Happy Birthday, AREA!

So how does it feel to be 15 years old? Fifteen years ago you were born in Sweden, in the middle of a wolfishly cold winter (- 20 degrees Celsius for weeks), and your toes were so small. Now they are a little bit bigger, and so are you! Your photos are great - this one for example!



I think I was about 15 when I had my first hamburger ever. I remember it distinctly. A friend and I had taken the train to Stockholm on a day the school was off, and we were just walking around window shopping. It was terribly cold, probably in February, and probably the first time I was in Stockholm without parents. We bought cheap lunch from a 'gatukök' near Slussen, a tiny fast food place that looks on a box in the middle of a square, and I ordered a hamburger ('hamburgare' in Swedish). Even if fast food, this was no McDonalds, which didn't exist in Sweden yet. Instead it was made to order, and I took one bite and it was SO GOOD. I felt really guilty, it was like a sin, ordering a hamburger... (other 'sins' was liking hot dogs and Coca-Cola). I remember thinking that it was supposed to be bad food and I wasn't sure I was going to tell my parents that night or my friends in the environmental group - and I don't remember if I did. I really don't know why hamburgers where considered so bad for you, especially since the many pizza places served much greasier and unhealthier food. Maybe it was bad because it was American? I really don't know, but it definitely had a reputation as food that was bad for you. Now it has all changed, of course. Flame-grilled burgers stuffed with blue cheese and arugula on top, anyone?