Two weeks in Perth went very well. The boat trip was magnificent, I got to catch up with just about everyone and enjoyed the fantastic weather I was blessed with for my time there. There were a few people absent including my mother so it wasn't quite the same as my usual drop-ins. I wrapped it all up with the new bond film with Kenny from which we went directly to the airport. Kenny quite logically pointed out that having several small plastic bags packed with protein powder probably wouldn't wouldn't look so good as I fly through Singapore so they stayed in Perth and I went on.
Two weeks in London took their toll. It's a bit of a tradition when Ben and I see one another to go a bit overboard and this was no exception. The first weekend I caught up with Ben, Adam, Vic, Ranga, Muel, Shirley and a few others. While we didn't make it to the Church we still did plenty of damage at the Walkabout on Sunday to wrap up the 4 day weekend. I managed to be a little responsible during the week and Ranga and I made it to the gym a few times, got through a bit of homework and was generally a well behaved and rational person. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the following weekend. Saturday night I caught up with George from back at camp in the states as well as Alex and Simon from Montreal. A mixture of house parties, bars and clubs; George, Ben and I ended up crashing on couches in some girl's living room.
6 of us woke up and headed out to breakfast and thought; hey, why not start the day with a pitcher of margaritas? Why not indeed. Over breakfast we talked up the 'experience' of the Church for George, a native Brit who had never experienced the equisite spectacle that is the Church. Apparently it far exceeded his expectations and he can't wait to return.
From chatting up girls dressed up as boys to motorboating painfully old women with excessive breast implants (George!). From being fought over by the super twins to having an unwanted sidekick step in. It was one hell of a Sunday. We've all vowed to do it all over again once the season is over.
Naturally after a bender like that I contracted a bit of a cold which I am still trying to shake off.
I flew into Stockholm and caught up with everyone from the good old days at the Hard Rock Cafe. What started out as stopping by for a quick meal and a quick hello turned into a shower of shots at Pub Anchor. That pretty much put me out of commission for the rest of my time in Stockholm but that was a-ok with me. I still had to finish off my Vardskapet (village/company study package), sort out a phone, bank account etc before getting up to the snow.
Before jumping on my mightnight train up to Are I met a crazy old drunken Finnish dude in a hawaiian shirt at the train station who insisted on having a lengthy but limited conversation with me. I figured I could use the practice but I'm not sure whose Swedish was worse? His or mine? 8 hours later the train came to a screeching halt as they pulled back to drag the corpse of an alg (like a small moose?) off the tracks. I have been to Are a couple of times but never seen it so covered in snow!
I'm living in a massive house a little out of town. At the moment we're only about 20 but at capacity it holds about 45 people. Not everyone has arrived and it won't be full until early February. So far I have a room to myself but there is a second bed that's bound to be filled before too long. My first night here was spent meeting everyone, having a giant sauna (it holds about 15 people) while drinking beer. It was all a big blurr for a variety of reasons but I gather much fun was had by all. While I am frequently told how good my Swedish is I am constantly reminded how much I have to learn! I can get by well enough one on one but in a group situation I have no choice but to sink into the background as I struggle to follow the rapidly changing conversation topic.
It is because of this that I have decided to test out
English Fridays to give myself a bit of a chance to be myself. All my housemates seem to like the idea as it will give them a chance to practice their English.
Timbuktu is one of Sweden's biggest hip hop artists and I have been listening to him for a few years now; not only in an effort to maintain my Swedish but also because his music is pretty sweet. He is playing at one of Are's most popular clubs this Friday and all the staff are buzzing in anticipation. I have not spoken to one person who isn't planning on going. I hear there are 250-350 staff here so far with more set to come in the next few weeks. Should be a good night out...
So far work has been pretty cruisy; a lot of meeting, talking, looking, getting fitted out for uniforms and snowboarding around the area. The resort is divided up into 5 or 6 different locations; with 3 different ski school locations. I am based in the town center which has a pretty mixed demographic. Sounds like for the first part of the season I will be taking ski groups as more and more snowboarders come along later in the season. This week was our introduction week while tomorrow I start my first day of 'work' where I will be helping set up signs and getting the ski area ready for guests. The majority of people won't be starting until the 22nd of December when the season really kicks off. There is enough snow to have the resort running at full capacity but as there is hardly anyone around they aren't opening the lifts up as much as they could. This is a good sign for a good season - although having said that many resorts that experience early falls seem to 'use up' their snow early and not get much more later on.
So Christmas in Sweden is a little bit different. Christmas eve is the big day here. All the kids open their presents in the afternoon and have a massive dinner that evening. Christmas day seems like a time for everyone to get wasted and go out partying.
Emil got a weird skateboard-type thing called a Ripstick. It's only got two wheels and you move forward by wriggling from side to side. With great difficulty we took turns zipping around the living room and the dining table trying our best to do tricks like side sliding and monos. There was a fair bit of crashing but with a little bit of grace we- and the tree- survived the evening.
Everything tasted amazing. I was mowing through the food in a hazy attempt to eat everything at once. After my second plate I was ready to collapse in a swollen food coma. Despite the crazy amount of partying going on this week I am doing my best to behave as work takes priority for the time being and a hangover coupled with a lack of sleep is the last thing I want right now. A few weeks down the track I might brave the prospect - scratch that - next week is new years eve! Time to see how the Swedes compare with the Norwegians in the new year celebrations.
