I met popeye!

Field trip! Field trip! Field trip!

My beautiful host Dana and her dorky hat

Dana and I headed to Milwaukee to see the arts museum there. It is an awesome building to be sure. The building's architecture is really awesome and unique, both inside and outside. Sadly, we did not have the time to see any of the exhibits since we got out a bit late and the museum was about to close. So instead we just wandered around the locale. Afterwards I took Dana out for sushi and spent a ridiculous amount of monies on dead fish.

Milwaukee Art Museum

We walked around the area with the Sushi shack for a bit and Dana showed me the places she used to visit when she was in college. The Mount Mary college. I can't see how that name could be interpreted as something dirty, can you? No, nay, nopes.

Inside the museum

We went into a pub to get a beer or two when we met a really strange and totally awesome older man. He instantly started talking to us and when he learned I was from Sweden he started telling Swedish jokes he heard from the Norwegians during the Second World War. He was a dog fighter who was stationed in England during the war and explained a whole lot about strategies and the things he would do to evade the Germans. Then he explained that once he came back to the US he became a voice actor and said he was the last voice for Popeye. He gave us a few examples and then showed some really impressive impersonation of old famous people, as he presented them to Walt Disney when he met him. First a few animals, then a really good Churchill. Everyone passing in and out of the pub, and passing by us greeted the old man as "Popeye", so he is a local celebrity. And to be honest, I'm not sure if he is telling the truth, but I don't want to research it. I want to believe I met Popeye!

Inside the museum

Miserere Dominus, Meleagris mortuus est!

So, Dana decided that I need to experience something of what you encounter during thanksgiving. Namely, the turkey! Not the country, though it would be awesome if they invaded every year or so to say "thanks!". So, the process of making a turkey is something in between a grinding slow process and an oddly sensual one too.

First you spend a couple of day thawing it by gently pouring water over it every 30 minutes for the 2-4 days (depending on size). Then you gently fist the turkey to remove the package of gizzards and the neck from inside. Then you spend a whole day cooking it and preparing the sides. Our thanksgiving was a small and cosy ordeal with only a few sides.

Since I'm the only male figure in the house, I got to be the one carving it, since that falls upon the male figure of the American home. And I can tell you I felt my testosterone surge and hair start growing on my chest as I mercilessly slaughtered the already dead turkey. I'm just a bit worried about how my lesbian friends handle the carving of turkeys. Do they invite a male friend over? Is there a turkey carving service for lesbians or single mothers to call? It's just one of these mysteries I guess I'll never get answered.

We started the actual cooking at 3pm, and started eating at 11pm. So it took a little while longer than we anticipated, but it was good eating and I can see why Americans are thankful for it. So, in American tradition I too have to thank the turkey and tell it that it's death served me well. Thank you turkey. Thurkey.

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow

I'm still in Wisconsin, big surprise. Hanging out with Dana and just taking it nice and slow. Watching good movies and scary documentaries. I've heard concern about me not posting for  a while so I'll make a lil' post now.

Contrary to popular belief I'm not being held hostage. And some people (you know who you are) are concerned I am not doing touristy things. Stop that silly nonsense. Don't you think that after having been travelling and going hither and dither though first Europe and then the United States, I deserve to get a bit of rest? I sure do!

Even if the situation here is not the best for my hostess, with family problems and such, I am doing very well. Everyone is very friendly and it is always wake my hostess up with  cup of coffee brewn to Swedish Standards (tm) and see her face light up. Even if her eyes stay closed for the better part of an hour or so due to her being a late sleeper and it taking a while for the caffine to grab a hold of her.

So, what have I been doing? I've helped keep my hostess happy, since she's going though a hard time. Last week we went into town and saw a play called "The Clock Maker". The actors were rally good, but the play in itself was a bit so-so. It wasn't all that involving and the plot was quite predictable. I sort of like and dislike the stage at the same time. The stage comes really close to the audience, and at points I was so close to the actors I could reach out and touch them if I would have wanted to. So for better and worse it was very intimate.

Yesterday I went to an all catholic Fish Fry with my hostess, her mother and her mother's friends. The friends of my hostess' mother are really awesome. I especially like one lady who is the real sort of "no nonsense" and very tongue in cheek teasing sort of person. I think she just about entered retirement and then thought "Model trains, that sounds like fun!". So she went to a store for train models and started browsing, then two young guys started talking to her and gave her all sorts of hints and ideas. So now she have started converting her ping-pong table into a landscape with the help of Styrofoam.

But mostly it have been about sleeping in and snuggling up under a blanket while watching movies and having a glass of wine. So I'm very content.

I have also been to all sorts of food places, eating out a whole lot and learned a lot about American food. Bigger is better, and the drinks are always free and just keeps on coming.

I should perhaps make a few observational posts, but truth be told, I've been so busy just socializing with Dana, that I've not had the time. And honestly, most post would be about the differences between Sweden and the US, which in the long run would probably seem like me being ungrateful, which I am not. I really like the differences, it makes it so very fun and real.