This week has been fairly uneventful but I thought I'd better write a quick update to reassure you all that I'm still alive.

The main thing about this week is that I've been feeling a lot more comfortable here in Sweden since I came back. I don't really know specifically why I'm feeling happier, but I know that going home did the trick. Things aren't especially going any better than before I left, but somehow I feel like I can approach things with a bit more of a smile, which is important. I don't know how long this will last, but I'm enjoying it while it's still here.

Apart from that, this week I had to present a 5-minute talk in Swedish on someone I admire. I decided it would be a nice opportunity to simultaneously eulogise John Peel and introduce his life and work to my classmates, and I think they genuinely were interested in him, amid my hesitant and patchy Swedish. I feel that it was a moment well-seized.

Having been pro-Kerry since before he was even nominated as the Democrat presidential candidate, I had a moment of apathy on Monday and I decided it didn't really matter 2 shakes to me who won the election. Didn't stop me from staying up until 5am watching it on CNN, though.

Wednesday saw my second sortie into the world of Innebandy- essentially ice hockey without the ice or silly amounts of padding. I felt fairly humbled by the apparent skill of the Swedes who've probably been playing it since they were 10, but I feel my years on the left wing for Whitgift School haven't entirely gone to waste and I felt like I had a dignified game at least... until 1/2 time, anyway. We started playing at 10pm and took a break after about 45 minutes to cool down and catch our breath; unfortunately, I think I cooled down a bit too much and when we restarted I was half-asleep and the ball was going faster than I could think. I largely became a (somewhat frustrated) spectator from then on, which was a little annoying, but I think I still held my own when needed.

From Wednesday lunchtime until the following Monday lunchtime, I usually have no lessons. This has the perk that I can travel on weekends quite freely (if I had anyone to go with) but the slight downside that I'm often quite bored by Friday. Saturdays are pretty dull as half the corridor trots off home and TV has limitted appeal. Sweden seems to be one of the only countries in the world that takes women's football seriously (enough to show it regularly on TV) and I'm trying to fight the urge to take an interest in it too... It's not pretty or skillful- it's just football.

The perk of all this free time is it's teaching me a little bit of self-discipline. I could easily sit around and do nothing for days on end (and let's be honest here, most weeks I probably do), but I'm trying to work out a gentle routine of study, quiet times and exercise. I can always hope that this will set me in good stead for next year when I need to get on with dissertations etc. but I try never to underestimate the potential of laziness and apathy.