My first week in November

My first week of November was very fun, even though it rained a lot.

My roommate Nicolai and I went to IKEA to eat some Swedish food: meatballs, mashed potatoes, brown gravy and lingonberry jam. Unfortunately, they forgot to give us our jam, and there were so many people there that we didn't bother going back to ask for it. I also had a slice of Daim cake, which is a typical Swedish treat, and it was so good.

On our way out, we spotted all the Swedish sweets and treats, and I ended up spending around 22 euros on them. Because everything in that small shop is Swedish treats, I bought my favorite cookies, buns and candy. Every penny was worth it. I also got a soft serve ice cream, which is practically obligatory before leaving IKEA.

I think I'll go back to IKEA before Christmas to buy some Swedish Christmas treats because they are absolutely lovely. I miss Swedish food and sweets very much, so it was really nice to get a little taste of home.

Because of the rain, I haven't been able to spend as much time in the garden as I would have liked. Instead, I've mostly been at the school, talking to the teachers about what they want the children to learn when they visit the garden. Most of the teachers wanted the kids to learn about photosynthesis, different parts of the plant, the importance of bugs and insects. But also wanted for the kids to play some different games and pick pinecones, or make a scarecrow.

While waiting for some of the teachers to be available, I sat down and practised some more Greek with the help of one of them. This means that I've actually learnt quite a few new words this week, as well as how to count to ten! My goal for next week is to learn how to count to twenty in Greek.

Apart from that, I've mostly been working on my personal project, writing articles, preparing my radio show and taking care of other administrative tasks. I'll write a separate article about my personal project soon, so I won't go into too much detail about it just yet.

This Monday, November 2nd, Eleni, Nicolai and I went out for dinner at a restaurant. On the last Friday of every month, we usually go out for dinner together, but because we were busy with Green Friday, we decided to go out this Monday instead. The food was amazing! Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the restaurant because it was written in Greek. And honestly, Greek is a very difficult and confusing language, especially because they use a completely different alphabet. I'm still struggling quite a lot with learning it, but I'm making progress.

We had a really lovely evening, and I also learnt that Eleni apparently has two brothers I didn't even know about!

Earlier that same day, my friend and I went for a walk and took the metro. I learnt how to use the metro system, and I also discovered that there are turtles living here! So, naturally, we went to see them, and they were absolutely beautiful.

I've also been to an arcade this week! I've never been to one before, so it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time, so we could only stay for a little while.

We played billiards, and I lost. I have officially decided that I'm never playing billiards again. (Although, let's be honest, I probably will at some point.) I'm just terrible at it.

This week has taught me that even the smallest things can make a day special. Whether it's eating Swedish food, learning a few new Greek words, discovering turtles or simply trying something new, it's all part of the experience of living in another country!