We begin a new chapter in my wanderings. I've been at law school for a year and a half, but I can only sit still for so long. So here I am, less than 24 hours in SWEDEN!

I now write to you with limited time, so my observations shall be limited. I am at my own computer in my own dorm room, and I have internet (yeah!) but no external power source as yet (boo!). So as I said, I must write quick. I've already wasted precious time on email, only...77% power remaining.

Sweden- getting there

I love intercontinental flights. So much room, all those movies to watch, time so you can really settle in with a book, and great food. I of course did not sleep a wink, and landing in Stockholm it was midnight to me, 7 AM local time. As I step off the plane I get nauseatingly tired. Right on schedule. I push that aside as I have a long way to go before I sleep (like a Robert Frost poem).

The first thing I see stepping into the airport is (I kid you not) Dolph Lundgren's smiling face. For those who don't know, Dolph Lundgren is a B-movie action star who's career peaked in 1985's "Rocky IV" as the big Russian, Ivan Dracco. Anyways, there his face is, three times bigger than life and it says (again I kid you not) Dolph Lungren, actor and engineer. "Welcome to my hometown!"

Now I had no idea (and still doubt it some) that Dolph Lundgren dabbled in engineering, let alone was accomplished enough to be recognized as such in a municipal poster. I looked further and saw the airport walls littered with all sorts of similar picks and bios of other famous Stockholmites. Other interesting things were Alfred Nobel urging me to visit Stockholm's famous theatre district, and Carl Linnaeus inviting me out for a beer (which he calls "öl"). Long story short, I take the bus to Uppsala.

Only 69% power left! Getting to Uppsala my spirits suddenly lesson. I'm at the bus station, have lots of heavy and awkward luggage, have a cheap little map that doesn't have the bus station on it, and it's windy as hell. Uppsala, I must assume, is ruled by a band of feral cats, as the streets and sidewalk are literally covered in a cat litter like gravel. Good for our cat overlords, bad for traveler with wheeled luggage. Holy crap was I unhappy wandering around that town. I tried to ask for help by looking at my windswept map as pathetically and publicly as I could. The only person who asks if I needed help was a sweet old woman who didn't speak English. I don't know if I convinced her that I wasn't Swedish myself, as she kept talking to me in Swedish despite my English protests. Uff da! (that's Norwegian, btw)

To make matters worse, I'm not even looking for my dorm, but for some housing office (of which there are like 5, I later learn. Each covering 2 or 3 dorms. Isn't that efficient?) I'm going there to check in and get my keys. This is the low point of my day. Eventually (after a long search and talking to many reluctant Swedes) I find the place, check in, and take a bus to my apartment. Finding this too takes effort, though not as much as the housing office. I get in my room (4th floor) and am so happy! I'm so tired! Want to sleep! But I don't trust that bed so I start unpacking to find my sheets. Then some people wander in my room (my first friends!) and we talk. One fellow is Mitias, from Germany. A second is Li Tian, from Singapore. They seem friendly and show me the kitchen and stuff.

Since I'm clearly up and not asleep, I go back to campus to take care of some business. I go to the faculty of law and pick up my welcome packet, then I grab a donor kabob for lunch (I remember these from Germany and they are delicious! Like a Gyro, but Turkish) Finally I go over to one of the "Student nations" to pick up my temporary id card.

These student nations need some explanation. There are 13 "nations" on campus, and most every student is a member of one. A nation is kind of like a social club. They all have buildings that have a bar, often a dining area, libraries, and other parts of which I am not aware. Nobody lives at the nation (they are not dorms or frat houses), but its how the university identifies you. The nation gives you your id card, which you need for university functions. There apparently are some students not in a nation (or maybe just some international students not in a nation, I'm not sure) but they still have to pay their "nation fee", just directly to the university. So who wouldn't join? Oh, and the nations have no relation to actual nations, but to other geographic locals in Sweden. For example, the nation I went to for my temp card is Västgöta nation. Västgötland is some province in Sweden. However, the interest for a given nation is not primarily geographic. Some nations have bands or choirs, athletic teams, lunch clubs, sewing clubs, and more. This week is a sort of a rush week, where we are wined and dined by the nations who want us to join. All in all it seems very exciting.

Of course I missed the first night of revelry. I got back to my apartment and had bought a ticket for dinner at Smäland nation. It was 3 and my lack of sleep was catching up to me. "I will take a nap until dinner" I said to myself. I woke up at 11 pm. Damn. That ticket cost me 50 kroner. Now I don't know if I'll get back to sleep at all tonight.

55% power. I'd better go. I'll post again after I get a plug converter. Look for many observations about the Swedish people, and about my quest to overthrow Uppsala's despotic cat overlords (note: I have yet to see a Swedish cat, but I know they're out there.)

As always, please email with questions (sebastian_ellefson at yahoo dot com). also feel free to read my previous China posts. Man those were fun, huh?

-The Wandering Norseman-