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Mr. P enjoying his first Edmontonian breakfast of oatmeal porrige and lingonberry jam, bought from the IKEA store right outside of Edmonton.  Frida att the University of Alberta campus. The buildings are mostly made of red bricks, which instantly makes me feel at home (seeing as I grew up in Skarpnäck, the red brick suburb ofContinue reading “Chapter 29: My first day in Edmonton – the photographs”

 Mr. P waiting for boarding at Arlanda Airport, Stockholm. 11.30 Frankfurt: I’m almost certain that I didn’t sleep for a single moment tonight. I was so worked up by all the packing that I couldn’t relax and by five when it was time to get up, I felt strangely out of touch with my body.Continue reading “Chapter 28: From Stockholm to Edmonton”

Yesterday I got my international driver’s license. On the bus from the motorist club office where they make them, my backpack broke. Not the big, beautifully green one that is my new crush, but the small blue one that I bought before going to Bolivia. I’ve used it daily for three years, so it brakingContinue reading “Chapter 27: The backpack crisis”

When saying goodbye to Natalia last Friday, she gave me a book (Gaiman, of course) and a teddy bear. She named him Mr. P (short for Gonzalo Polyroi) and said: “He wants to see the world. Please take him with you.” And I can never say no to Natalia, so from here on, you canContinue reading “Chapter 26: Mr. P travels the world”

Sunday night / Monday morning: It’s way past midnight and I’ve got work tomorrow, but the adrenaline is pumping and I think I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep anyway. I’m doing lists. To-do lists, packing lists. I’ve packed my bag twice already, both times my stuff fit without any trouble, but then I thoughtContinue reading “Chapter 25: Instead of sleep”

I’ve inherited a passion for food from my dad. I think that an important part of belonging and feeling at home is food. Atleast for me. When traveling in Sweden or Finland, nothing ever really feels totally strange or exotic, because the food is mostly familiar. If nothing else, I can always go to theContinue reading “Chapter 24: The safety of food”

It has started to sink in now. I’m going away. I’ve started to say my goodbyes. Friends, family, collegues. While doing my everyday stuff, I’m thinking: Maybe this is the last time I do this for five months. It’s an exhilirating thought, both scary and exciting. At the store yesterday, they had an offer onContinue reading “Chapter 23: My last chocolate bar”

Wednesday evening: I’m sitting in my aunt’s incredibly comfortable couch and suddenly I remember the last time. Three years ago, she prepared me a bath, poured me full of black currant and grapefruit drinks and fed me her special mashed potatoes. She gave me a cashmere scarf, the big, warm, not fancy kind, and toldContinue reading “Chapter 22: Flashback”

Before Jonatan, my cousin and older brother (depending on how you choose to define the terms), left for his internship in Peru in January, he spent an afternoon lying on my bed, with me sitting on the floor, and we got to talking about Parenthood. Parenthood is a TV show about the Braverman clan, theContinue reading “Chapter 21: Parenthood”

I’ve written that a reason for my upcoming trip is a restlessness, that I’m in need of some inspiration. However, I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. I’m not tired of geography. I have not lost faith in the discipline that I have chosen for my university education. It’s more that I’ve lostContinue reading “Chapter 20: Maybe an explanation is in order”