sleepless, but not jet-lagged, in seattle

hi, my name is blog!

so this must be what it feels like when you finally succumb to the pressure of getting a facebook account or something like it, because i never thought i would end up blogging, but then again it is practical now that i am on the other side of the world, namely seattle, us! i do promise to try to make this interesting and fun, and hopefully it will be. otherwise, what would be the point? diplomatically, i've decided to do this blog in english so that everyone from london, norway, sweden and everywhere else inbetween can follow, comment and judge.

let's start! obviously, i've arrived in seattle by now. after surviving horrendous security measures at keflavik airport, iceland, i landed in the evening on the 28th of december. i jumped into a cab and enjoyed the seattle skyline as i was approaching downtown. i spent my first night in a hotel, and did some walking around as well to see what seattle was all about. for one, it's very hilly, which i don't know why i was surprised about. i had a meal and then proceded to walk into what looked like the world's dodgiest bar (of course i went there!) but it was actually quite nice.

yes, americans are overtly social, which perhaps will take some time for a scandinavian to get used to. they are friendly, friendly, friendly! i got some numbers which i've already put to use, in all of my norwegian-ness. speaking of which, i've already met over 9000 norwegian-americans.

the next day, 29th, i moved into the flat where i am going to be living for the next 6 months. it's ok, it's all quite neutral, big and sort of empty. ikea, where are you? apparently i'm going to live with 3 other guys, one of which i've met. a guy from japan, he was very nice and has been showing me a bit of the local area and where to go for necessities. the area is very good for shopping, there is a huge and quite exclusive shopping centre right next door. so i guess i won't be shopping there! though they do have an h&m there. thank god. also, lot's of restaurants.

i live close to campus and i hate to say this because of the obvious cliché factor, but it does look like straight out of every american college film ever made. old historic buildings in grey and red surrounded by lots of cherry trees and greenery where squirrels and raccoons (!) run about.

there is a long avenue next to campus informally called university avenue, packed full of bars and cheap eats. bonus! and of course coffeehouses. when in seattle... i'm not a coffee connoisseur so most coffee tastes the same to me. let's see if that will change. there is one thing i will sorely miss and that's "hälsofil" which i don't think they have here. all you swedes reading this will know what i'm talking about!

i wish everyone a "godt nytt år"! (my new years eve was spent in the flat, unpacking and organising with a slight tequila-induced hangover. yes, happy new year to me...) tomorrow will be the first day of uni, so wish me luck. thank you for reading and i hope you will follow to see how this pans out!