It's been a while...

Wooooo! Hockey!
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Haven't done an update for a while now so I thought I would recap the last month or so in a couple of paragraphs.  The reason it's been so slow recently is that everyone has gone into "exam mode", because due to an interesting quirk in the Swedish education system we are currently writing our Final exams for the classes we've been taking this quarter.  That means no midterms for us - just straight to the goods.  Roughly about 70% of our class marks will be decided in the next week, so it's a little serious around here.

Where are they now: Scott Langkow, G, HV71. Also: Pavel Brendl, RW, Moda - scored 2 goals vs HV71. Guy still has game.
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We have been able to fit in some fun stuff here and there, however.  First off was the Swedish Elite League hockey game that many of us attended in late September.  The local team here in Jönköping is known simply as HV71 and is supposedly one of the best teams in the league, although they're currently mired near the bottom of the standings (remind you of any other local hockey teams???).  The game we took in saw them lose to Moda 5-3, but the game was fast paced and the passing was amazing....still, a little physicality would have been nice.  All the international students who had never been to a hockey game before were extremely impressed nonetheless, so we will certainly be attending more games in the future.

The meal was delicious and fortunately Thanksgiving was saved

Tyson and I in our sweet new jerseys. Buy Husqvarna!!
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Thanksgiving this year was pretty tough being away from home and all, but me and fellow Canadians Andrew and Frank (the Tank) managed to make it a little enjoyable.  In fairly typical Canadian style it was low-key and unspectacular, but a large Ham was cooked along with some mashed potatoes, steamed carrots, bread, salad, and of course gravy.  None of us had ever cooked these things before, but they all turned out amazingly.  The meal was delicious and fortunately Thanksgiving was saved.  Now I get to look forward to getting a piece of American Thanksgiving, of which I'm sure the Americans will make a huge deal out of and make some kind of massive feast.  God bless America.

Sam and I's reaction after the crushing defeat
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As great as RÃ¥slätt is for parties and people, when there is nothing going on it can get fairly boring.  That's why we had the brilliant idea of buying a dart board and ping pong paddles.  I can honestly say there hasn't been a boring minute here since we made those purchases.  Our kitchen cupboards have a plethora of new dart-sized holes though, but if you can keep that a secret from RÃ¥slätt management then so can we.  We had also taken up bush jumping as a hobby for a little while there, until Chris tackled me into a bush and got a large chunk of twig lodged into the back of his head.  Suffice it to say, bush jumping has been halted and Chris may have to make a visit to the doctor next week.  Good times!