"...I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..."

pure [pjʊə] adj

1. not mixed with any extraneous or dissimilar materials, elements, etc. pure nitrogen

2. free from tainting or polluting matter; clean; wholesome pure water

white  (hwt, wt) n.

1. The achromatic color of maximum lightness; the color of objects that reflect nearly all light of all visible wavelengths; the complement or antagonist of black, the other extreme of the neutral gray series. Although typically a response to maximum stimulation of the retina, the perception of white appears always to depend on contrast.

snow  (sn) n.

1. Frozen precipitation in the form of white or translucent hexagonal ice crystals that fall in soft, white flakes.

2. A falling of snow; a snowstorm.

"I moved to Lund over thirty years ago" stated Erik* proudly as the bus turned the corner. I sat there, bewildered that a Swede whom I did not know was talking to me. Nevertheless he went on, "just after I arrived there was a large snowfall. In fact it hasn't snowed in Lund as heavily as it has now, since that time of my arrival."

Just as Erik*, the old local on the bus was excited, so too was a little exchange student from Auckland, Nya Zeeland. 

Here are some photos of Will and I exploring our little town that was now inundated in PURE WHITE SNOW. It looks gorgeous with all the Christmas decorations up - I've just stepped into my dream of a White Christmas!

Coupled with the magical snowfall, there has been loads of goodbyes as well as Christmas celebrations, contributing towards a manic time of the year. At the beginning of Advent my corridor and I decided to decorate our lounge/kitchen. As well as our saawweeet gingerbread house (below), we made a newspaper advent calendar (Copyright Elsa, Michelle & Charlie), a modern Nativity Scene (Copyright Elsa & Charlie), put candles & lights everywhere and put a wreath on our door. We decided to have a little Corri goodbye evening which ended up into a massive snowfight outside against others in our building block. We dominated of course! Got a bit out of control when it started to come inside... Lets just say the floor was a bit off-white the next morning! Oh and the corridor so kindly gave me a food hamper as I was going to be the only one left in Lund while they went back home to their families! So unexpected and SUCH a kind thing to do! I wanted to cry! 

Swedes are all about traditions, even though the traditions may not actually mean anything anymore. On the 13th December is St Lucia Day. A few friends and I went to the concert which basically consists of both males and females singing Christmas songs whilst dressed in very peculiar costumes. Of note is "St Lucia" who stands there with an advent wreath and candles on her head (all lit I might add). The whole time i couldnt stop thinking about what would happen if she moved her head slightly to one side... The boys wore these funny pointy hats, reminding me of something out of Harry Potter! It was a gorgeous event though and I couldnt help but sing Ave Maria the whole way home. 

It hasn't just been goodbyes to my corridor mates, but goodbyes to many exchange students too. Although many are returning back for the Spring Semester, there are many who are leaving to go home for good. Of note are the gorgeous Australian/American girls by the name of Jess, Rachel, Lena and Michelle. I only met these girls just over a month ago, yet have done SO much since and will miss them to bits! We met at the International Church one night and decided to go to a production of The Importance of Being Earnest put on by the International Students. We bonded instantly over the hilarious French guy who was trying to be British and have never looked back. Since then we've shared Thanksgiving together (had the YUMMEST meal including Pumpking Pie & Turkey - a first for me), some girls nights and also partied it up together at Vildanden's (another housing block) Rainbow party - along with 500 others spread over 5 floors! I've also hung out tonnes with another friend of theirs Brendan who took me to the Zoological Museum, situated secretly opposite our Geocentrum Building and full of interesting artefacts that now would be illegal to attain. Since Brendan is staying for the whole year, we have made a vow to seek to discover more hidden gems in Lund - a town that must have many due to its 1000 year history.

Below are pics of us post-goodbye dinner and girl vs boy snowfight, of which I'm proud to say that the girls completely obliterated the testosterone-filled boys team. Thanks to Brendan's grandmother who sent him over 9 pairs of Canada's Winter Olympics mittens, our hands were kept nice and toasty... Will miss all of you SO much - cant wait to visit you in Oz and the US and for our 10 year Thailand reunion ;)

Since I got back from Russia I've also been attending a students church called Credo. It has been tonnes of fun and I've already signed up to help with organising the cafe we are putting on throughout the Lund Carnival next year in May. Watch this space! For those of you who dont know, the Nobel Prize originated in Sweden. On the 10th of December, the date of Alfred Nobel's death, an elaborate banquet is put on in Stockholm for the Award Ceremony. It is a huge thing, aired on television all over Sweden. To coincide with this, Credo put on its own Nobelfest. Was a really fun night with delicious food, various Credo members doing little performances/sketches and of course a little prizegiving!

I've also been hanging out a lot with the FUN & beautiful girls Anne-Sophie and Julia from Belgium and Germany respectively. The pics below are taken on our last coffee date for the year, of which we have been doing weekly, in OUR corner of OUR cafe Mondo. We've talked about everything from Erasmus' (both literally & metaphorically), boys (incl. the James Syndrome) to our hair history. This little date was also to say goodbye to Anne-Sophie who is only to stay here for one semester. WE WILL MISS YOU SOO MUCH MY DEAR!

Oh and we also had a fun ladies evening thanks to hosts Alex and Julia!! By the end of it we had consumed our lasagne and sugar quota for the year and got high over all the nail polish! Looking forward to the next!!

I most note that I have been doing university work alongside all the socialising! My two papers of Global Environmental Justice and International Business & Multi National Enterprises are due in on the 25th and 26th Dec! uuuuughhhh! SO been busy getting these done in amongst everything else! As I mentioned in the last post, I've also been busy attending events around the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit! 

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas or as they say in Swedish, "God Jul"! Although the build up has probably been just as busy as mine, I hope its been relatively stress-free! Same goes for Christmas day - embrace the warmth/friends/family/food and the festivities that come with the special day it is! I'll be thinking of you as I sip on my glögg (mulled wine) on the other side of the world in the land of blondes and vikings!! xx


P.s If you want to see more photos of this time click here