One month in SB - here is the sum up

• The city is just so nice. Perfect size. The atmosphere is awesome!
• The water in the oceans have become warmer, but it still isn't that warm. You could swim in it, though.
• The tap water on the other hand is just weird. It tastes like a swimming pool! You can drink it, but it doesn't taste good.
• The crosswalks have the "go" turned on for about three seconds. And it's not a green sign, but a white man.
• Everybody drives a car. Everywhere. Maybe not that strange when the gas is just 5 SEK/liter. The only ones walking or riding a bike are us Swedes.
• Despite this, the Santa Barbarans are not that obese. People tend to take good care of their bodies. The image of the fat American is not true here.
• I was also worried about the American food before I got here and I was afraid of gaining weight. But good food and a lot of exercise have resulted in the opposite, losing weight instead.
• Fast food is hard to find downtown. There’s only one McDonalds, and no Burger King, In&Out or Jack-in-a-box. But many restaurants and cafés.
• Soda is much cheaper than water in the grocery stores, though…
• The national sport of America is not baseball, football or basketball. It’s beerpong. Every American seems to know how to play it, knows all the rules and are very good at it.
• America has a lot of horrible coins. The pennies fill up your wallet immediately.
• The homeless seems to have a contest of who’s writing the funniest sign. “RRR, I’m a pirate, gimme money for rum!”
• There are no cheap phone agreements in USA. Over 30 bucks, a month, at least, you have to pay.
• It’s Mexican people all over the place
• California is just as cool as it seems on tv
• American newspapers are ugly and bad
• People don’t drink Budweiser cause it tastes good, but cause it’s cheap.
• When you meets someone you have to use at least two moves with your hands. Preferably a slap followed by a fist
• You don’t say hello. You say ‘sup?
• If you sneeze in a store at least three people you don’t know says “bless you”
• In the grocery stores you don’t pack the bags yourself, they have people doing it for you.
• Nobody cares about the swine flu
• When you text someone you have to use at least one word containing a number, e.g. 2night
• There’s a lot of mountains and hills around here. You notice in the morning when you are riding your bike to school uphill all the way
• Americans thinks it cool that I’m from Sweden
• Many Americans knows one Swedish word, and it starts with a F

The people here

• The Swedes I live with are just so nice! I like them a lot and we agree on most things and likes the same things.
• Also the other Swedes here I get along with perfectly. I have made many new friends.
• The Americans living at my place mostly do thing by themselves. They are kind soft and chilling though, just as there friends that use to come here.
• I havn’t met that many other Americans yet. But the people in my classes and the people I’ve met in IV are very nice.

The school

• A lot of the education is just like in Sweden. Especially if you compare to the journalist education in Gothenburg. Not that much of theoretical stuff but more thing to do practical
• The campus is as I had imagined it. Many buildings, trees and green areas.
• The school has the best view in town. Especially if you are at the football field.
• I like all my teachers. They are cool in different ways.

The college life

• College parties are exactly as you see in movies. Red cups, beerpong, good looking people
• In Isla Vista there are almost only students, which you can see in the weekends.
• People are already starting to make serious plans about what to do and wear at Halloween.
• The noodles are cheaper here than in Sweden. And taste much better!
• The beer is just cheaper. Not tastier.

That was some thougths about my first months in Santa Barbara. Many more to come.