ikea

 Finally, finally I got to experience a touch of home! Not that I'm homesick or anything, but I have a little special way of dealing with being away from what I'm used to - I get ridiculously patriotic. Before I moved from Sweden to study in the UK, I disliked my home country. Severely so. After one year in England I could not have loved it more. After two years, I'm as nationalistic as I'll ever be. So anything Swedish is pure love for me, and IKEA is no exception. Cheap, good quality stuff and of course, what I looked forward to the most, the Swedish food market! We managed to collect a whole bunch of stuff in the trolley before our more physical needs drove us to the restaurant.

Veggie curry with rice and (as is rare these days) vegetables. Doesn't look yummy in this photo, but trust me it was. Curry may not be the epitome of Swedish cuisine (but then again, what is?) but it gave me a distinct feeling of "rolling hills and broad skies" as the posters described Sweden as home to. 

I am now the happy owner of salt liquorice, proper dark chocolate, rösti (haven't had rösti in years, if ever, but there in the store it seemed a crime not to get it) and also a mirror, brand new paper boxes and things to put school stuff in. This lady is a happy cookie! I'm feeling as though I'm starting to settle in a little, getting a tad more organised, and it's starting to become more and more evident that I'm going to be here for a year, rather than a 3-week vacation.

Japan is cool.

Jo x