Moving back to Sweden

I am currently in the process of applying for a Swedish residence permit. Excited?! Absolut!

My Swede and I have decided to move there (together) while he goes to school and I get better at Swedish. We are still looking for an apartment as of right now in the wonderful city, Halmstad. Have I been there? Kinda.. I went to a small beach there, walked around, and continued on a road trip.

This week I go to San Diego for my interview with the Swedish embassy and hopefully in a month or less I will actually behold my ticket to Sweden!

Hopes for my near future:
1. Find a job in Sweden quickly
2. Cohabit successfully with my boyfriend (new territory)
3. Not gain my usual Europe weight
4. Become fluent in Swedish
5. Make a Princesstarta
6. Once I become fluent in Sweden, get an awesome job :)  (airport, teacher, groupon, health organization)
7. Get tested for allergies and get good medicine!!! Yay universal health care!

Also excited for Jacqui's wedding! A. she is my best friend. B. this will be my first Danish wedding. C. I finally get the heck out of America!

More to come when things get a little less crazy around here. The Swede comes in 6 days! Let the real relationship begin... (after 2 years of long distance)

Friends!

If you google friends, here is a definition you may find: a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard. 

 In my life, I have acquaintences, friends, and best friends. I was thinking to myself about what made some people best friends and this is what I came up with….

 You get two families, the one you are born into and the one you choose. Best friends are the family that you choose. These are people that you know you will be friends with for most of or all of your life. They are the people that are going to love you no matter what you do. 

These are the people that are not going to judge you when you make bad decisions and they are going to give you their honest opinion, even if it is not an easy one to hear. 

These are the people that you can go months or years without talking to and when you speak again, it is like no time has gone by. You know that no matter how much time or distance is between you, you will always be friends. 

These are people that you consider family. These are also the people that see you at your best and your worst. You can tell them your most embarrassing story and not be embarrassed. You can laugh at the difficulties of life together. 

 The reason I am writing about this is because I am very thankful to have such wonderful people in my life. I am far away from every one of my best friends which sometimes hurts but the fact that I can think of a happy memory with them and smile makes distance tolerable. I know that because my friends and myself are little travelers, I will not live close to most of them, but once I have a real job and money, I will see them when I can.

California!

And finally... Back in California. The whole way back, you better believe I was playing California by Phantom Planet. The weather nice (considering it is February). I live two blocks from the beach and I am happy as a clam. Still looking for a job though... Officially slummed as low as Taco Bell. Goal: Job by Thursday. Then it's bridesmaid dress, bf trip, and... wherever this crazy life takes me.

As for weight... 3 pounds down, 7 to go!

Time to work

         After my month and a half in Turkey and Sweden it is time to work. This means work as much as I can for a paycheck and work out as much as I can to lose the jolly ten pounds I have gained. Although I had fun stuffing my face from November until now, I do not enjoy my new double chin and inability to fit into my pants. Time to lose some weight.

I just spent the last 4 weeks in Sweden. As always, it was delightful. I was lucky enough to be there at Semla time! Ohhhh Semlor, how I love you so. Semlor are wonderful treats that appear around the time of Lent. They are puffy buns (consistency of hamburger buns) but sweet with cardamom. The top of the bun is cut off and in the middle is mandelmassa (almond paste/marzipan with more almonds than sugar), and whipped cream. Then it is dusted with powdered sugar. These are truly delicious. Especially when your boyfriend’s lovely mom makes the mandelmassa and cream herself. Win!

SEMLOR

After a week and a half in Sweden, I got to spend two weeks with boyfriend. There was very much rum, candy, hazelnut cookies, kanelbullar, and fun. We went to Goteborg, possibly the best city in Sweden. I got to put on a Velcro suit and be thrown on a wall. Dream. Come. True. We also saw some cool little monkeys and some horrific spiders.

I will miss Sweden very much. In the mean time, I shall apply for a work visa so maybe I can go there this summer and work. Although it is cold, it is a great place to be. Happy people, frozen water to walk on, ice to play with, delicious things to eat, and much much more.

Turkish Meze

Turkish Meze is sort of like Spanish tapas or Italian aperativo. You order many little things and share with the rest of your group. 

Farmer's salad, like greek salad.

Turkish Pide bread.

 Here is baked eggplant that was mashed without the skin and garlic and olive oil was added to it. Simple and delicious. The white on next to it is yogurt with a green vegetable that I have never heard of in America.

This is Turkey's version of pizza. Spicy!

 Doner Kebab.

 Water buffalo cream ontop of Quince, a yellow fruit that turns red when cooked. Never heard of it but it was yummy!

And of course... Baklava with Chai, the turkish word for all tea. 

Interesting things about Turkey

Interesting things about Turkey:

1. Many people order groceries online and they are delivered to the home.
2. There is a sound that plays over a loud speaker all over Turkey that means it is prayer time, 5 times a day.
3. They do not practice the same health behaviors we do. Example: Not covering mouth when coughing or sneezing
4. Thousands of jelly fish in the water. Note to self: Do not swim here.
5. Very cheap public transportation. A one hour trip with busses and metro to the city is less than $3.50
6. I am told the average income in Turkey is about $11,000 a year. This means, as an Au Pair, I am almost making a normal salary by Turkish standards.
7. After my first Turkish coffee, the children's grandma told me my fortune. When you are finished drinking the Turkish coffee there is thick mud like coffee grounds at the bottom. Turn the cup upside down onto the plate and let it sit. When the 'fortune teller' lifts the cup, they can tell you your fortune.
8. So much BAKLAVA!

Turkey!

Now for a new adventure, I will be an Au Pair in Turkey. I have just arrived and only had a small taste of all the food and adventure to come. Tomorrow I head out by myself to figure out the bus system, get myself a phone, and see what I can find at the grocery store! Some of the things I have eaten so far include:

1. Bread, very long pita bread that hangs in bakery windows.

2. Pumpkin boiled in sugar water and sprinkled with walnuts.

3. BAKLAVA! And lots of it!