Oktoberfest

hey all....its been a while since I've updated. I'm still adjusting my sleep schedule from last weekend at Oktoberfest. What an amazing weekend! The pictures came out great on fb. The day after I got back (tuesday), my roommates and I woke up at 4:30 to stand outside the student union to wait for tickets. What tickets you might ask?? Tickets for the Tallinn Sea Battle, which is 2-day party cruise with 3000 students from all over Scandinavia. I was first in line, after shivering for 3 hours outside in the cold with my friends, lol. The cruise includes a half day in Stockholm and a half day in Tallinn, Estonia. Okay, here's Oktoberfest highlights, in random order...

- Saturday was a full day at the legendary tents. We woke up early and waited outside in the pouring rain with umbrellas dripping on us for 45 minutes before we finally got in. There was a lot of anticipation, and a lot of pushing and shoving once the doors opened up. If it wasn't for the huge security guards yelling at the crowd in German, then there probably would have been a mini-riot.

- Beers were €10 a piece, and were a L in size. I had 4 on saturday, and was really drunk. Once the german band got on stage, the songs/chants/mayhem really started. Near the beginning, we had 4 young german dudes wearing Lederhosen sharing our table. We thought they were cool at first, but after they got wasted off of 1 beer, they turned into assholes (aka Deutschbags). They kept stomping everywhere, and even pushed off all the dishes on the table and tried to break it. We all looked at each other like "what the hell?!" Eventually they wandered away and were replaced by some Aussies and a couple of cool, old guys.

- Favorite German song to sing along to is "ein prosit" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR8VmCDdt5o&feature=related

- What surprised me the most was that Oktoberfest is a huge carnival. There are 8-10 huge beer tents, but outside of those there are all sorts of rides/rollercoasters/games/places to buy bratwursts (had a .5 meter one that was amazing!). I also went on the Olympic Rollercoaster with my aussie friend, which had 5 loops/olympic rings. Best rollercoaster ride ever.

-A group of Mexicans put together the trip, and drove the vans down. Sleeping was very uncomfortable in these vans, and probalby only slept 2 hours each way. Also, we got lost a couple of times, and had a van separate from the rest more than once. The only suggestion I had for this trip was that there was more organization, and more accountability for those who made us late for things. I like to be fast-paced and do everything, especially if I'm only there for 2 full days....the Mexican's kind of lolly-gagged a little bit. BUT that's my only criticism.

-Saturday night we just hung out in the tents, and came up with a new drinking game called "Wunderbeer." You basically just yell WUNDERBEER and tap people's mugs, and whoever you touch, they have to drink. Simple games are the best, in my opinion.

-German girls were really sexy in their lederhosen, but the majority of them did not speak good english, lol. My 2 years of German in high school wasn't enough, lol. Still fun to look at.

-The autobahn wasn't how I pictured it in my head. I thought it would be wider, with ferrari's and porsche's doing 250 km/hr. The road was just like I-95 with 3 lanes...with people driving a little faster than usual. Oh well, it was still pretty cool to be on it, and it's another thing to check off the list. :)

- This year was the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest, but there were no signs or anything whatsoever saying that.....Tradition, I guess.

-Saturday was the only day that I went to the beer tents. I wanted an all-around trip, so when we got there mid-day friday, I went to see the BMW museum. The architecture for the BMW buildings was amazing, and there were a couple of cool things to see inside (it was another thing to check off the list, probably will never go back). Friday night we went on a beer challenge, which was basically a tour to many places to drink in the city...where we learned "ein prosit." Then on Sunday we went on a 3-hour walking tour of the city, and what a beautiful city it is. I'm glad my camera died after I took the cool pictures, and not before. :) I've seen two spectacular cities on my Eurotrip....Stockholm and Munich. What's next?

8-)

soooo I went to the 6pm meeting today for the Oktoberfest trip, where we went over the "iterary" for the trip. Since only 29 people are going, it is going to be cheaper to rent 3 vans to take down to Munich instead of just one big bus. I like this idea because it gives us more flexibility if people want to go to diferent places when there. Also, talking with some of the Canadians going, its as if they were preparing for an olympic event or something, as if it would honor their country if they drank 7 litre beers in four hours, lol. I'm excited, the people going are a fun group, even if we are small. Also, on the way down there, we will drive on the Autobahn! I've always wanted to do this, and even though we'll probably only go 130 km/hr in the van, it will still be worth it. 16 hour trip total to Munich, including a ferry ride.

After eating 3 large burritos for Delta's "taco tuesday," I'm starting to feel fat, lazy and out of shape. (I'm really not, I just feel that way lol). So tomorrow I am going to take a spinning class, and lift weights at the gym 1 block away. It's not too expensive, only 350 SEK for 10 sessions, which is like $5 a session. I didn't come to Sweden to work out, so I'll confine my gym workouts to once a week. :)

This will be my last update until after the trip. Full day tomorrow, plus Akademien in the night. Followed by an 8 AM lab, followed by packing. Auf Wiedersehen!

mix of emotions

hey blog followers, lol. Its been a couple of days since I last updated, because it was a busy week. A quote from my canadian roomate Tyler...."my classes are getting in the way of my vacation" is kind of how I feel about the shitty classes that I currently have to sit through every week. My swedish class isn't that bad, but there is now the culture and society part of the class that started, which equates to ANOTHER 8 AM lecture during the week. I couldn't think of a better way to start my day than to listen about Swedish Immigration policy during the 20th century!! I want to learn the interesting/cool things about Sweden, not about history. Okay, maybe like 10% history, 90% useful/cool things about Sweden. Also, on a side note: the exchange rate between the SEK and US dollar is at an all-time low right now. Yesterday, we received our invoices for 2.5 months rent. Coincidence? I think not....

Today is my brothers' 24th birthday, so I would like to wish him a happy birthday. Wish I could be there to celebrate it with him. :(

....On Thursday, I met up with my Swedish contact person, and she cooked a typical Swedish dinner for me. Her names Madeleine, and she made boiled potatoes, meatballs, home-made bread, Skärgårdsill, Inlagdsill, and a special white sauce that she made (sour cream with chives plus some herb salt). The two fancy words ending in "sill" are Herring fish, and come in different varieties. The Skärgårdsill (dont ask me how to pronounce it, lol) is Archipelago Herring, and the "Inlagsill" is pickled herrring. It sounded weird, but I ate it, and it was delicious! Afterwords, 3 of her good-looking friends came over, and we drank a little bit. They went to an expensive night-club around like 11:30ish, and I went back to Delta bc I had a 8 AM class the next day.

Friday night, after warming up with beer pong, we went to a night club called Centrum. This was my first club outside of Akademien, and was a pretty cool place. The music was LOUD, and the light effects were pretty cool. The girls were okay. It was a good night, and a good start to the weekend. I was invited by Madeleine to a harvest festival this sunday in Visingsö, which is an island in Jönköping. I may go to it, depending on how much $$ it costs.

So....I'm angry at the exchange rate, and with both of my classes....I'm sad that I can't be there for my bro's bday, and happy/joyous about everything else. :) 5 days until Oktoberfest!!!!

gettin cold

Last night it was 9 degrees celsius outside (48 degrees American), and I can definetely feel the transition to colder weather here in Sweden. I can handle it for now, but me being a thin-blooded Floridian, it's only a matter of time before I wear two pairs of pants to schoool, lol. Also, last night the street was literally empty with people. Swedes do not go out on Mondays....at all.

The forest party last saturday was fun, and there was a great turnout (40-50 people). It took a while for the party to get started, because my fire making abilities are very limited (see fb pictures). Once we got the fire going, we could actually see each other and the party started. We roasted hotdogs and marshmallows, then the Spanish guys jumped the fire.....Honestly tho, after about 2.5 hours, it was getting kinda boring (no music)....and we called it a night, and took the 20 min bus ride home.

On sunday, we went to see Jonkoping's championship hockey team (HV-71) play an exhibition match. There weren't any big fights or bloody noses, so it wasn't as good as Canadian hockey, but it was still worthwhile seeing and going with friends. And getting free stuff :)

My Italian roommate Chiara is teaching me to speak a little Itanliano. I just want to be able to say a couple of things, not speak the language fluently. Same with Swedish....I just want to be able to call a person something, and say hi/bye. Maybe have a first grade conversation. Swedish class is going okay, but it feels like we're learning random things here and there....and its difficult to learn the goofy Swedish language. My other engineering class is pretty bad as well....my Chinese professor who doesn't speak english and reads from the slides is a guaranteed winner of Sweden's Worst Teacher Award 2010.

But I'm not letting that get in the way of my experience here. Also...can't wait for the care package my parents sent! There's no Mac'n'Cheese here in Sweden!! lol

1 month anniversary

"This is the true story, of 12 strangers, picked to live in a floor in Delta House...go to school together and have their lives photographed excessively......to find out what happens, when people stop caring about their own country, and start getting real....The real world: Sweden!!"

I figured that fit with the theme of the blog, and also because I'm living my own real world experience, knowing zero people about a month ago. Which reminds me...today is the 1 month anniversary of being in Europe! It was August 11th that I bid farwell to the States with my father and took a 7 hour flight to Europe. This has been the longest, and most fun (grammer?)month of my life. It's sad being away from friends and family, but at the same time I know they understand that its definetely worth being over here....and that I shall return soon.

I'll celebrate tonight at the "Forest Party" in a nearby place called Raslatt. The idea for the party was my idea, after talking to an Australian girl who mentioned that in Raslatt, there was a lot of forests nearby. I was like "hey, we should have an outdoor party, have a fire, drink some alcohol, and maybe make s'mores." She liked the idea and we made a private facebook event (so the landlords won't find out). So far there's 31 attending.....I'm hoping it doesn't rain.

Also, there are now 12 people living on my floor, after a guy named Luigi moved in (It's easy to guess where he's from, lol). Its been fun living with my roommates so far, minus sharing a kitchen with 12 people. The wide range of personalities makes it interesting, and I am happy to be known as Marky Mark, and my roommates are the Funky Bunch. lol

SPORTS: I've played volleyball two nights this week, and has been fun minus the balls leaving red marks on my forearms. I also played a Swedish sport called Innebandy, which is basically like playing floor hockey with a wiffleball....trying to score into a really small goal. After playing for 2 hours, I was completely drained. In this sport, you are constantly starting and stopping. It's a lot of fun, but exhausting.

Finally...Oktoberfest is officially going to happen, and bought my ticket this week for 3000 SEK, or 300 Euros, or 400ish US dollars. This includes a bus ride to and from Munich, two nights at a campsite, a 3 day unlimited metro card, museum discounts (yea....maybe), and a Beer Challenge tour. Two weeks away!!

Pictures

Saturday night, we left the mexican party and saw the movie "The Kids are Alright," at the Jönköping Film Festival.... which is a movie about a lesbian family that meets their sperm-donor father. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdDSqgZ87fM It was a pretty funny movie with good acting, and not my typical movie that I would go out on a saturday night and see, lol. The group that I was with made it fun, also.

Here are my top 3 pictures from the experience so far....

I love this picture because it shows how frantic it was in the freezing cold water! As you can see, I was the fastest swimmer and leaped out of the water as if being chased by a shark, lol.

A good group photo of most of the engineering exchange students....taken the evening where we did a "pub crawl" during welcome week. We went to 3 different bars/pubs around the city, then went out to Akademien.

A special performance by a Swedish rock band during welcome week. The crowd was pushing and shoving, it was hot as hell in the room, and the music was pretty instense...but it was still an awesome experience. I'm somewhere in the crowd, if you can find me. :)

jumped in lake

so I just went for a run around the lake again with my french roommate (short, fast, very ninja-like) lol......and then afterwards we jumped in the lake from the docks. The water didn't feel as numbingly cold like last time, and felt very refreshing. Tonight I am going to a "mexican party" and then going to see a film at the Jonkoping film festival with a group of friends (not sure what its about yet). So it should be another fun night out. No more Akademien for a while.

I forgot to mention in the previous post that I now have a "contact person," which was set up by the student union. There was a mingle before the welcome dinner last wednesday night, and it was revealed to me that my contact person was a swedish girl, 27, with red hair (not your typical swedish girl). So she's supposed to help me out if I need anything, etc. I told her that we should do some authentic Swedish cooking sometime, and she agreed. :)

Now that welcome week is over, it is up to us to meet new people and plan trips, etc. I'm thinking about taking a trip to see Oktoberfest in Munich. This year, they celebrate the 200th anniversary of the festival, so I'm sure its going to be a shitshow aka "a really great time." My goal is to get a lot of ppl to go, because theres already a student organization that set up the trip, we just need to buy the tickets......

last day of welcome week

today is the last day of welcome week. :( its been a blast though, and have no regrets with this week. Boring stuff first....my research thing won't be starting for another week or two, so that gives me some extra freedom. My production logistics class is LAME, and will probably not waste any more time/space on this blog to talk about it.

Fun stuff: tuesday night we had a party at the park, and each group had their own theme....ours was pirates lol. We had to impress HI-LIFE, which are basically the cool kids who party a lot, have "the best sex in the world", and host many of the events that we do. So the night was full of doing random, stupid things that were pretty fun (like doing the Macerena, making a human pyramid, singing swedish songs, etc)

Last night we had our official welcome dinner. Everyone got dressed up and we went to this really nice Greek Restaurant with an all you can eat buffet. After eating about 2000 calories, we went to Akademien, and danced off the calories, lol. Which reminds me, I need to work out more! I've only ran twice since I've been here......need to avoid freshman fifteen and get my ass into shape.