I had a really fun afternoon and evening yesterday. Helena and I (and Tage and Lydia) went out to Debbie’s house (she’s another American girl who lives up here) and Debbie spent three or four hours whipping up the most delicious Chinese food for us. When the meal was ready, Debbie’s husband and Olof joined us and we all ate dinner together. We had a great time just hanging out and talking and laughing (Helena made me laugh so hard my stomach ached!), and eating, of course. I am totally in awe of Debbie’s cooking skills — she made it all look so effortless, and the food was positively outstanding. I think her spring roll filling is one of the most delicious things I’ve eaten in my entire life!

We also got to see some nice-looking northern lights last night, but I’ve gotten a little blasé about them in the year-and-a-half that I’ve lived just south of the Arctic Circle. I still like to see them, but I find I often can’t be bothered if it’s too cold or I’m doing something else or I’m just not “feeling it” at any given time. We did see some pretty spectacular ones a couple of weeks ago when my mom was here, and I did stand outside for quite a while watching them, even though it was pretty chilly outside that night. They were amazingly active then — I don’t think I’ve ever seen them moving so much.

Not much going on here today. We slept in late, and have been doing a whole lot of nothing since getting out of bed. I need to get some reading done for my Swedish class, since I’m taking the national exam in less than two weeks, but I’m having a hard time getting motivated. There are three or four requirements to pass out of the B-level besides taking the test, and I need to get cracking on those, too. One of the assignments is to read a classic and give an oral report on it. I’ve chosen Walden, for no other reason than it’s the only true “classic” that we have in Swedish on the bookshelf. It’s a bit long, but I think I’m up to it, if I’d just get started. I have a bunch of other things to work on as well, and I really hope I don’t put it off until I have to do a maniacal rush at the end to complete everything.

Part of me wants not to test out of the class, because it’s sort of fun and it’s nice to be able to see other grown-ups and spend some time with my friends there, but it really is a hassle getting in to town twice a week and the class itself isn’t that much fun. I think most of the reason that I’m taking the test is because I have a big ego as far as all things academic are concerned, and I just want to prove to myself that I can do it. Now let’s just hope that I can do it.