Live Every Day like it's Cheese Doodle Day

Danish danishes! Oh so many Danish danishes.... All pictures are from my Copenhagen trip a couple weekends ago.

If someone asked me to sum up the last six weeks here is Sweden a few things may fit the bill: new friends, exciting experiences, snow, or maybe travel. But, nej, only one thing comes to mind: food. Yes, this will come as a surprise to anyone who has never met me or ever seen me before. But to everyone else this probably holds a shock value of exactly zero. My days are filled with food and I have no regrets (...except maybe that one Chinese restaurant.)

We receive semi-regular updates from the International Office here about things that are happening at the University, the most recent of which contained this gem.

Here is a sample of some food themed days in Sweden:

12 Feb: Day of the Semla and International Pancake Day  

25 Feb: Day of the Grape fruit 

5 March: Cheese Doodle Day (**my personal favourite day, inspiring my new life motto "Live Every Day like it's Cheese Doodle Day")

25 March: Day of the Swedish Waffle 

12 April: Licorice Day 

11 May: Swedish chocolate ball day 

27 May: Muffin Day and Cheese Day 

6 June: Day of the early potatoes and sill (typical dishes during Swedish midsummer) 

18 June: International Picnic Day 

25 Aug: International Raw Food Day 

4 Oct: Day of the Swedish Cinnamon roll (“Kanelbulle”) 

9 Dec: Day of the Gingersnap cookie (“Pepparkaka”)

I fully plan on celebrating every day on this list. Actually, October 4th (Kanelbulle day) is celebrated almost every day at Fika.

"Fika is a social institution in Sweden; it means having a break, most often a coffee break, with one's colleagues, friends, date or family. The word "fika" can serve as both a verb and a noun. Swedes consider having a coffee an important part of the culture" --- Thanks Wikipedia! 

I moved to a country where it is practically mandatory to take a mid afternoon coffee and kanelbulle break and I am expected to move home at some point??




In my time spent not eating (which truly is a minority) I have actually spent some time in the library (I'm just as shocked!), exploring some more of Lund, and planning future excursions. Next stop: Finland! Tomorrow night I am train-ing, flying and bussing my way to Rovaniemi, Finland (in that order)! Time will be spent cross country skiing, visiting Santa Claus, hanging out with some reindeer, and HOPEFULLY (she says shaking her fist menacingly in the direction of the sky) seeing the northern lights.

It's Official...

You know you're officially living in Sweden when your phone begins autocorrecting words to Swedish!  

Sorry for not posting for a little while I've been super busy with schoolwork (ha ha ha it's funny because it's not even a little bit true.) 

Preface — this is a small update on my life inter spliced with pictures of the Lund Cathedral which I toured last weekend. 

Updates on the Swedish Lyfe: 

Current progress with the Swedish language includes useful phrases from my aerobics class and the Swedish subtitles on Django Unchained. So I can get by just fine if I ever find myself in a situation where I need to be a heinously profane aerobics instructor with a gun, as I often do. 

On the note of Swedish aerobics- I have been regularly hitting up classes at the gym here including but not limited to aerobics, latin dance, advanced dance class (that one was by accident), afro-dance, step and yoga! All were thoroughly enjoyable minus the Swedish yoga. I think I left the yoga class more stressed than when I entered because, as is the case with most yoga classes, the instructor talked us through the poses as we were holding them. This is normally calming, however, because I had no idea what she was saying, from my down-dog position I was consistently looking around me to see what everyone was doing as I had no idea if she was saying "keep holding the pose" or "change to the next pose." She very well may have been saying "you're doing it all wrong— you, yes you, the tall moron who doesn't get any of it" and I would have been just as oblivious.

 

I have been attending classes, but I only have school Monday - Wednesday (tough life) leaving plenty of time for other fun activities such as traveling! 

This weekend I will be heading to Copenhagen, a mere 30 minute train ride away, and am staying the night with a few friends in a hostel. The only thing on my to do list is to eat a Danish. A Danish in Denmark with a great dane, that's the dream. I doubt I'll find the dog though, so I'll just settle for the pastry. 

 

At the end of February I am heading north to hopefully glimpse some Aurora Borealis in action! I am going to Finland and Norway for a week and will be staying within the Arctic Circle so I'm getting the winter boots and thermal underwear ready. 

BONUS picture of the day to prove I actually have friends not just buildings... corridor dinner with the roommates!

Corridor dinner with my roommates! 

Next post will more than likely contain stories from Denmark and undoubtedly a picture or two of a Danish... because pastries are my only friends. I hired those last people.