Fact-A-Day, Pts. 1 and 2

Yesterday marked one week until my arrival in the land of lingonberries, and the idea that I'm going to be gone until June in a country, nay, KINGDOM whose language I can't speak and about which I know pretty much next to nothing is starting to hit pretty hard. I'm extremely excited to go, of course, and I think these pre-trip jitters are healthy and natural and my mind's way of making sure I don't get there feeling super cocky and end up dead in Estonia after running away with some fisherpeople I met at the Gothenburg Medieval Week (this exists, I jest you not); nevertheless, I've had a few restless nights with concerns ranging from the serious (will I come down with a bad case of Seasonal Affective Disorder?) to the not-so-serious (are backpacks acceptable in Sweden, or am I going to look silly?), and I figured that learning a little bit about Sweden, Swedish, Gothenburg, etc., will ameliorate my worries a little bit, because knowledge is power and a mind is a terrible thing to waste and all that jazz. Thus, I bring you the Fact-A-Day.

T-7 Days FACT:


The "swedish sin" stereotype is not a joke.

From Swedish: Phrase Book and Dictionary (Berlitz Publishing, 2003):

Vil du komma hem med mig?
Would you like to come home with me?

Jag är inte beredd på det.
I'm not ready for that.

Jag tar p-piller.
I'm on the Pill.

T-6 Days FACT:

I will be living in Helmutsro, a student apartment located 10 minutes south of central Gothenburg. It's, um, not very aesthetically pleasing from the outside. That's quite alright, though, because it's not like I went abroad for the gorgeous architecture of my host university's dormitories- LettsAndersonCentennial looks like a mental hospital, for god's sake- but it will kind of feel like Soviet labor camp barracks sweet Soviet labor camp barracks, especially with the snow. No complaints, though, since I picked it for its proximity to main campus, free laundry, and large number of students living there:

Also, I'll have my own apartment for the first time, complete with kitchenette and shower, which is very exciting. According to the floor plan, they must be doing major renovations:

since my room is currently flooded with rum.