the three of us took part in our hostel's "Pub Crawl" to get a taste of the Spanish night life, which of course, did not disappoint! 

Here is one of the main shopping areas. 

The huge cathedral in the center of town

Inside of the cathedral; construction began in 1528 and finished in 1782.

Our first Spanish meal of the trip! Since we were the waiter's first customers he brought us free tapas including these green olives that I now love. I must find these delicious things in Sweden and the US! Here we shared a plate of paella which is a traditional Spanish rice dish made with chicken, seafood, onions, garlic, bellpeppers, tomatoes and other delicious spices. It was hands down the best food I've eaten in weeks (sorry Sweden paella>tubed caviar).

Best sangria of the entire trip (and I had a lot to compare hehe). Rebecca and I decided this was basically a REALLY sweet, cold and refreshing CapriSun with chunks of strawberries, watermelon, and pineapples in it. Uh..YUM

Sneaking pictures in the Picasso museum. They kept getting angry with me in Spanish...ooops. 

Picasso was actually born in Malaga but when he left at age 19 he never returned.

Found another church! A good portion of our time in all of the cities was spend wandering the town with no specific destination in mind. This was totally alright with me.

Our trip to the beach took us through the Malaga port first.

But eventually we found the sand. The waves of the Mediterranean crashed really hard and the shore line was rocky but is was definitely relaxing and refreshing to spend the hottest part of the day getting tanner than every Swede we know.

This Roman theatre of Malaga dates back to the 1st century. 

Bright and early Friday morning we left Malaga to make a day trip to Cordoba. The city is a remarkable combination of Islamic culture and Roman Catholic history. Throughout Spain's vast history Cordoba was a major city in the Roman Empire and Islamic caliphate. This trip to Spain realllly makes me want to take a Spanish history class when I get back to UCLA!

The main reason we went out of our way to Cordoba was to see the architecture of the Cathedral of Cordoba. I've read about it in books and learned about its significance in high school, but seeing the cathedral first hand was awe-striking. Its one thing to look at a 4x4 image in a textbook and another to to look up to see the massive arches above you. It was unreal, one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen. The unique combination of Islamic architecture and Catholic tradition made this site unforgettable and more than worth the trip. I still can't actually believe I was there. So blessed. 

The scenic walk to the cathedral.

The outdoor area totally reminded me of the Spanish style missions back home.

The dome of the cathedral located above the Catholic portion of the structure included the altar and pews.

Again, I just don't have the words...

The Cathedral of Cordoba was truly amazing but we had a schedule to keep! By 3:15 we made the trek, backpacks and all, back to the bus station to take the 2.5 hour trip to Granada, our third and final destination for the week.

We were exhausted, sweating profusely, thirsty, mosquito bitten, and achy allll over, but the moment we entered the magical city of Granada we completely forgot about all of these troubles. From the bus we walked through the modern down town to settle into our hostel, which was nestled at the bottom of the Alhambra itself.

That night I got to experience the most wonderful city, full of Spanish culture, life, and energy. We walked through old town, the modern down town, and the Moorish Albaicin. And every part of Granada, though completely distinct from the other neighborhoods, was absolutely beautiful! Everywhere you went you were immersed in the Spanish culture of tasty complimentary tapas with sangrias and tinto de verano. Granada is unlike any European city I've ever visited. At night the streets flooded with people of every age, eating dinner at 11 PM with their families. There is Spanish music and flamanco dancing in the plazas, artists drawing, and musicians playing. The night life wasn't your stereotypical clubs and bars with the goal of getting hammered, but consisted of sitting down and conversing with friends and family, actually enjoying your company. The city itself, as well as all of its people were so welcoming I felt I could stay there forever. It was so comfortable and homey, I forgot for a moment I wasn't traveling with family; it was the closest I've felt to home the entire month! I could seriously go on forever attempting to describe Granada but I will spare you ;)

Our cute hostel 

Streets of Granada

One of the many quaint restaurants!

A night view of the city and the Alhambra 

I absolutely loved these streets, packed tight with people and lined with Arab shops. 

Travel buddies!

The way to our hostel and the cheap, yet delicious tapas bar we love. 

Hi, can I live here?

The next morning, the three of us hiked up the side of the Alhambra to get afternoon tickets to the fortress, palaces, and gardens. We stopped for fried eggs and chorizo; I bought this delicious nectarine/peach juice that was to die for. By 2PM the sun was shining bright (but no humidity thank goodness) and we entered the historic landmark.

The Alhambra is a Moorish citadel and palace, since the Moors were one of the first to conquer the Iberian Peninsula in the 700s. It stands at the top of a hill where the Alcazaba (defensive area) overlooks the entire city of Granada. The Alhambra is well known for the Nasrid Palaces and the Generalife gardens. The Alhambra, just like other towns in Spain, went through the hands of the Muslim culture and the Roman Catholic Empire.

Here come the millions of pics!

In the Generalife gardens

Repetitive geometric tiles typical of Islamic art. The culture believes the most beautiful things cannot be found in nature, therefore their art work usually depicts these shapes. These tiles lined all of the bottom half of each interior wall of the palaces since it is more weather resistant than the stucco used in the picture below. 

'

A ceiling in one of the palaces

Walking into the Court of the Lions in the Nasrid Palaces

AKA walking into an art history book

My favorite picture of the Court of the Lions; AH so beautiful

The view of Granada from the top of the fortress

We ended our night, and trip in Granada, with chocolate churros. I will NEVER be able to eat a churro at home again. 

 It was hard saying goodbye to Spain come Sunday. But, I know I will be back one day. I can't wait to learn more about the Spanish culture and experience its welcoming embrace once again. As of now, I'm preparing for my first day of class on Tuesday. Sweden is beautiful as usual, but missing just a little bit of southern sunshine and sangria.

Until next time,
Xo