Jet Laaaag

I have been back in Lund for almost a week but it feels like I just arrived a day ago. This jet lag has been absolutely awful. I finally slept a full 7 hours last night and am starting to get some energy back but it has been totally messing with my ability to think (I just paused for like 5 seconds trying to come up with the word "think" so that should tell you something). As a result my ambition to finish all my final essays is waning.

What is making everything worse is that I am pretty homesick. Coming home for 11 days really just reminded me of everything I don't have here in Sweden so it's a little challenging to get back that same excitement I had when I left. But I think it will just take time to remind myself of the things I can do here that I can't do in the US. For example, today Klara called me because she was buying tons of candy for a Julgransplundring party. Julgransplundring basically translates to "Christmas tree plundering" and is this sort pseudo-ceremony of taking down the Christmas tree and involves eating the candy that is traditionally used to decorate the tree. Or you can just be like her and buy the candy to eat while taking down the non-edible decorations. Anyway, I met up with her and we walked outside my door to the candy shop, then went around the corner to buy salmon from this vendor from Lomma Beach and ran into another classmate in the square. Things like this are just not possible in the US and are part of what make Lund such a special place. Maybe with a few more full nights of sleep I will start to remember this again.

20 Things You Should Know Before Moving to Sweden...

Click here to see the list!

My California

This post is dedicated to my European friends. While you may have some idea of what the United States, California, or Los Angeles is like, this is what it is to me.


There are a lot of misconceptions about what LA is really like, but it varies so much from city to city. On this trip I spent time in:

• Calabasas
• Beverly Hills
• Burbank
• Malibu
• Mission Viejo
• Studio City
• Topanga
• Ventura

Usually when I'm in LA I see a lot of people from movies and TV, so this time I decided to keep a list of who I recognized in my 11 days back in the states. I saw:

• Melinda Kanakaredes from CSI New York @ Sweet Butter in Studio City
• Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick shopping @ The Commons in Calabasas
• Kris Jenner @ Les Miserables at The Commons in Calabasas
• Samuel L. Jackson checking in right next to me @ the Lufthansa terminal at LAX

California Architecture

From "the valley" to the canyon

Nik's House in Topanga

Dad's House in Burbank

Mom's House in Studio City

Winter Break in CA

These are some shots I took driving and walking around LA and include things I do all the time (like going to the beach) and special occasions (like new year's day sashimi!).

Blocks and blocks of streets lined with palm trees in Beverly Hills

Downtown skyline

One of the best brunch restaurants in LA. There is rarely not a line going out of the restaurant down the street.

Low tide at Malibu, although I normally go to Topanga Beach.

View of the valley in the morning from Nik's cabin

Lunch spot in Mission Viejo

This is the place to go for dim sum in LA, they serve everything from chicken feet to boba.

Classic American burgers and shakes at Bob's Big Boy. They even have 50's style car hop service on certain nights.

This 1.7 million dollar Bugatti Veyron on Rodeo Drive belongs to the House of Bijan

Stand-up paddle boarding in the Ventura Keys 

Traditional Japanese new year's day feast with an extra plate of tamales from the farmer's market

Fresh sashimi

So that's a peek into my American life. While there are things I definitely miss, for now I am happy to be a temporary Swede.

Christmas Surprise

After spending a cozy, traditional Christmas with my mom on Christmas Eve, I planned to celebrate Christmas Day dinner by surprising the rest of my family.

After a breakfast of butter streusel and tea, Mom and I drove to Malibu for a beach walk then stopped by Nik's house so I could give his parents their special bottle of Swedish Glögg with rum. 

After exchanging presents at my Dad's house, my brother Cody and I plotted how to best surprise my aunts, uncles, cousin, and grandma. 

As I was pretending to Skype with everyone from Sweden, I walked into the house and successfully surprised and confused everyone. Even though my dad is the worst secret keeper, after two months of planning, we did it!

Uncle Jeff then showed me the huge crock pot full of juicy brisket, smiled, and said, "Welcome back to America."

Red velvet Christmas cake.

Me, Jess, and Linds!

Christmas highlights include Cowboy Dan trying to speak in a French accent and pronounce "Veuve Cliquot," everyone trying to say "Glögg," stealing the $50 AmEx gift card from Jessica in the gift game, and actually surprising everyone.

It was a very merry Christmas.

Busy Season

I have been soooo busy with school recently but now it is time to relax. Christmas Eve-Eve calls for hot chocolate and the Mariah Carey Christmas album.

More posts and updates to come soon!

Winter is Here

The high for the day is predicted to be -8 degrees Celsius--that's about 17 degrees Fahrenheit. I am so cold.

More info here.

Santa Lucia