Cultural Exchange

Friday night was my introduction to Turkish culture. I thought it was actually sort of poignant that on the day that the US embassy was bombed in Ankara, I was joining a bunch of Turks for dinner.

This was the calmest point in the evening

I was the only American in the company of the Turks so I think they liked explaining some of their traditions to me, especially when it came to food and drinking.

A main focus of the night was raki, a Turkish alcohol that is still super strong even when it is watered down to become "lion's milk." Raki is supposed to be a drink you enjoy slowly while conversing--it's not like taking shots of vodka to get super drunk as fast as you can. That being said, raki is pretty powerful. 

We also had a table filled with Turkish food, which looks a lot like Greek food, but don't tell them that. Anyway, it was delicious. Murat told me a story about how to enjoy raki with the salmon we had. He said the story goes that when you eat fish (and he made me take a bite) you swallow it down and it looks up waiting, and what is it waiting for? The raki. So then you help the fish out by taking another sip of raki.

One thing I learned that night is that every Turkish person has rhythm. Every single person can dance at least a little. And Turkish dancing is very joyful and proud. You cannot be around Turkish dancing and be in a bad mood. Of course they all made me join in as I was the special American guest. I had a lot of fun but it was pretty embarrassing. Especially compared to Nildag, the belly dancer.

The night before Turkish night I hosted a few friends over at my place so they could finally try enchiladas. And these were extra delicious enchiladas since Carla brought sauce her grandma made back with her from Mexico. It was too spicy even for my Pakistani friend, so some dilution was required, but it was still incredible. Introducing my friends to Mexican food was pretty hilarious. After experiencing guacamole and homemade chicken enchiladas with enchilada sauce made by a Mexican grandmother I think they are hooked. In fact, the next night, Idil's boyfriend who is visiting from Turkey shyly asked me if we could do another enchilada night before he goes. 

I don't have a picture to post of enchilada night because we ate them so fast...

Post-Break

This week was the first week of classes of the new semester and I'm starting to feel normal again. Right now I'm taking Political Ecology, which is one of my favorite subjects, with some really great instructors.

While using my brain again is one thing I'm excited about, I'm also happy to be reunited with Mehreen and Idil! It's so much fun being back in Lund with these crazy girls. While I really had trouble finding something to bring them back from the US (I ended up going with a "super-American" joke gift of instant Kraft macaroni and cheese for both of them), they were able to bring back some more, shall we say, refined things. Mehreen gave each of us a traditional Pakistani shawl and bangles and Idil gave us this homemade perfumed cream her mom makes and Turkish delight. Soo amazing!

Detail of my shawl...yes, she spilled something on it.

After a hectic first week of classes and a night out working the Event Masters party last night I was pretty tired today so I decided to take it easy. However, I did make the effort to try this tiny hidden bakery next to my house, and I'm glad I did because I bought one of the best things I have ever tasted in my whole life.

Danish AKA wienerbröd and green tea in my LA Starbucks mug

This is why Lunds Stenugnsbageri is was of my new favorite places for fika pastries

The Deep Freeze

According to this article, February will be "unusually" cold in the Nordic countries:

Southern Sweden is set to be hit by temperatures as low as -20C on Wednesday night, however these temperatures are predicted to creep up slightly before the weekend.

Lovely...

Main library in winter

Little Bite of America

The perfect homey lunch for a cold winter day in Sweden: Kraft macaroni!

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.