Things I Miss About the Good Ol' US of A

As we have now been gone away from America for just over a month, I thought it wold be a good time to reflect on the things I miss the most about home.

Juan saw me writing this and wishes me to include the things he misses. They are as follows:
Cheap stuff
Shopping on the internet
Ross Dress for Less
Marshalls
Running outside- It's just too cold here
"Oh and having a car, that was kind of cool"

Now, as I was saying, here are some things I miss about home:
Famly
Friends
Target
Ross
Marshalls
TJ Maxx
Taco Mac
Beer that doesn't cost $5-$7 per pint (especially Miller Lite)
Understanding what people are talking about
An apartment that doesn't have a nightclub on the ground floor
Latin food
My Civic
Warm weather
Being able to read labels so that I know what I am buying at the grocery store
Afternoons at Sweetwater
Saturday nights at Opera
Waffle House
TV with more than 20 channels, none of which are in Swedish
Dollars- I just can't take this brightly-colored currency seriously
English measurements (cups, tablespoons, etc) I mean seriously, wtf is a deciliter??
Bojangles
Chick-fil-a
Biscuits
Express
Raleigh Farmer's Market
American Pizza- the other day we had "pizza" that was smothered in kebab meat and sauce, with no cheese
Going to football games
Baseball games


The list goes on and on, but two other things that I really really really miss are my little babies...

Finally Some Pictures

Here is a link for pictures from around Västerås:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2210603&id=12816218&l=909a612e2e

Sveriges Television (Swedish TV)

For some reason Swedish TV reruns American sitcoms all the time. Right now Everybody Loves Raymond and Married with Children are both running. You're also really likely to find any of the following on TV after work hours: Friends, Scrubs, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Seinfeld, What I Like About You, or Two-and-a-Half Men. I've seen a couple other shows as well, like Oprah, Tyra, Ellen, and Miami Ink. It's strangely comforting and familiar. The only difference is that Swedish subtitles run across the bottom of the screen, and all the commercials are in Swedish, other than that I could be at home in Raleigh or Atlanta watching my own TV. Funny what becomes comforting thousands of miles away from home. The other night there was a terrible movie about male escorts or something on TV, but it was set in Atlanta, and the scenery stirred up an overwhelming sense of nostalgia.

Settling In

We've been in Västerås for just over a week now, and I'd say we're as settled in as we're going to be. This weekend we went to Ikea, which seemed like a pretty Swedish thing to do. For some reason there are 2 chairs and a table in the bedroom, and no dresser. Seriously? Why would I want to sit in the bedroom? There's not even a TV in there. I would much rather have a place to put my clothes. The chairs have had to fill that role for the past week, but that's just not even going to cut it for the short time that we'll be here. There is a fairly sizable closet, but no other clothes storage place. So we figured Ikea could take care of that, and off we went. Ikea is one of the few places that we can't walk to, so we got to experience the bus system. We had sort of laughed when we saw a girl sprinting after the bus the other day, but once we missed the bus and realized the next one wasn't coming for 21 minutes, that girl didn't seem so funny. Either way we made it to Ikea, and got most of what we needed. The only thing we're having real trouble finding, are large plastic cups. The apartment came stocked with dishes, but the glasses that were included are about twice the size of a big shot glass, and it's just not even enough to get through dinner without about 4 refills. Also, despite the converters we brought, my hair dryer and flat iron just won't work here. According to Maria, who's been living in England for over 2 years now, those things just burn out if you try to make them work. So I had to search for that, but was able to find some passable replacements. Of course they cost nearly twice as much here as they would have in the US, but they work here, which is what counts.

Despite the unreasonable electricity and small glasses, I have decided that I would really love this town in the summer. It's just so cute and yet still feels like a big city. It's a neat place to walk around and just be in, but the cold and the gloom definitely puts a damper on things. Still I think I could deal with the cold and the gloom if I had my Fuser with me. It's amazing how attached I have become to that little puppy without even realizing it. I know to some people it might seem dumb because he's "just a dog", but I miss him all the time. I had held out hope that someone coming to visit might be able to bring him over, but this apartment says no pets are allowed, so I'm dogless until late March. That is by far the hardest thing to adjust to. I guess being in Raleigh I had gotten used to being kind of far from the family, and here I can still talk to them really often, so that's not as hard. I also don't care that I don't have any idea what people are saying around me most of the time, I've already adjusted to that. It's just weird that not having Fuser here with me should be so hard. I guess I just always thought that having the pups constantly around was kind of a nonevent, but not having them around makes a world of difference.