The Promised Epic Post

Hello again!  I'm sorry it's taken me such a long time to write this post.  I got back to Oregon on Wednesday night after a 24-hour trip; needless to say, I was really jet-lagged and exhausted for a few days after that.  I did, however, manage to post some pictures on FB, which you can see here in case you missed the earlier link/aren't on FB: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31077321&l=a3d38b4b4b&id=1451700239


So, Sweden.  Was beautiful, though a little boring.  Jasper compared it to a painting–lovely to look at, but quiet.  Very, very quiet.  I don't think crickets or flies or frogs exist in Sweden, and if they do, they're much like the Swedes themselves: extremely well-behaved and with an aversion to making loud noises.  I think they must have gotten all their violent and disruptive impulses out in the times of the Vikings.  I'm not sure I have any particularly interesting stories to tell; the country is best summed up in my photo album.  It's funny how I've posted more than 160 photos of Sweden, where I was for a week and a half, and only half that of Berlin, where I lived for 2 months!  Of course, the interesting things in Germany were for the most part experiences, not visuals, which may help explain why I have so many more blog posts about it than Sweden.  And don't get me wrong–Sweden was lovely!  It was a wonderful relaxing vacation, and I had a marvelous time with Jasper and his family.  As someone a little lacking in energy (just tried to capitalize that, thanks a lot, German), I appreciated the chance to lay back and enjoy the views.  My last night there we had a delicious dinner of steak and chocolate mousse cake (in addition to other things, and not at the same time!), which helped fortify me for the 3 hours of sleep I got that night thanks to a 7 am flight to London.  Side note: London LHR airport is the devil's creation.  The terminals are 10 minutes apart by crowded bus and the gates are spread out ridiculously, and require a significant walk to get to, with moving walkways that don't always work, and no food in sight!  All the food and shops are clustered together, to which you might think, hey, that's pretty smart!  No need to wander for variety!  But that means that those of us who arrived at our gate early (due to confusion about our flight time–no judging, I'd gotten 3 hours of sleep, remember?) had to settle for an overpriced tiny sandwich from the one deli that wasn't 20 minutes away!  As someone who likes her food but lacks in excess energy, I did not appreciate it.  The flight from London to Dallas was fine, especially since I got to switch with a girl who was sitting at a window seat, because she wanted to sit next to her brother/boyfriend (I don't know which), so I had a wall to sleep against.  Customs in Dallas was an experience; the conversation with the first customs official went something like this:
Him: Hi, how are you.
Me: Really tired.
Him: Oh, that's good.
Me: ...
Him: So where were you?
Me: Well, I was in Berlin for 2 months and Sweden for a week.
Him: And how long were you there?
Me: ...Um...2 months?
Him: Here, have a nice day.
Then, on my customs form, I declared $50 worth of souvenirs, a $30 sweater, and $3 hair mousse.  The second customs guy was like, "...Did you actually declare hair mousse?"  I said yes, I wasn't sure how specific I should be, and then smiled and said, "you're welcome!"  I'm hoping it made his day a little more surreal.


We spent the night in a hotel near the airport, because Mom had gotten a free night there the last time we stayed thanks to shoddy service.  I took a glorious shower and promptly passed out, though I apparently spent the night twitching wildly.  The next day we drove back to Eugene and I went to sleep at 5:30, though I did wake up from 3 to 5 in the morning, and slept until 10 the next morning.  I managed to go a whole 12 hours without sleeping that day, though I did get 13 hours of sleep that night, after which I began to feel a bit more among the living.  One major disadvantage of studying in Germany, or anywhere in Europe, is the time (not to mention money) required to get home, and the days of hazy recuperation after.


So now I am home and taking the GRE this Thursday.  I think I'll go up to Portland next weekend for a night to stay with Aunt Karen and Uncle Tracy and McKenna and Laura, and then from Sunday to Tuesday Mom and Kev and I are going to the coast.  We might stay at the Coos Bay Casino for a night because it's cheap and has a pool, and then I can play 21!  Since I'm 21!  Oh, the power and privilege that comes with that birthday... I'm headed back to school on the 27th and classes begin on the 30th.  I can't believe I'm going to be a senior, much like I can't believe I actually spent two and a half months in Europe.  I feel so blessed to have been able to go and study there, and to get to come back and finish my career at Swarthmore!  Thank you all for reading this blog, and I hope it brought you some measure of entertainment.  This is probably my last post, at least for the foreseeable future (though I may post about the GRE if it was particularly traumatic).  I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your summers, and happy lives to come.


Tschüss!