Summer Sweden >>>> Winter Sweden

So I know I promised other blogs...but I don't feel like doing those right now. So this will have to suffice.

I loveloveLOVE Sweden in the summer. Every day the sun stays up a little bit longer and goes down a little bit later. There are people out soaking up the sun in every patch of the outdoors not covered in shade. It is beeeeaaauuutiful! And such a contrast to the winter time!

On the downside, because I am so used to treasuring every moment of sunshine, it is nearly impossible to do anything productive (like homework or blogs...heh). But I am really enjoying my last weeks.

This weekend the sun began to rise at 2:45am. I couldn't believe it. I was out with some friends and I looked up into the sky and it was pink on the horizon. PINK. At 2:45. And at 3:00 it was that light, misty, eerie blue it becomes in the mornings. Bah I love it so much!

I'm still taking my polymer course and doing my research. I'm a bit disappointed (but also kind of relieved) because of how little responsibility they give me with research. I'm only doing one reaction, and it takes about 10 minutes to put together, then has to sit for 72 hours. So it's really not much work. I would probably ask to take on more tasks, but it's just too sunny for real responsibility :)

Expect today actually. My friends and I have been planning to go hiking all week and then FINALLY today we went and IT RAINED ALL DAY LONG. Yesterday it was 72 degrees and then right as i woke up it started raining. Lame sauce. But we decided to be troopers and go anyways. I wore shorts. Bad idea. The times it wasn't actually raining we were swarmed with mosquitos. They are all over the place here. I guess it didn't help that we were hiking in the woods with a nearby lake. Luckily I bought some awesome mosquito repellent and didn't get one bite (well I got one on my head, but that was before i put the repellent in my hair). I actually watched the mosquitos fly to my legs and then turn around when they got close. Kind of a fun activity. I recommend it next time you are bored.

It also got me to wondering things like...where do mosquitos go when it's raining? They all just disappeared. And then I wonder how much blood they need a day. Because it seems like they are ALWAYS hungry. And what do they do in the winter.

What do squirrels even do when it's raining? Do they have little places under trees where they just hang out atop their acorn piles? I never see them outside.

So anyways, here are some pictures from the hike (which was actually just walking around in a flat forest...we couldn't even find a path...luckily someone had a compass).

Here is our fearless compass-man who just decided to make a walking stick (France)



My friend Matthew from Illinois



We found a couple animals bones and this little baby leg. I wonder what did it?



My poor little dutch Roza when it started pouring during lunch



The boys continuing to grill in the pouring rain



Hiding under an umbrella :)



Trekking along forest grounds

IOU

I owe you Rome, Valborg (Swedish Holiday), and Amsterdam blogs. Will come soon. Promise.

Today the sun woke me up at 4:45am. I am soooo excited for summer and sun and my woooonderful mother to visit me :) It's crazy/exciting/scary/unreal that I'll soon be leaving Sweden. I only have 1.5 months left, so I plan on making the best of it.

I *finally* started real research (actually in a lab!), but it couldn't have come at a worse time. I just want to be outside with my friends now. And of course while Daddio was visiting I had to do some research :-/ Of course I love it... I just wish we had outdoor labs (even though its still a bit chilly here).

With all this traveling and school, I haven't gone to a Rugby practice in...well in a really long time. So I called them today and told the team that I didn't have the time. Maybe I'm just lazy, or I just don't get excited about it like I used to. I don't know. It just stopped being fun and became more like a chore. It's also really stressful because they explain all the drills in Swedish, and then I don't know what I'm doing. Which increasing my risk of getting hurt. Annnd since I don't have *real* insurance, getting hurt may be more of a problem (I know I do have insurance through my program...I just don't know how to use it...and I don't know if they cover rugby incidences).

Daddio just came for a visit of Sweden and Holland. Though the weather was meh, it was so great to see him! We spent some time in Stockholm and went to some hockey games, then explored the Netherlands a bit, then back to Uppsala! It's a lot of traveling in 11 days, but it was worth it (although I wasn't the one with the 20 hour plane ride back to the states).

So my plan now is to study hard for my last exam (May 31st!) and enjoy my remaining days in Uppsala. I'm going to miss this town so much!