Piano cat painting!

I've been pretty stressed out lately, so I've taken to painting again as a means of stress relief. I had this original picture: 

Original photo (about 3'' x 5'')

Here's the painting (I'm actually quite pleased with it)! I took this picture during the daytime, but because the lighting around here is really bad, you can't see all the nice details in the fur =(

Piano cat! (24" x 36")

This work took about 40 hours of work. I painted about 1-2 hours every weekday and 2-3 hours on the weekends this past month. The fur took an incredibly long time because I had to paint many of the fur hairs with an individual pointed paintbrush... Anyway, I took pictures along the way to see the progress. I've selected only a few stages to show here.

The first photo is the reference, and the pictures left to right in each row. In the third row, the second to last photo on the right is the painting. The original is also shown as the very last photo.

Half-time exam today!

Wish me luck!

Autumn ends, Winter Begins...

Hej! (hello)

Wow, it's been a while since I updated. I guess it means I've been busy or I'm not a very good blog writer. Of course, now after almost two months, I have plenty of things to write about. My updates are in sections, so feel free to read about whatever topic interests you (if any at all).

Research: 
Research has been going in some weird phases (sometimes really busy and sometimes not). I hit a roadblock a few weeks ago, and basically came to the conclusion that the project I planned might not work out too well.. I really wonder what I'm going to do in terms of research here, but hopefully, on Monday I'll have some more answers. Why? Monday is my half-time examination! That's three days from now! Just to give you an idea, the half-time is somewhat like a mini-thesis defense, where I have to present my research to three scientists in the field, and they get to evaluate my work. Of course, this will also include a wonderful 3 hour "discussion", which is just a euphemism for a session where they get to ask me  difficult science questions, but also hopefully give feedback on the future of my research.

Dance: 
Lindy Hop classes have been spectacular! The instructors are good, and while I can't understand more than 30% of what they say (classes in Swedish), I've definitely been learning the dance. The other night, I went to a social dance and danced with some really amazing leads. At one point, a lead threw me in the air for a jump-like move and it was the coolest move EVER (before I knew what was happening, I was airborne for 2 seconds). That night, I decided that I knew when I was dancing with a good lead if he/she could: 1) make me do dance moves I have never learned before, 2) make me look good while doing it, and 3) do them unexpectedly. Several people in that night kept saying that the jump/throw move was really cool. :) haha.

Choir:
Our October concert was a great success. I've put a few pictures of our 1930's outfits from the concert below. But since that concert, choir has been really intense, but fun (mostly). We have to learn 29 Swedish/Latin Christmas songs for some performances in December, and I need to know about 20 of them by heart. By next Tuesday the 23rd. Unfortunately, that is not going to  happen (I have about 6)... haha. Singing in Swedish is not easy people. Not easy. Anyway, I look forward to our numerous holiday concerts. On Nov 28, we will sing in an open air market wearing 18th century clothes. I promise to take pictures. On Dec 12, we will have our Lucia concert (if you don't know what Lucia is, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucy's_Day). And I have been bestowed the honor of being Lucia--yes, I get to wear a crown with live candles on my head. Woo?

1930's-inspired outfit from our Jazz concert. Yes, I have a feather attached to my head.
It felt like a bird was nesting in my hair.

The theater in which we performed. The girl in the center has a large feather hat.

Musings on the Swedish language:
I have been learning more Swedish and I know I am improving (slowly, but steadily). I had a five, that's right, five minute conversation entirely in Swedish with my roommate the other day. It was painfully slow, but that's how it goes. What makes me laugh is that I often end up inserting French words without knowing it until I see my roommate's confused look. haha. The grammar is fairly easy, but the hardest things about Swedish have to be the pronounciation and word order (switching nouns/verbs around when making simple statements). So many vowel and consonant sounds you've might not have made or heard before: å, ö, ä, skj, stj, sk, lj. What's strange is that the å sounds like "o" in English, while the ö sounds like "oe" in French, and the "ä".. well no equivalent. And the Swedish "o", is sometimes like an "oo", but other times like an "o". The skj, stj, sk all sound similar, but I just can't make that sound. It's aspirated, with an "r" sound. Needless to say, it's hard.

Weather:
The darkness is super weird. It comes around 3:45 pm now, with the sun setting around 3:15 pm. What is really bizarre is how the human body can feel so tired by 6 pm just because of the dark! I could go into all the scientific reasons for why this is cool, but I won't.

First snow fall in Stockholm. A bit pathetic, but still. It's snow!

This weekend, I'm going to see the Harry Potter film!!! And next week, I plan to throw a Thanksgiving dinner... :) More pictures and posts to come in the next blog entry (whenever that is going to be)...

Så till nästa gång, hej då! (So until next time, bye)

I'm learning Swedish!

The following story has to be one of my favorite moments of learning Swedish so far. 

Scene: Grocery store checkout. I have picked up some bread and placed it in a brown bag (that's what they do here).

Clerk: (Picks up brown bag and asks in Swedish): "What's in here?" 

Me: (Without much thought and in English): "Oh it's bread." 

Clerk and I both have puzzled looks on our faces. 

Me (to clear confusion): "Wow, I can't believe I understood you!" 

Clerk: "Oh you don't speak Swedish?" 

Me: (Brilliant Sherlock! Don't you think I would have spoken in Swedish if I knew any?) "No, I just started learning Swedish, and I can't believe I understood you! This is so exciting!"

Clerk: (starts laughing). "Yes, that's great!"

Indeed it is...  :)

Min semester i Grekland (My vacation in Greece)

Greece was lovely, to say the least. How does one describe a week's worth of sailing, swimming, snorkeling, and soaking up sun? :) I even spent some time learning Swedish! (Wow, notice the ridiculous amount of "s" words I used in the last two sentences). Perhaps the coolest thing was snorkeling because I had never done it before. Let me say, it was an experience that everyone should have! I saw little fish dig in the sand dunes of the ocean floor and I even saw a squid that could change the colors of its "skin". SO cool. I wish I had a camera that could survive underwater because the images I saw cannot be adquately described in words. One day, I'm going to go to the Caribbean or Australia and snorkel my eyes out staring at the coral reefs.

However, I managed to get some of Methoni (the town where I was). The photos are pretty self-explanatory... but they include the beach, the castle, and the town center.

So as you can imagine, I'm not super thrilled to be back in Sweden, where it substantially colder, cloudier, and less colorful. Actually, I don't know about the colorful part. Autumn has started and leaves are turning wild yellow, orange, and red!! Anyway, it's back to real life and real work :(

Busy bee

Fear not, blog followers, I'm still here! You may have been wondering from the lack of updates, what is she doing? Or perhaps not, but I suppose if you're reading this blog, you'll find out soon. 

After my few days of sickness, I became swamped with work. It started around Friday afternoon with a few emails from my US colleagues requesting me to look at some files and soon exploded into an avalanche of emails. At the office this week, I've been fervently typing out papers and reports. Thankfully, I got a nice break today when I got to do a small amount of work in the lab. Wow, did that feel good! (And yes, I did in fact say that lab work felt good).

My non-work life also kicked up a notch. This past weekend, while the Stockholm half-marathon took place, I attended an outdoor FoxTrot and ChaCha dance lesson. What a great experience it was to dance by the riverside and to have all the runners go by us probably wishing they were dancing instead of running their 20th kilometer... Then, motivated by all this exercise, I decided to get a membership at a gym and went on Monday night. I'm still exhausted from the weight-lifting. Oh well, it's supposed to suck in the beginning.

Tuesday night was choir practice, and we've been loaded with even more songs (I think we have around 15 now and we'll probably get more). Then I found out that our concert in October is going to be 4 hours long. Seriously, I ask myself now, into what have I gotten myself? Fun times, that's what. :-)

And tonight, I have my first Lind-Hop class and I'm super excited for it. Hopefully, I don't pass out from exhaustion before it..

Then Friday, vacation in Greece for a week. WOOOOOoooooHOOOOoooooo!!!!!!!!!

I'm really glad that I have so many things going on again. I realized a few days ago that it's been a month since I arrived. Time sure does go by fast!  The only thing that confuses me is the weather. Autumn is already here, as in leaves are already changing colors. As lovely as the environment looks, the weather is definitely getting crummier and I can already feel the light disappearing.. When I first arrived, the sun set at around 9 pm, but now it's setting at 8 pm. And as weeks go by, that time will soon become 3:30 pm. I. can't. wait.

Supplies, at last!

Woo hoo! My research supplies finally arrived yesterday. It felt like Christmas had come early. I don't remember the last time I felt so giddy opening a box full of stuff!! Now that I have all my stuff, you'd think I could start working, right? Wrong. Obtaining the tissue samples I need for my research is a bigger hassle than I had anticipated. Too many ethical permits and applications need to be filled out... but luckily, someone else in the lab who has an ethical permit to collect tissue samples will help me. Whew.

After barely avoiding this obstacle, I became re-excited about commencing work... only to be brought down by some Swedish cold virus... Now, all I can do is stay at home and hope my immune system does its job. I know everyone gets sick at some point in a foreign country, so I was expecting this... but I have to ask the virus this: why now?  Why not two weeks ago when I had absolutely NOTHING to do? boo.

Other than my non-existent research, I'm starting to enjoy life out here. (I'm not sure if this is a result of the weather being sunny and warm all week). The acapella choir is really fun, but I should really start taking those Swedish lessons soon if I want to start understanding more than 2% of rehearsal. In addition to choir, I signed up for a Lindy Hop course. Why? Well, this form of swing dance is extremely popular in Sweden, and when in Sweden, do as the Swedes do?? So, I went to a trial course last week, it was incredibly fun, and now I'm hooked. :) This weekend, there's an outdoor Lindy Hop event. I will attend said event on two conditions: the weather and my health. So here's to good weather and a speedy recovery!!

By the way, a picture album of Stockholm will be coming your way very soon.  I just have to remember to start carrying around my camera everywhere I go.

Best class photo ever

While perusing Facebook, I stumbled upon this photo. It's from my kindergarten class. I seriously love the expression of the kid front center with his tongue out! Turns out this fellow was one of my good friends/neighbors back in the day... haha. :)

By the way, can you find me?

Big day!

First, I'd like to wish some special people a happy birthday and a happy anniversary! : ) I love you guys very much!! They know who they are...

Today was a long day. After work was a 3 hour practice session for the choir. After auditions, I found out that apparently only 5 women were selected for the choir, basically one extra person for each voice part. I can't tell you how even more shocked I am that I got selected! Maybe the director has a soft spot for people in Karolinska because she is a surgeon there (talk about talented woman!!). But apparently, I made soprano 2 (woo hoo), which is a first for me because I can't remember the last time I was assigned a soprano part.

You can check out the website of the group: http://www.damkorensalt.se/index.php and click on "Lysnna" to hear some music samples!

Anyway, the practice was fun. Everyone was wondering what I was doing there because I don't speak Swedish (yet), but when I introduced myself, the director chimed in and said, "but she sings in Swedish!" lol. It was pretty cute. Although we were learned English songs (yay for words I can pronounce) today, the  practice was in Swedish. By the end, I decided that if I ever wanted to get "instant immersion in Swedish", this was the place to be! I learned several numbers and even how to say "first alto" and "second alto" etc. :)

We have 7 weeks till our first concert in October (most likely the 24th). And I have to learn 8 songs by memory. This is going to be intense!! But I'm so excited!

Double post today! This one is short :)

I just had to make note of this.

It's 7 degrees C (or 45 F) in Stockholm. Yes, it is night, but I'd like to point out that the date is August 28.

AUGUST.

Is this for real?? Or did I end up in Antarctica?

Audition...

Today I auditioned for an all female choir. It was actually a fun audition, but I wasn't expecting it to be (guess I have low expectations). When I walked into the room, I saw the director and three other girls.

Great. As if auditioning for one person wasn't scary, I have to audition for four! 

And the audition began.

First, some scales. Starting with these was pretty entertaining because the director had me sing silly vowels and consonants together. At some point, my tongue started to screw up the vowels, and I started laughing while singing. The director was amused too that I couldn't sing the tongue twister vowels. Fortunately, all this smiling and laughing made me less nervous.

Second, I sang my song of choice.. but started an octave too high. Oops. The director then told me to sing the song much lower.. haha. After that, she remarked, "yes, that's much better." lol. Ya think? ;-)

Lastly, I sang in a quartet with the three other girls. I had to sing two different parts, and I learned both of them quite well (I definitely had my notes down). But there was a catch: the lyrics were Swedish... ha. This was hilarious to me because I didn't even know how to begin pronouncing the words! The good news is, I didn't get punched or slapped, which means that I didn't end up swearing or insulting anybody.. (offending someone is possibly one of the worst fears a foreigner has when learning a new language. My brief experience learning Chinese is a great example of this... but I digress.)

Well, the audition ended and I was skeptical they'd want me because of my lack of Swedish knowledge. The director said she would call me this afternoon with her decision...

So I waited.
1 pm. No call.
2 pm. No call.
3 pm. No call.
4 pm. No call.
Oh sadness. They don't want me. :(


5 pm. Call?

Director: "I've been calling all afternoon and couldn't get through"
Me: "Oh no! I'm sorry. My cell phone reception in my apartment is horrible!" AGGG. What's your decision. I think I stopped breathing! Eek!
Director: "We would love to have you!"
M: Wow. Seriously? Oh wait, I can breathe again! YEAH!


So starting next Tuesday, I'm going to be in a Swedish choir where all rehearsals will be in Swedish and I will sing in Swedish too. Uhh.. I'm not entirely sure what I got myself into...

Scooped again! The universe does spite me!

That's right. As of today, I. have. been. scooped. (For those who don't know what scooped means, it's what happens when someone else publishes work that you were/are doing before you got a chance to publish it.. which means you can't publish your work). I just found a paper today that describes results from THE EXACT PROJECT I was going to begin in Sweden. I suppose I should be happy that my projects are SO important that everyone is working on it...(please note the sarcasm).

Now perhaps we have to think of a new project for me to do in Sweden. I guess I'll be on vacation for another two months or so.. On the upside, we got champagne and cake in lab to celebrate the secretary's 60th birthday. Here's to drowning my sorrow in bubbles.

Outdoor movie, berry picking, and auditions!

And I'm back with more stories :) The past few days have been raining heavily and I had nothing to blog about except how cold and wet it was, so I waited out the nasty weather for something interesting to say. Sure enough, this weekend turned out to be half-decent and my excursions included an outdoor film, berry picking, and auditioning for a choir (yikes).

The outdoor movie experience was fun, but very cold. I saw the movie "Milk", which was sad, but well-taken. Not going to spoil the plot for anyone.

When I learned that it's blueberry season in Stockholm, I decided to go-a-picking on Saturday. Then someone told me that one can pick berries in the forest excepting those that are noted as "preserved areas". After much google searching and questioning of Swedish friends, I found a forest north of Solna (about 30 min north of Stockholm) that apparently is "ripe with berries"...and below is a picture of what I found (and picked)! These wild berries are very small and burst easily, which means that when you pick them, your hands end up all red-purple in color!!

Don't they look juicy?

Well if they do, you're wrong. These berries are super bitter. I suppose I should I have tried eating one in the forest before plucking a whole bunch. I guess they will have to become jam or something...

On a completely unrelated adventure, I auditioned for a choir on Sunday. Many of you know that I'm a singing addict, and the idea of staying in Sweden for a year without participating in a choir crushes me..

Getting to the place of the audition was an experience itself. It was held in a countryside church, and the roads leading to it had many street signs missing. I really didn't think I would make the audition because I was wandering around for half an hour!! Even though I'm directionally challenged, I somehow found the place and got to my audition in time. whew.

Then the audition began. First, we went through a few scales and vocal exercises. Ok, I struggled a bit, but that was me being nervous. Next, I was to sing my own song! Hooray. I succeeded...

After that, everything went downhill. Why? My third task was to sight sing a line from a Bach piece! Nooooooo. Sight sing = not my forte at all. Half my mind was telling me to call it quits right there, but I decided that I worked really hard last year to learn how to read music and well, this was going to be a test to see how much I improved! So.. I sang it. First, I got most of the notes right, but I got the rhythm wrong. Then vice versa and vice versa and so on.. It was so funny after a while that I just couldn't manage to get the right note with the right beat! So frustrating. And if this wasn't hard enough, then I had to sing another "modern" choral piece that had about 8 bajillion flats and sharps in the same line. Let's just say I decided at the end of my audition that: 1) I wasn't going to get a part in the choir; 2) I was fine with not being in the choir because I'd have to work really hard to learn that music; and 3) I'd have to travel a long distance to some countryside to sing in this group. That all being said, I'm still glad I went through that because I found out just how much my music reading ability has improved. :) Guess I won't be too sad when that rejection email comes...

Next Saturday, I try out for an all female choir! At least this time, I got the sheet music in advance, so I have a much better shot at getting a spot. Wish me luck!

And if none of the singing stuff works, I guess I'll just take up Lindy Hop instead :)

Long live immigration lines and lack of information!

Whoa. It's errand time! And not errands like, food shopping, but more like register for this and that and fill out these forms to make this official and... well, you get the idea.


Here's the list/story of the most interesting errands so far:


1) Obtain student ID
I went to the office, and surprise, surprise, I need my department to fill out a form! Couldn't they have saved me this trip by posting said information on a website?? (By the way, have I mentioned that Swedish bureaucracies love forms just as much as certain American ones?) 


2) Register for student union to get discount on metro card
I checked the website for the student union. Here's what it says "Union is closed for the summer. Autumn hours will be posted when we are open". Arrg! I forgot that everything in Europe closes for the summer. Just in case this wasn't frustrating enough, to be in the student union, I need to fill out another form to get a card, which will take 3 weeks to process, and only THEN can I apply for the metro card. So I guess I'm shelling out crazy amounts of money on transport until they open...


3) Register for "civic registration number", so I can open a bank account in Sweden (and stop paying bank fees at home) *This one is my personal favorite*
Lo and behold, the authority in charge of this had no information about this process on their website either! AND worse, no address of the central location (but I didn't know this at the time of searching). I went to the address that was listed, and after waiting in line for 30 min, they told me I needed to go to the central location. yay (<-- dripping with sarcasm). So off I went to the central location. Upon arriving: long line outside. I forgot that immigration offices have long lines, but this one was moving fast, so I was optimistic. Boy, was I in for a surprise...


I am inside and get a number for the line: 562. 
What's the number currently served? 430...Seriously? 132 people in front of me? 


I ask the lady how long I have to wait. She says "140 min".


I look at the clock. Current time: 15:30. Office closes at: 18:00. 
If I wait, I might just make it...


So I wait. 140 min later, I am called! Wahoo! 10 min before closing. I start talking to the Swedish woman in English and she looks at me and says "Engleska, me no speak so good". 


(Insert image of my jaw dropping) 


What??? An immigration officer who doesn't speak English? How does she work here? I mean, think about how many immigrants in Sweden know Swedish before they arrive.. Am I naive to assume that this would be the most common language known by immigrants? 


So I sit there for 10 minutes, while she says nothing to me and finally looks up and says, "It's Ok".


Wait, "what's ok? Did I get it? Or, is she consoling me because I didn't get it?"


From my puzzled look, she gathers that I didn't understand and calls a colleague to come explain in English what happened... Apparently, "it's ok" means "everything is fine". My application is accepted! Whew! 


Now I just have to wait 6-8 weeks! Par-tay.

Room with a view

I finally unpacked my bags and got around to arranging my room so I could get the maximum benefit of the amazing view that I have!

The room

The view

This park is beautiful! And I get sunshine in my room throughout the day (which means I can savor every moment until it gets dark and gloomy). The best part is that the apartment is about the same size as the one I had in the US, but it's half the price. WOOT. I suppose this is where apartment boasting should end. :)

After unpacking, I ventured out to get a few things for around the house such as laundry soap and shampoo. The first thing I noticed is that every hair care and lotion product is geared for people of Nordic descent. Shampoos, for instance, come in the following varieties: "volume-it-up", "blond hair-care", and "diamond shine". Does no one in this country have curly hair?? What are the unfortunate souls, like me, who have curly and voluminous hair supposed to buy?!?! Lol. The makeup is geared toward fair skin (makes sense, but still). I cannot wear pink lipstick and pull it off without looking ridiculous.. I guess I'll just have to wait a few more years until the companies decide they can make a profit selling things geared toward people with darker skin. :)


Now on a more serious note, the second thing I am starting to realize: it's going to be really hard shopping for things I need without a pocket dictionary. Everything is labeled in Swedish, which is fine, but not if you don't know any Swedish. For example, today, I picked up something called "sköljmedel". I was really excited to see English written on this bottle, but none of the words said anything about what the product was. The picture is rotated, but it says "New bottle: less plastic. Ultra sensitive, mild perfume, softness and care".

Based on the description, I assumed this was fabric softener, but it just as easily could have been detergent. So I walked around the store for a good 10 minutes wondering who I could ask. Girl with headphones? Nope, she'd have to remove them to talk to me. Old grandma? Nope, might not know the English word for it. Guy who works at the store? Bingo! I asked him what it was, and he laughed at me. Not in mean way, but in a "I don't think I realized that shopping could be hard for a non-Swedish speaker" kind-of-way. 


Yes, it definitely is going to be one interesting year if I don't start learning some Swedish soon.

New fares for baggage on international flights?!?

I forgot to mention in my previous post that United Airlines and its partners on Star Alliance are now charging $50 for the second check-in bag (the first is still free!) on international flights. What a magical surprise that was.

In the beginning...

I anticipated my year-long stay in Sweden with bittersweet feelings: excited about doing research in Sweden, but sad to leave my family and friends behind. However, my life is full of adventure and I'm sure I'll get my fair share over the next year.

Even before my trip began, I had an unforgettable adventure. A farewell party that involved karaoke with friends, and an acapella session in the middle of the night on a random street corner. Although none of us knew the words to an entire song, we still managed to get an audience! I seriously am going to miss my acapella buddies.

The following day, the adventure became, well, more interesting. We boarded the plane in Dulles, only to find out that the ground electricity went out (because the coolers overheated in the 100 F weather). In short, the air conditioning on the plane was not working, and with about 150+ people in the plane, it became a sauna in about 5 minutes... The best part? The plane couldn't leave the ground for some silly reason (I fell asleep in the heat and didn't catch the reason), so it stood there for an hour while all of us boiled inside. I'm not quite how Finnish people compete in that sauna competition (if you haven't heard about this, you have to google it).

After we finally took off, I realized the my layover in Copenhagen was only 50 minutes. Usually, the international terminal is on one side, and you have to go to the opposite end of the airport to catch the plane to Stockholm. Did I mention that you also have to go through security and passport control? So, when we landed at 7:45 am (30 minutes late), I had exactly 20 minutes to get to my plane... I went through a 10 minute security wait, and another 5 minute wait for passport. Then, I RAN like I've never run, all the while thinking, I don't even know why I'm doing this because I will definitely miss that plane. But somehow, I made that plane, panting, like a dog.

Upon arriving Stockholm though, the adventure-frenzy simmered (whew!). I found my apartment with relative ease, and after doing a bit of shopping for linens and things, I'm starting to feel settled in.

Tomorrow, I start my first day of lab and my life in Sweden.