Day 2 | A Morning Walk
Today, my host family took me on a walk in a neighborhood in Täby, where I'm staying. When I woke up at 7am, it was still pitch dark outside with no hope of the sunrise until about 8 or 9 AM. I took my camera out with me on the walk and managed to get a few decent pictures in. They're in no way great pictures, but they'll do, to document the neighborhood I'll be living in for the next few months.
We walked in a big loop and stopped by a playground that the children sometimes like to go to. It hasn't snowed in a few days or so, which means the current conditions are pretty icy and hard-packed.
Even though it was only 20 something degrees out (in Fahrenheit), the crisp, cool air felt so good and the sky was filled with pastel colors the sunrise had brought. I couldn't get enough of how calm and peaceful everything was, compared to the smog-filled, stuffy valley that I live in back home.
When we got back, Signe, the spunky three-year-old in the house, expertly assisted in making some pancakes (read: crepes) for lunch, which we had with some homemade jam that I believe my host dad's family member made. (I haven't had meatballs yet, but I expect that I'll be eating them soon!)
I also got to visit the Täby shopping center today, which reminds me of the Westfield malls back home, but not as white -- the interior here was a bit more colorful and lively. It basically felt like the usual American mall because there are so many overlapping stores, with Swedish furniture, clothing, and beauty stores sprinkled in, and with a grocery store on the bottom level. In a lot of ways, things in Sweden remind me of Korea, probably because Koreans imitate a lot of European design.
There was a tiny "American food" section labelled by the ol' stars and stripes on the shelves and that was filled with box mac & cheese, brownie mixes, and microwave popcorn. I expect that I'll get a good laugh out of what Swedes and other Europeans think of the States, but this food shelf was a pretty good start.
Tomorrow starts my orientations days with DIS, the study abroad program I'm with during this trip. My host mom offered to go into the city together via SL, the public transit, in the morning, but I'll be on my own in the afternoon. Hopefully I don't get lost but everyone speaks English here so I'm not too worried (for now).
See below for the rest of the pictures I took during my morning walk.
