Hi everyone!
I'm mostly updating this time around to tell those of you who are reading about a new development between Katerina and I. As I mentioned in my last post, she and I met at one of my friend's parties and hit it off really well.
We're officially going out now. We didn't really make a 'proper' decision or anything, it was more one of those things where we introduced each other as our 'boyfriend'/'girlfriend' at this get together last week. I guess it was just already obvious to the both of us.
She is really lovely. She has short, slightly curly black hair and brown eyes. She is from Greece, more specifically from Thessaloniki, which is the country's second largest city, after Athens. She speaks English fluently however which I suppose is one thing that makes the relationship work!! Nevertheless when we hang out with her other Greek friends it just becomes what I like to call "Greeklish", a nice mixture of the two languages. Her friends are really cool too. She hangs out with this girl Mary a lot, whom they met while studying together in Crete. Mary is a lot of fun, she just loves to laugh and make jokes! She and Katerina loved it when I showed them Eddie Izzard (mad props to you Kara, if you're reading!!!). They especially liked his "Evil Giraffe" bit and of course the "Covered in Bees" bit. I really am loving when Katerina speaks Greek though, since I love hearing and especially learning new languages! Maybe I'll be able to get her to teach me some, but we'll see. She did teach me "Filakia" which means "kisses!" It is hard for me to describe what the language sounds like, in comparison to other languages, but I like it!
It is refreshing to be with someone whom I can be myself around, without having to put on a mask, so to speak. She said the same thing about me when we met. I would say that she is opinionated and passionate about what she thinks, which I love. I'm that way myself! The other day, we had an interesting discussion about the riots in Greece recently which were all over the news, and she and Mary took part in them! She loves music absolutely as much as I do, and we spend a lot of time showing each other bands and videos on YouTube, which may be a strange way for us to spend our time together but it is still cool. I got really excited when I found out she loves house/trance/club music as much as me, though I suppose we disagree sometimes on what 'club' music is good. She had me watch Velvet Goldmine (her favorite movie), and surprisingly I had never seen it before (Erin, if you're reading, I know, I'm a terrible person for not having seen it), and we share a mutual affinity for John Rhys Meyers. In simpler terms, we both think he's really good looking.
The only source of possible tension is that she's pretty laid back, and sometimes I'm a bit crazy about things. I'll need to learn to relax more I guess!! Perhaps it's not in my nature as an American to calm down though . . . haha
I'll have to see how the relationship develops as time goes by, but right now I'm just so happy to be with her.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Spring, are you here yet?
My updating on this blog has been severely lacking, I guess I could blame my busy schedule which in fact isn't 'so' busy, but all in all it's my fault for not posting regularly. I'll try to remedy that.
I am fully in swing with the spring term and so far it is going well. I am taking two courses as of the moment. The former is called "Global Equality" and deals with all sorts of social, political and economic notions of well... equality and what it means for different groups of people. I am also taking a course titled "Russian and Post-Soviet Politics" as of the moment which is REALLY interesting! I'm writing my final paper for the course about processes of democratic consolidation (or lack thereof) in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union.
The weather here in northern Sweden is slowly but surely improving but I must say that the Swedish winter is a not so benevolent mistress. The plentiful amounts of snow are nice but I just want it to get warmer so I can ride my bike around and not have to worry about ice or slush, which are both equally tricky to deal with. One of the most noticeable changes that has happened since I returned from my trip around Europe a few months ago has been the increasing amounts of sunlight. There is just a drastic difference in how long the sun stays out and how high up in the sky it goes now, compared to during say November and December. It does lift one's mood!
Last night one of my Irish friends, Tiernan, had his 21st birthday and hosted a party in his corridor, which was really a great time! For his religious confirmation back in Ireland he promised not to drink until he turned 21, and so I prepared a reading of a poem by Yeats for him, it was "A Drunken Man's Praise of Sobriety". I think he appreciated it. I only drank a few beers because I didn't want to have to worry about a hangover on the same weekend as my Russian Politics paper. I ended up meeting a really lovely girl from Greece named Katerina and we hit it off really well. My French friend Thomas had an after party at his corridor where he played guitar and sang for a smaller group of people (he's really good!), while smoking a pipe, it was so ridiculous and awesome. For some reason at that moment he filled in my mind the stereotypical picture of a Frenchman that I had conceptualized prior to coming to Europe. It was so perfect.
My weekend routine here doesn't vary too much, I usually start out by going to what are called corridor parties, and then head out to clubs later with friends. Corridor parties are like house parties in Madison in the way that it's basically just a ton of people (in this case not Americans but international students from all over the world!) crammed into a small space drinking and socializing while music blares in the background, but the main difference is that these corridors are only one floor, it's like a really long hallway where people live. My favorite clubs here in Umeå include this alternative, queer friendly spot called Scharinska, which is in a big pink mansion in the middle of the city, and the local student pub/club on campus, simply named E-pub. The thing that is nice about E-pub is that they usually have great DJs and there is no cover charge, and also, it's on the University campus so it's closer to where I live than the city itself. Umeå is different from Madison in that the University is in a completely separate area than the city center itself, rather than forming a part of it.
I feel like I have gotten used to Swedish culture for the most part, in terms of the generally reserved nature of the people. Swedes don't like to make a fuss about anything, to them life is not about making a fuss, it's about 'lagom', which translates very roughly into English as being 'just right'. Everything in moderation! It really is difficult to explain the culture to those who have never been here. As an American I have trouble comprehending it from time to time because we obviously like things to be wild and wacky just for the fun of it, but I think it's undoubtedly seeping into my own behavior!
The only other serious trip that I have planned prior to going back to the U.S. in early June is to France in May to visit my friend Alexia. My budget is pretty tight and I want to have at least a little money saved for when I get back to Madison for the summer. But I think that trip will be really great, I'm sure southern France in May will be all about the sun and warmth! And I can't wait to see the Mediterranean again . . .
I have been feeling a little more homesick as of late, mostly due to the fact that I have been looking at apartments for the summer and applying for jobs. It just makes me think of going back, my family and all of my friends that I can't wait to see again! You know who you are! Pending any unforeseen changes I will be subletting my friend Ben's studio apartment in Madison for the summer which, although small, will still be nice I think! Especially with the possible addition of an air conditioner . . .
I guess that's about all for now, and once again I have to remind myself to post more often!
Thanks for reading!
I am fully in swing with the spring term and so far it is going well. I am taking two courses as of the moment. The former is called "Global Equality" and deals with all sorts of social, political and economic notions of well... equality and what it means for different groups of people. I am also taking a course titled "Russian and Post-Soviet Politics" as of the moment which is REALLY interesting! I'm writing my final paper for the course about processes of democratic consolidation (or lack thereof) in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union.
The weather here in northern Sweden is slowly but surely improving but I must say that the Swedish winter is a not so benevolent mistress. The plentiful amounts of snow are nice but I just want it to get warmer so I can ride my bike around and not have to worry about ice or slush, which are both equally tricky to deal with. One of the most noticeable changes that has happened since I returned from my trip around Europe a few months ago has been the increasing amounts of sunlight. There is just a drastic difference in how long the sun stays out and how high up in the sky it goes now, compared to during say November and December. It does lift one's mood!
Last night one of my Irish friends, Tiernan, had his 21st birthday and hosted a party in his corridor, which was really a great time! For his religious confirmation back in Ireland he promised not to drink until he turned 21, and so I prepared a reading of a poem by Yeats for him, it was "A Drunken Man's Praise of Sobriety". I think he appreciated it. I only drank a few beers because I didn't want to have to worry about a hangover on the same weekend as my Russian Politics paper. I ended up meeting a really lovely girl from Greece named Katerina and we hit it off really well. My French friend Thomas had an after party at his corridor where he played guitar and sang for a smaller group of people (he's really good!), while smoking a pipe, it was so ridiculous and awesome. For some reason at that moment he filled in my mind the stereotypical picture of a Frenchman that I had conceptualized prior to coming to Europe. It was so perfect.
My weekend routine here doesn't vary too much, I usually start out by going to what are called corridor parties, and then head out to clubs later with friends. Corridor parties are like house parties in Madison in the way that it's basically just a ton of people (in this case not Americans but international students from all over the world!) crammed into a small space drinking and socializing while music blares in the background, but the main difference is that these corridors are only one floor, it's like a really long hallway where people live. My favorite clubs here in Umeå include this alternative, queer friendly spot called Scharinska, which is in a big pink mansion in the middle of the city, and the local student pub/club on campus, simply named E-pub. The thing that is nice about E-pub is that they usually have great DJs and there is no cover charge, and also, it's on the University campus so it's closer to where I live than the city itself. Umeå is different from Madison in that the University is in a completely separate area than the city center itself, rather than forming a part of it.
I feel like I have gotten used to Swedish culture for the most part, in terms of the generally reserved nature of the people. Swedes don't like to make a fuss about anything, to them life is not about making a fuss, it's about 'lagom', which translates very roughly into English as being 'just right'. Everything in moderation! It really is difficult to explain the culture to those who have never been here. As an American I have trouble comprehending it from time to time because we obviously like things to be wild and wacky just for the fun of it, but I think it's undoubtedly seeping into my own behavior!
The only other serious trip that I have planned prior to going back to the U.S. in early June is to France in May to visit my friend Alexia. My budget is pretty tight and I want to have at least a little money saved for when I get back to Madison for the summer. But I think that trip will be really great, I'm sure southern France in May will be all about the sun and warmth! And I can't wait to see the Mediterranean again . . .
I have been feeling a little more homesick as of late, mostly due to the fact that I have been looking at apartments for the summer and applying for jobs. It just makes me think of going back, my family and all of my friends that I can't wait to see again! You know who you are! Pending any unforeseen changes I will be subletting my friend Ben's studio apartment in Madison for the summer which, although small, will still be nice I think! Especially with the possible addition of an air conditioner . . .
I guess that's about all for now, and once again I have to remind myself to post more often!
Thanks for reading!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
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