Why the #*$# is there a turtle in the ghetto??

Week 13 Travel Blog

Now this blog is really nearing the end of my exchange program. So on one hand we are having such a thrilling time here where we want to enjoy every moment we can, but at the same time we know that all these friendships we make and special times we have will soon come to an end.

In saying this another thing I thought I want to point out is the darkness and cold. Seriously you know it’s a bad sign when you are sitting on the bus at 2pm, look outside and the sun is setting. It does tricks to your mind!

The week got off to a relatively slow start. Monday was an exciting day because it was the day both Clare and Kitty got back from Russia so of course there were lots of exciting stories to be told, delicious chocolate given to us and most importantly - a nice bottle of Ruski Vodka. Basically the gist of Russia is that it is unlike any other country they have visited, amazing history and architecture but more importantly - when going to clubs be prewarned because age limit doesn’t exist, meaning that you will get 11 year old boys having a dance with you in the clubs at 2am. Also remember this piece of information - once you hit the third floor of a club there WILL be Russian male gogo dancers with enough oil on them to make McDonalds jelous. And don’t take a photo of them, because the moment you do 10 security guards will suddenly be on you, force you to go outside, watch you as you delete photos of the beautiful greased up gogo dancers and only then allow you back into the club. And I am not exaggerating any of this (well I’m not but Clare and Kitty may have been, I guess I will never know? - although they do have pictures with them and the 11 year old boys).

Other than that we went to Isabels who was kind enough to make us Fondue with her fabulous Swiss chocolate and I ended up eating my bodyweight in fondue. I think these events are now becoming even more popular than cheese parties! (that is crazy!)

Tuesday was another exciting day of uni work and other boring shit. Marcus cooked us dinner in exchange for Emma & I doing an assignment but for some reason I think he may have gotten ripped off in that deal?

WEDNESDAY WEDNESDAY WEDNESDAY. This was where the excitement began!

AUSTRALIA PARTY!!!

After our tireless hours and hours of work Australia party was just around the corner. And weren’t we pumped! In fact I was so excited I proceeded to do nothing with my day but sit in my pyjamas in my room . There’s nothing like the feeling of not being able to escape the ghetto! I helped cook some potatoes, went shopping with Clare and whinged because I had nothing Australian to wear.

Then at about 7pm all the Australians headed over to Akkademia for an exciting night of bogganism. The boys all prepared the barbecue, we put up the decorations and then we eagerly awaited the people to come. I was pretty impressed by the amount of people that turned up at 9pm for the free BBQ (but it was free and we were there so fair enough!). I then proceeded to drink half a litre of vodka so my memories of the night are pretty hazy. I can remember coming home with Shaina and Kristen, climbing up the jungle gym and watching as 10 dirty Mexicans pointed their camera up poor Shaina’s skirt.

HOWEVER. My memories weren’t so hazy the next morning when I woke up, got a sinking feeling in my stomach, checked my bag and sure enough everything was in there EXCEPT my camera and Emma’s camera. I could not figure out how I could possibly have everything in my bag except those two items. Tripped me out! So then I had to break the news to Emma on about 2 hours sleep and a horrid hangover. Well I did it over MSN (because I’m a geek) so that may have made it all a bit easier.

So then Emma and I headed over to university to present our new business concept for a team of entrepreneurs for one of our subjects. And was so ridiculously tired. One our way we noticed a giant turtle just sitting there in the middle of the ghetto. Seriously - where the hell did this turtle come from?? And why would they just put a big turtle in the ghetto? Nothing makes sense to me.

So we went, presented our business idea, whinged about being so exhausted and then walked back through uni. And that’s when we saw it - a shaggy dog the size of a pony just sitting in the middle of the university corridor minding its own business. So first the cameras, then the ghetto turtle, and now giant dogs just hanging out at uni. What is going on??

For the rest of the day Emma and I hung out at uni because we were told we would be able to go later back to Akkademia to go see if our cameras were there. We waited for hours, absolutely exhausted, praying we could go find them. Eventually we found out that we could come back tomorrow so we went home and had a nice rest. I think after all the hoopla that was exactly what I needed.

Eventually I finally got up and we proceeded to get ready for another exciting event - New Years Party. Yes that’s right. First ghetto turtles and now New Years parties in November. It makes sense! One of the Swiss guys was holding a party at his place because ‘we won’t all be together for New Years so let’s celebrate now’. Any excuse will do anyway! So we went down there and had a fabulous night. Everyone got dressed to the max which is a nice surprise for the ghetto, and when the clock struck 12 we did a count down and even had sparklers and champagne poured all over us. Great times! We all said it was the most fun we think we’ve ever had in the ghetto. Although it did make me a bit sad because I realized that all these people I have only just started to get to know will not be apart of my life in just over a months time.

Finally at 2am I went home, went on MSN for a bit and finally hit my bed. Unfortunetly due to lengthy circumstances I ended up waking up at 5:45am so less than three hours sleep. I am on a roll! Friday was a relaxing day, I went into uni for class, then waited around to go over to Akkademia for real this time. Finally at 2pm Emma and I headed over to Akkademia and got the news - Emmas camera had turned up and mine hadn’t. So at least Emma’s turned up but it will always be a mystery whatever happened to our two cameras in the first place. So I went to treat myself for a nice solarium session where I ran into my friends Em and Moo who explained to me that I had been standing on the stairs of Akademien for half an hour by myself on Wednesday night, frantically searching around for my camera and refusing to talk to anyone. Hmmm wish I remember more.

So going home I wasn’t in the best of moods, I was completely exhausted and also a bit emotional just thinking that everything is ending so soon. Plus I had no camera. I think it’s the first day I have felt flat in ages. But still by the time I got to Malins my mood pecked up!

Another night of lots of fun at Malins. Got to meet some ‘lovely’ Italian boys who when I came to her house, greeted me like they knew me. I had no idea who one of them was, so he proceeded to explain that he has actually met me a few times at Club Caj and Akademien. Well he pointed at my face and said he “had met you” and then explained he had also met “you” and pointed down at my chest. Italian boys are always the nicest! It was all in good fun though?

Otherwise just had a couple of ciders (two nights in a row of not being drunk - although apparently I acted completely wasted due to sheer exhaustion), stole some vodka and then finally got a lift home at 2am. Malin said they kept drinking until 6am - damn! 12 hour binge drinking festivals are always my favourite (ok that’s a lie - 30 mins of shots is enough for me!).

So came home, Emma decided to come over because we hadn’t spent enough quality time together (we are only averaging about 12 hours a day, it gets depressing when it goes down to 10!) and finally at 4:30am after some delicious 2 minute noodles, catch ups about hot Svens and Germans we finally called it quits, I did some drunken MSNing and eventually passed out.

The next day I woke up at 9am which is a sleep in for me but it means I have slept about as much this entire week that I spend sitting around with Emma every day. So quite exhausted. Did a bit of homework on Saturday as I have an awful Swedish re-exam this Friday, went to town with Emma to Kaffe Paus (because we haven’t been spending enough quality time) and the finally got ready for our night out. It was another night in the ghetto. Lots and lots of parties so fun fun!

First we went over to Isabel’s who was having a ‘Christmas’-esque party. Fabulous hot red wine, delicious cookies and fancy fairy lights. What more could a girl ask for. It was such a lovely evening but very somber, I felt as though I could pass out. So then we headed over to the dutchies party in building 84 where we did some shots, spoke to some dutchies and then headed over to Vons party in 96. Finally at 12pm I piked it so I could do some work. Went home and stumbled into the bathroom relatively sober. This is when I proceeded to drop my phone into the toilet bowl. So now it doesn’t work…

And here I am, Sunday evening, studying hard, without digital camera, mobile phone or watch (lost that one Saturday night). Stupid turtles!

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