http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Sweden , Norrbotten , Lulea en-us Fri, 04 Dec 09 21:30:38 +0000 Fri, 04 Dec 09 21:30:38 +0000 Research In Sweden After arriving in Lule our first task was to figure out what research project we would be working on. We had oppertunities at two locations LTU the technical University in Lule or at SICOMP Swedish Institute of Composites. At first my priority was to stay in Lule where ten people would be staying only three would be going to Pite. But after going over the projects http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-411464.html Scandinavian Adventure So this week is our last week here in Sweden. After spending the first week in Stockholm and a week in Norway it seems that our six week stay here has gone so fast. Sweden has been awesome though. We have met some really fun people and we have experienced so much. It is not that hard to imagine living here as almost everything is the same as America and everyone speak http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-411075.html I know I'm a month late but I had such a great Thanksgiving this year I flew up to Lulea to visit Kai for the weekend. I got there on Tuesday evening and there was so much snow I don't know how much exactly but check out the pictures. It was a beautiful winter wonderland On Thursday we started cooking at 1pm. We started by peeling potatoes and cutting bread into cubes for the stuffing. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-354738.html I am sitting in the library of Lulea Tekniska Universitet where Kai takes engineering classes. The town of Lulea is in Northern Sweden only a two hour drive from the Arctic Circle. It looks just like Northern Minnesota with an array of coniferous trees birch and lakes. I had a week off from classes so I came up here to spend time with Kai. On Sunday I reserved three trains from Vaxjo to L http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-337992.html Greetings again I recently took a trip to Stockholm for the weekend. I arrived around 9pm Thursday the 11th and met Emily and our friend Cassy a pub close to our hostel. We took the subway to a couple of pubs around town to get a feel of what Stockholm had to offer for our sightseeing weekend. I purchased a subway pass that allowed me 8 rides for about 27 each ride was good for one hour of http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-324663.html I Made itI arrived in Lule pronounced Luliyo Sweden two days ago. My flight took me from Minneapolis to Chicago to Stockholm to Lule. One of my bags was routed to Sweden instead of Stockholm but it arrived to my apartment Sunday evening albeit with a broken shampoo bottle. Luckily my clothes were protected and the mess was easy to clean.Because of visa issues I arrived at the end of the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-318671.html Okay so..this is a big deal although it is more important in some countries than others. In Sweden it starts with Melodifestivalen their country's round of it. Melodifestivalen's first rounds are held in cities around the country like Goteborg Stockholm Linkoping etc. So then the groups that win each of those compete in the final. The person that wins that gets to go to Eurovision. This ye http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-60723.html Okay so this just happened butI woke up early this morning. I go into the kitchen and do toast for breakfast. Johan comes in has breakfast we watch TV. He left to go to school. Well I'm sitting there watching TV since Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were on Oprah. Then the aiphone rings. For those that don't know the aiphone is a phone in our common room. Downstairs you can ring a bell in each p http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-58316.html Yes it's Easter Sunday. And let me tell you it was an interesting Easter for me. Probably the first one that I didn't go to church. I thought about attending the services here but I would not have understood a word. Anyhow so yesterday Mia came and got me and we went to her house. It's the cutest. It's a duplex. You walk in the door and there's an entryway. There's the laundry room and the bat http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-53158.html Time to talk about my volunteering since it is a rather big part of what I end up doing here most of the time. Okay soacross the street from where I live is the school. It's a middle school which means it comes before Gymnasium which is Swedish High School. I basically go into the English classes and help kids speak with them have discussions with them and let them hear what a native speake http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-52173.html Allright last night there was a party across the street in Vaderleden. It was dubbed the pink and black party since two friends of mine were having birthdays and one loves black while the other loves pink. Emilee is the French girl that loves black while Yan the Korean girl loves pink. Anyway so I convinced Johan to go with me to the party. Lukas Stewart Hector and a bunch of others were http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-51567.html Okayso before coming here I had never experienced hockey. Funny huh They have the Tampa Bay Lightning who are Stanley Cup winners and the Knoxville Ice Bears and I had never done hockey. The closest I had ever come was probably watching The Mighty Ducks. Well I come here and let the fact slip and Johan decides he's going to rectify it. So here we go. First he took me to his game. The school http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-51355.html Okay okay so I am bad at updating sometimes. So here's a post to let you know what I was doing when I wasn't updating. I went sledding. They have a hill here called malmberget. It's a lot of fun. I did get myself covered in snow though but no worries. Lukas and I had a snowball fight too. I ended up covered in snow that time too.Another thing it seems like almost every weekend there is some s http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-50752.html Time to talk about my living situation in depth. I live in a 5 floor building. On the bottom floor there is a laundry room a sauna mailboxes and locker space that everyone shares. There's also an elevator and a staircase. On each floor there is a kitchen a dining room and a TV lounge. On my floor I am the only girl. I live with 8 boys with one more due in a month. Now to tell you about t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-44156.html This deserves an entry on its own. It's a running joke but also has been an experience to discover but it is the truth. Swedish people are by nature more reserved. To explain what I mean I'll use an example. I know a teacher that walks to work everyday. She sees the same people everyday. Yet she never says hello to them. Usually Swedish people do not meet your eye or smile if you're a stran http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-43717.html Well differences between Lulea and Maryville abound but I am going to go in depth here about them so hopefully when I am through you will understand what I mean.First off Lulea is a coastal city. Much of the year they have ice breakers to break open the ice and let ships through. Lulea is also spread out over the archipelago. This means there are different islands that are connected by bridge http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-43714.html Allright so food warrants a separate entry. Swedish food is very different from home though you can always find some standards. A note for those like me Swedes cook. This means students too. Even guys So yes it is the general joke on my floor that I am the only girl and the only one who cannot cook. Imagine the hilarity that goes on. Anyway so the grocery stores are smaller. They do have some http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-43712.html I left Tampa FL on January 15 2006. I said goodbye to my mother and flew to O'hare airport in Chicago. There I met another exchange student headed to another city in Sweden through ISEP. She was going to Karlstada school I had considered. After boarding the plane and saying goodbye to my Minnesota friend I found myself sitting next to the window sharing space with a Russian woman. The plane http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Norrbotten/Lulea/blog-43711.html