and so it begins again

My last week in Umea..

I didn’t think it would come so quickly, but it has.  I actually have less than a week, but because I was still catching up on my posts about the Laplands I am just now getting around to a little memoir about Umea.

Throughout my entire stay here, I have always been turned around.  The first day I got my housing information and got settled in I ventured out to find the supermarket – only to walk for fifteen minutes completely in the wrong direction.  And I don’t even know how many times I have gotten lost in the dark, but God has blessed me over here with keeping me safe.

Sunday afternoon I packed up most of my clothes and put them in my handy vacuum seal-able bags.  Whoever invented those were genius, by the way.  The only clothing items I still have unpacked are my workout clothes, two sweaters, and a couple of pair of jeans.  Everything else is already packed for my trip.  The shelves are getting bare again.

I am planning on shipping some things home – three pairs of shoes, souvenirs, a pair of pants, coat, and some other little odds and ends.  Today I am plan on taking the box down to the post office to weigh it and see how much it will cost.  I was aiming for 5 kg or about 11 pounds because that costs roughly $100.00 USD to ship back home, but we’ll see how close I hit the mark.

Speaking of coat, I treated myself to a new winter parka on Monday.  One because I didn’t feel comfortable traveling around with a custom made fur, and two because I was tired of my butt getting cold.

Always on the hunt for a good bargain, I scored this lovely, winter green coat on sale at Ahlens for 40% off!  It was originally almost $400.00 USD, but with the discount I think it was a reasonable amount for a warm, durable parka.  It even has an uber soft shearling-type lining.

There are a couple of school related assignments I need to finish up this week as well.  One for my Leadership course and the other one for my Culture and Media course.  Yes, I know the Culture class ended several weeks ago, but I may have accidentally missed one of the “compulsory seminars” so I have to do a supplementary examination to make up for it.  Pffftttthh.

On the bright side, I got a 94% on my last nutrition exam so I think that means I will get an A overall for the course.  I also passed my Culture and Media course, and will get a “pass” on my transcript back home at ISU.  (For study abroaders, grades are only written as pass or fail on transcripts, as opposed to standard letter grades.)

Sometime this week I also have to return my bike and get my deposit back.

And I have to clean my entire room, floor to ceiling.

And I have to meet with Iwan for a fika and also to about what to do in Oslo.

And I’m sure there are a lot of other things that will need to be completed as well, but for now I am blogging, enjoying a cup of orange&ruby red grapefruit juice, and fantasizing about the fact that the secret love of my life now is a personal trainer at my gym back home.

One week left.  How should I go out with a bang?