People say that time flies when you’re having fun, or when you’re busy. I think that probably happens because our brains are so busy having fun or doing whatever we’re doing that makes us busy, that there isn’t enough room to remind ourselves that time is passing. But I think the rule can be expanded to other things than just having fun or being busy. If what you’re doing is new and exciting, your brain must be using so much of its energy taking in all of this new sensory information – making you “busy” even if you’re not really that busy!
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| Sundsvall, looking towards the water from the city centre |
I was thinking about this yesterday after an amazing chat with Kimi at a Barista in Sundsvall. Everything here was so new for me – the people, the place, the living quarters, the students and staff at IES, the language, the culture, the food…I think my brain was so amused and interested the whole time that I didn’t have much time to watch the clock. Three weeks is much too short. Much, much, too short.
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| Central bus terminal and the North Mountain |
My cheeks (in my face) were hurting so badly from laughing so much – she’s just SO lovely.
I’m seriously getting worried about the weight of my luggage coming back home. I was only 0.5 pounds under the 50 lb limit on my way here, and I’ve since bought 2 pairs of jeans (the bright pants!), a (light) shirt, some jewellery, and now I also have this sweater! And I’m pretty sure I haven’t gotten rid of that much weight since I’ve been here…yikes! Oh well, if it’s overweight, I’ll just have to take out something or put it in my carry on…or…pay? how does that system work? It is like getting a traffic ticket? Maybe if I smile nice and pretend to be extra stressed out, I can get away with a few extra pounds…
I tried to wear all my heaviest clothes today – but I seriously have a feeling that I’ll be layering on a few more sweaters at the airport if/when my luggage is overweight. It reminds me of that time that Alex and I went to Ireland (almost 2 years ago exactly!) and since we were flying Ryanair, we had to pay extra for any luggage over 15 lbs or something ridiculous. So we each wore like 5 shirts, 3 sweaters, 2 pairs of pants, 2 jackets, 5 pairs of socks, and saved some cash!
Geez, being such a talented packer is a blessing and a curse. I can pack so much stuff into a small container that there’s no way of using the size of a suitcase to estimate the weight of its contents…
I learned from a few of the other Canadians that the Swedes have some funny traditions/ways of communicating. Here’s a few that I found kind of funny:
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| Oh Sweden... |
-Fridays are family taco days. Apparently Swedes LOVE Mexican food, and there’s some sort of unwritten tradition that every Friday they have tacos, or some other Mexican dish for supper with their families.
-In the same way, Thursdays are unofficial soup days.
-I also learned that a way the Swedes show agreement is to inhale at you. I never noticed it, and the Canadians brought it to my attention on Thursday night, so I didn’t get much of a chance to look at it. But apparently they put their lips as if they’re going to whistle, and instead of saying ‘yes’ or ‘yeah’ or something like that, they just quickly inhale at you to show that they agree with what you’re saying. I thought it was pretty funny - it’s like they’re too lazy to actually use their vocal chords and move their mouth, so instead they just breathe ….at… you.
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| WHAT did you call me? |
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| Downtown Sundsvall |
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| A restaurant in the city centre. Patios are very popular in the summer! |
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| An average hall/working/lounging area. The entire school is very open concept, welcoming, and conducive to group learning. |
As I’m reflecting back on the music classes we had, I have Proud Mary stuck in my head. Our train has stopped at a town to pick up some passengers and there’s raindrops slowly dripping down the window, as the snow and ice from last night melts. Instead of Big wheels keep on turnin’, My brain made up new lyrics… “Train wheels keep on turning, Raindrops keep on running…” That’s all I got so far. I … *ahem…*…I think it’s gunna be a hit. How embarrassing.
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| Front entrance at IESS |
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| Cafeteria Lunch Serving Area (These kids are SO lucky to get a hot lunch every day!! They found it ASTONISHING that we bring sandwiches to school every day or have to pay for cafeteria lunches. They don't know how good they have it!) |
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| Cafeteria seating area |
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| Locker hallway at IESS |
But either way, regardless of my horrible lyrics, I’m taking the slowly running water droplets as an indication that Sweden is crying about my departure. A beautiful pathetic fallacy. It’s okay, Sweden, don’t worry. I’ll be back. I’ll miss your balls.
Until Next Time (it’ll be Aberdeen!),
B.
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