Home, A Finale

I've been back in the USA for 8 days now. It's been something of a blur. The return trip was precise, boring, and otherwise uneventful. Starting at 5 am local time in Umeå, the travel began with a 1 hour flight floating above the clouds and a Baltic sunrise,

This makes me sleepy.

Then a 9 hour flight sitting next to a photographer from San Diego. Then this guy driving me back to Madison from Chicago:

My chariot awaits.

With appropriate Swedish colors.

Since then I've been fighting sleep deprivation, drinking and eating too much, worrying about work, and travelling some more to Michigan. I've watched an MSU basketball game and football game.

Good seats. Thanks Pops

I've seen new and old friends.

Thanksdrinking:  tradition, courage, respect.

It's been a really good time, though now it would be nice to settle into a routine once more.

I think I at least owe it to my faithful readers to finish up this stunningly mediocre blog with an equally extraordinarily ordinary synopsis of my time in Sweden. Everyone should have to experience cultures different from the one they know best, at the very least to imbue some perspective into their lives. This naturally doesn't have to be across an ocean, as the USA is a melting pot of personal ideals and their (im)practical implementations. But it does help to have legitimate geographical distance and linguistic differences feeding the formation of one's outlook. My time in Sweden was productive in terms of work. My interactions with the Swedes reminds me of being in a big city:  people can be friendly but generally keep to themselves, so you need to take the initiative. My travel experiences, though infrequent (weekend each in Copenhagen and Stockholm), were fun yet expensive. Travelling alone isn't always easy, and my time in Sweden reminded me of how lucky I am to have the support of such great friends and family back here. My advice to anyone who might get to experience something similar:  be open and expand your horizons.

Thanks to all of you who have slogged your way through my first attempt at serial journal writing.
Be well and Skål!