Comfort in something I never thought would be comforting.

I was very homesick today. Sundays are very lonely, everything is shut down because it is a holy day, and I have no car and no motorbike so my availability of transportation is limited. One thing I discovered today that was a nice reminder of my previous life was yes, Bjorn’s going to have a heart attack, listening to Swedish on my ipod. Bjorn’s mom Anette bought a “learn Swedish” kit for me two Christmas’s ago which I’ve been listening to, to feel somewhat closer to where my home is.

It is so hard to describe a place where there is no actual formal structure. By formal structure I mean post offices, buses, stores, everything here is done informally. So if you need a stamp you might know someone who knows someone who works downtown at the post office and has one. But for foreigners like me, who know no one, we can find nothing. A few days ago I went to the grocery store to buy some thing to snack on and I grabbed a box of cereal. I was looking on the label to see if there were hazelnuts when my eyes scanned over the date, normally on a box of cereal in most countries you have about two years to eat that box of cereal before it goes bad. And for types like lucky charms you have almost ten years before that stuff goes bad. This particular box was going to expire in a week, opting against it, I put it back on the shelf. I was shopping in a local area and those items are not only too expensive for locals but strange foods, so no one but me was interested in granola. Apparently for at least the last two years.