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Life in Umeå is anything but run of the mill in comparison to my life at home. However, none the less, my life here as found a new normal, and somewhat repetitive routine. I never realized how routine it actually was until my brother came to visit, and asked “why do you go to sauna on Tuesday?” and obviously I responded with “Cause Tuesday night is sauna night.” My brother then proceed to explain the similarities between my response and the response of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory with regard to Halo night. In this moment I realized I had left much of my spontaneity back in Canada, and have somehow become a more scheduled, and planning person. Weird… But anywho, I guess since these new routine activities are a regular occurrence I figure I should spend some time blogging about it.

Tuesday Sauna  – Every Tuesday the Finnish club at our school heats up the sauna. The Finnish club is in charge of taking care of sauna and sauna related things… Thus, every Tuesday at around 8 pm we sauna. It’s not that I love sauna, it has just become something that we do. And really, can you think of any better way to spend your Tuesday night? The sauna itself at school is pretty fantastic, as it is a real wooden shack with a thatched roof.

Thursday Pub  – Nothing is better than pea soup (two bowls), pancakes and a beer for supper (for only 60 SEK!(which is $8.75 Cad))! Well actually, by March you are starting to get sick of it.. just a little bit… But that is unimportant… So why is it pea soup and pancakes on Thursday you may ask? Apparently it is some sort of tradition. Many of you may also be wondering who would ever put pea soup and pancakes together? Well actually it’s pretty good. The pancakes are like the dessert, with whip cream and raspberry jam. 

However, the main reason I go is to play pool. My pool playing skills have definitely increased dramatically since being here. The other main reason I go is to look at all the lovely decorations.. like these…

(I believe this is a don’t ask, don’t tell sort of thing)

Sunday Fika – Well in reality I haven’t gone to this in a while, I’ve been busy with life, school, etc. None the less, on Sunday afternoons you can go to Skogis (our student union building) and have a delicious meal and/or dessert with friends. It is a time to relax, swap stories of the night before, and nurse those hangovers. Side note: I must say, if you ever get the chance to go, you must try their carrot cake – it is deliciously, delicious.

Fika every other day of the week – People here are are crazy about their fika, and by fika, I mean coffee breaks. I feel like life is just moving from one fika to the other, with a little bit of work in between. That is the Swedish way I guess. Speaking of fika, I believe it is time for another one…