Random Thoughts...

I'm going to tell you some random crap, mostly about Sweden. It will be a blast.

• There is absolutely no such thing as carpet. Even apartments are all linoleum.



• They go by military time. Even the clock on my desk which I bought at IKEA says 0:00 at midnight.



• Decimals and commas are switched. That means, if something is twelve kronor and fifty cents, it would say 12,50. But twelve-thousand five hundred kronor would be 12.500,00.



• Even though there's no such thing as carpeting, there's no such thing as a full-sized broom, either. So you have to sweep your entire house with a stupid little broom about the size of a four-year-old child.



• Furniture and lamps and whatnot are about as Scandinavian as it gets, no matter where you go. Everything is awesome geometric shapes, very plain colors, and very clean. I love the furniture style. It's very modern.



• People are dressed so well, all the time. Like I said to Sarah, nobody would be caught dead in unflattering, high-waisted capris and a t-shirt they got at some cancer walk like they wear all the time at home. Instead they wear pretty, plain clothes, and lots of black. Boots, tights, skirts, and flattering shirts in very simple colors are popular for women, while guys wear skinny jeans, poofy coats, and leather shoes. Also, women wear lots of pretty makeup and have lovely hairstyles. Everyone looks very put-together all the time.



• The only peanut butter they have is in a very small, glass jar, and is Skippy.



• People walk really freaking quickly, and instead of waiting to pass, oftentimes just dodge and jump around people in the way.



• Dogs are so, so well-behaved. They are always found in malls, restaurants, and subways, but its unbelievably rare that they bark. Babies almost never cry.



• It is very common to believe that people are really rude here. Not so. They just keep to themselves, is all. If you actually talk to someone, then they're perfectly helpful.



• Everyone wears scarves, even men sometimes. Usually they're tied to be quite big, too, not just laying flat against you.



• There are pizza and kebab restaurants EVERYWHERE. Kebab is this crazy meat that is scraped off a giant clay pot-like wheel-y thing. It's not too tasty, in my opinion.



• A lot of elevators to get down to the subways are freaking long and steep. Certain ones are a bit frightening to ride, due to their extreme steepness.



• All public stairs have a section cut off with two metal things that go all the way down for strollers. Here, have a picture.

• For some reason, Timbaland is insanely popular. Like, every 3rd song on the radio is Apologize, Give It to Me, or The Way I Are. I like all 3 of those, and so does my mom, so great.


• Other popular songs include: Beautiful Girls (which I'm so, so sick of. It's just terrible.), Stronger, Big Girls Don't Cry (could it just go away?), 2 Hearts (YES. My favorite song.), Gimme More (which is actually pretty good), Big Girl (You Are Beautiful), Hey There Delilah, Logiskt, No One (which is AWFUL and whiny), If Only You (it seriously plays like every other song... I love it), and Bleeding Love. Look 'em up if you don't know them.


• IKEA is insanely popular. It was, after all, created here. There are two in Stockholm, the north one, which is the biggest one in the world, and the south one. If you don't know this already it's a giant furniture store that often has cafes in it.


• Diet soda all throughout Europe is known as __ Lite, like Coke Lite or whatever. If you order Diet Coke, usually they have no idea what you're talking about.


• If you actually go downtown, there's basically an H&M on every block.


• Christmas-y foods include glögg, which is some really tasty warm spice-y wine; julmust, which is spice-y Coke, pretty much, and is nasty; these tasty strawberry marshmallow Santas, and, my favorite, pepperkaker, or gingersnaps.


• They celebrate St. Lucia Day, that holiday with the girls in white dresses and a crown of candles on their head.

K, I'm done with that. So now you get some pictures.

The view from outside my balcony.

The green door is the elevator I go in basically everyday.

The stairs I take if I'm feeling productive.

Right by my apartment. Just down there is the park.

Right outside my apartment.