Arrival in Sweden

Hi there, so yes I am finally in Sweden (and I am finally sitting down to write a blog entry), so here is a recap of the past couple of weeks

I arrived on the 1st of August from Finland, so took the train from Stockholm to Linköping and arrived here in the afternoon. As soon as I got of the bus at the uni I met my first fellow students, and have kept meeting new people ever since, it's lots of fun getting to know people from all over the place!

I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived at my accommodation, much bigger than I expected. Have a good sized bedroom with a couple of desks and some shelves, then a small hall with the wardrobes, and next to that a small private bathroom. So it didn't take long to feel at home. Quickly unpacked everything and got the suitcase out of sight ASAP, have seen enough of that for a while!

Had to make a mercy dash to the shops to get sleeping gear, and over a week or so I managed to get everything I need, including cooking stuff for the kitchen, so I am all organised now.

The first night we had a welcome barbecue at the uni campus, so that was a good chance to get to know all sorts of people. I have become an honorary German amongst a group of about six, so been trying to practise my German a bit but they are all much better in English so often just easier to talk that. Also met a couple of Dutch guys and a girl from Finland, so there is always someone to talk to!

There was no respite, August 2 and we were straight into things. Had an orientation day, then the Swedish class started August 3, and will go until August 18, every weekday from 9 until 2.30. So it is quite intense but at the same time I am enjoying it and learning lots, and of that trying to put it into practise as much as possible, either at the shops or amongst each other, quite fun since we are all beginners.

Apart from the Swedish classes, there have been lots of other things going on to keep us busy. Have been getting to know Linköping well, as well as Swedish outdoor games like a game called Kubb. The weather has been up and down, a few days of rain but mostly sunny, so making the most of the good weather while it lasts with a few barbecues and outdoor parties.

The living situation is quite interesting. Most of the students live in what they call a corridor. So I am one of eight sharing a living room with a TV and a kitchen. In my corridor I have met people from India, an African guy who has been in Sweden for 5 years and speaks good Swedish, and an Asian-Swedish girl, so quite an interesting mix. But everyone seems quite nice so it should be good. A few nights in the week a few of us gather at one corridor and cook together which is good. The other night I was head chef at out 'köttbullar' (meatballs) party so that was a lot of fun, tasted much better than what you would find at IKEA hehe. But overall I have been eating quite well and enjoying the summer fruits, as well as being able to buy a bunch of bananas seeing the are only equal to $3/kg - at least some things are cheaper here in Sweden!

The major purchase I have made though is a nice bicycle! It's second hand but will do a good job, so it's quite fun to be cycling around everywhere, cuts a 20 minute walk to uni into a 5 minute cycle! We went into a shop as a group of 7 so managed to get a decent deal on it. After a few hiccups with a loose chain that kept falling off, it's now in great shape and getting me around with no trouble!

I'm just trying to remember the most important details from the past two weeks.... last night (Saturday) we had our first student dinner. They are quite a Swedish tradition and a lot of fun. This one was called 'Peas and Punch', so eating pea soup and drinking not punch but a type of spirit. Anyway the main focus of the evening is a lot of singing and a few performances. Quite a sight, not something I have experience before, but a lot of fun and look forward to some more evenings like that! It was held at a place called HG which is close to where we all live, so after the dinner we went to the dance floor and were there until it finished at 3am, a lot of fun!

Well that is about it from the last couple of weeks! Has been really busy but I have had a great time so far and looking forward to everything yet to come!