Number Two.

I've started to dream in Swedish. Well, I've started to dream about Sweden. You know how your dreams are often linked to your everyday life so the people, places and events that surround you on a regular basis become like some sort of subconscious cushion to your dreamworld? Maybe that's just for me, but it took a while to stop dreaming about Montreal. And it was always the same dream; it's the day before I leave and I have nothing done. Nothing packed, in boxes or dealt with at all. I look around and start to freak out as I realize the amount of work I have to do and then a friend turns to me and says, "don't worry Jess, you'll get it all done". And then I suddenly wake up in a panic that was all too reminiscent of the final two weeks before my departure. I think, 'oh yeah, I already did that'. I guess they were more like night[stress]mares, now that I think about it.

But back to the point - I'm starting to have new dreams. Dreams about the streets and the tram, the sea and the graveyard behind my apartment. These are the things that I have been getting to know the most within my world here and they are beginning to stick. I feel as though I am slowly differentiating past from present. At least in my subconscious. Some people don't even remember their dreams, but I do. and I'm lucky. So I try to pay special attention to them even if they're not anything exciting. This is why I am writing about them now... they mean something important.

My dreams tell me that I'm adapting to life in Sweden. And with such adaptation come people, friends, and a familiarity of a place you once felt you could never know. You begin to recognize and understand certain things that were just a scramble a couple of weeks ago; words, signs, people... which way's north and which way's south. It begins to make sense and thus your life does as well. It is slow but it is happening. I can only be excited to see what form it continues to take on.

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I have found a particular affinity for the sea. I live only about 10 minutes from Salthomen, which is one of the harbours here in Gothenburg. From there you can catch ferries that will take you out to little islands called the archipelago's... captivating little islands. One of the larger ones, Styrsö,  has sheep that live on it who seem to be content with their usual routine of being photographed while eating grass and shrubs. It is a wonderful place and I am there about once a week, exploring different islands, always with camera in hand.

It being my first time across the Atlantic, I think there's a certain feeling of connection when at the shore. As far away as I may be, the ocean still connects us all, and when I'm there I feel close to home. In fact, closer to myself, which is as 'home' as I'll ever be.

Thank you ocean, thank you sea,

thank you dreams that come to me.