Shrimp and Surreality

And so it begins.

I've never been big on writing, especially about myself. I also have never owned a camera. Any picture you see of me on the interweb is a direct result of friends taking that initiative. I'd like to think I've done a fair amount of interesting things in my life, and have no written record of the intricacies of my thoughts or actions. So here is my go of it. By the way, I'm not so great at taking pictures. For instance, here I am minutes after arriving at my 'dorm room' yesterday (more on this in another post):a

Who is that?!

As those who have had to pack for a long trip overseas will tell you the trip starts, in your mind, long before you ever board the plane. So while I didn't leave the comfort of my apartment and my friends in Madison until Sunday, it had been constantly on my mind for several weeks. Everything I did was the last thing I'd do in the USA for X months. Did I have everything I needed to survive in a foreign country for 3 months? How does one effectively pack for three seasons starting with late summer and ending with harsh, dark and cold winter? 

At some point I gave up worrying about it and concentrated on enjoying the last few days in Madison. 

It was no accident that the day before I left the greatest outdoor festival ever invented, the Madison Shrimp Boil, was happening. I had specifically postponed my departure a fortnight just to go to the Boil, which is hosted by good friends, attended by even more and happens to take place across the street from my apartment. It is a brilliant mixture of good friends, new friends, barefootedness, alcohol, steaming spicy shrimp, corn, and potatoes, and general hullabaloo. So glad I stayed around for it. However, so unglad the next morning...

If you've ever woken up top five most hungover ever, gotten drunk again at brunch two hours later, two hours after that we're stumbling around O'Hare with 70 lbs. of luggage, spent 8 hours watching terrible movies because you just can't effing sleep on a plane, and then proceeded to spend 5 hours learning the weird names of 40 Swedes and discussing your research goals for the next 3 months, then you understand what the made up word surreality means. In case you haven't done that exact time line I'll try to define it another way:  failing body organs and mental haziness gets powerbombed by crushing uncertainty at a new situation in a new place.

Anyway, I spent 10 hours sleeping it off afterward and now begin my ~90 day foray into Swedish life. For those interested readers, here's a picture of my bed situated in an International Housing dorm room and also a picture of my desk at Norrlands universitetssjukhus. I promise to upload more interesting pictures in later posts. Thanks for reading!