Learning about the Swedish culture

According to my Swedish teacher 'learning about the Swedish culture and their pitfalls is as important as learning the language' - but actually she is teaching us more about the culture ;-)

One of the first things we got to know is Swedish hygiene. In Austria - and by now I know it is the same thing in Australia, Eastern, Southern and Western Europe - you learn early on that if you sneeze or cough you should place your hand in front of your nose / mouth. But in Sweden you cough (hosta) in your long sleeves! This is perceived to be better because the bacteria are stuck in your cloth and do not stick on your hands where you can spread them easily. Our teacher reminds us every day that we have to practice this 'rule' because it is very impolite to act in another way. I immediately thought that I will try to be 'very rude' the next time I am riding the Metro (T-bana) and it is hopelessly crowded and I cannot get a spot to sit down , maybe this will help me to get some room around me ;-)

Another cultural difference is, according to my teacher, that Swedes do not give a lot of information about themselves, unless you ask them. She always reminds us that people here are not like people from the English speaking culture who talk a lot and give information about themselves. In Sweden you need to ask if you are interested - for example you ask someone if he/ she is studying, then you will just get the information if or if not he/ she is studying but not what else he/ she is doing and so on. You need to ask one question after the other - and this we are practicing at Folkuniversitete every day (asking question after question after question - I suppose I should have applied at the Swedish police instead of the university!

I also got a lecture about the Swedish emancipation, because I told someone that I feel too old for this kind of life I have right now - I mean starting all over again, having no children, and so on - and she told me that in Sweden most women have their children in their late 30s or even early 40s, sometimes without a partner and if they have a partner they are often not married. That's really different to my experience from Austria, I suppose, we are more conservative and old fashioned about these things. But I suppose I am going more into a sociological direction than it is necessary for this blog ;-)

Another important part of the Swedish culture is, that you never eat something without asking the other people around you if they would like to share. Our teacher told us that's the reason why in class you are not allowed to eat and drink - maybe the others want to have something of your food and you would need to ask all classmates if they want to share with you ... Well, I suppose this is a very very kind attitude and maybe my teacher want to educate us to 'super-Swedes' that we fit in the Swedish society perfectly :-)

One thing that nearly all European countries have in common is the fact that the public transport system and the main roads are permanently under construction over the summer months! Here the Metro (T-bana) lines do not run every 10min (like during the year) - now there are just 2 to 3 trains every hour! In the newspaper all the people are complaining about that and in the T-bana the people are angry about their long journey back home from work and so on. I think it is annoying to stuff the already very crowded T-bana with heaps of additional people, and during rush hour some people do not fit in the trains and they need to wait for the next one! Which means being late to work in the morning. I am lucky because my school is just 30min away from Skarpnäck - 20min with the T-bana and then a 10min walk.

First day of my language classes!

Today, my language school starts and I'm kind of nervous which fellow students will await me there. I have no idea which nationalities are curious about learning Swedish, I just know that immigrants have their own (free) SFI courses and will not attend Folksuniversitetet with me.

It is raining again and I hope my new bought sneakers can stand Stockholms heavy rain (because I bought them here!) although they just cost me 75 SEK ;-)
It was the first time that I was riding the T-bana Metro at 8am with all the people who wanna go to work and - there are a lot of people in the morning! Because I get in at Skarpnäck, the last / first station of the green line, I always get a seat, which is kind of nice but not really handy if you try to get out.

At 9am my courses start and last until midday (half day course). Our teacher is rather old and very experienced in what she is doing! She rushed us through the first chapter and was talking to us in Swedish only (using lots of drawings and pics). It is amazing how much you understand just from seeing pics! She told us that the daily amount of homework is 3h, excl. study time to repeat the class content - we all were kind of shocked but it is an intensive course and we all wanna learn Swedish really fast. For that reason I am sitting in the Stadsbiblioteket right now to do my homework - I don't wanna think about the fact that at UTas I have semester break right now, but I decided to start with summer school here *stupid*.

My fellow class mates are from all over the world:
Gabriel - Brasil
Harisha - India
Olivia - Australia (Sydney)
Iwona - Poland
Natalia - Russia
Asefu - Ethiopia
Sara - Spain
Maajika - Netherlands (Amsterdam)

We should be 13 people but only 9 of us showed up today. I already made friends with Olivia from Sydney, you can imagine why ;-)
She is in Stockholm for one year now because she has a Swedish fiancè and therefore Swedish friends, too. She said we should exchange  numbers tomorrow - looking forward to get the chance to make more Swedish friends! *exciting*
What I need to do (really urgent) is registering at the 'Migrationsverket' in order to get my personal no. and to be legally here in Sweden. All these bureaucracy is need to get the documents which are required to open a bank account! I cannot believe it that for me - as a member of the EU - it is that complicated to get all these things! It was easier to get a tax file no. and a job in Texas, and I opened a bank account in 10min in Tasmania!

I ordered my registration certificate from Folksuniversitetet today and hopefully I will get it by 11:30am tomorrow. Then I have to scan all my required documents and send it online to the Migrationsverket. Then they need their time to proof everything and finally they will send my Swedish personal ID card to my mail address (after I paid the 400 SEK registration fee, of course). It's all about money, but I should have gotten used to this fact by now.

So, my To Do list has several points on it and I don't mind at all, because my 'list of stupidity' I started in Tassi has not gotten any longer since I am here in Stockholm, which is great ;-)

Glad midsommar!

It is the most important 'holiday' of the year and as big as Christmas Eve - Swedish midsommar!

It is really exciting to be in Sweden at this time of the year because back home we just know midsommar from IKEA ads and that the prices drop to that time ;-)
Here in Stockholm they have REA (Sale), too at this time of the year, which is really good for me and my limited budget - since I had to re-book my flight from Tassi which costs me a fortune, but I will not get into this anymore! Just to mention it - I need a job here in order to finance this flight ticket, holy ****. Anyway.

The biggest celebration for midsommar is held at Skansen and Anna recommended to go there early on Friday because lots and lots of people will attend the maypole dance in the afternoon. So I took the T-bana to the city and then the bus no. 44 to Skansen, which hundreds of other people (with their mob of children) and it was 10am! and the maypole thing started at 2pm! Because Anna told me that it is a tradition to do a picnic on midsommar eve I took the vegan blueberry cake with me (which was not my greatest one and so I decided to eat it on my own and bake another one on Sunday for Anne and Harvey).

At Skansen I could not believe it how many people were already queueing! The entry fee of 150 SEK was also kind of surprising but you have admission for the open-air museum and the traditional shows also included. Because there were all these families with their huge amount of children I could not find a place on the lawn and I had to do my picknic on a park bench :-( 
Not really the same but the small kids still tried to steal some of my food, but as they discovered that I took dark chocolate with Stevia, Rice Milk, Soy Joghurt and a vegan blueberry cake with me, they left me alone ;-)

After my healthy picknic I was searching for the maypole area in order to get a good view of the celebration. For nearly two hours I was waiting that they start, sitting on a rock next to an American woman who was talking to me all the time about her new incredible camera *annoying*! After several delays, caused by some unexpected small rocks on the 'dance floor' which would cause some dangerous circumstances for the older generation, they finally started with erecting the maypole. I got the opportunity to stay right next to the official photographers, so I had a good view to take my pics.

For some pics of the midsommar celebration you can go to my Facebook page, it should work even if you are not a Facebook member or Facebook friend of mine *hopefully*

But the most horrible thing was getting back to town from Skansen, because at around 7pm everyone had the same idea as I had - getting home. All the trams, busses, walking tracks and so on were full of people and leftovers of their celebration.

On midsommar day (Saturday) it was raining all day long and there were hardly any people outside. I was staying inside, too - after I ruined my sneakers due the heavy rainfalls. They could not stand Stockholms midsommar weather and fell into pieces after they dried up :-)  I need to buy new ones, which is a good opportunity for me to have a look at all these fancy inner-city shops!

Trip to Vaxholm - in the heart of Stockholms Skärgården

Being on a boat, meeting interesting people, and taking pictures or ladybugs
After last weeks troubles I thought some relaxed midsummer days are the least what I deserve before my language courses start on Monday. So I was walking around in Gamla Stan and as I passed the Tourist Info I saw a flyer about the Archipelago or Skärgården of Stockholm, which means the huge amount of small islands around the city of Stockholm. The town Vaxholm is perceived the 'heart' of the Archipelago and boat tours are offered every hour to get there. Because I always have my camera with me I decided to go there - and it does not cost a fortune (SEK 150 retour for a 1:10h trip each).

Because I wanted to go with the 12:00pm steam boat I've put the lady from the Tourist Info under pressure - it was 11:35am and she needed to book my ticket and explain to me were the boat will depart. I arrived, heavily breathing, at the pier right before they closed the gate. There were a few folding chairs placed right at the bow of the boat and others further behind, and of course you could sit inside. I could not believe it, most of the people chose to sit inside! So I had no problem finding a place where I had a good view.

Leaving Stockholm behind - We will arrive in Vaxholm in about 1:10h

On the chair right next to me was a young man who started talking to me - in Swedish, and I honestly told him that my Swedish is not good enough to start a conversation with him, but I was glad that he could switch to English. It was a really interesting conversation because he works as a kind of environmental engineer and currently he is planning on two underground train stations in the Stockholm area, in harmony with the nature :-)

He got really excited as he saw a huge bird and asked me if I know the species - I just stared at him and said 'no - why?' Then he explained to me, that in the Swedish / Nordic culture bird watching is a big hobby and there is this 'Club of 300' thing, means that if you have seen all 300 species of birds which are found in Sweden you can join this club ;-)

He told me that he lives on an island next to Vaxholm during the summer, but he has a house in Stockholm, too. Right now he is heading to his mother for the midsummer celebration - I suppose every Swede is gone this weekend!

As one of the other passangers heard us talking in English, he joined our conversation and told us, that he is from Gothenburg and visits his sister in Stockholm to spend the midsummer weekend at the family cottage. As we saw a family of white swans I told them that in Tassi there are a lot of black swans (because I thought maybe they like bird stories) and then he said that he traveled around AUS for 9months and loved Perth and the zoo/ aquatic center there. Then we talked about Australia but I had to get out of the boat at Vaxholm station - it was sad to end chatting with them.

Vaxholm itself is a tiny, touristy town with a fortress you can only reach by boat. But Vaxholm has a small sandy beach and beautiful traditional Swedish houses, too.

The fortress of Vaxholm - Kastellet

Here a more beautiful view of the Kastellet

On the roses there were lots of ladybugs - could not resist to take pics of them ;-)

As I was walking through Vaxholm I saw beautiful gardens, traditional houses, a beach, small cafès and stunning places to sit down and enjoy the beautiful view.

Here are just a few of the lots and lots of pics I took that day ;-)

Swimming in the sea is great - but a little bit too windy and cold for me!

In the late afternoon I took the boat back to Stockholm and as we arrived in the harbour I thought the first time that Stockholm is really busy and frantic - maybe because of the contrast between the relaxed and calm island of Vaxolm and the capitol of Sweden.


Tomorrow is midsummer and I will spend the day in Skansen and watch the crowds of tourists dancing around the maypole ;-)

Roommate search part 2 - finally lucky!

Trying to find a new roommate and finding a Kollektivhuset instead...

In the last two days the situation with my landlady got worse and she tried to force me to sign an inventory list of the whole apartment (in Swedish) and when I move out and she cannot find anything I have to replace it! I'm pretty sure that several things will be missing then ;-)

I already posted another ad that I need a room asap and one woman replied to my ad very quickly - Anna, Swedish, nurse, vegetarian, has a 13y old son Harvey. She is looking for a woman, vegetarian, and nice/ easy going. I though - wow, this is my perfect roommate!
We called each other and then I could come over to see the room and to meet her.  *best thing ever*

In order to move out from my old room I first had to clean the whole flat and then I had to do the laundry for both of us! in the biggest laundry room ever!

 


- some of my Austrian friends will recognize the small machine next to the big dryer, if not - remember in school when we had to learn how to iron big things ;-)



After I fullfilled my duties stated in the contract, I was happy to take the metro to Skärpnäck to sign my new room contract. Anna and her son Harvey are really nice people and as I arrived there we were searching the internet together to find a standard room contract. The whole community in the house consists of only Swedish, Norwegian and Finish people, which all have kids. 

As I could sign the contract I was so relieved, just to know that I can move out from my old room. I really don't mind the environment in Bredäng, and the other people there are really nice to me, even the youth gangs with their scary dogs caused me no troubles. It's just the cracy drug taking woman, even the neighbours offered me I could rent out their room for just 1000 Sek when I cannot live with her any longer because they all know about her problems!
So I started to pack my stuff and to bring everything to my new wonderful room - as you can see:

 

Now I am a member of Kollektivhuset Tre Portar, which makes me really happy!

The idea behind 'Kollektivhuset' is great, I think. For an yearly amount of SEK 500 you can participate in the house community and use all the things they provide, like: an Finnish sauna you can hang out with your friends, a guest room you can book for your visitors (this might be the interesting part for y'all), a wood working area, an atelier for painting and drawing, an indoor playground for the children, and a big kitchen you cook for the others in the house (once a month you cook and someone else chooses the recipe and another one does the grocery).

At the moment I cannot believe how lucky I am with this shared flat. Yesterday evening I met Annas boyfriend and he learned German in school for 6years and told me that he would like to improve his German skills with me - the other way around Anna, Harvey and I agreed that they will (mostly) talk to me in Swedish that I can learn faster. Anna was babysitting a 3y old neighbour and the kid explained some kitchen vocab to me and I repeated every word what he told me - we had fun and the kid was so proud that he can teach me (the stupid adult who does not know what 'broken egg' or 'frying pan' is in Swedish).

Today, they all will start their trip to a family summer cottage near Gotland and they will return Monday night. So I will spend the midsummer celebrations in Skansen, a park on an island in Stockholm. I suppose all Swedish people are gone over the weekend to meet up with family and friends at the countryside and just tourists will attend the celebrations but I don't mind, then I can take pics without feeling akward.

First days, first problems - again

I should have known it, that my unlucky shadow will follow me from Tasmania!

Yesterday I had to find out that my landlord is cracy as she presented me a new room contract I should sign. After reading the whole bunch of bullshit I told her, that all these rules of her are rather insane and I pay rent and have rights too. She is another opinion. After long discussions and no alternatives on my side, I tried to bring in a two weeks timeframe before I should leave the room, because I suppose she would kick me out from one hour to the other. She doesn't wanted to accept that, nor that I added to the contract that Wifi Internet is included and available all day, everyday. I even added that I will use my own kitchen tools because she wrote in the contract that I have to replace broken or damaged kitchen stuff - and her things are all old and broken! I know that artists are special and excentric but her bipolar disorder is driving me cracy!

She tells me, even stated in the contract, that I have to take my shower in the morning and that I am not allowed to sit on the dining table in the kitchen because this is her atelier, or that I am not allowed to talk to her in the evening, if I need anything I have to ask her until midday. After 10pm no noise and due to the fact that her daughter has hurt her knee badly she will stay in the living room for the next time. I had to find out that this is not a shared flat because I just rent the room and she kindly allows that I use the bathroom and kitchen. But I need to clean the flat every week - but when she is not at home because otherwise she is disturbed - no kidding, is in the contract!

But the best thing was today, as she told me that she will travel in whole September and therefore I have to pay the electricity extra - it is clearly stated that rent incl everything and I told her that if she is not at home it is her fault and if I am not here in August she will not give back any money either. She said she will add all these new things to our first contract and I should sign then - I have no idea what to do, because I need to live somewhere and there is no other possibility at the moment. As I came home around midnight, after I watched the EM game SWE - ENG in the sportsbar, I had a note on my door, that she is not fine with the fact that I go out at night and if I do so it is my own risk! She added that she is in meditation - other word for totally high and cracy! Does she really think she can tell me when to come and go? That's not possible.

I already posted another online advertisement that I need a room and I emailed to one women because of a free room in the city. It is horrible, I suppose her weed intake over the years has caused some seriouse mental problems, and a bipolar disorder is a problem of her, too. One day lovely and cute, the other day miss horror!

Therefore, I try to keep myself away from her and spend the day outside today. I took the ferry to Djurgården, an island next to the old town where my Metro card is valid for travelling by boat - was a lovely tour, but no sunshine and so I made no pics.

I also found out that UTas Accom service charged me 20 Dollar for 'misc.' - means my laundry card which I forgot to hand in. Today I sent it by mail and wrote them an email that it is on the way. It is just because there is this pending balance of 20Dollar on my account and I will not get my Uni results until this amount is paid or deleted by Accom service - what a holy crap! The only good news I got is that I just get charged the 250 Dollar short stay fee but nothing else.

I suppose starting all over again is never easy but I thought after my last roommate experiences I would deserve a normal person, but obviously not.  I also informed the Uni Stockholm that I am already here and available and they told me they have not decided yet about the candidates who will get the chance to make an interview - I guess this is good because I am still in the game.

Today I walked through the old town, Gamla stan, the first time and was overwhelmed by the huge crowd of tourists and touristy shops and restaurants, too! Where I live no tourist would go on purpose, maybe when they take the wrong metro line and get out at the wrong station! But right next to my place there is a Vandrerhem and Campingground, really nice and cheap.

I really hope everything will get better here and maybe the people at Folksuniversitetet can help me find my own small room. Shared housing is not my thing, I suppose.

 

 I have to show you my contract and the note because I suppose noone will believe that!

 Nice experience in the Sportsbar / Pub with a crowd of Swedish fans and one small table with English tourists - I didn't know what they were shouting at them as they cheered at the goal of ENG over SWE, but I am pretty sure I will not learn this kind of vocab in my language courses ;-)

 ;-))

I bought my ticket in Australia - just to make sure I can go there
*exciting*

Day 3 - getting to the business park

Wednesday - a journey in the business park to get the parcel with my cloth, strange opening hours and way too much time to waste

As I found out via Google Maps, the 'post office' (I don't even know what to say instead of post office) is located in the Skärholmen business park, and I need to switch between T-bana and buses in order to get there, should take me about 35min. Isn't it incredible - before the Internet came along for everyone we really had to use telephone books and paper street maps, and if you are unlucky you had to call the bus service to get the timetables. Now you just click twice and get all of your needed information. But, I suppose, travelling the world is not as adventurous anymore as it was for e.g. Alexander von Humboldt.

To find a small basement office of the Swedish Post in a huge business park is an adventure itself, too! But after taking the wrong turn three times I finally found it - surprise - opening hours are from Mo - Fr 3pm to 6pm??!! I could not believe it. I thought I should get there by 10am, just to make sure they are open.
So I had to waste several hours, but to waste time in the biggest shopping area of Sweden shouldn't be that problem and with IKEA nearby everything is OK. So I headed back to the shopping centers and saw beautiful flowers right next to the ugly company buildings and there were also small water streams between the buildings were ducks raised their ducklings.

 

I was amazed how many things you are able to see when you have time and you are in the mood for it. Next stop was at IKEA to get myself several cups of cheap coffee. Nowhere is coffee cheaper than at this place = 5SEK or 50Cents with free re-fill. I was glad that I brought my Swedish papers, so I could use the time to learn the first chapter of my coursebook (Introduce yourself), which I already know how to do that, so it added my vocab training to this study session.

On my way back to the 'basement office where they store and distribute parcels and letters' - *lol* managed to avoid post office - I passed by an outdoor factory outlet shop and saw big bargains on trekking gear and cloth. Because my plans for the Scandinavian summer do not only consist of attending language courses! I am also planning on the Island in the Sun Festival at Åland, and going up north to  Swedish Lapland for a hike and camping trip (mostly to practice managing my new camera). While I was walking, I was thinking about my future here and in general, and the first thing that came into my mind was - is it a good idea to buy a lot of stuff when you have to move all your things around every now and then? This isn't a good attitude, because I will not live a life out of the suitcase and constantly moving around from one shared flat to the other. I came here to find my place and my new journey - I guess moving stuff inside Europe is not that complicated and so I bought a small tent and ultralight sleeping bag for about 450 SEK!

What a relieve as I saw my parcel (in one piece)! But as the 'office clerk' handed the parcel to me it came into my mind, that I am in the middle of nowhere, lost in a business park, need to find a bus stop somewhere near because this parcel is heavy (10kg) and huge (64cm x 40cm x 26cm). I don't know how I made it to the bus stop, from the bus terminal to the Metro and from the Metro to my room BUT right now I am wrapped in my cosy snooze blanket (I missed it so much) and my wardrobe is packed with cloth ;-))

As a side comment - I hope I get used to the Sunrise and Sunset Times for Stockholm soon, because waking up at 3:20am every day cannot be healthy!

This pic I took at about 3:25am today and sunrise was roughly 15min later!

It is wonderful to have so much light because you can spend your whole day outside, but a few hours of sleep every day would be nice, too!

Day 2 - getting to know the Swedish culture

Tuesday - chasing after a parcel full of cloth, getting wet hair from beer and find out that a 'post office' does not exist anymore in Sweden

After I checked the tracking number of my parcel, which I am expecting desperately, I saw that it is already in Stockholm and they tried to deliver it. Therefore, I looked up the next post office on the Internet (according to Google Maps near the old town of Stockholm) and planned to go there today. As I was heading to Gamla Stan (Old Town) I discovered another part of the Swedish or Scandinavian culture - Young Party Animals who pour beer from trucks while dancing and playing noisy music.

 



















After I had wet hair from the beer which was flying down from the trucks I was not in such a good mood and decided to add another stamp to my 'coffee-lovers bonus card' ;-)

After I had a big cup of black coffee and dry but sticky hair, I continued my post office search but with no luck. Due to the fact that the police gets paid in order to help us, I decided to ask three policemen which were chatting with each other in the middle of the street. To interrupt a cheerful conversation of policemen may not be such a great idea, but in this moment I haven't thought so far. First mistake - I asked in English. Second mistake - I asked at all.

After I mentioned my search for the post office, the three policemen were looking at each other, smiling and then one of them made a step closer to me and asked me again 'What do you search?, a post office?' I haven't got it the second time either, because I thought this is a normal question but not in Sweden, because as I got explained by the officers, Sweden has no postal service points anymore. You can buy stamps, postcards and so on in shops like 7/11 or at the Kiosk.
My third mistake - I asked them what Swedish people do when they get a parcel? The answer was rather rude and short - I should call the tel.no. stated on the parcel receipt and they can tell me more about pick up possibilities. Then they walked away and, for sure, were talking about my stupid questions.

This wasn't helpful at all and therefore, I decided to go somewhere, were you can buy stamps and maybe they can tell me where my parcel is. It turned out that this was a smart idea, because at the Kiosk they scanned my tracking number and told me that my parcel is at a shop near the big IKEA in Kungens Kurva. New plan - going there tomorrow!

Because I had nothing else to do, I decided to search for the 'Studium Bookshop' in order to buy my books for the following language semester. As I found out, course books are expensive no matter where you study! Two course books = about 600SEK (60Euro)! And if I can switch to the intermediate level, I will need additional two books!





Due to the fact, that the next Uni Swedex test is in September, I really need to keep up fast with my Swedish language skills. The problem is, that since I quit 2008 (to concentrate on finishing my Sociology degree) I forgot everything - just a few phrases and vocab is left but writing and grammar are gone. I hope it will help that the whole course is taught in Swedish from the beginning - but, will be interesting how they explain the grammar rules to me?!
 

First days - first steps

Monday - my first day in Stockholm and many things to do!
Yesterday, as I arrived at my new room I was kind of - maybe, sad that it was the ways I thought it would be - when this makes sense?
But I tried to keep myself positive and not to judge the environment or the people who are living here - and, it turned out to be a good thing, because my new roommate Maryam-Fateme is a really nice and kind person and we spent a few hours just talking while eating here welcome Muffins she baked for me the night I couldn't make it to Stockholm because of the plane delay.

Maryam is living in Sweden for about 30years and has a daughter which is studying at the University Stockholm. Maryam herself worked as an Assistant teacher for migrant children in primary school before she turned completely to the fine arts. She has lots of (artist) friends all over Europe and India and she meets them regularly. Next trip to Holland at the End of the month/ early July. Then at the end of August she will go to Barcelona because she worked there for a while and has friends there too. She told me, that even after 30+ years in Stockholm she tries to escape the long, dark and way too cold winter here but she said 'you will be fine, you are from Austria' *lovely*

The first problem we discovered is, that I sent all my cloth via EMS Australian Post to her address but put my name on it! Stupid thing, I know. We try the option to just put a note on the house switchboard next to Maryams name, hope this works. Otherwise I have to track my parcel and find out where they put them when they cannot deliver them!

As I already know from my first days in Tassi - you first need to get a tel.no and a bank account, or some cash to pay your bills. Second thing is to buy you all the things again you have to leave behind in your old flat. And in Stockholm I've done the same thing again, just after 4mo living in Hobart I have to start a new little household again, never expected that! So, this is what I've done on my first day in Stockholm:

1. Getting a 30d Tunnelbana Metro/ Bus/ Commuter Train Card



2. Going to the Tourist office and 'abusing' their kind help to get a free map and information about SIM cards, bank accounts and the upcoming events which are a 'must see'

3. Going to the Kiosk and buying myself a Lycamobile Startpaket and tel. credits. As I should have known it, at the Kiosk I was in the queue where an older lady was serving the customers, and as I found out very quickly - she could not speak English! I was sweating because now I had to try to talk in Swedish to a Swede and all the customers behind me will listen - this must end in an embarrassing situation for me! First sentence was that I cannot speak Swedish, which didn't change a thing on the whole situation but I just wanted to make that point! I just built a row of the vocab I could remember without caring for the correct grammar. I haven't seen the funny faces of the other customers but I'm sure they had a good laugh about my language skills. But, finally I got the cheapest option to make calls in whole Scandinavia (at least I understood her that way).

4. Heading to the Swedebank to find out that you have to draw a number and wait for ages to see your bank clerk! I arrived at the bank and customer number 644 was in service, then I draw my number and I could not believe it as I saw number 684! There were a lot of people but not that much, so I guess the people go away and do the grocery or something else and come back to their bank appointment. Finally, I made it to the bank clerk but all she could tell me was that I have to see the school where I do my language courses and they will give me a certificate which I need to get my tax file number which I need to get my Swedish personal ID card and THEN I can open a bank account - easy!

5. Managing to get the deposit and first month of rent without a Swedish bank account. *Done* And trying to make sure that I get a proper receipt for my deposit money when I will move out in 4mo *mostly done*. I'm really trying to find a better and warmer accommodation from October on because spending the Swedish winter with my broken window would not be fun.

6. Buying some household items to make myself feel more like home - this means going to the biggest IKEA in whole Scandinavia which is just 2 Metro stations away from my place! Forget Chickenfeed - IKEA rules! Bought three pots, two frying pans, 8piece set of cutlery, towels, glasses, pillow, 20piece set of storage containers, set of knives, bathroom storage things, and much more for around 45 Euro.

7. Buying some food to cook myself dinner - After 4mo in Tassi I was wandering around in the Supermarket, mouth open, and could not believe how cheap and good the food was. Australians may think Tassi is the 'foodi destination' but I say whole Europe is a foodi destination and way cheaper too!

Last thing on that day - sit down and enjoy the sunlight and the people around me :-)

Flight into a new life

Today is the day, I have to be brave and get into the plane to Stockholm. I was never that frightened before. To leave the only people I currently know and which mean something to me is horrible. Also to know that I have parents and a flat and so on but I am not abmile to get there, makes me really sad.
But loosing a good friend because of a jealous woman is even worse. Sometimes we cannot see the obvious because we are too close. I am just concerned because nice and trustworthy people get hurt the most.

Sitting at the airport and waiting for the plane makes things worse because I have too much time to think about everything. As my friends dropped me off at the airport one of them looked at me, smiled and said 'Everything will be fine and you can make it' and my other friend said 'You are the strongest person I know, you can do it'. This meant a world to me in that moment, thanks girlies.
I am currently not even outside of AUS but I already feel like if I miss anything - and it is the possibility to just meet for a quick cup of coffee, or a chat in the kitchen, or a laugh in the library or a midnight chat on facebook over the last lecture. Just if y'all not already know, I care about you, no matter where we are on that planet :-)

About 26 hours later:
I am at Beijing airport where I should not be and I am waiting in the plane at the gate because it is pouring water out of the sky and we cannot depart. I suppose my flight from Amsterdam to Stockholm is already history and the most annoying thing is that China blocks facebook and western Internetservices, so no chance for me to email my new roommate as long as I am in this plane!
I thought the first stop at the small Chinese airport was horrible but changing our flight to Beijing and then get lost here is worst. But I should have expected it - some things do not change that quick and that I am unlucky is already proofen.

By the way - due to my flight change via endless hours on the phone the call center forgot to change my vegetarian meal with my seat and therefore no food for me on all flights, oh no thats not true, I can always choose between beef and chicken! But due to the fact that it will only take about 45h incl delays it seems not too bad and the chinese tea is really good though, in a Spa I would pay loads of money for that.

The only thing I don't like at this China airline flight is the rude service and behaviour of the staff, because as I kindly asked for my veggi meal they told me: 'chicken or beef', nothing else. As you can imagine I started to explain back and forth but it nearly ended as the Mt Nelson party, when our roomadvicer showed up and told one of my friends 'I can explain it to you - outside'. On the other two flights I haven't even asked for my veggi meal, I just ordered tea and everyone was happy.

Another 4.5h later:
The stormwinds with loads of rain just ended and through the speakers they told us - in Chinese, and the nice girl next to me translated it - that we will try to start now! Exciting.
I just found out that my connecting flight from Amsterdam to Stockholm leaves at 9pm and we will arrive there by 10pm, so my flight is history and due to the fact that the board crew can and will not help us, I have to see the airport ground staff in Amsterdam for re-arranging my flight. I suppose I need to wait until tomorrow for the next available flight. But the first thing is to contact  my new roommate that I will not show up that night - Oh what a great start to our new relationship! Can only get better!

XMCCX somewhat years later:
Currently waiting at the hotel shuttle bus service to take us to the airport hotel for that night - as I supposed it was the last flight for that day and I need to wait until 7am to get to Stockholm. I already texted my new roommate the situation and the reply was fairly short: 'Okej' - I hope this does not mean  a bad start!

The **** hotel is really nice and the dining area would be great, if the kitchen would not be closed already, because it is after midnight. But in the morning I can get breakfast at 5am, and then I have to leave to the airport at 5:30am to catch my flight - this means not much sleep, maybe just a nap before I have to get up again.

After taking a long bath and updating my Facebook status due to the free WLan system I catched a two hour rest (laying in bed and watching TV) before I got up again and headed for breakfast - never was so good like this one ;-))

Finally, this flight was on time and the crew members were really nice, too. Landing in Stockholm made my stomach feel sick, not because of the heavy breakfast but because all these new things will happen to me soon and I just can take them as they are. So, next thing to do is buying a Tunnelbana Metro Card for the first month and heading to Bredäng/ Skärholmen to my new roommate, which is hopefully waiting for me!

Getting wet at Shipsternsbluff

Well, our last big trip together, everyone was so excited and we were 11 people, what is increadible for study week!  We all kind of knew that it should end with a great adventure together, an experience that we will not forget - and it was like that, totally unexpected and adventureous, and wet and painful (for some of us).

In order to fit everybody in we needed 3 cars which is kind of a problem because it is easier to get free drugs in town than to find an exchange student who is willing to drive you! But we have great friends and therefore it was possible to organize the carpool. But then the first discussion started about the meeting time and the first  stop of the trip. One group was totally up for going to Mt Wellington to see the sunrise, the 'older' ones trusted the weather forecast and knew the moral lack of some friends regarding meeting times and wanted to head directly to the peninsula.
I could tell the whole story but the short version is - we split into two groups and finally wisdom and age won over youth and excitement. But to see fog, frost and a dangerously slippery road can be an adventure, too!
At Shipsternsbluff the rain started and maybe this should have made us stay in the cars, but who seeks adventure must cope with that, too! So we started the 4.5h return tour and after about 1h we got to the cliffs and it was an amazing experience to feel the strong and rough winds nearly blowing you down. I have to admit, I really enjoyed closing my eyes and letting the wind hit me.

From the cliffs we had to head down all the way to the beach, which took us another hour. But to hear the waves coming closer was worth every exhausting step. At the surfer spot, there was no beach, just rough rocks, but due to the rough and stormy weather conditions we had an incredible atmosphere.

Our journalists and adrenalin seekers tried to get as close to the 21ft waves as possible, to make story-like pics. This behaviour was leading to some really dangerous circumstances which ended in: all alive, but wet and injured, 2 had to see the doctor to get stitches or bandages. What we all learned - I suppose I do not need to mention it! But what hopefully one of us learned is to re-order his priorities, because to ask first to rescue the GoPro cam is not a good survival strategy! What I have learned? Well, most important thing maybe - never follow a men because you think he knows what he is doing or you will get wet underpants ;-)

Countdown to a new life: -7d to go

Friday and in exactly one week I will be at Hobart airport to depart to my new life in Sweden.  It is pretty scary to write that down, but exciting, too. Right at the moment, I try not to think about that because I have to focus on my last deadlines.

This Friday was more or less wasted until 11am with editing my paper and trying to cut out 1500w to reach the proposed word count! What a mess – but finally I managed it! After printing an signing the cover sheet I ambled to Arts Students Central to hand in my essay – I was in a really good mood after handing over the 15 pages J

As I walked back to the library I met one of my Austrian friends who is a coffee lover like I am and we decided to – you know it – have a coffee together. It’s pretty much the same every time we meet at campus! I really like talking to him because he is interested in the same things as I am and has a really easy going attitude and it’s easy to talk to him and have a good laugh together. I will miss that when I am in Sweden *thanks for our coffee times*.

But after a 2h coffee break we felt guilty and headed back to the library to do something productive – which mostly consisted of searching the Internet for cool events to attend instead of working on my last and biggest research paper. At 4:30pm we decided to walk back to the Villas because we both were doing nothing useful anymore and, by the way it was dinner time, too!

It is always fun to walk back to our accommodation, because lots of ‘fit’ people enjoy taking the uncountable steps up to the hill in order to get in shape. But on a regular basis we ‘mountaineers’ are faster and need no stops to get up there – but the people who are dressed up in their sports outfits and stuffed with energy drinks and high carb bars are losing ground as longer the steps go up the hill.

After dinner I was trying to work on my paper but instead I ended up chatting on Facebook with one of my fellows from class.  We share the same ‘brain shut down strategy’ which consists of listening to way too noisy hard rock and metal bands over earplugs on full volume – then we can concentrate the best way, may sound strange but works (for us).

Either way, I will have to work hard to get to know friends in Stockholm but maybe there is a little chance that I can meet up with one Swedish girl I got to know here.  We will see how things work out and as long as I have my Facebook account I can keep in touch.