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.