I think I might live through this graduate school thing. I feel good about both of the classes I'll be in for the whole semester, but still a little shaky about my finite element method class, which only lasts about 8 weeks. I might need to study hard for that one I think. Tomorrow I'm planning to try to do as much homework and reading as I can.
I am very frustrated at not knowing Swedish. Most local web sites are in Swedish only, making it difficult to buy anything online. I have to pay bills using online banking, but my bank's web site is in Swedish only too. Luckily they provide a brochure in English saying what to click on to pay bills. When I tried calling the cable company to get some faster Internet access in my room I couldn't get through their automated call routing system because it was only speaking to me in Swedish, as well. I also can't read most of my mail. Unfortunately I did not get into any Swedish classes this semester due to fierce competition from the hordes of other foreign students, but I did get into an online course at least. Hopefully I can learn some from that. And hopefully I make a Swedish friend! I've started asking the international student office if there are any Swedish mentors left for people like me.
But I'm having a good time. I like it here and this not-knowing-Swedish problem will eventually be resolved. The weather was really nice the other day (I guess summer may not be completely over) so I road my bike around Gamla Stan, the old town, and took a ton of photos. Here are a few of those:
Some observations about Stockholm:
* Drivers of cars are nice to cyclists. They seem to generally give plenty of room, slow down if you're in front of them, almost never honk, and generally not be assholes. I also don't fear for my life as a ped.
* Swedish girls like mascara. Either that or it just stands out more because there are so many blondes.
* I am short.
* There are a whole lot of sushi restaurants. I have not tried any yet.
* There doesn't seem to be any crazy, ranting, screaming homeless people. Hardly any homeless people at all, actually.
* French hot dogs rule!
* Lagom, a very Swedish word meaning roughly "moderation" and suggesting that that is a very good thing, does not seem to apply to drinking. I know I just got back to college and all, but seriously there is a lot of binge drinking here.
* It rains a lot.
* People here love New York. Lots of clothing around with New York related stuff on it.
* There are a whole lot of white people. There are quite a few Middle Eastern people, and more Asian and black people than I was expecting, but the vast majority are white.
* People dress pretty nicely. I think I'll buy some more button up shirts and a nice looking jacket (I need a jacket anyway).
* Snus seems kind of gross. Reminds me of all the people who chewed tobacco in high school, but I suppose it's not as nasty and way less likely to kill you than cigarettes.
* Anything that can be considered a luxury type of item is expensive. Rent is really cheap, as is buying an apartment, at least compared to cities I've lived in--Seattle and San Francisco. Food from the grocery store is probably a little more than in the US, but not bad. Eating at restaurants is expensive, though not so bad from kebab/pizza places that often also sell hot dogs and burgers. Alcohol is expensive. Electronics like computers and iPods are very expensive. Annoying as it is that gadgets and booze cost a lot, this is a nice tradeoff for the cost of living to be low.
* There are a lot of attractive people.
* Despite my fears to the contrary, there is some semblance of Mexican food! I can get stuff like corn chips, taco shells, and salsa at the grocery store easily. Not a lot of spicy stuff, but there is some. I even found a couple of Tex-Mex looking restaurants called Taco Bar, but I haven't tried their food yet.
