Life in Lund: Arriving in Lund (Sorry

It's probably about time I actually blogged about being in Lund, where I will be studying for the next four months!

I arrived in Copenhagen on August 19th, after trekking to the train station from my hostel with my huge amounts of luggage, falling asleep on the train until a woman woke me up at the airport, and having to pay to check my carry-on bag because it was too heavy. The Copenhagen airport was chaotic. DIA can be a little hectic, but there were people EVERYWHERE shoving to get through and waiting in line for train tickets (four of the machines were broken). I waited and finally got a ticket to Lund, then realized I had NO idea which track to wait on and they were not clearly labeled (to me anyways - I'm sure they made sense to people who had done their research). I asked a couple airport employees, who had no idea where I should be. I think I walked up and down the escalators to the train area about five times. I finally figured out which train to get on, then struggled massively to get my luggage into the overhead compartment (a nice Swedish guy helped me, to my embarrassment).

The 45 minute train ride was beautiful, with water on either side. I was exhausted from waking up early and the stress of trying to figure out the train system by the time I reached Lund. Unfortunately, I had stupidly assumed that it would be easy to figure out where the Lund Accommodation Office was once I got to the station. I was completely wrong. After aimlessly walking around the square outside the station, I asked a couple people, none of who knew what I was even talking about. One girl tried to look up the location on her iPhone for me and gave me directions, which I couldn't follow well since I couldn't find or pronounce most of the street names. I basically wandered the cobblestone streets with my gigantic suitcases, looking for anything that would direct me in the right direction. I saw an office for the travel agency that had booked my flight, so I stopped in there and they directed me to the main university building. People at the university building pointed me to the student information center, across the square, where I was FINALLY given directions to the office. I had walked for an extra hour with my suitcases (while the walk should have taken less than ten minutes).

I got the keys to my building (Spoletorp North), which was mercilessly about ten minutes from the accommodation office (and coincidentally next to the train station). I met some people who lived above me and had just arrived from Australia (weirdly enough I had asked them a question at the airport around three hours prior). In my apartment, I met Jussi, who I originally thought was management, but who turned out to be one of my roommates! He is from Finland and is studying medicine as an exchange student - he's super goofy. Shortly after, I met Linde and Marc, both from The Netherlands. Linde is one of my roommates and Marc was staying on our couch until he found a place to live (apparently it's very difficult for some students to get housing around Lund - we're lucky to have a housing guarantee). We met Ruben (also Dutch) who lives upstairs and we all headed for dinner. Since we were all exhausted and starving, we got McDonalds (my first Swedish meal!), which tasted very similar to the US, unlike in Italy.

My other roommates on my side of the flat (besides Jussi and Linde) are Alice, Petrit and Alba. Alice is from London (she has a love for cats, Breaking Bad, and is hilarious), Petrit is from Kosovo and Alba is from Spain. On the other side is Yoana (from Bulgaria originally), Maude (from France), Ellie (from the UK), Molly (from DU) and Aris. They are all so wonderful!

We're also friends with a lot of people on the other floors - Lucia (so sweet and so funny!), Izaskun, Simon, Anubhav, Mathias, Sigrid, and more! It's basically just a great group of people :)

Our kitchen - with Christmas decorations included

The common room - shared by eleven people total

My room - the first day, so still pretty empty

Linde!

Our apartment has a confusing layout - a common room in the center with a kitchen on each side (identical). There are five people on one side and six on the other, each side with two bathrooms, so I have ten roommates total. The apartments are perfect for hanging out with everyone - I got super lucky.

Though the first day is still pretty clear (I can still feel the strain in my shoulders from dragging those suitcases around - ha), the past two weeks have really been a blur. Some of the highlights:

Walking Around the City

One of the first days, Kate and I decided to take a walk around the city. Kate is from Ireland and lives above me (in the same flat as Ruben). She's one of the kindest people I've met here so far, always putting others before herself. We walked for a little while, but ended up stopping in the Cathedral and sitting for 45 minutes just talking. It was nice to have someone who could really relate to being SO scared to go to a completely different country, especially as an introvert. We promised that we'd motivate each other to get out and do things. Afterwards, we walked to a bike shop and Kate bought a pink bike, later to be christened Jean (sp?).

The Lund Cathedral

Kate!

I absolutely love all the little side streets here - I've gotten lost numerous times, especially running, but everything is so beautiful! The streets are all cobblestone and the houses are old and colorful. There are doves here always cooing, which reminds me of home. It really is a cozy little college town.

The Library! Easily the most beautiful building on campus - it looks like something out of a brochure but it really is that beautiful (it's hard to believe I took that picture with my phone)

A park I found on one of my runs - complete with a pond, swans, hammocks and fountains.

The main university building!

The Beach

On the first Saturday, there was an excursion to Falsterbo Beach (Linde, Jussi and I bought tickets on one of the first days). We took a bus about 30 minutes to the coast. The beach was MUCH more beautiful than I expected - since it's pretty chilly in Sweden, I expected the beach to be rocky and unpleasant. The sand was GORGEOUS - white and incredibly fine. The weather was a little windy, but it was very sunny. We walked into town (me, Jussi, Linde, Olli, and two other Dutch guys) and bought ice cream, then napped on the beach where it wasn't windy. At the very end, I went and stood in the water and felt SO at peace. I love the mountains, but there's something about the beach that is just so calming.

FIKA

The Swedish like their Fika - an excuse to sit and drink coffee and eat pastries. This has been a common trend whenever anyone gets bored.

Kanelbullar - Cinnamon rolls that you can find at almost every Swedish cafe or event

The best chai I have ever tasted - which probably had to do with it warming me up after I got drenched in a rainstorm - the storms here last longer than five minutes - unlike in Colorado.

Smoothie with raspberries and pumpkin seeds - in the cutest cafe ever (I've been there twice already since I've gotten to Sweden).

Delicious carrot cake from the cafe at the Botanic Gardens on our campus

Malmofestivalen & Mac Miller

I traveled to Malmo with my mentor group (we're randomly split up into groups that are led by older Lund University students) and I brought along a couple people from my building. There was a huge festival going on, so the whole city was PACKED. There were food tents everywhere - mostly food from India, Turkey, etc. Mac Miller performed a free concert at the festival. It was here that I first noticed that Swedes wear Converse for EVERYTHING. At least 80% of the people I passed were wearing All Stars. Also, there were 14 year olds smoking in front of me at the concert, and two of them made out for like 30 minutes straight. Not something you'd necessarily see in the US, but the concert was really fun!

The canals in Malmo

Some of the other girls in my building! (I don't know the girl on the left, but after that is Sigrid, Kate, Lucia and Izaskun)

Learning to Cook

I am slowly getting better at cooking for myself - with the help of Linde and Alice. Compared to the others, my cooking is pretty pitiful. My mom has taught me how to cook repeatedly, but I'm pretty hopeless. I am determined to learn so I can cook for my friends! I don't think I've eaten dinner once by myself since I've gotten here - it's so easy to collaborate ingredients and knowledge (though mine is little) to make something delicious every night.

Alice hard at work!

One of the many pasta nights - I was pitifully proud that I made the green beans on my own

Delicious salad

Can't take credit for these BEAUTIFUL pancakes - thanks to one of my roommates, Yoana :)

Our romantic dinner, complete with candles and the ability to be REALLY photogenic

The People

The highlight of my experience here has absolutely been all of the people I've met. I have yet to meet many Swedish people (hopefully this will change with classes starting today), but living in an international dorm has led to meeting people with such diverse stories and such wonderful personalities. Not to mention, we live in an incredibly social building, so people tend to just show up (especially on the fourth floor!) Seriously, I am so grateful to have met the people I have - my experience would be nothing without all of you! (Not everyone is included in the pictures below - more to come!)