Holy kebab-schnitzel on a cowboy hat dipped in crab-mustard! I'm actually flying home today... Can't quite believe it, I'm going I get to unpack my bag and sleep in my own bed. The last few days have dragged on excruciatingly slowly, a bit like Christmas. Well, quite a lot like Christmas, an unshaven wierd guy who no one quite knows who he is, and hasn't been seen for just long enough for everyone to wonder if he really did exists, comes with a big sack on his back and starts emptying it in the living room while the stench of beer lies heavy on his breath and eventually gets thrown out again when the political comments go from "unseemly" to "racist" via "anti-Semitic"... Or was that just my Christmas being a bit odd?
The main exception this time being that I am the bearded dude (ok, my facial hair growth is still barely the equivalent of a 12 year old Arab boy, but more beard than usually at least... Btw, what was it I said about racist remarks earlier?).

For the past couple of days, all I've been looking forward to has been coming home, even though that joy is somewhat lessened by the fact that I dont even have a week to unwind. Then I have to be settled in down in Lund. Not even that can quite dim the sensation of seeing familiar faces and, most important, having constant internet access and not having to rely on the occasional wifi. This last point must seem like a joke to any generation over 20 years of age, but it is a special sort if tribulation being cut of the way you are when leaving the country. Any text sent is going to be expensive, browsing the web and looking stuff up has to be postponed until reaching a wifi zone (which is harder than it sounds in Oz and NZ). In essence, it is like reverting to 5 years ago...
So just the freedom you have when you are back home, with free access to the Internet and unlimited texting is going to be euphoric, at first in any case.
Speaking swedish full time is going to feel strange though. I haven't really said a single word of Swedish out loud since leaving San Diego. English is a lot closer to heart right now.

I have one important post to add when I get home, and that is a summary of tips and links and schtuff like that for future reference.
Oh, I can actually mention this now: yesterday, I didnt really have a place to stay, so I was planning on sleeping in one of the parks here in Toronto. Couldn't afford a hostel and no one responded to my couch requests so a lawn seemed like the only remaining option. Didn't feel to much like saying that when I knew my mom would freak, but I actually got a hold of one guy here in Toronto, so I did in fact have roof over my head. This of course means I've only slept outside once on the entire trip, which is a lot less than I expected...
I think that's it, I'm going to have a lot of spare time when I land in Stockholm, so there's probably going to be another post from there and then the mandatory summary. Stay tuned to see if I manage to f*** something up until then!

P.S. the picture is from a Chinese guy I met who went to Vancouver afterwards. Looks gorgeous, doesn't it? Have to go there as well.