I'll try to post a video, but if it doesn't work please please please try to picture this: A group of ten or so of us international students walk to the race track right next to The Camping (where we live) to watch the races on Friday night. Already it's different than in the States because some of the horses are warming up with the jockeys riding on carriages attached behind them as opposed to on their actual backs. We sit around for about fifteen minutes before the races start, just watching the tough guys get all pumped up for their big races. Finally a buzzer sounds and all the horses and jockeys make their way to the other side of the track that we have no clear view of. We hear the announcer say, "Ett....Två..." and then a loud horn blasts and fifteen masses take off. We see them rounding the bend, approaching the stretch where we're standing at a much slower pace than anticipated. Someone in our group yells, "Oh my gosh they're PONIES!!!" And sure enough fifteen tiny little determined ponies race on by at the fastest speeds the dear things can muster. They looked like fat sausage links on toothpicks carrying giants in carriages behind them. It had to have been the coolest race of the night, and now I have pictures that will always be there to brighten a cruddy day!! haha it was fabulous.
So that was Friday. Saturday was awesome too. Thankfully the weather has been sunny and very mildly Autumn the last few days, so being outside has been a must. After a SWEET run (the views just aren't the same in Cedar Rapids... :)), I got a call from Daniel the Swedish student saying that a bunch of people were going to drive to Pilgrimstad (Pilgrimland?), where there were waterfalls and basically some awesome outdoor photo ops. And he wasn't kidding! Ten of us hiked around for a few hours at a place that reminded me a lot of the Boundary Waters. It was so beautiful and a great way to spend the afternoon.
Then today we had our second Weekly Brunch that we'll definitely be turning into a tradition as the semester continues. Whoever is interested just meets at the pre-determined person's apartment at 1:00pm for Brunch. (Even though it's actually lunch time we call it brunch because a lot of people like to Go Big on Saturdays, so 1 pm is just about right for a brunch. :)) Everyone brings something to share, and we basically all just dive in and hang out for a few hours! It's so great to have this opportunity to just sit and talk and learn about each other over something as simple as a buffet-style meal. It just feels so cultured. For example this week we consisted of two Canadians, two Americans, a Swede, and two Germans. Can you imagine how much situations like this can teach you? It's really neat. :)
Let's see. Some random thoughts:
I have to stop myself sometimes and laugh at the words coming out of my mouth over here. It's hilarious some of the phrases that I hear myself saying to people who aren't from English-speaking countries. Especially because I'm actually being conscious PROPER English for once, and so to hear myself pose questions like, "Perhaps I'll meet you after university?" and "You'll join us later, maybe?" just makes me chuckle. What I've discovered is a lot of these students from Germany and elsewhere came here to better their English, and so I think this is just me feeling like I'm a constant representative of the English language and I don't want to teach them poorly. But I still sound ridiculous at moments! Haha
Sweden is expensive, and secondhand stores rock.
American beer and European beer cannot both be called beer because they are nothing alike. Heineken has become my Coors Light and I'm still getting used to it.
Speaking of! The North Americans (Stacey, Candice, and Susan the Canadians and then Kevin and I) will be hosting a North American-Themed party when we get back from Spain!!! We'll have flippy cup and beer pong and PB&J's and pancakes with maple syrup (if we can get our hands on it) and anything else we can come up with that's purely American! Haha it's going to be awesome.
I think I'll leave it at that for now. I'm sure I'll have more to write about later but this will do! Love and miss!
kt
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