Greener Than Ever

I am back from Ireland...and quite sad about it, to be honest! Ireland was INCREDIBLE! That place is so gorgeous! The people were so nice too! I had almost forgotten what it is like to walk around and have people smile at you. Swedish people are so reserved it is ridiculous. You smile at a Swedish person and they look at you with this expression that says, "Why are you smiling at me you STRANGER?!" Yes, that is a very sad, and very true fact. Anyways, it was also nice to be surrounded by English. Even though the official language of Ireland is Gaelic, everything is in English too (or just in English). I appreciated the fact that I knew what was going on around me 100% of the time. But most of all, I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IRELAND!

I took MANY amazing photographs, but am unable to access them at the moment. My computer decided that it would be fun to lose half of my entire photo library last night, and I am still working on fixing that problem. I still have the photos, backed up on my external drive, but I am in the process of burning them all to DVDs as a precautionary measure before I start trying to fix the problem. Last night there was reason to panic, but now I am feeling more in control of the situation. If I lost my photos...over 3000 of them...oh boy, I do not even know what I would do.

My CC email + gmail configuration from heaven is also not cooperating, so I have to use stupid Outlook Express to access my main email account. That sad excuse for a program makes me want to rip my hair out. Otherwise, it was a lovely day today. I went to the gym for jympa, but I neglected to drink water beforehand and it was not very enjoyable. I need to study for my final on Monday, but I have so much other stuff to do! I will get to it though...I need to solve this photo project first though, so that I can stop worrying about it.

I will post about the Ireland trip as soon as I fix the photos and get some of my other tasks accomplished. I am really excited to see Dad and Kenyon on Tuesday AND super excited to be back in Evergreen in a week and a half!

Time is flying...

I cannot believe that it is already Saturday! I am working on laundry (the project always takes a minimum of three hours) and papers. I leave for Dublin on Monday morning...SO EXCITING! Seriously, I have wanted to move to Ireland for practically my entire life, so I am seriously hoping that it lives up to my expectations. I wish that I could bring my fantastic rainboots, but I know that there will not be room in my backpack and it would probably make me go over the weight limit. Ryanair has really strict policies for carry on luggage, concerning size and weight. They charge people quite a bit to check bags, so I always make sure that I can carry on. Luckily, I have my gortex hiking shoes to brave the wet weather.

This week was quite busy...again! I am so thankful that I somehow managed to motivate myself into starting and finishing my final for Economic Development last weekend because there is no way that I would have time to do that this weekend. I am almost finished with that class, which is a really good feeling. We had our last lecture two weeks ago, but we have a group paper due along with the final on Friday. I already turned in the exam (on Monday...this must be a record for me!), and the paper just needs a final edit. I wrote it with two of my friends from class, and I am happy to say that it turned out pretty well. I think that it was my first time writing a group paper since elementary school. It turned out to be a little higher than elementary work, quality wise...haha. The teacher (not a professor) is grading these as pass/fail, which really distorts the incentives to work hard. My group did though - we looked at the influence of investment in education and R&D (research and development) on South Korea's GDP growth, made our own model, ran a regression...it was intense.

I had my last lecture for Economic Geography of Asia on Thursday. I have really enjoyed that class...for the most part. The lecturer for the first and last two lectures was the head of the Economic Department at JIBS. He is also a good friend of Mark, one of my professors and thesis advisor at CC, and was a great lecturer. He may visit CC in the fall (he comes to our school every now and then). I have the big final for that class on June 2, and then I am done! I think that one is going to be a little challenging because it is an essay test - eight or nine questions and five hours. I have a feeling that it is going to bring back memories of AP essay writing...THAT seems like a long time ago!

The big, nasty Swedish 2 final was yesterday. I definitely failed it, but I am feeling okay with that reality. It was an incredibly difficult test. Though I prepared for it, I would have had to memorize the dictionary to get a high score. It was rather ridiculous! Most of the others in my class felt the same way, so I know that I am not the lone slacker (about half opted not to take the exam at all). I do not get credit for my Swedish courses from CC anyways - they were 'extra' - but I am glad that I took them. I learned quite a bit of Swedish and it was important to me to learn at least some of the language that I am continuously immersed in.

One of the major accomplishments of the week was FINALLY confirming a place to live in Gaithersburg this summer! I feel so much better knowing that is taken care of. The house that I am renting a room in is quite close to my office and not very far from Trader Joe's, which was pretty much a requirement...haha. I am getting very excited to start that adventure! I have been working diligently on a few different Sodexo and Relay projects...trying to get them finished up before summer. I am also SUPER EXCITED for my week at home! I have lists and lists, and yes, more lists of all of the things that I want to do. It will be wonderful to be back in Evergreen! I have also received a large amount of pre-reading for my course at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in August. That is going to be a phenomenal experience! One of my professors is writing a book on the 2008 Elections and we get to read the rough draft copy. How cool is that? The course is really intriguing because one professor is a staunch republican and the other is a democrat. We mix the glory of CC teaching with an internship at the Convention, plus other group work and such. I cannot wait! Now, if Hillary would stop being such a sore loser and drop out instead of making comments about Kennedy being shot in June to Obama, everything would be great!

Also, because I am obsessed with vegan news, Opera is going vegan (and gluten-free) for three weeks! I not one for celebrity gossip, but she has a major influence on people, so this could be really good! I hope that the health effects, as well as the environmental, social, psychological, and economic benefits get some fantastic press!

Last Full Week

First of all, I could not be more delighted that the lilacs are blooming! I have been collecting a bunch every single day and my room smells amazing.

I realized this morning that this is my last FULL week in Sweden. Wow! Where has the time gone? I was completely wired last night and did not go to sleep until after 5:00 am. That was rather inconvenient, but I discovered that it is completely light outside at 4:00 am! I am really excited to travel up north with Dad and Kenyon in a few weeks to see the midnight sun. I think that Northern Sweden in the summer time could be the perfect place for Relay!

Last week was rather awful, so I would prefer not to talk about it. I started and finished my home exam for Economic and Institutional Development this weekend and am really glad to have that out of the way. The first part was regurgitation, but the second section actually required critical thinking and I sort of enjoyed it. How sad is that? I need to finish up the group paper for that class this week, but there is not too much more to do for that. I cannot take my final for Economic Geography of Southeast Asia early, so I will have to endure that on June 2. I have really been enjoying that class because it is so much better than the Economic Geography course that I took last quarter. The one thing that bothers me though is that we do not discuss current events. Last week there was not one word said on the earthquake in China or the cyclone in Burma. I could not believe it...I mean, people know about that...right? My last class Swedish, is on my hate list at the moment. I am still irritated about my presentation. In addition, we had to take the essay exam on Thursday and I know that I did poorly on it. I was extremely tired and my brain completely checked out. Oh well. I do not get credit for that course from CC anyways (thanks a lot, CC). I still have to take the nasty final for that class on Friday, which I already know is going to be three hours of awful.

It has been kind of chilly and rainy here, but the sun is out today! I have not been able to walk on the trail along the lake due to massive amounts of bugs! I feel like a windshield in the Midwest when I brave the journey. My alternative is walking on the path along the road, which is much less enjoyable but bug free. I hope that we have an extremely short cold snap to fix that little problem! It is really a bummer because I have to walk from home to downtown at least two time a day, but more often three or four. I have become so used to walking here that it almost seems strange to me to think of driving! I suppose that I will not be driving much this summer anyways, so it does not matter.

The other day when I was walking into town and picking up trash, I had this really interesting thought. I try to pick up trash wherever I am walking if I am not in a hurry, even though it makes me grumpy that I will completely clean up an area and it will be gross the next day. Anyways, I was thinking about the TYPE of trash that I always see: candy bar wrappers, cigarettes, soda and alcohol bottles, bags from fast food restaurants...and thought: is there a correlation between IQ and littering? I mean, everyone knows that littering is wrong and usually a little enforced criminal offense. However, people still do it. Furthermore, the type of people who litter are also the ones stuffing themselves with soda and hamburgers and all other types of junk, along with alcohol and tobacco. That sounds pretty idiotic to me. When was the last time that you saw a soymilk container on the side of the road? I have never seen that! I think that someone should do a study on this topic because I hypothesize that there is a definite correlation.

No Love for Swedish

I am absolutely wiped out today. I have been so tired for no apparent reason for three days. I think I need to go on vacation...again...haha. I wish that I could say that yesterday's Swedish presentation went well. I worked really hard on it and felt pretty proud of myself. However, my teacher felt otherwise. She was so picky on the comments after every person's presentation, ex. "You pronounced 'x' war like 'y' in the second minute of your presentation." Wow, pardon me for not having Swedish as a first language. Today, we had to take an essay exam and then endure a few hours of class. Then, we received the presentation grades. Let's put it this way: I am pretty sure it is one of the lowest grades I have received ever. Right down there with the test on the human skeleton in fourth grade that I failed on purpose. Granted, it does not count for a massive percentage of my grade, but I felt that it was quite unfair. Everyone was graded really harshly, which should make me feel better, but it does not. I guess that it is just one more reason why I cannot wait to go back to CC!

Many of the people that I am currently forced to cohabitate with really make me question the future of the human race. I mean, honestly, I am one of the younger people living here - technically, I should be one of the less mature people...right? Apparently not. However, I am still immature enough to be passive aggressive and offer a list of tips for these individuals on my blog:

1. Dirty dishes left outside of your room will not be removed and cleaned. It does not matter how long you leave them there. Dishes left in the kitchen will not be cleaned by others. Yes, it is earth shattering, but do your own dishes!
2. If you break glass, you must clean it up. Broken glass is dangerous and it poses a risk for other people who may happen to use common areas, such as the kitchen.
3. Trash should be relocated from the kitchen, hallway, etc. and taken to the dumpster outside. It may come as a surprise, but we actually live in Sweden, not Italy. Trash does not relocate itself, though it may seem that way, judging from the excessive amount of trash outside.
4. Food should not be left on the floor, counters, table, or anywhere besides a cupboard or refrigerator. Does it come as a surprise to you that there are insects migrating in droves? Do you wonder why your living environment often smells similar to a dumpster? This tip is your solution.
5. I will refrain from giving dietary advice. However, if you choose to cook with grease, take appropriate precautions and clean up after yourself afterwards. Besides clogging your arteries, grease also clogs sinks. It also makes counter tops and stove tops disgusting.
6. Clean up after yourself in the bathroom. I will not go into details, in order to keep this 'clean' (pun completely intended). Also, mirrors are designed to be reflective. If a mirror is covered in spit and toothpaste, it no longer serves this purpose.
7. Stealing food is wrong. People do not appreciate it.
8. If you are going to have a party, please party elsewhere. Being loud, obnoxious, and intoxicated does not foster healthy neighbor relations. If you choose to forgo this advice, please refrain from singing drinking songs...in high pitched voices...and screeching.

I could list more, but I probably sound like a full-blown pessimist, which is not actually the case. But sometimes, it would be nice to be able to prepare a meal or walk outside my room without the risk of contracting a disease.

Tomorrow I am going to go and find some lilacs!

It's almost here...

You know that feeling when you wake up and want to say, "NOOOOOOOOOO!" That will be tomorrow for me. Yes, it is the big, nasty Swedish presentation. I have a final draft (the last one was pretty much loaded with errors), but I know that I am going to totally freeze up tomorrow. Here is what it looks like:

I dag, ska jag prata på Stafett För Liv. Stafett För Liv, eller bara Stafett, är en promenad. Folk promenerar att befordra pengarna. Alla pengarna befordrade far till Amerikan Cancer Förbunden. Pengarna far till cancer forskning och att hjälpa folk med cancer.

Stafett är speciell därför att det är tolv timmar. Folk promenerar under kvällen och de promenerar i team. Teamen har tio till fjorton folk. Folk byter som promenerar. Stafett starter circa nitton. I början, är det en ceremoni med en anförande. Vi erkänner folk som har cancer. Stafett starter. Circa tjugo, har vi en cermoni heter “Luminaria.” Eftersom det är mörka, vi satte eld på stearinljusar i säckar. Säckar har förnamnen av folk som har cancer och förnamnen av folk avled frän cancer. “Luminaria” är mycket emotionell men det är viktiga att minns. Vi promenerar tills solen kommer upp. Det halv är jätteglada därför att vi är hoppfull. Stafett avsluter circa sju. Vi kungjorde som befordrade mesta pengarna. Folk går hemma och sover! De är trötta!

Under Stafett, vi promenerar och gör andra saker. Vi spelar sporter. Banden kommer och spelar musik. Vi äter mycket mat och dricker mycket kaffe och te. Men, vi sover inte! Det är vanliga kalla därför att Stafett är utifrån. Vi måste springer omkring att vara varm! Det snöde i den forsta år!

Jag startade Stafett i min skola under min forsta år med min kompis. Jag och min kompis, Caitlin, gillar Stafett! Jag startade Stafett därför att min mormor och min kollega hade cancer. Jag tyckt att jag hjälpte inte men jag kunde. Jag kan hjälpa befordrar pengarna för cancer forskning därför att forskning är hur vi ska finna en bot!

På maj tredje, hade Colorado College dess tredje Stafett. Vi befordrade tjugo-nio-tusen dollarna eller circa ett-hundra-sjuttio-fyra-tusen kronor. Jag är stolt som en tupp! I fredags, hade jag min egen Stafett i Sverige. Jag promenerade frän åtta till tjugo eller för tolv timmar. Mina fötter var mycket trötta! Jag tror inte jag kunde promenerade för tolv timmar!

Stafett För Liv är i tjugo länder men inte Sverige. Jag tycker att Sverige behöver Stafett. Det är jatteglada att promenera med kompisar. Också, det är för en bra orsak. Cancer är ett stort problem i USA och här. Stafett För Liv är ett metod att hjälpa.

I was so tired today for no apparent reason! Maybe Relay is finally catching up to me. Haha. All I felt like eating was soup and it was windy out. Bummer. I was feeling pretty sorry myself on the bus home (I cannot believe I took the bus, but my foot hurt like heck and I was totally dragging my body around), which was totally unwarranted...so then I thought of ten reasons why I need to turn my attitude around:
1) I am not in Myanmar.
2) I am not in China either.
3) I have a sweet summer job.
4) The lilacs are almost blooming.
5) I am going to eat soba noodles when I get home.
6) Bridge is back in Evergreen.
7) I saw a cute snail this morning.
8) I am not Hillary Clinton AND she is totally going to lose.
9) My apartment next year is going to be awesome.
10) I downloaded "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi today and I will probably have to listen to it on repeat.

PS - Grandma S. wins a million kroner for figuring out the topic of the presentation!

Relay By Myself and a 180

I really need to get better about this blogging thing. I actually enjoy writing on my blog quite a bit, but whenever I sit down to update it, I think of a million other things that I have to do and I get distracted. Welcome to my ADD. Haha.

So what happened this week? I had a full schedule of courses Monday through Thursday. That was a little tough, especially coming off of all of my traveling and fun times. I actually had to remind myself more than once that I was in Sweden to go to school. Ha. On Thursday I basically had an "academic Relay" - Economic Development from 9-12, Swedish II from 1-4, and Economic Geography of Asia from 5-8. Considering that I left my house at 8 and did not return until after 9, I do believe that it was slightly insane. However, I made it and reminded myself that this type of a schedule is what I have been working off of for several years. I had some great guest lecturers in both Economic Development and Economic Geography this week...yay! I appreciate people who know what they are talking about! I had a real reality check in Swedish called "you do not actually know any Swedish, Courtney." Okay, so I do, but missing two lectures for that course was sort of rough. I have a five minute oral presentation IN SWEDISH on Tuesday. My teacher (who is really fantastic, just tough) unpleasantly surprised us by saying that she expects at least 75% of that to be memorized. How do I curse in Swedish again? Just kidding. In case you are wondering what my presentation will be on, here is a draft:

I dag, jag ska prata på Stafett För Liv. Stafett För Liv, eller bara Stafett, är en promenad. Folk promender att berfordra pengar. Alla pengar berfordrade får till Amerikan Cancer Förbunden. Pengar får till cancer forskning och att hjälpa folk med cancer.

Stafett är speciell därför att evenemanget är tolv timmar. Folk promender under kvällen och de promenader i team. Teamen har tio till fjorton folk och folk byter som promenader. Stafett starter circa nitton. I början det är en speciell ceremoni med en anförande. Vi erkänner folk som har cancer. Då Stafett starter. Circa tjugo vi har en cermoni heter “Luminaria.” Eftersom det är mörk, vi satte eld på stearinljusar i säckar. Säckar har förnamnen av folk som har cancer eller folk avled frän cancer. “Luminaria” är mycket emotionell men det är viktig att minns. Då vi promender tills solen kommer upp. Det halv är jätteglad därför att vi är förhoppningsfull. Stafett avsluter circa sju. Vi kungjorde som befordrade det mesta pengar. Då folk går hemma att sova! Jag startade Stafett i min skola på min forsta år med min kompis. Vi tyckte att det kommer att lyckad på Colorado College. På maj tredje, Colorado College hade dess tredje Stafett. Vi berfordrade tjugoniotusen dollarna eller circa etthundrasjuttiofyratusen kronor. Jag är stolt som en tupp!

I lordags, jag hade min egen Stafett i Sverige. Jag promendade frän otta till tjugo eller för tolv timmar. Jäg var trött men glad! Stafett För Liv är i tjugo länder men inte Sverige. Jag tycker att Sverige behover Stafett. Det är jatteglad att promenda med kompisar. Också, det är för en bra orsak. Cancer är et stor problem i USA och här. Stafett För Liv är ett metod att hjälpa.

I wrote it last night and it needs a little bit of work. In case you are wondering, no, I did not use an online translator. That was just me and my dictionary.

On Friday, I spent the day "Relaying" in Sweden! My goal was to walk from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm and guess what? I DID IT! YEAH! I was actually feeling pretty pessimistic about the whole thing when I started on Friday morning, thanks to a massive blister on my heel that I had the joy of receiving two days prior. But guess what else? After walking for twelve hours, your feet basically go numb and you do not feel things like a dumb blister that much anymore! I have to say that the weather was absolutely gorgeous: sunny and at least 25 degrees. I wore my super hot running tights, CC shorts, and, of course, RFL shirt. I choose to wear the original. The really fantastic thing about this whole event was yesterday. Why? Well, I will admit that I was feeling pretty crappy when I finished walking on Friday night...obviously...and I was expecting the worst on Saturday morning. But, I actually felt pretty darn good yesterday! I was a little bit sore, but well enough to walk to school, write a group paper, walk back, etc, etc. It was totally amazing! I did not take any photos during my Swedish Relay because I forgot my camera, and I also did not calculate the distance for most of it. I will estimate that I walked over fifty km though...and because I walk at least five km per hour. Anyways...

The forest section of my walk to school

On to the "180 part." Wow, so one time I went to Portugal and Finland, and then I came back and I said, "Sweden, what the heck happened to you?" I have really enjoyed Sweden since I arrived and have always felt that it was a beautiful country, but all of a sudden this place is amazing! For one, it has been sunny and practically hot for the past week. I have spent all of my time skipping around in my CC shorts and sandals. Also, everything is GREEN! There are blooming trees everywhere and flowers and I discovered lilac bushes about to bloom on my way to town today. Yes, lilac bushes, my absolute FAVORITE type of bush! Plus, it does not get dark here until after 9:30 pm now, so I have plenty of daylight! I discovered that there are teeny tiny lizards in the grass too...but they are lightning fast and really difficult to find. Sweden also has the biggest bumble bees that I have ever seen in my life. Seriously.

Can you spot the bee?

I should probably get back to my reading. Then, I am going to start practicing for my Swedish presentation. It would be funny if I did not actually have to get a grade on it. I am so excited that Bridge is going to be home in Colorado today and, of course, Happy Mother's Day to Mom and Grandma and Grandma!

PS - Cinnamon does really work to get rid of ants!

Helsinki, Relay, and Why My Room Smells Like Cinnamon

It is Wednesday and I am just now getting around to posting about the weekend...too much to do! I am enjoying the absolutely gorgeous weather in Jönköping - everything is GREEN and there are flowers everywhere! The lake has been especially lovely. Every time I walk past it, I am struck by how incredibly clear the water is. I have been told that it is the cleanest lake in Sweden, and I believe it. It makes me feel like going swimming!

Last Thursday, Kavishna and I set off for Helsinki, Finland. We took a morning bus to Stockholm, which took forever! It was nearly five hours...I am seriously starting to hate buses. I love using public transportation, but when I have to sit still for more than an hour or two, I start to go a little crazy! We boarded our ship in the afternoon, a bit after we arrived in Stockholm. We took Viking Line this time, a different company than the cruise line that I went to Tallinn with. I think that this ship was a little nicer, but it still lacked things to do! Unless you want to smoke, drink, or buy things from the tax-free shop, prepare to be bored out of your mind! I do like going outside on the top deck of the ship though! Cruising through the archipelago of Sweden is always lovely!

Sweden's archipelago

When we docked in Helsinki on Friday morning, I was ready to get off that ship! We decided to go to our hostel first to drop off our gear because it is always better to sightsee without all of that extra weight! Our hostel for Friday night was at Helsinki's Olympic Stadium. The city hosted the 1952 Summer Olympics. Our hostel was actually the old athlete dorms that have been converted for tourists. It was a little dated (obviously), but really cool to stay at the Stadium. The facilities are still used for a variety of events and team practices, so there was always something going on while we were there.

We walked around the city quite a bit on Friday. Helsinki has some interesting buildings - the style seems to be BIG and impressive. There are gigantic statues of famous people everywhere. I liked seeing all of the parks! We visited the Helsinki Cathedral, which is the most photographed building in Sweden, and the Uspenski Cathedral, which looks very Russian. There is a neat indoor/outdoor market right by the water too. Helsinki must be a famous shopping destination because it seemed that that the city was dominated by mega-stores and malls. I did not want to shop, so I was really excited when we stumbled upon the University Botanical Gardens! The outdoor gardens were beautiful! I also went inside the greenhouses. My favorite part was the 'Water Lily' room; the lilies honestly had a diameter of at least four feet!

Inside the University greenhouses

On Friday night, we decided to go out to an Indian restaurant for dinner. I had not had Indian food in forever, so I was really excited. Unfortunately, I would have to rate it as 'just okay.' We were the only people in the restaurant because we went out late, so the service was great though.

On Saturday morning we took the ferry to Souomenlinna, an island about fifteen minutes from Helsinki. The island is actually a fort, originally built when Finland was part of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was occupied by the Russians when Finland was under their control, and now belongs to Finland itself. I loved the island! It is a touristy place, but there are also about 900 people who live there year-round. There is a stone wall surrounding the perimeter and various building scattered all over the island. Outside of the town center, many of the buildings and passageways are built into the hills, so one has to look twice in order to see them! It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed being close to the water. I also say the biggest jackrabbit ever....it was at least the size of Maisy, if not bigger!

Fortress walls on Souomenlinna

Before we caught the ship back to Stockholm, we also visited the Rock Church. The church is literally built into a pile of rock in the middle of the city. It is the strangest looking thing! From above, it looks like a UFO, due to the green metal room. We also came across a rally for the legalization of marijuana. There were people walking parade-style down the mainstreet of town with signs and music...the smell was really intense! I could not believe how many people had their children in strollers at the protest!

We boarded the ship back to Sweden on Saturday afternoon and arrived back in Stockholm on Sunday morning. I was back in Jönköping by early afternoon...just in time to respond to an overflowing inbox of emails. I have quite a bit of school and other work to do in the next few weeks, so I am ready to take a little break from traveling.

--

I am happy to report that Relay For Life at Colorado College went incredibly well! I am so proud of everyone who participated and of the stellar planning committee we had this year! We have raised over $28000 and the money is still coming in! I am still planning on doing Relay-Sweden this Friday, May 9th. I am going to try to walk for twelve hours, during the day, but we will see if I make it!

Oh yes, and why does my room smell like cinnamon? Well, I seem to have a major ant problem. I am attributing it to the disgusting state that many of the people around me live in because my room is nice and clean, and I do not keep any food in it. I found online that ants are supposed to hate cinnamon, so I sprinkled it along the base of the wall where I think they are coming in. I am hoping that it will work because I hate being an ant killer. If not, at least I love the smell of cinnamon!

Portugal...the post with actual information.

Well, first of all, I should probably apologize for taking forever to actually update this blog thing. I was only home for one, yes one, day last week between Portugal and Finland, so I am going to use that as my excuse. Luckily, I have a stellar memory thanks to my love of blueberries, so this update will be exactly as it would have been a week ago. Better late than never, right?

The Portugal trip started at lovely hour of 1:45 am on Thursday, April 24th, which is when our bus to Nyköping left. That four hour bus ride was pretty much awful because the bus was packed and also smelled like sweat. I blame the people who like to backpack 'hippie style' through Europe, aka 'Great idea called let's forgo showers for two months!' Not so great, in my opinion. Anyways, we arrived in Nyköping in time to catch the bus to the Stockholm Skavasta airport. The airport is actually fifteen minutes from Nyköping but an hour from Stockholm, which goes to demonstrate the level of intelligence of the person who names the small airports in Europe. Our flight was scheduled for 6:40 am, and we were ready to go by the time we got on that plane! Unfortunately, the pilots had other plans called, 'How about making everyone sit on the plane for an extra two hours why we wait for some fog to clear in Portugal that would clear during our three hour flight but we will wait for it to clear before we actually leave Sweden because who would not want to sit on our dinky crap plane for five hours instead of three?' I am also really confused about Ryanair's planes: they are Boeing 737s. I thought that Airbus had the plane monopoly in Europe? Ryanair is definitely a British company, so logically it should fly European planes. Anyways...

View of Porto from atop Muralha Fernandia

We finally got to Porto! It was hot and lovely! The airport in Porto is brand new and quite nice too. We took the metro into the city and set off in search of our hostel. The Residencial Cristo turned out to be a weird hostel/hotel combo with stuffy rooms that smelled like mothballs. The lady at the reception was a total weirdo! She talked to us like we were three and used this fake British accent. The worst part is that she would talk forever! We decided not to spend much time in that place except for sleeping (Thursday and Friday nights).

After checking in and dropping off our stuff, we walked around Porto! The city is very rustic. It reminded me a lot of Mexico - narrow streets, kids and dogs everywhere, disorganization, slight feeling of chaos...it was great though! Porto is right on the Douro River. The city is famous for its Port wine (get the name?), which, unfortunately, we never had a chance to try. The place just radiates a feeling of history! There is a church on every corner. The buildings were a mix between newish (on the two main shopping streets) and decrepit. Portugal is predominately Catholic, and it is easy to tell. There are little alters in alleyways, saint statues everywhere, and a lot of the businesses have names such as "Holy Spirit Bank." I loved the big marketplace that we found - a big building with vendors selling fruit, veggies, nuts, gross animal stuff, flowers, etc. There was even a "health shop" vendor! What did I find there? Mini soy milks (chocolate and vanilla...yay!) and caramel soy pudding! Yes, I finally got to try it and it was delicious, though next time I am going for the vanilla.

Church - downtown Porto

We got a lot accomplished on Friday. We walked around Porto during the morning and saw quite a bit of the city. We visited the Muralha Fernandia, a huge fort in the middle of the city (it looks really out of place!) that used to house all of the important government buildings within its walls. There is also an immense cathedral and a huge statue centerpiece. The fort is on top of a hill, and the view of the city was great! We also went on the 'Six Bridges' cruise up and down the river for an hour. It was so nice to be on the water! The cruise itself was sort of a tourist trap because none of the operators spoke English (so we had no idea what we were seeing) and it was supposed to include a visit to a wine cellar, which never materialized. Nevertheless, it was fun to be on a boat and a beautiful day.

Kavishna and I on the river

In the afternoon, we went to the beach! YES! There are no actual beaches in Porto, so we had to take the metro to Póvoa de Varzim. The annoying lady at our hostel told us that it was about thirty minutes away, which actually meant an hour, which meant that I had to wait an extra thirty minutes to see the ocean...that was really difficult. But, we finally got there! The town itself is really cute, very touristy, and much more 'modernized' than Porto. Of course, I did not care about much of that because I just wanted to jump in the water! The beach was actually made out of gravel and the Atlantic was on the chilly side, but I did not mind at all!

Yay sun (and this photo does not even show my German-bus battle wounds)

On Saturday, we took a morning train to Lisbon. The trip was about three hours. I loved it! I enjoy taking trains because I love to look out the window! We passed through so many adorable little towns. I saw tons of olive groves, vineyards, and sheep...the sheep were the best part.

Our hostel in Lisbon for Saturday and Sunday nights was right in the city center. It was great! The people running it were very friendly and gave us a lot of information on what to see, how to get there, etc. It was great because we were at a major disadvantage without knowing Portuguese! We walked all around the city on Saturday and saw: the Castle, Sé Cathedral, and tons of other cool things! Lisbon is much more modernized than Porto, but there is still a 'old' feel to much of the city. It is right on the coast too.

Lisbon from above

On Sunday, we took a morning train to Sintra. Sintra is a town about an hour or so from Lisbon, just up the coast. I LOVED Sintra! It is a town built right into the side of a mountain. There are multiple palaces, castles, and tons of cute little houses. The place is incredibly tropical and so GREEN! There were flowers and plants everywhere. It is quite touristy, but still has that 'unspoiled, natural' feel, which I prefer over a city any day!

We toured the Sintra National Palace first (free for students!). It was beautiful. My favorite parts were definitely the view and the gardens...of course. I liked this tour because we actually got to see the whole palace, not just one area, because it is no longer inhabited. Then, we got on a bus and took a rather scary bus ride straight up the mountain to the Moorish Castle. This place was so neat! It dates back to the 9th century and was constructed when Sintra was occupied by the Arabs. The place is surrounded by walls and has ancient churches, towers, food storage holes, and water cisterns. Apparently, it was also an archaeological dig site. I just loved it! It was in the middle of the forest and had a great view of the city too!

Tower at the Moorish Castle

After Sintra, we took a bus to Cabo de Roca, the most Western point in Europe. We hopped off the bus, took a photo, and hopped back on because the next bus was not for two hours! It was beautiful though! Green hills, tons of flowers, and cliffs above the ocean!

Cabo de Roca

Our last stop was Cascais, the most famous beach in the area. It was very crowded, but fun nonetheless. I jumped around in the ocean, re-sunburned my hands, and had a great time!

On Monday, we took a train back to Porto. I wish that we could have spent one more day exploring the towns around Lisbon. We stayed in a hostel on Monday night on the other side of the city, which was neat because we got to see a different area. I found this huge, creepy graveyard while I was walking around. There were only a few graves because most people were buried in these huge stone house-like structures (actually, they held whole families...mostly the men...of course). I think that they were nicer than most peoples' homes in Porto! I also saw this funeral procession. It was actually sort of funny because the people at the front were really sad and crying, people in the middle looked respectfully downcast, and then there was a group at the back smoking and chatting! They were definitely part of the activity though.

I walked around in Porto a bit on Monday, but was quite tired from all of the crazy adventures! Our hostel was not really a hostel, but more of a cheap hotel. It was kind of icky and everything was pink, which upped the gross factor. I am glad that we only stayed there for one night! Luckily the people at the reception were better...haha.

Our flight back to Jönköping was early Tuesday morning. It was only a half hour late, thankfully. We had a long bus ride back to Jönköping and crashed. It was quite the fun time! I ate so much yummy fruit on that trip including pineapple! We enjoyed how incredibly cheap Portugal is compared to Sweden, and also discovered that barely anyone spoke English. It was okay though, Portuguese people are quite nice! (Except for the drug dealers, which get rather upset when you say, "No." I learned how to spot the dealers pretty quickly though, and we were able to steer clear.)