Go Bucks!

I'm sad that I'm missing football season. Piteå doesn't have a big sports team (I think there may be an ice hockey team, but I'm not sure). As my friends are prepping for weekend tailgating and cheers of OH-IO, I'm just clinging to the one Buckeye I brought in hope that it will bring me good luck. And today, I think it did :)

Yesterday I called the member of the student union, Sebastian, who had helped me get the supplies for my apartment. I asked him if he could show me around sometime, and help me get acquainted with the school (Anders and Daniel are great, but I would still like to be involved in the school more). He's really nice, and said that he would give me a call later in the week. However, since electronics disagree with me at times, my phone went crazy this morning. I was charging it and it just kept beeping at me, and none of the keys would work. So, I did what I think any chick would do...I took the battery out, and then put it back it. Presto. It works....right? Wrong. It turned on, and seemed ok, but was asking for a PIN number.

~ A PIN number? For a phone? Think Maria. Anders hands you the phone. Shows you the "on" button. Gives you charger....and Crap! Tells me the 4 digit number. WHAT IS IT?!?! ~

I tried every combo I could think of, but no luck. Then it locked me out of everything and is asking for a “PUK”. I have no idea what that is...When Anders gave me the phone it was about 10 minutes after landing in Stockholm, and my mind was racing, so no information stuck. I'm just mad I didn't write it down! I emailed Anders, who is in Croatia, so hopefully he’ll get back to me soon. Daniel is on tour with his group, so I couldn’t ask him either. Ugh!

So, the morning started out with a little bit of bad luck. As I walked to school (in the rain, bummer), I decided that I couldn’t dwell on this phone fiasco, and would just have to put myself in situations to meet people without Sebastian's help. Before today, I have been just walking straight to the practice room, and then straight back, not giving me a chance to really interact with anyone. Plus, since the percussion rooms are off in no-man's land, I don't even see that many people.

After practicing for a couple of hours, I decided to go to the library and check it out. When passing people in the halls, I always try to smile, and at times mumble a "Hej". This is NOT common in Sweden. People rarely make eye contact. But, I'm not Swedish, so I do it anyway :)

The library had a decent amount of materials for a small school. I don't have a university log-in/ID name yet (I need to work on that), so I couldn't check anything out, but they have some music that I will definitely be studying at some point. But alas, no human interaction at the library. Oh, well...it was a step in the right direction. Since my tummy was rumbling, I decided to go home for lunch.

I sit and noodle on my computer anytime I am in my apartment (Google Translate is my favorite thing in the world...). So, I decided to look up info about the student union building: http://www.karhusetipitea.se/
On the website I saw that there was a meeting tonight at 6pm for students interested in volunteering in the Café or Bar. Well, there's my chance to meet people....

I went back to the practice room, and during breaks from playing, I started giving myself pep talks. Don't judge me! I was really nervous to waltz over to this building by myself and try to form friendships out of thin air. But, I knew I would be really mad at myself if I didn't at least try.

At about 5:30pm I put all my stuff away and headed over to the student union building (which is right next to the school). As I walked in the door I gazed over the crowd of people, all sitting in groups at tables or in separate sections on couches. I quickly sat on a couch that was empty near some people, and whipped out my iPod Touch to make it look like I was busy, or messaging someone, or something.

It felt like freshman year, when you want to join a club and you don't know anyone, and you're new and scared....except now I'm 24, and should be able to do this. But, I couldn't even eavesdrop on conversations, or figure out how to approach anyone. Pep talk time.

Deep down, I knew that no one was going to approach me, and that I just had to suck it up. I saw that there was an empty seat within a group of people (that was easily accessible), so I got off my toosh, put my big-girl panties on (inside joke with my dad!), and went over and asked if I could sit down.

They said of course...the conversation started...and I finally let out a breath.

These people were awesome. I could probably go on and on with how thankful I am that they were so kind and cool. We really got along great, and after a minute or two I didn’t feel out of place at all (although I still do wish I knew the language better). Two of the girls are production majors, and are interested in collaborating at some point! We somehow started talking about percussion and media and dance, and one of the girls knows someone in Stockholm who plays with a percussion/dance ensemble! How awesome?! She is going to get me in touch with her so we can meet up when I'm in the city. Networking at it's finest.

Then, the meeting started, where I assumed my smiling and nodding demeanor. My new friends translated the important info at the end, and we all signed up to be a bartending team a couple of times a semester. They promise to help me with my Swedish, and vise-versa. I hope that the student union lets me work, it would perfect!!!!!

After I finish this entry, I'll Facebook them, and hopefully go out for coffee in the near future. So, thanks lucky Buckeye. I had a wonderful day in the practice room, and now have some potential new friends.

This day definitely deserves a "Go Bucks" :)