Vacation Plans!

One of my favorite tv shows is Friday Night Lights. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like it so much if I didn't live abroad. But since I'm terribly homesick, I cling to this show like nothing else. I love everything about it. The scenery, the music, the football, the accents. It reminds me of home.

We watched all four seasons last year obsessively and now we've started on Season 5. We watched eight episodes yesterday.

From watching Friday Night Lights I also started listening to Explosions in the Sky and that is one amazing band. 

Last night, after our tv watching marathon I looked up the tour dates for Explosions in the Sky and found out that they were doing a European Tour this spring! Unfortunately they're not coming to Sweden or Denmark but they will be playing in Berlin. G and I have never taken advantage of living in Europe by taking small trips to other countries, mainly because of limited student funds. But things are changing here and it's well time to take advantage.

So we bought tickets to the show! It's not until May so we have awhile to figure out how we're getting there and where we're going to stay. But oh wow! I'm so, so excited! I've never been to Berlin and I can't wait to see Explosions in the Sky play.

Sunset (Explosions In The Sky - Your Hand In Mine) from Derek Flagge on Vimeo.

in between

Every once in awhile I get really, really, really homesick. When I first moved here I decided I wouldn't be homesick because it is counter productive to me if want to make a life here. Which I do. But sometimes I feel homesickness with such intensity that I become depressed for days.  Right now is one of those times (the last one was in June).

I've been missing Texas a lot lately. Everything about it.  As of December it'll be a year since I've been back to Texas. I'm excited about visiting the States in one week (!!!) but New York is not the same. Still good, but not Texas.
I miss the friendliness of Texas, grocery stores with so much choice, country music, Texas music, warm weather evenings, amazing sunsets, the easiness of English, outrageous Texan pride, the easiness of the life I'd always had until recently, English speaking church,  my family, my friends, Tex Mex food, frozen margaritas, feeling like I actually know what's going on, driving my car, and so much more.

I'm getting tired of Sweden right now. The grey skies are back, the cold is back, the rain is back. I am tired of not knowing how the systems here work, of public transportation and being crammed like sardines on a bus, missing my family, of constantly feeling on the "fringe", of the lack of choice and originality. I am tired, so tired, of Swedish- reading Swedish, writing Swedish, listening to Swedish, and struggling to speak Swedish. And feeling bad when people speak English for my benefit.

Lately I've had a few downs here and I'm thinking more and more about what if we were to move back to the States sooner than we've already planned. But as familiar as the States is to me, I will still feel like an outsider when I go back. It's inevitable after spending almost two years in another country.

So I guess all around I feel a bit lost.  Between two countries: one is my home but becoming stranger and stranger to me and the other is so strange but could maybe be home.

I keep trying to shake myself out of this funk but I can't right now. Maybe New York will help.
Any suggestions?

another vacation

We are on vacation. Again. Well, I have been on vacation for a few months now. But G has a week off from work so we are up in the country enjoying the last few weeks of summer.
Tomorrow we leave for Germany. We will only be there one night but I'm super excited. I haven't seen much of Germany other than the airport and one border shop.
Yesterday, we were inspired by Julia Child and made hollandaise sauce with artichokes. Tonight, I made cheese enchiladas complete with chili gravy. It tasted just like a Tex Mex restaurant. Oh, Texas I heard you are really, really hot right now.
Not to make anyone jealous, but the weather here has been perfect. Almost like Spring but with less wind.

I promise to post more once we are back from Germany.

and she's back

So, Leslie is on her way back to Texas now. Well, she should've been there already except her flight back to the States was seriously delayed yesterday.
We got to the airport 2.5 hours early yesterday morning where we found out that Leslie's 12:25 flight would not be leaving until 19:00. That's like 5 hours, y'all!
So Leslie was put on the later flight which would mean that she would be getting back to the States super late in the night and would need to spend the night at an airport hotel. It was all figured out and she is currently en route back to Texas.
The surprise delay meant that we had a few more hours to hang out and in Copenhagen!
When Leslie came to Sweden she asked if we could take the train across to visit Copenhagen, but Copenhagen is just so expensive when you don't have a job (and even when you do), so I kept distracting her with the fun things one could do in Malmö- like the stinky city bus rides and episodes of 16 and Pregnant instead of indulging her in Copenhagen's big, glittery city excitement.
But yesterday we had a few hours of waiting around so we took the metro into the center of Copenhagen and walked all around. I was two days un-showered and was wearing incredibly bad walking shoes and even though Leslie had stowed her carryon at the airport, she still had a very heavy travel-purse since she was, well, traveling. But despite our bad shoes and heavy bags, we lumbered on through CPH and had a blast. It was great having a few more hours to hangout.
Finally, it was time to go back to the airport and I had to say a teary-eyed goodbye to Leslie.

Y'all, let me just say: it was so good having my best friend here.

this week is a good week

It is rainy and cool here today. A big sigh of relief, finally. Maybe I should kick myself for that one, but seriously- it's been super hot here lately. With no AC. Many of the busses here do not have AC. A lot of the stores do not have AC. Our apartment does not have AC. And it's been so hot. It's been great, but also a bit exhausting- constantly sweating.
Yesterday was our first day back in town. G had to go to work and I played the part of yuppy housewife. I ran a bajillion errands and met my friend Jenny for coffee and the best gelato in town.
The heat continued well into the night and G woke up in the morning and opened our back patio door to let some cool air in. Our bedroom window only opens a bit (out of safety) but right now I feel like safety can take a backseat- I want cool air!
Thankfully it has been raining. So the air feels a bit more breathable.

My BFF leaves for Sweden tomorrow. She leaves pretty early in the morning and then arrives here (on Thursday) even earlier in the morning! I can't wait. She is here for two weeks and a lot of the trip is already planned to the very last second- I feel like we need more time to do everything!
I am absolutely thrilled- it will be so so so good to see not only my friend but someone from my home.

But now I have a list a mile long of things I want to do before she arrives and sine the rain has let up- it's time to wash those windows!

tuesday evening

Tonight we had a pre Cinco de Mayo party. Everyone was busy tomorrow, so it had to be today.
We made margaritas and four different Mexican themed dips to go with our oily, Swedish corn chips. We invited some friends over and spoke in French accents. It was a good evening.

We bought a bunch of cacti about a month ago. Surprisingly, they are still doing well. The sombrero decoration is from my most recent birthday.

Four dips: guacamole, black bean with roasted garlic and roasted corn, sour cream with roasted red pepper, and fresh salsa.

Oh margaritas! I thought I only liked frozen margaritas- I was wrong. We're still working on perfecting the recipe, I don't like them to be too sweet. But yes, this is what dreams are made of.