My day trip to Stockholm rocked. Hanne and I took a bus and it took about 2 hours from Norrkoping. We walked to the Armemuseum first which had Swedish war stuff from the time of the Vikings to present day. It was awesome learning about Vikings and seeing old war objects. We then walked around the busy city part of Stockholm that had shopping and businesses. Stockholm is so clean and elegant. You can really tell how new America is when you come to a European city. The buildings are all beautiful with such detail. Our cities have such modern architecture. I was expecting it to be more crowded and crazy but it was not overwhelming at all. The sidewalks were filled with people but not overcrowded and the streets weren't crazy with cars. We went to the Vasamuseet which has a 17th century war ship that was lifted from the bottom of the sea 300 years after it sank. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen. Like to the point that when I entered the room I got chills. Just this HUGE wooden battle ship with windows for cannons and intricate carvings all over. My mind started going into crazy imaginations of sea battles. It was weird. I never really put history into context before and after seeing something like that it made me realize that that stuff actually happened and wasn't just a fairytale. After that revelating experience we walked around Galma Stan "Old City." It had narrow cobble stoned streets with shops and the streets would all converge into a big square with cafes. We also checked out the Nordiska Museet which was about Swedish culture. The whole day was great. The weather was sunny and in the 60's and everything went smoothly.
Mandy's friend from Iran, Ehsan, had a birthday party and she brought me with her so she wouldn't feel awkward. I don't know how I feel about parties here. They are very, how should I put it, boring. And awkward. It was actually an interesting party. We counted the number of countries represented and it was 12. That's a lot of countries. I guess I am just used to college parties which don't involve dinner, dessert, coffee time. Sitting around talking about random things does not interest me. So I need to either A) find a crowd that fits my interests or B) somehow manage to enjoy this new type of social gathering. I am hoping for A. I have only been here a month and a half so it is still early. I will find them where ever they are.
I am now writing three blogs. I went from never writing to writing all the time. I have this blog and the blog for the school and now I have taken on writing a blog for a website about women's hockey called http://www.womenshockeylife.com/. I contacted the woman who invented the site because she helps find girls teams overseas and when I wasn't sure if my team was going to make it I started talking to her. Although she didn't have anything to do with my playing hockey internationally she asked if I'd write for her blog. So I said yes. I am able to take pieces from my other blogs so it is not that much extra work. I kind of like it. Potential hobby? I think yes.
I substituted again at the International English School. P.E. for the 5th grade class. We were outside and played soccer, ultimate frisbee, and badminton. The kids just do their own thing. It is fun to talk to them. I am starting to warm up to the idea of possibly liking kids. Baby steps though. The day care called me the other day asking me if I could work but I had class so I couldn't. I didn't want to turn it down because it was their first time contacting me but it was a class I couldn't miss. They said they will contact me in the future so hopefully that happens. It is better to say yes because then they find you reliable and are more likely to call you back in. I have also been working at the warehouse a little. So random work here and there. Not enough to overload my schedule which is good. I am hoping to hear from the concert hall soon. I'm sure they will need more cleaners once holiday events start happening.
School is going well. This week was on grasslands. Malin (classmate) and I teamed up for collecting samples from grazed and non-grazed grasslands and rode our bikes through a nature reserve to find them which was really cool. Sweden has such beautiful scenery. There is so much non touched land here. One more week of modules then we start our two week project and then the course is over. Our weekly reports and the final project are what we are getting graded on so there is no final exam. The work load is not too bad which is great. I've heard nightmare stories about grad school so I am happy Sweden knows what's up.
We found out we will be playing in Division 2 south this season for hockey. It is disappointing that we aren't playing in Division 1 south but the way it works is you have to win the division below in order to play the next division. Last year Vita Hasten played in Division 2 east but it is no longer a division. They didn't win by enough goals to join Division 1 east. So we will most likely be playing teams that are a lot worse than us which is not the most enjoyable. But it just means we gotta kick ass and make sure we make it to Division 1 for next season. After christmas the playoffs begin and we start to play the last 4 teams in Division 1 south. Those games will determine whether we move up next year. So I've set a goal for myself that we will make it to Division 1 south for next season. Wish me luck. We are having a team bonding weekend this weekend. Our sports manager works at a golf course so we are spending saturday there and playing golf and spending the night there. I am looking forward to it because over the summer I was really starting to get the hang of golf and left right when I was feeling I had my swing down and haven't played since I've been here. I am also looking forward to bonding more with my team. It has just been we show up, practice, and leave so we haven't had much hangout time to get to know eachother well and get comfortable. The language and culture barrier decreases the speed of having a team come together so this weekend is a good idea.
Everything is going great. I have a good routine going. School everyday, hockey 3 times a week, and work interspersed. The only thing that is lacking is my social life. I am friends with my classmates, roommates/their friends, and teammates but have yet to form a common group that hangs out and does stuff together. It has been ok because I am so busy that when I do have free time I either do homework, blog, skype, nap, or watch American tv shows on my computer and the down time is nice since some days I am busy from 8am to 10pm. I'll start to be more proactive once I get more comfortable with juggling everything and having enough time for the important things. Shout out to my teammate Maggie who's keeping real in America enjoying spaghetti o's while I am deprived.
Hej då!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
STOCKHOLM
I'm going on a day trip to Stockholm tomorrow with my new British friend Hanne. We met during school orientation because we were 2 of 3 international students in the biology masters program. Everyone else is Swedish. She is in the ethology program and lives in Norrkoping. I ran into her on the campus from from Linkoping to Norrkoping the other day and I mentioned I want to start exploring but I want to do it with someone and she was like well I am down for that. So we are going to be travel buddies. She seems fun and outgoing. I'm not sure what we are going to do in Stockholm but I have my books from Alisha to read up on what cool things to check out.
Work. I work now. Sometimes. I started work at the Stadium (sporting goods store) warehouse on Monday. Since I have class everyday I can only work half days. It is a mindless job. There is a conveyer belt with boxes which have an invoice in them. I find the merchandise on the list and put them in the box and send it on its way. A lot of walking and carrying stuff. I listen to music and get into my own zone and the time flys. There is no work schedule. I find out the night before or the day of if they want me to come in. I worked Monday and Wednesday afternoon this week. Adding work into my schedule has definitely changed the speed of things. On days I have school, work, and hockey I never had a break. But it's not that bad. I still have time to do my homework and sleep.
Four weeks of school are down. This week's module was on shallow lakes and alternative stable states. We went to a lake about 45 minutes away and took samples of the invertebrates. It was a beautiful place. We have two more weeks of modules and then the last two weeks of the course we have a mini project.
Court and I are very close to planning our trip over winter break. I am very excited. Amsterdam, Germany, and Prague. We are going to be either in Prague or Amsterdam on New Years which will be awesome. If any of you have suggestions for the trip let me know.
Karin, my Swedish roommate, was in the kitchen cutting slices from this dark block that looked like fudge. Intrigued, I asked what it was. She said blood pudding. I laughed and said no really what is it? She said no really its blood pudding. Apparently that is something Swedes eat. She fried it in a pan and ate it with jam. I tried it soley to say I've eaten blood pudding. It did taste irony and crunchy kind of like burnt toast. So yeah, I've eaten blood pudding.
Deb (Boston roommate) planned a Halloween party in late October with costume contests. I need to think of a good costume. I normally suck at that. Suggestions are welcome.
Per, who I met when looking for places to stay and who helped me pick up some furniture, invited me over one Friday night to hangout. I had a game the next day so I wasn't drinking but I went anyway to be social. Swedes are SO awkward. It's like we sit and look around and its silent and no one says anything. I didn't know what to do. Like yeah we don't know each other well but I've never been in a situation in the states were there is silence at a party. And when I think of a party I think of cases of beer and drinking games. That's not how they roll in Sweden. He had popcorn on the table and we sat in the living room and everyone sipped on their drinks. Weirdos.
No hockey this weekend which is why I am taking advantage of the free weekend and checking out Stockholm. This is the first free weekend I've had besides the first weekend after I arrived. Now that I am all settled I am ready to explore.
During school orientation a woman came up to the table I was sitting at during lunch and asked if any of us were interested in blogging for the university. Since I was already writing a personal blog I said sure. I got an email recently to start it and they said there will be a 6 week trial period to see if they like the blog and we can potentially become a paid blogger for the university. Pretty sweet.
Have a good weekend!
Work. I work now. Sometimes. I started work at the Stadium (sporting goods store) warehouse on Monday. Since I have class everyday I can only work half days. It is a mindless job. There is a conveyer belt with boxes which have an invoice in them. I find the merchandise on the list and put them in the box and send it on its way. A lot of walking and carrying stuff. I listen to music and get into my own zone and the time flys. There is no work schedule. I find out the night before or the day of if they want me to come in. I worked Monday and Wednesday afternoon this week. Adding work into my schedule has definitely changed the speed of things. On days I have school, work, and hockey I never had a break. But it's not that bad. I still have time to do my homework and sleep.
Four weeks of school are down. This week's module was on shallow lakes and alternative stable states. We went to a lake about 45 minutes away and took samples of the invertebrates. It was a beautiful place. We have two more weeks of modules and then the last two weeks of the course we have a mini project.
Court and I are very close to planning our trip over winter break. I am very excited. Amsterdam, Germany, and Prague. We are going to be either in Prague or Amsterdam on New Years which will be awesome. If any of you have suggestions for the trip let me know.
Karin, my Swedish roommate, was in the kitchen cutting slices from this dark block that looked like fudge. Intrigued, I asked what it was. She said blood pudding. I laughed and said no really what is it? She said no really its blood pudding. Apparently that is something Swedes eat. She fried it in a pan and ate it with jam. I tried it soley to say I've eaten blood pudding. It did taste irony and crunchy kind of like burnt toast. So yeah, I've eaten blood pudding.
Deb (Boston roommate) planned a Halloween party in late October with costume contests. I need to think of a good costume. I normally suck at that. Suggestions are welcome.
Per, who I met when looking for places to stay and who helped me pick up some furniture, invited me over one Friday night to hangout. I had a game the next day so I wasn't drinking but I went anyway to be social. Swedes are SO awkward. It's like we sit and look around and its silent and no one says anything. I didn't know what to do. Like yeah we don't know each other well but I've never been in a situation in the states were there is silence at a party. And when I think of a party I think of cases of beer and drinking games. That's not how they roll in Sweden. He had popcorn on the table and we sat in the living room and everyone sipped on their drinks. Weirdos.
No hockey this weekend which is why I am taking advantage of the free weekend and checking out Stockholm. This is the first free weekend I've had besides the first weekend after I arrived. Now that I am all settled I am ready to explore.
During school orientation a woman came up to the table I was sitting at during lunch and asked if any of us were interested in blogging for the university. Since I was already writing a personal blog I said sure. I got an email recently to start it and they said there will be a 6 week trial period to see if they like the blog and we can potentially become a paid blogger for the university. Pretty sweet.
Have a good weekend!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
7-0 win against Nora in Orebro!
On Saturday we traveled to Orebro about two hours North to play a preseason game against Nora. We won 7-0. We should have won by more but we couldn't finish. It was still a good game we just played down to their level which sometimes happens when you are playing a team that isn't as good. I played well but couldn't put the puck in the net until the third period. I also had a sexy assist to my line-mate Bohm. I think we connect well on the ice. I enjoy playing with her. I played center the first game and right wing this game. They are moving lines around to see who plays best where and with who. I hope they keep Bohm and I together. I can see us doing some nice things. The rink was in a different building than the locker rooms which I found interesting. Thank god Mandy told me to buy a pair of skate guards before I came because I use them everyday. However, they have already broken. I must walk a little bow-legged because my skates cut through the plastic of the sides skate guards. I have manages to find random ones laying around the rink so I have a working combination at the moment. Our first season game is on October 15th against Sodertalje SK (the team we played last weekend). We can totally beat them so I am pumped we get a rematch. They are going down.
I'm done with 3 weeks of school already. I passed my first module (week) report which is nice. The course is 8 weeks long. We have 3 more weeks of modules and then the last two weeks are for our projects so we won't have any class. I am looking forward to that. I don't know anything about the projects but I am assuming we conduct an experiment of our choice and then at the end of the two weeks we present it. I haven't thought about what I am going to choose as my experiment yet. Maybe something to do with wetlands so I can wear waders again.
I am working at Stadium on Monday after class. It is the warehouse job set up by my hockey team. Apparently the protocol is that the first 4 hours you work for them are unpaid? It doesn't make any sense to me but that's how they work. So Monday I won't get paid but from there on out I will. My roommate Deb is also working at Stadium so hopefully we will work the same shift sometimes and can commute together from Linkoping (Stadium is in Norrkoping). I haven't heard back from the school for work. I think that they only expect that I can be a P.E. teacher because I play sports. When I go in to drop off my pay sheet I'm going to tell them I can also teach science because that was my major in college. Lyndal, my goalie that is a cleaner there, told me they get tunnel vision and only think you can work one area and to tell them I can do other subjects too. They are in need of substitutes a lot because of sickness so hopefully once I tell them I am comfortable teaching other subjects they will call me up. Who would of thought that I'd be a teacher. Weird. Following in my mother's footsteps :) As much as I don't find kids the more enjoyable things in the world, I surprisingly enjoyed being the P.E. teacher and telling them what to do. They all just listened to me and did what they were told. Maybe they were just exceptionally well-behaved kids. Who knows.
It is starting to get a little colder. I can tell in the mornings that I am not wearing enough and I used to not be cold. It is also getting darker earlier. Like around 7:30pm instead of 9pm. It is only going to get darker and darker and colder and colder. Bring it on Sweden. It gets so windy sometimes. Like to where I feel I am getting blown over. It really sucks riding my bike in the wind. I am hate it when bugs fly into my eyes when I'm biking. It has happened like three times. And then it stings and I can't get it out. Sucks to suck.
I have gotten comfortable with the bus system/route. I had to go downtown to pick up a package from my mom because they don't deliver them and so I took the bus because I didn't want to deal with riding back with it. I haven't purchased a back rack for my bike yet. Or baskets. But I haven't really needed it. Except for instances when I want to pick up a package. When I go grocery shopping I bring my travel backpack and everything fits in it. Anyway, I used the bus to go to the post office and I didn't get lost.
I have been here a little over a month now and it feels like I have been here way longer. I feel very comfortable here and my routine is nice. Since partying is not a hobby of mine here I need to figure out what my hobbies are. I should have brought my guitar here so I could teach myself and actually consider myself someone who can play it. Maybe I'll have my parents bring it out when they visit.
The path from my place to campus is CRAZY during school hours. People are idiots on their bikes. I have almost died a couple of times. No one understands walking on the right side. It pisses me off. There are so many bikes on campus and when it is in between class time there is like no room to walk it is so packed.
I have figured out how to use online banking. There is this number pad that I put my card in and there is a code from the internet that I have to put into it along with my pin number and then I can access my account online. Very secure. I can transfer money to people very easily. And I think I will get paid by having it be transfered into my account because they ask for my account information. Sweden has the banking thing down.
So I drink coffee now. Not everyday. But when I'm in class about to fall asleep and we get a break I get some. It works. It actually makes me jittery. I will go from almost passing out in class to not being able to stop moving. Does the job though. And it tastes good. F American coffee. The coffee at a gas station here is equivalent to the top coffee at home. I am totally pulling that out of my ass but I bet its true.
It's gloomy today. Looks like I'll be chilling inside and watching movies. Stay classy America!
I'm done with 3 weeks of school already. I passed my first module (week) report which is nice. The course is 8 weeks long. We have 3 more weeks of modules and then the last two weeks are for our projects so we won't have any class. I am looking forward to that. I don't know anything about the projects but I am assuming we conduct an experiment of our choice and then at the end of the two weeks we present it. I haven't thought about what I am going to choose as my experiment yet. Maybe something to do with wetlands so I can wear waders again.
I am working at Stadium on Monday after class. It is the warehouse job set up by my hockey team. Apparently the protocol is that the first 4 hours you work for them are unpaid? It doesn't make any sense to me but that's how they work. So Monday I won't get paid but from there on out I will. My roommate Deb is also working at Stadium so hopefully we will work the same shift sometimes and can commute together from Linkoping (Stadium is in Norrkoping). I haven't heard back from the school for work. I think that they only expect that I can be a P.E. teacher because I play sports. When I go in to drop off my pay sheet I'm going to tell them I can also teach science because that was my major in college. Lyndal, my goalie that is a cleaner there, told me they get tunnel vision and only think you can work one area and to tell them I can do other subjects too. They are in need of substitutes a lot because of sickness so hopefully once I tell them I am comfortable teaching other subjects they will call me up. Who would of thought that I'd be a teacher. Weird. Following in my mother's footsteps :) As much as I don't find kids the more enjoyable things in the world, I surprisingly enjoyed being the P.E. teacher and telling them what to do. They all just listened to me and did what they were told. Maybe they were just exceptionally well-behaved kids. Who knows.
It is starting to get a little colder. I can tell in the mornings that I am not wearing enough and I used to not be cold. It is also getting darker earlier. Like around 7:30pm instead of 9pm. It is only going to get darker and darker and colder and colder. Bring it on Sweden. It gets so windy sometimes. Like to where I feel I am getting blown over. It really sucks riding my bike in the wind. I am hate it when bugs fly into my eyes when I'm biking. It has happened like three times. And then it stings and I can't get it out. Sucks to suck.
I have gotten comfortable with the bus system/route. I had to go downtown to pick up a package from my mom because they don't deliver them and so I took the bus because I didn't want to deal with riding back with it. I haven't purchased a back rack for my bike yet. Or baskets. But I haven't really needed it. Except for instances when I want to pick up a package. When I go grocery shopping I bring my travel backpack and everything fits in it. Anyway, I used the bus to go to the post office and I didn't get lost.
I have been here a little over a month now and it feels like I have been here way longer. I feel very comfortable here and my routine is nice. Since partying is not a hobby of mine here I need to figure out what my hobbies are. I should have brought my guitar here so I could teach myself and actually consider myself someone who can play it. Maybe I'll have my parents bring it out when they visit.
The path from my place to campus is CRAZY during school hours. People are idiots on their bikes. I have almost died a couple of times. No one understands walking on the right side. It pisses me off. There are so many bikes on campus and when it is in between class time there is like no room to walk it is so packed.
I have figured out how to use online banking. There is this number pad that I put my card in and there is a code from the internet that I have to put into it along with my pin number and then I can access my account online. Very secure. I can transfer money to people very easily. And I think I will get paid by having it be transfered into my account because they ask for my account information. Sweden has the banking thing down.
So I drink coffee now. Not everyday. But when I'm in class about to fall asleep and we get a break I get some. It works. It actually makes me jittery. I will go from almost passing out in class to not being able to stop moving. Does the job though. And it tastes good. F American coffee. The coffee at a gas station here is equivalent to the top coffee at home. I am totally pulling that out of my ass but I bet its true.
It's gloomy today. Looks like I'll be chilling inside and watching movies. Stay classy America!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
KEBAB
Kebabs are SO good. I had my second one today and it was so satisfying. America needs to create their own kebab.
Saturday we lost our first preseason game to Soldetalje near Stockholm 4-3. It was a close game. They play in Division 1 East (I think we are in Division 1 South) and qualified for the top tournament last year so they are considered a good team. We only had 2 lines and it was our first time playing together and I still think we did well so I am excited to see how much we improve throughout the season once we get more comfortable playing with each other. We had to borrow two girls from the team in Linkoping because we were missing so many of our players. I think the coaches are trying to make a deal with the Linkoping team to have some of their girls play with us that don’t play much on their team. I scored the first goal. It was a rebound 5-hole. I got rocked after I shot it so I didn’t even know I scored. Sweden hockey is very physical compared to home. I felt like I was getting hit a ton and colliding a lot more with people. It feels great to be playing competitive hockey again. I think I can be a big help to the team. One problem we have is commitment. There are a lot of girls missing practices which is kind of annoying. If we had more players we could have a punishment for missing practice but we need as many skaters as we can get so its hard to get everyone on the same page as far as coming to all the practices and games. I hope that my commitment and work ethic will rub off on my teammates so that they see it is important to show up and work hard. I am not a leader when it comes to hockey normally but I feel that here I have had a lot better coaching in terms of hockey sense so I am going to work on speaking up when I have something helpful to add and sharing some of my knowledge with my teammates. Just small things. We had practice on Sunday and none of the coaches could make it so they assigned me the substitute coach. It was a lot of fun. I picked all my favorite drills and games and we had a good time. We stopped at McDonalds after the game and it is different than home. The fries are the same but they have different sauces on the chicken sandwiches…I don’t know how I feel about it. We have our second preseason game on Saturday so I am looking forward to that. We are doing a fundraiser to raise money for Vita Hasten and we have to sell toilet paper and paper towels. I don’t know how I’m going to sell three sets but I think my roommates and I are going to go in on one. My professors seem intrigued about my hockey so I’m going to ask if they want to help support it. We will see.
School is going well. Week 3. Were learning about microbial organisms in soils. We went out to a farm and collected sediment samples yesterday. It was such nice weather. I’m enjoying the set up of the course. Each week being a different topic and we create an experiment associated with the topic and end with a report and seminar to discuss everything.
Last week I went and dropped off my resume at the International English School and they called me this morning asking if I could substitute for the P.E. teacher. So I had my first day of work in Sweden. It is so relaxed here. I could have never just walked into a place in the States, given them my resume, and waited for them to call if they needed me. I would have to interview and impress them and have a competitive resume. But apparently they are always in need of substitutes because teachers get sick and stuff. So I’m hoping they will be calling me every once in a while to step in. I had a 6th grade class and a 9th grade class. For the 6th graders we played inside the gym for the first half doing pingpong and basketball. Then we went outside and played football and soccer. For the 9th graders we were outside and played football and soccer. It was a lot of fun. They said they wanted to play American Football so I said ok and one team kicked off and the other team got the ball and started throwing the ball around and it became like keep away. I was not expecting that. It was funny. I haven’t heard from the concert hall yet about work but they may not need people until they start having more events closer to the holidays. As far as the warehouse job set up by the team I haven’t been able to work yet because of my class schedule but I am hoping to work this week when I have time. They don’t contact you until the night before and sometimes even the morning of.
That’s all I have for now. Everything is awesome and I love it here. I’ve gotten into a routine and it feels good. Class, hockey, and now some work. I still have enough time to get good sleep and do my homework and have time to chill. It is weird how different my lifestyle is now. It is as if I’ve grown up and I don’t even think about partying, staying out late, doing stupid things. What has the world come to? It was about time I snapped out of la la land though. Not too shabby. Peace everybody!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Game time!
Saturday at 2pm we, Vita Hasten, have a pre-season game! I don't know who were playing or where we are playing. I just know I have to be at the rink at 8am and we are making a stop at Hockey Monkey on the way to the game. Apparently it is a big deal. There aren't a lot of good hockey stores around Norrkoping so when they get a chance to visit Hockey Monkey they go crazy. Since I've been here Hockey Monkey has been referenced like 10 times. I am excited to play and see how the team does. I heard the team we are playing is good. Last year, Vita Hasten played in Division 2, but this year we are playing in Division 1. 20 minute stop-time periods. I can't wait to see if the game is played differently here. Mandy said it is more physical which is fine with me. Throw some bows. I will score you all a Swedish goal.
Sneezing. No one says "bless you." You sneeze and it is as if nothing happened. Different, but I like it. I don't see the point in saying anything. I will come back to the US and seem rude because I'll be used to not saying anything. Also, I love how I don't have to make small talk with strangers or make eye contact with anyone. Everyone keeps to themselves. Buses are silent, no one talks in line, cashiers just check you out and you go on your way. I am always in my head anyway so its nice not having to talk a lot.
I was on my way to class and I heard a marching sound. I thought to myself, "Oh, it's normal, probably some people dressed in weird clothes marching in a line." I looked behind me and it was a man pushing a cart that was making the sound on the sidewalk cracks. Is it bad that I am assuming students marching a normal thing now?
School is going well. Almost done with week two. This week was on wetlands. We took sediment samples in a wetland in Linkoping and determined the phosphorous content of it. Pretty fun. We got to wear waders and strut around in the highly vegetated wetland that smelled like poo after a night of drinking...I can't say I enjoyed that part. But besides that, it was fun. I like the students in my program. We all get along well and cooperate well in lab. They are respectful of the fact that I don't know Swedish and speak to each other in English so I can join into conversations. If they want to switch to Swedish so it is easier to express themselves they will apologize first and tell me they are switching.
Jens, the sports manager for Vita Hasten, has set me up with a job. It is were most of the team is employed. It is called Bemannings Profssen and is a warehouse job filling up packages. It is in Norrkoping so I don't know how much I will be able to work with having class everyday. The way it works is they will text you asking if you can work on a certain day for so and so hours and you can reply yes or no and tell them the hours you can work. It will be very random for when they text me. I visited two places in Linkoping today and gave them my resume. One is at the International English School. Lyndal, my goalie, works there and said they were mentioning they were understaffed and are in need of substitutes as well as other work such as cleaning. She also told me about a place called Konsert & Kongress which is the concert hall in Linkoping. They need people to help set up and take down events and clean up. I visited it today and met with the main cleaning lady named Erica and she was really nice. So I have a few options for work. They will all call if they need me so it is sporadic work here and there but it is better than nothing. The more money I make the more traveling I can do.
My friend Per is having a party tonight and invited me over to hangout so I think I'll go and make some friends. No drinking because I have a game but I want to meet people so I'll go until they go out. When I was looking for placed to live he was one of my options but I ended up picking this place but he is a hockey fan and we became friends. He has a car and helped me pick up some furniture when I first got here.
TGIF peeps. Have a good weekend!
Sneezing. No one says "bless you." You sneeze and it is as if nothing happened. Different, but I like it. I don't see the point in saying anything. I will come back to the US and seem rude because I'll be used to not saying anything. Also, I love how I don't have to make small talk with strangers or make eye contact with anyone. Everyone keeps to themselves. Buses are silent, no one talks in line, cashiers just check you out and you go on your way. I am always in my head anyway so its nice not having to talk a lot.
I was on my way to class and I heard a marching sound. I thought to myself, "Oh, it's normal, probably some people dressed in weird clothes marching in a line." I looked behind me and it was a man pushing a cart that was making the sound on the sidewalk cracks. Is it bad that I am assuming students marching a normal thing now?
School is going well. Almost done with week two. This week was on wetlands. We took sediment samples in a wetland in Linkoping and determined the phosphorous content of it. Pretty fun. We got to wear waders and strut around in the highly vegetated wetland that smelled like poo after a night of drinking...I can't say I enjoyed that part. But besides that, it was fun. I like the students in my program. We all get along well and cooperate well in lab. They are respectful of the fact that I don't know Swedish and speak to each other in English so I can join into conversations. If they want to switch to Swedish so it is easier to express themselves they will apologize first and tell me they are switching.
Jens, the sports manager for Vita Hasten, has set me up with a job. It is were most of the team is employed. It is called Bemannings Profssen and is a warehouse job filling up packages. It is in Norrkoping so I don't know how much I will be able to work with having class everyday. The way it works is they will text you asking if you can work on a certain day for so and so hours and you can reply yes or no and tell them the hours you can work. It will be very random for when they text me. I visited two places in Linkoping today and gave them my resume. One is at the International English School. Lyndal, my goalie, works there and said they were mentioning they were understaffed and are in need of substitutes as well as other work such as cleaning. She also told me about a place called Konsert & Kongress which is the concert hall in Linkoping. They need people to help set up and take down events and clean up. I visited it today and met with the main cleaning lady named Erica and she was really nice. So I have a few options for work. They will all call if they need me so it is sporadic work here and there but it is better than nothing. The more money I make the more traveling I can do.
My friend Per is having a party tonight and invited me over to hangout so I think I'll go and make some friends. No drinking because I have a game but I want to meet people so I'll go until they go out. When I was looking for placed to live he was one of my options but I ended up picking this place but he is a hockey fan and we became friends. He has a car and helped me pick up some furniture when I first got here.
TGIF peeps. Have a good weekend!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Hej hej
I have a bank account at Nordea now so I can use the ATMs and pay for things without an international and exchange fee. In Sweden, a lot of things can be paid online such as rent and bills. They give each person a number pad that hooks into your USB slot and that is how you pay over the Internet at home. I don’t know how it works yet, but both of my roommates have Nordea so they will be able to show me.
For my winter break, I’m hoping Court and I will be doing a mini Euro trip. Amsterdam-Germany-Prague for 2 weeks. End in Prague for New Years. I’m having Court do all of the planning. She knows her shit. I can’t wait. I am hoping to do a couple smaller trips before winter break, but I don’t know how much time I will have with school and hockey. I could do Copenhagen for a weekend because it is so close. Also, I need to do a weekend in Stockholm. There are also a lot of other places in Sweden I want to check out. We will see how my schedule goes.
The grocery stores here have the most amazing bulk candy section. So many choices of gummies and chocolate. Amazing.
I am so happy here. This could possibly be the best time of my life and best decision I’ve made. Israel coming in as a close second. And I’m not sure why or how to explain it. But if I were to take it from a happy standpoint, I am on the happiest level of my life’s happy spectrum. Sweden is so easy going and that is probably why I am enjoying it so much. Fits well with my lifestyle. Also, I think I am overall in a better Zen because of the sky. I don’t know what it is, but the sky seems so much bigger here. Like I can see for kilometers and kilometers (notice the metric units J). And the clouds are amazing. So many levels of them. High up ones, low ones, middle ones. Such a bright blue sky too. It is as if the sky is more spherical here and more flat at home. It is hard to explain. You will have to come visit me to understand. So please do.
There are bike paths everywhere throughout Linkoping. It is great. I can get anywhere on them. Downtown, to the shopping area, school. And the trails in the forest near my apartment are awesome. There is a 5km running trail and a 2.5km running trail. There are also bike paths going through the forest. And a disc golf course.
I have seen like 2 SUVs here. It is strange. I really wish I was a good cook because I'm getting tired of eating the same thing over and over again. But it's just so easy to get simple things at the grocery store. Maybe it is just because I haven't been here long enough to stockpile things. I'll give it time. So we have a washer machine which is uncommon so I'm happy, but we don't have a dryer. I didn't think I'd care. But I kind of do. I have a drying rack and it takes a long time for my clothes to dry. But that doesn't really bother me. It is how the clothes fit after being air dried vs. dried in a dryer. I don't like the feeling or the fit. But I'm dealing with it. It doesn't actually bother me that much. I can just notice it.
It rains randomly here. Not a lot but a good amount. Lots of rainbows. And it rains while it’s sunny. Freaky. The temperature has been great though. Still in the 60’s. I wonder when it starts to get cold here. Hopefully not right away because I am enjoying it how it is. Hockey hasn't said anything about a job. So I'm assuming they aren't going to get me one. One of my goalies has a couple contacts for work for me. One is a bilingual daycare, but I don't like kids so I probably should leave that one to last choice. The other is working as a janitor at a concert hall. So basically cleaning up after events. I might go in and give them my info. And by might I mean I won't until Daddy forces me to get a job :). The way it works is they call people when they need workers. So hours will be random and the amount of work is unknown. Better than nothing though. I wouldn't mind nothing either.
I am enjoying the weekend not doing much. My first “real week” was a great one. I don’t feel stressed about being too busy with hockey or school. Perfect amount of work time and chill time. I can’t plan any trips until I know my hockey schedule. They have been posting our practice times on a weekly basis and we don’t have a game schedule yet so I have to wait before I plan some trips on free weekends. Hope everyone’s weekend is going good. I have an app on my Itouch that allows free texting internationally: 636-384-1376 is the number. Hit me uppppp!
P.S. I am not sure how Vita Hasten (my hockey team) found out my nickname was Oz, but when I showed up the first day everyone was like "Hey Oz." I love it.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Bra jobbat! (Good job)
That's basically all the coaches say on the ice. Bra jobbat! Bra jobbat! And vatten (water). I'm slowly picking up on the common words the coaches use to explain drills. But I mostly just watch them draw it and figure it out on my own. I now say thanks, you're welcome, and goodbye in Swedish. Tack, hej då, och varsågod. I have practice tonight and tomorrow morning. Had it on Wednesday. We do a workout before with running, pushups, abs, etc. I love practice. There are no mats from the locker room to the ice so we have to wear skate guards. Brings me back. We keep our stuff at the rink in bins that go into a drying room. Pretty cool. I have been getting a ride with my teammates from Linkoping which is nice not to have to deal with buses. Its only about a 35 minute drive to the rink.
School is good. Week 1 down. 7 weeks to go with this course (Methods in Ecology) and then exam week. There are 6 of us in the Ecology and the Environment masters program. We all get along well which is good. It is funny because 4 out of the 6 of us are Swedes so me and this other kid who I have no idea where he's from are causing the course to be taught in English. Everyone speaks good English but sometimes they can't get across what they are trying to say so they switch to Swedish. We have lecture once a week, 2 seminars where we discuss papers and topics, and lab. Each week is a different topic in ecology and there are different professors for each topic so I have like 4 different professors for this course. Something different from the States. For this week's lab we went outside to the campus wetlands and collected organism to do a trophic cascade experiment. At the end of the week we have a report due on the topic of the week. The professor said 2 pages and I was thinking piece of cake and then I read the instructions and it said single-spaced. Ugh. But overall it seems pretty easy and straightforward. I am also enrolled in a course called Advancements in Academic Studies. We are supposed to read and analyse scientific papers. My program's professors think it is redundant for us to take that class because we read and analyse scientific papers in our courses. So they are petitioning for us to get out of the class. I hope they win ha. It is once a week on Thursdays and I showed up yesterday for class and the professor was like blah blah we are going to be reading and analyzing papers in this class and next week so and so will be talking about scientific writing and then we were done. Huge waste of getting up at 9:30am for a useless 20 minute talk. If I were to order books they would take over 4 weeks to arrive so I guess I'll either buy them at the campus bookstore for more expensive or use the library copies and see how far I can get with that.
My roommates and I went to Ikea yesterday to get stuff for the house. It is so cheap there. We got tons of stuff. The common areas looks homey now instead of bare and the kitchen has everything we need. New curtains, shower curtain, rugs, candles, etc. We ate dinner there and it was amazing. Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce and potatoes with gravy. Sweden loves sparking water. They have it on tap and it is so good. I also got their soft-serve ice cream. Omg, best soft serve ever. It was practically whipped cream. They also had really cheap chocolate bars and these cinnamon rolls things called kanelbulle. I sound so fat right now but like all this stuff is SO tasty. You would eat it too. Also, they sold "Swedish Fish" in Ikea. Obviously I bought them. They taste way better than the Swedish Fish at home. And the fish say "Swedish" on them. I find it ironic to be eating Swedish Fish in Sweden.
This afternoon I went with Karin (Swedish roommate) to train her dogs. She mushes. It was awesome. We drove to a military reserve and she has a wheeled sled for non-snow training. I go to drive the wagon as well as sit and enjoy the ride. The dogs are amazing. Her and her friend have 6 huskies. They need 8 for races so they borrow two of their friends. I will upload pictures. I told her I'd go anytime with her I love it. And she said since I'm helping during the off-season that I have earned the right to participate in the winter. I can't wait.
Earlier this week my roommates, Deb's boyfriend, and his coworkers went to a student ran pub called VilleValla Pub about a 7 minute bike ride away. They have tons of beer selection. Good stuff. I ordered a fajita there. Not a typical American fajita. It was more of a quesadilla. I liked it.
Looking forward to the weekend and not having school. Love/miss you all. PEACE
School is good. Week 1 down. 7 weeks to go with this course (Methods in Ecology) and then exam week. There are 6 of us in the Ecology and the Environment masters program. We all get along well which is good. It is funny because 4 out of the 6 of us are Swedes so me and this other kid who I have no idea where he's from are causing the course to be taught in English. Everyone speaks good English but sometimes they can't get across what they are trying to say so they switch to Swedish. We have lecture once a week, 2 seminars where we discuss papers and topics, and lab. Each week is a different topic in ecology and there are different professors for each topic so I have like 4 different professors for this course. Something different from the States. For this week's lab we went outside to the campus wetlands and collected organism to do a trophic cascade experiment. At the end of the week we have a report due on the topic of the week. The professor said 2 pages and I was thinking piece of cake and then I read the instructions and it said single-spaced. Ugh. But overall it seems pretty easy and straightforward. I am also enrolled in a course called Advancements in Academic Studies. We are supposed to read and analyse scientific papers. My program's professors think it is redundant for us to take that class because we read and analyse scientific papers in our courses. So they are petitioning for us to get out of the class. I hope they win ha. It is once a week on Thursdays and I showed up yesterday for class and the professor was like blah blah we are going to be reading and analyzing papers in this class and next week so and so will be talking about scientific writing and then we were done. Huge waste of getting up at 9:30am for a useless 20 minute talk. If I were to order books they would take over 4 weeks to arrive so I guess I'll either buy them at the campus bookstore for more expensive or use the library copies and see how far I can get with that.
My roommates and I went to Ikea yesterday to get stuff for the house. It is so cheap there. We got tons of stuff. The common areas looks homey now instead of bare and the kitchen has everything we need. New curtains, shower curtain, rugs, candles, etc. We ate dinner there and it was amazing. Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce and potatoes with gravy. Sweden loves sparking water. They have it on tap and it is so good. I also got their soft-serve ice cream. Omg, best soft serve ever. It was practically whipped cream. They also had really cheap chocolate bars and these cinnamon rolls things called kanelbulle. I sound so fat right now but like all this stuff is SO tasty. You would eat it too. Also, they sold "Swedish Fish" in Ikea. Obviously I bought them. They taste way better than the Swedish Fish at home. And the fish say "Swedish" on them. I find it ironic to be eating Swedish Fish in Sweden.
This afternoon I went with Karin (Swedish roommate) to train her dogs. She mushes. It was awesome. We drove to a military reserve and she has a wheeled sled for non-snow training. I go to drive the wagon as well as sit and enjoy the ride. The dogs are amazing. Her and her friend have 6 huskies. They need 8 for races so they borrow two of their friends. I will upload pictures. I told her I'd go anytime with her I love it. And she said since I'm helping during the off-season that I have earned the right to participate in the winter. I can't wait.
Earlier this week my roommates, Deb's boyfriend, and his coworkers went to a student ran pub called VilleValla Pub about a 7 minute bike ride away. They have tons of beer selection. Good stuff. I ordered a fajita there. Not a typical American fajita. It was more of a quesadilla. I liked it.
Looking forward to the weekend and not having school. Love/miss you all. PEACE
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)