A day in the life: Tobo edition

06:30. Alarm. Last week I was waking up before the alarm. This week, not so much… o'well.

07:10. Coffee needs to either be made or in preparation. Today Greg actually was awake at this time too because he had an early class to teach. Even though he is not a morning person, it is still good to have a bit of extra time where we are both home and both awake.

07:40. Leave home. Get on bicycle. Cycle to the train station. You know in Super Mario Kart where you could race against the ghost of your own driving from the previous game? Sometimes I wish I had that so I could compare my pace from one day to the next. Some days I feel strong and feel like I am riding fast. Some days I feel like all the wind is against me, and there are all the cars in the way never leaving a gap big enough for me to cross at that one intersection. But then I get to the train station, and I seem to end up arriving within the same couple minutes every day.

08:00. Arrive at train station. Search for bicycle parking. I have an ideal row where I would park. It is primarily the ideal so that I can actually find my bike again in the evening when I return to town. After my first day of class I got back to Uppsala and spent a solid five minutes wandering through the bikes looking for my Elegance 3, so now I try really hard to make a strong mental note of where I park every day.

This photo is over two years old, but that is me on my bike and I don't think things have changed much.

08:09. Train departs. I usually spend my time on the train reading, taking notes, or talking with others from the school who might happen to be commuting on the same train as me. This morning I read six (!) pages from a book I am reading that is written in easy Swedish.

08:38. Arrive in Tobo. From here I take my second bike (owning two bicycles is a sure sign of riches, let me tell you) to the institute. This is just a quick seven-ish minutes, including unlocking and re-locking time.

09:00. Class starts! We have two teachers, but usually only one of them is leading the course each day, and they alternate days according to a schedule. Today was an unusual day though, because we had both teachers, and also a guest who was a former student of the class who came to observe and will be teaching us tomorrow. When I moved to Sweden two years ago and took a beginners' course in Swedish folk dance, he was one of my teachers. Today I told him that it will be good to have a lesson with him where I actually understand some of what he is saying. Such a novelty!

Today we did a lot of observing of our two teachers dancing together, and taking note of different things and discussing those things. Then two pairs worked together, with one pair dancing behind the teachers and trying to mimic them exactly, and the other pair observing and giving feedback about what looked the same and what maybe didn't, or how to try to make it look the same. All in all this amounted to more sitting than a typical day, but it was a really interesting way to explore some details in the dance.

10:40. Fika! Stina baked chocolate cake!

11:00. Back to dancing/observing/discussing.

12:25. We were having some good discussions and no one realized that lunch had started ten minutes prior. We kind of have these ridiculously good meals every day, but I don't want to talk it up too much or Greg will be jealous of how good I'm actually eating every day. Today we had salad, coleslaw, and bowtie pasta with sauce.

13:10. Back to dancing/observing/discussing.

15:00. Fika! Still some cake left. Plus we've had baby oranges lately, but combining them with coffee is a little unfortunate.

15:20. Back to dancing/observing/discussing.

16:15. Class ends. I stay and dance for a little bit more. I really really like dancing after class, but so far only a couple of my classmates are enthusiastic about more dancing after a day full of dancing.

16:30. Wash my hands. Change back into civilian clothes. Take bicycle to train.

16:49. Take the train back to Uppsala. There seemed to be some issues with the trains today, so ours was on the opposite track from normal, and the northbound train was super delayed, but luckily no delay in my train:) I spend the train ride home taking notes from the day. Actually I wasn't even able to finish taking my notes, so I'll have to continue that on my train tomorrow morning.

17:25. This train always seems to get in a bit late. Depart train. Locate bicycle. Ride home. (bicycling during commuting times is madness)

17:50. Get home. Start laundry. Make a list of four items to get from the grocery store. Check email, realise that Greg is probably going to be home any minute. Greg arrives. We go to the store and buy eleven items. (Our little shop next door has had kale for the past few days! I couldn't be more excited, so we express our gratitude by buying large quantities! Which only explains one of the seven additional items, but I'm done blogging about the details of my grocery shopping for today.)

18:15. Return home. Wash dishes. Make dinner. [Have dinner made for me.] Eat dinner while watching youtube videos of Dancing with the Stars clips.

And so here is a thing that is not at all related to my day-in-the-life. Why the heck do they keep making the stars on Dancing with the Stars dance a waltz to music that is in beats of 4 and not 3?!?!? This makes me so super incredibly angry. I just cannot even! Don't try to claim that you are teaching these people about dancing. Music & dance. Dance & music. If you want the two to go together, there needs to be a connection between the two. Dancing a dance that is designed in beats of 3 to music in beats of 4 makes ZERO sense. Rant Rant Rant. You are doing a BAD job of teaching non-dancers about dance, DWTS!

Anyhow. The rest of my evening has been fairly uneventful, mostly revolving around laundry. And DWTS anger, apparently. And blogging this super narrative! My favorite part is that I included just one photo that was taken over two years ago. Better luck next time. Thanks for reading along!

On running errands

I love that it is easy and completely unnecessary to have a car here. I really really love it. All of my traveling needs can be accomplished by walking, bicycling, or taking a bus or train. And quite easily and efficiently, at that.

This is a photo from last fall, because who wouldn't want their photo taken when they return from the grocery store with a baguette in their bicycle basket.

Pretty much the only time I think about how it would be really nice to have a car is when I am running errands. The whole concept of driving to a store, buying stuff, putting stuff in car where it will stay while you go into a second nearby store, is a pretty nice thing. As it is, when I run errands I can pretty much only manage to go to one store at a time, even if there are two together that I'd like to go to. Then I have to consider if the things I am buying can be transported by bicycle or if I'd be better off taking the bus. Then travel routes or bus timetables need to be consulted. Getting lost while driving isn't really so bad. Getting lost on a bicycle can really tire you out.

I do my grocery shopping one bag at a time, or two if I'm feeling ambitious. Stocking up at the liquor store means 8 beers maximum, because any more than that is just too heavy. Often I decide to pay more for an item at a convenient store, rather than going across town to get a better deal. Tracking down specific foods here can take a couple days if I don't find the item at the store where I am shopping. (Kale can be incredibly elusive here.)

All that said, I have gotten pretty comfortable with the system. Usually it is not a concern because I can keep up on errand-running one item at a time. But at times when I've let myself get behind and realize it is going to take several nights to get caught up, it is then that I start thinking about how this could be finished in just an hour if I had a car. But alas, it is a sacrifice I am willing to pay! Because look at me! No car!

7 quick takes, of course

Well I'm a day behind with the Friday quick takes, but I'm not too bothered by that.

- 1 -

Here satsumas are basically the color of lemons. They are also nearly as sour as lemons, or maybe I just got one that wasn't quite ripe?

- 2 -

I love rain pants SO much. In my Liebster award post I said that my most cherished possession was my wedding rings. Well. My rain pants handily take second place. Actually it is probably the combo of rain jacket + rain pants, so we'll say my rain gear is second.

Thursday morning I had an amazing bicycle commute in a steady, moderate rainfall. I don't know what it is about riding in the rain while wearing proper gear, but it is just so good!

- 3 -

Speaking of bicycle commute, I think I already mentioned that I was back on my bike this week. I had stopped riding during the winter because I didn't want to fall on ice, so I am really quite glad the snow and ice are all melted. Bicycle commute is so much faster than walking, and so much more fun than riding the bus.

- 4 -

At my hotel in Vienna there was a complimentary breakfast, which included little packets of nutella (like little packets of jam, only nutella). Unfortunately, most days I was eating sandwiches for lunch so I never was in the mood for toast for breakfast. I've kept the thought in my mind though, so I just had some toast with nutella for lunch. Yum.

- 5 -

Sometimes I have to eat foods that seem fancy (nutella toast is completely fancy in my book, probably because I toasted my bread on the stove with a bit of olive oil (who needs toasters?)) because otherwise I feel too much like I am living like a bachelor? I think this is the problem with living in a different country from my husband. The only good example I can think of right now is eating a bowl of cereal for dinner. I am pretty sure that is a thing a bachelor would do.

- 6 -

I got called on for my expertise in the English language again yesterday. Pretty much, my coworkers all speak perfect English, so if they are sometimes looking for a word, then it is a word that I can't even come up with. Yesterday's question: what would you call the points of a triangle or a square? "Hmmm, good question... maybe just points? As opposed to the edges, right? Hmmm.. OH how about corners? Yeah I think I'd say the edges and the corners!" Phew, passed the test. Almost had to make him walk up a flight of stairs to consult the real English language expert who is from England.

- 7 -

Here is a thing that I much prefer about American English though. We never use the expression "half eight" when referring to a time. In England you say "half eight" and (I'm pretty sure) it means half past eight. In Swedish you say "halv åtta" which translates to "half eight" but it means half to eight, or 7:30. So confusing. Let's just always use clarifiers here people.

Fun fact: I typed halv åtta into google translate just to make sure I was getting the spelling correct, and the translation? Half past seven. Google is SO smart.

Weird fact: I was proofreading this post and noticed that one of the half's was written as have. How did that happen??

quick takes!

- 1 -

I got a Swedish dentist. It was a little confusing, but I managed to get an appointment for later this month. I actually called three different places. The first one answered a lot of my stupid questions about 'how dentists in Sweden work' and then they told me there was a six-month wait for an appointment. No thank you. The second one was the clinic closest to my house, but it is very small, and I had a very hard time understanding the woman, so eventually I just said something about how I would 'have to think about it' so that I could hang up. Third time's the charm.

- 2 -

Next week I go to Austria for a conference. This is the 'big' conference of the year in Europe, similar to the big conference I used to go to in San Francisco every December. It will be interesting to see what kind of overlap exists between the two communities. I'm also excited to play tourister in Vienna. Anyone got any good tips for me?

- 3 -

OH MY GOSH THERE IS A CONTRA DANCE IN VIENNA WHILE I AM THERE FJAILENALEINKNZK.EKSIBNAEIL.NELIGNIALGN;AEI!!!!!

- 4 -

I also get back in time the following Saturday for a folk dance in Uppsala :)

- 5 -

The snow and ice are nearly entirely melted, certainly enough for me to safely ride my bicycle. There are maybe three ice patches on my commute though, so I've been holding off (mainly for fear of unforeseen ice patches while riding). I figure, I've managed to not ride my bicycle for this long, so I may as well wait until the risk of falling on ice is completely gone. Once I return from Austria though... then it is back on my bicycle!

- 6 -

I found this pin on pinterest which talked about choosing words to describe yourself (it also describes the process of how the author narrowed down the choices). I'm considering tweaking my 'about' page to incorporate the words I chose.

- 7 -

Just now, when I opened blogger, I saw that my total number of page views of all time was a palindrome. That made me happy.

______________________

THE END

Jen and others have got more!

On weather and bicycles

Uppsala has gotten cold. This morning it was 3 degrees on the Celsius scale. I'm glad we are still above zero, because I'm not quite ready to try riding my bicycle over potentially icy roads. The good thing is that the act of riding my bicycle is a pretty good way to generate heat. Unfortunately, my fingertips, my feet, and my face don't really benefit from that. If I want to keep commuting in this manner during the winter I'm going to need some sort of face shield. I was in a store last weekend and saw these neoprene foot covers. They were pretty awesome, but probably a bit too nerdy for me to handle.

"I'm heading to the office!"
"Don't forget your foot booties to keep your feet warm!"

At any rate, the wind chill factor is not a factor to ignore while riding a bicycle. This is what I've learned.

I am also spending these days getting more acquainted with my bicycle. If you were wondering how much I can haul on my bicycle, it is quite a lot. Last weekend Greg and I survived a trip to Ikea, and we had our bikes loaded up with pillows, blankets, and towels. The need for our own linens and things is due to our upcoming move. We will finally have our own apartment, which we are pretty happy about. Finding an apartment in Uppsala is completely ridiculous, so I am glad we found one we like, and I am also glad that our temporary living situation has been as good as it has.

The new apartment is in a neighborhood that does not require riding my bicycle up a large hill to get to the office. I would say that is my favorite feature, but really, my favorite is the towel heating rack and the heated floor in the bathroom. What a great European delight!

Bicycling in the rain

Before today I always opted to ride the bus to work on rainy days, rather than taking my bicycle. Today however, today was a day for riding a bicycle in the rain. A quick check of the weather forecast made me realize that the afternoon and evening would be clear and nice. Plus the rain wasn't coming down too hard. I've been prepared to ride in the rain. I have a rain jacket now that is actually waterproof, plus I have rain pants. Combine that with my hiking boots and I become fully waterproof, with the exception of my face and my hands.

I used the technique of putting the hood of my rain jacket under my helmet. It blocked out some of my hearing, but it also kept the visor of my hood in place, so I didn't have to look like this:

That is not me, by the way. But it is what most people look like while riding bicycles in this town. Another popular technique is to wear a poncho that covers the handlebars and anything you might be carrying on the back of your bicycle. Like this:

That is also not me. The other option, which seems the most ridiculous and ineffective is to hold an umbrella. There might be a time and a place for this, like if you are riding a tandem bicycle on Mackinac Island, but otherwise, I just wouldn't recommend it.

All in all, I didn't mind riding my bicycle in the rain. The really unfortunate part was that it was also incredibly windy, and the wind was against me. The wind never seems to be blowing in the direction I am going. Either way, I am glad to have gotten past my first bicycle ride in the rain. Now the only thing left to look forward to is riding my bicycle in the snow!

Riding my Bike!

About three years ago I purchased a bike from Craig's list. It looked a little like the one above, a Giant hybrid, only mine is plum colored and I have a crate on the back to carry things, as well as a rack on the front, but so far I haven't used that to carry anything. I also have two cup-holders, which hold my travel mug really well, so I can bring my coffee. In previous years I always intended to ride my bike to school instead of driving, but I never seemed to stick with it. This year I'm going to try to be more serious about that.

Here are my reasons for wanting to ride my bike more:

1. It makes me feel healthy. I definitely am one who hates exercising for exercise purposes alone. This doesn't mean I hate physical activity. I just hate going to the gym. I love doing things like hiking or gardening, or even running outdoors with a group of friends, because the primary focus is not 'getting fit', it is just an added bonus. So biking to work fits right in this category. It gets me to my office, but also gives me a bit of a workout. Also, since I only live 5 miles away, it only takes me slightly longer to get to the office by biking than it does by driving, since I have to walk about 10 minutes from the parking lot to my building. And I think if I start getting better at biking (aka not using the brakes on big hills because I'm scared of going fast) then the times should be pretty equivalent. Plus biking is easier on my knees than running.

2. I am all set up to ride my bike in a variety of conditions... or at least I have the ability to be. I got bike lights for my birthday from my mommy this year! A front white light, and a back red light, and both have various modes of flashing or pulsing and whatnot. Very Cool! I still have to get batteries in them and put them on my bike though. Also, I have a really nice rain jacket as well as rain pants, so even the weather shouldn't stop me.

3. This is my sneaky plan to save a lot of money. The cost of gas alone for driving to and from work is somewhere between $.80 and $1.00/day. That is nearly $30/month, just for the gas to drive to school. If you add in other car expenses, like oil, maintenance, tires, etc., the national average cost of a small sedan is around $.50/mile. Obviously this average changes depending on the source, but I went with that number as it is the amount Dartmouth reimburses for mileage on expense reimbursements for work travel. That is $5 per day that I would be spending if I drive to school, which is a LOT of money.

4. Opting for riding my bike over driving is the green thing to do. I have been a Vermonter for almost three years now, so it is about time I started actively trying to be more environmentally friendly. This seems pretty self-explanatory, although I did just find this disturbing article that basically justifies driving, since walking requires more calories, and food production has become so energy-intensive that the pollution from a car is actually less than that of additional food production. There were also some other odd facts* on things like how organic cow's milk is worse than non-organic because the cows produce less milk, making their methane emissions higher because more cows are needed. I feel justified in not buying organic milk, but I'm still going to ride my bike.

Anyhow, I kind of got off-track there, but I am Super excited for my new plan to ride my bike more. This is the third spring that I have said that, so I hope I actually stick with it this year. I have hopes of having bike-riding become my natural choice for getting myself places, and having my car be the backup plan. Plus I want to ride my bike to all sorts of great places, like the farmer's market, the local contradances (I'll still need to drive to the far ones, but at least I can carpool), The Chutes by the Union Village Dam, Isabell's for delicious breakfast, the Whippy Dip for delicious ice cream, and probably other places as well. Ta Da.


*I use the word "facts" loosely, as I don't really know the source for this info.