Helsinki?

It was last weekend that I went on my first trip out of Sweden. Now to which country that was exactly took me a little while to figure out!

Roughly 3 weeks ago when I was approached about the trip the conversation went something like this,
"Hej Damian. Do you want to join us on a ferry trip to Helsinki?"
"How much does it cost?"
"I think about 500 crowns."
"For the whole trip?"
"Yes!"
"Ok, I'll go. Can you please pass me the salt?"
And that was the end of the conversation.
It was only after an SMS to Silke asking what currency is used on the ferry and in Norway? That I found out I was going to FINLAND!

No matter what country, I was very excited about going and after a short bus ride to Stockholm we arrived at the ferry terminal. Now when I think of a ferry I always think of those little platforms that cross the rivers of the Eastern Cape that ferry a few cars over the river with the help of a rope and maybe a donkey or two. Maybe even the small tug boat like ferries that I used to cross the Bosphorus when I was in Turkey, but nothing prepared me for the gigantic cruise ship that awaited us at the docks. This ship was so big it it made the Melody look like a tug boat! First I thought it was just big, but it even had all the luxuries of a cruise ship.

The easiest way to explain the Silja liner (The name of our ship) is to compare it to the MSC Melody in the same way as you would compare SAA to One Time. With SAA you pay one price and get all the benefits, but with One Time you buy the ticket to board and the rest is pay-as-you-go! The same applied to our ship. All the shops, restaurants, even the swimming pool cost something, but being the students that we are we were quite content to stock up with supplies like sparkling wine, nuts, jerky and chocolate from the duty free shop and enjoy the few freebies that where available on board like the shows, disco, views and of course the tap water.

The one thing we did decide to indulge in was an early morning gaccuzi and sauna before we arrived in Helsinki. (You can guess the only reason we decided to do it was because it was cheap!) Shortly after our swim we arrived in Helsinki.

It was a beautiful autumn day and we enjoyed having our morning coffee at a tent coffee shop at the market on the square over looking the harbor. It was the perfect start to a day that was spent exploring the city from its old and beautiful churches to its super modern shopping centers that are built inside really old buildings.

The one thing that really struck me about the city was the age and architecture of the buildings. They all look like they come out of the middle ages (which I suppose they probably do) and they are a mixture between Swedish and Russian design. They have a distinct Swedish feel, but the odd dome every now and then tells you that they aren't. The people are also a little different to the Swedes. They seemed to be a lot more 'out there' almost making the Swedes look formal! It really was an amazing day filled with lots of walking and sightseeing, but almost too quickly our time was up and we had to return to the ship.

It was on our journey home that we came to realize the 'funny side' of our trip. We had traveled 21 hours to Helsinki to spend little over 6 hours there and now we were traveling 21 hours back! Even though the trip was a little out of proportion I had a really good time and I went to bed Saturday night a very happy man. However, it was Sunday morning that the trip took a turn for the worse...

I awoke early Sunday morning to take a walk on the deck and admire the Stockholm Archipelago in the early morning light. It was on this walk that the pain just started and what a pain it was! I've never experienced anything like it in my entire life. It seemed to be coming from my lower stomach and making ever muscle in my body cramp! I knew immediately that something was not right and went to the ship's nurse. As sweet as she was there was very little she could do, besides give me a maximum dose of Voltaren and say I had to go to the hospital. Now the last thing I wanted to do was go to a hospital in Stockholm and decided to cancel my sightseeing and take the bus straight back to Linkoping. It was the longest 3 hours of my life because the pain was like having someone kick me between the legs the entire time! I was so grateful when I finally arrived at the hospital.

The last thing that I am is a doctor so it'll be very difficult to give you all the details, but what I can tell you is that in under an hour of arriving at the hospital I was being prepared for surgery and for the first time in 7 hours I felt no pain thanks to the anesthesia...

A stay in hospital is not pretty no matter how one decides to write about it, so I don't think I will. Just know that the operation was a success and I was discharged on Monday afternoon. It has now been a week since the operation and I'm almost fully recovered with the only side affect being that I'm not allowed to ride my bicycle for the next couple of weeks which is a major irritation as it is my only form of transport! However, I'm extremely grateful that the pain is gone and even more grateful for my two AWESOME friends Silke and Dani, who were with me the entire time. I swear if it weren't for those two I don't know what I would have done! Thanks gals!

So I hope you can forgive my lack of posts this past week, but after all my adventures I think I have a good reason ;-)

Hej då

Camping in Motala

...was both fun and maybe a little bit of a bad idea. The only reason I say it was a bad idea is because I've now been suffering with a cold for over 2 weeks and it just won't go away! It's one of the reasons I've not been able to post something in a while, but enough about the bad part let me tell you about the fun part.

In Sweden there is this rule/law/saying thingee (not exactly sure what to call it) that they call "every man's right" which basically means everybody has the right to go anywhere in the nature and camp, hike, etc. and no one can stop you. It's a fantastic rule that enables a person to really enjoy all the naturally beauty the country has to offer.

So my friends and I had been speaking for weeks about using this right and going camping somewhere in the forest or near a lake or something. It took us a while to arrange the logistics like tents, transport and such, but eventually we had it all planned and we were off. When we started planning we were close to 9 people going, but by the time it came to actually going we were down to 4. Which was fine as seeing we only had 2 small tents and 1 car. Now that I think of it I wonder if that is why the rest chickened out? Anyway Henning, Thomas, V (His girlfriend who's name I still can't pronounce or spell) and I set off in Henning's car to Motala, a small town about 45Km from Linkoping on the banks of the 2nd biggest lake in Sweden.

Going to a holiday town in the beginning of September has both its dis- and advantages. Advantage is there is no one else so it's quiet, but as a disadvantage there is no one else so everything is closed and not just closed, actually boarded shut! We found a perfect little spot in a picnic area in a pine forest on the shores of the lake. It was a beautiful spot and wasted no time setting up camp so that we could just sit and enjoy it.

One of the main reasons we wanted to camp so badly was that we wanted to make a fire and braai. Which is exactly what we did, however, we had planned on being 9 people and so we had food for 9 people! Now that I think about it wasn't really a problem because it meant the 4 of us ate like kings! We had German sausages, steaks, ribs, melted Camembert, salad and we didn't even touch the potatoes! It was fantastic just sitting in the forest eating, drinking, joking and listening to music, I think there was even singing at one stage!

I think we were having too much fun and someone must have gotten a little jealous because we soon had some unexpected visitors. Two people with torches and police on their clothing arrived to say that they had had complaints of a bonfire! A BONFIRE! I almost started laughing because our fire was barely large and hot enough to cook our food! They quickly realized there was a mistake and left us to our Bonfire which was the cause for much amusement the rest of the night. The rest of evening was uneventful and before I knew it I was falling asleep under the stars next to the Bonfire...

Next morning we all awoke very stiff as ground is hard no matter where in the world you sleep on it! Surprisingly our bonfire was still burning and we decided to eat our breakfast for 9 and once again we ate too much. It was during this breakfast that I think I made my big mistake and went for a quick dip in the lake! It was freaking freezing and my entire body went very very numb. It was the coldest water I'd ever swam in, but now at least I can say I went swimming in Sweden!

The rest of the day we spent exploring the town and drinking loads of coffee at a coffee shop on the square. This has become a favorite past time of mine of the Swedes, with them calling it a 'fika'. They can spend hours just sitting drinking bottomless coffees, eating cakes and chatting. The Swedes really love coffee!

I really had a good time camping and even though I'm now sitting with the consequences I'd do it again in a heart beat. Which is probably why I've spent the last week getting in touch with the Scouts in the area and I can't wait to go to my first meeting, but more about that at a latter stage.

Hej då

Jag heter Damian

...is the first official Swedish I learnt in my classes last week. (It means; my name is Damian.)

Not only did parties dominate last week, but I also started with my first classes. (Now do you understand why I'm so far behind on my blogs?)

The education system in Swedish universities is very different to what I'm use to, with most people only following one subject at a time. The catch is you only do one subject for 4 weeks and nothing else! I'm finding it a very intense and focused way of studying, but it requires a lot of time, reading and preparing not only for lectures, but also for small group work seminars.

The first course I'm doing is an introduction to ethics and morals. It is the first time the course is being offered at LiU and the professor teaching us is also the author of our text book. He is very good and knows what he is talking about. There is also a PHD student who leads our seminars. It has only been a week, but we have already had to read almost 6 chapters and a number of articles. Its interesting reading, but it takes a lot of time. We are only about 15 in the class, all international students, so missing class is not an option. I love going to class because it has the feeling of one of those Ivy League universities where the small classes sit around a table and solve the problems of the world...you know like in the movies!

The other class that started last week is my Swedish language course. This I'm taking at a small college in the middle of town. We have class four mornings a week for 4 hours. It is a very intense course, but the two teachers are very good and they make it very interesting. I'm not finding Swedish that hard to learn, but I am struggling with some of the pronunciation. The teachers say I'm getting better and someone even said I should be speaking Swedish within 3 months. Not sure if it'll happen, but we'll see. I'll keep you posted.

Another thing worth mentioning is that I attended my first Rotary club meeting last Tuesday morning. The Rotarians were very welcoming and I can't wait to get to know them all better. I'll be giving my speech next Tuesday and I'll let you know how it goes.

I think are all now up to date on everything that has been happening in my life here. I hope you found this post interesting? I don't even have a photo to add, but as I said in my previous blog I wanted to let you know more about the serious side of life too.

Hej då

Party, Party, Party

...is something the Swedes love to do and I'm not complaining!

The reason I'm so behind on my blogs is because there has been an array of different parties that I had to attend and even organise. I actually feel a little guilty about writing this blog because I'm scared the Rotarians reading it might think I'm not studying and doing my ammbassadorial duties, but that is not the case as I'm busy experiencing all aspects of Swedish life. Nevertheless, I promise my next blog is going to be more about my studies.

The first party was last Saturday called SOF2009. It was organised as a celebration for all the first years completing their 2 weeks of orientation. It is held outside the student union building and is a 12 hour party starting and ending at 3. It consists of pretty much the same as most of the other parties; beer, music and overalls. It was at this party that I started to come up with my 'Swedish Magnet Theory', which is still a work in progress and hopefully after some more research I'll be able to post about my findings.

One thing that I started to notice while I was kuiering with my friends, was the lack of Swedish companions at our kuiers. I mean we are in Sweden to meet Swedes! Thus the idea of the Meet-a-Swede braai was formulated. Last Tuesday we had a small get together of all our exchange student friends, but the catch was everyone had to bring a Swede with to the braai. No Swede no party! It was initially meant just to be a small gathering of friends, but word quickly spread and there was about 30-40 students at one stage. It was a roaring success and everyone had fun just chilling by the fire and getting to know one another. I also took the opportunity to show them how a real braai is done and was very satisfied with my juicy beef steak. Yummy!! It went off so well that there has been talk of having another one and maybe even designing our own patch...

The next party was Kallas. It is a massive festival hosted by the university to welcome all the first years(tickets are free for all first years). It is held in the ice hockey stadium on the other side of town. It starts in the afternoon with speeches from the rector and deans followed by a comedian. Of course there was a band. Now when Myron and I arrived it was very mellow affair so we set off in search of 'refreshments. While nursing a cold one at the bar we got to chatting to some people and learnt some very important Swedish phrases, you know pick up lines that sort of thing. I was having a chilled time when all of a sudden people started handing out ear plugs! Ear plugs? I thought to myself, the band is not that loud and then it started! The entire stadium became a massive night club with DJ's scattered all over the place. I could not help, but dance and once again found myself admiring Sweden by the early morning light on my way home.

On Friday was the ESN Welcome Dinner, a typical Swedish dinner only for exchange students. Everyone gets very smartly dressed(see top photo), sit at long tables, sing and of course drink very nice South African red wine. It was fun listening to all the different nationalities sing songs from their own countries, but was re-leaved when I was forgotten because I was not looking forward to singing all alone in front of 250 people. You know singing has never ever been my strong point. The dinner was followed by dancing in an adjacent night club and it was here that I decided I'd introduce Sweden to the 'Springbokkie'. It cost us a small fortune, but they had Amarula and SA was playing the Wallabies the next day, so how could we say no! It was by far the best party I've been to in Sweden...so far, but it was by far not my last.

Student accommodation in Linkoping is very rare and when you do manage to find a place it is cause for celebration. So Saturday night was the house warming of 4 of my friends who had found a private flat in Ryd. It was once again the perfect opportunity to meet new people and it was nice just to sit around and chill after the week I'd had.

So as you can see I've had a very busy past 10 days with even more adventures in the pipelines. I hope I can keep up, but then again when in Sweden do as the Swedes!

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Canoe Trip

...was the perfect way to once again admire the natural beauty of Sweden.

The canoe trip is one of the most popular events hosted by ESN with people queing on a weekly bassis in their hordes to get a ticket. Luckily for me I have contacts and I was able to go on a private trip with Yvonne and some other friends from Germany. We were only six and were able to sit three-three in two boats.

The canoe area is on a part of the Gota Kanal about 25 km from Linkoping. Two of the guys that went with us have cars so we were able to travel with them. It is a beautiful and isolated hotel that hires out the canoes. It is surrounded by farms and the occasional golf course, but very little of anything else.

I loved being on the water and the weather was beautiful, in the beginning! We paddled for about 2 hours before we came to a large, round, smooth rock on the side of the river and decided it would be the perfect place to have our lunch. One thing that always strikes me about the Swedish country side is how silent it is and this was no exception. I could have sat there for hours just watching the water and admiring the beautiful little red and yellow wooden houses scattered along the banks. I've decided I'm going to have to buy one in the future.

While eating lunch the weather started getting a little windy and everyone quickly put their jackets on. It was a first for me, having to paddle with a full on 'winter' jacket, but I'm glad I'd decided to take it with because while we were on the water it got choppy and we even had a little rain. To my relief the rain stopped almost as soon as it had started and we were able to paddle back without incident.

I did not realise how tired I was until I almost fell asleep in the car on the way back to Linkoping, but I'm glad I was able to do the trip and I can now see what all the fuss was about.

Hej då

Major Ninja Mission

...was the name given to one of the weirdest things I've done in a long time and I think those who know me will tell you that I've done some pretty weird things.

Linkoping is a student town, as I'm sure you've noticed, and with any town where there is a constant in and out of young people there is a lot of furniture being sold. Now it was one such piece of furniture that Myron had decided he just had to have. What could be so important that an exchange student only living in Sweden for 6 months could just not do without? Why a sleeper couch that folds out into a full sized double bed of course!

When he first came up with the idea we were all very supportive, I mean having a couch in your room is super cool, but when it came to asking him where he had bought the couch he answered quite cheerfully that it was only about 3 suburbs and a forest away. Oh? and how do you intend to get it to your flat with no car was the next obvious question and the answer that followed floored the lot of us. "We'll move it the same way as we did Thomas' TV." Do you see the problem? Not? We moved the TV with a shopping trolley!

It took an entire evening of planning, 7 young bright students, 2 of whom have degrees in engineering, about a case of beer and I think 1 or 2 whiskeys to convince him that a trolley would not work...we needed 4!

So the next day we all gathered outside the flat to embark on the Major Ninja mission. First thing was to go through the check-list: String, 4 trolleys, beer, map (we weren't exactly sure where the place was), passports (so we could plead foreigner when the cops stopped us because removing a trolley from a shop is frowned upon in Sweden) and raincoats (just in case, it is Sweden after all).

With everything ready we set off in high spirits, laughing at the looks we were given. Now you really know you are doing something wrong when the Swedes look at you because they are probably the most accepting people on earth, but when you are getting looks that would rival any true SA 'tannie' one can not stop laughing.

Through Ryd, passed the golf course, through the campus (here we did not even get a single glance, typical students), through the outdoor museum, into the forest, along a street I have no idea what it's name is, across the hospital parking lot and finally we reached our destination. Exhausted we took some 'refreshments' while we waited for the ex owner of the couch to meet us.

When he arrived he opened the store room to reveal the biggest couch I've seen in my life and I started to worry that we had not brought enough trolleys! However, to my amazement, after much huffing and puffing we were able to get it on to the trolleys and 4 was just right.

Once again we set off home, this time not laughing as much as before. It is amazing that when you are not moving anything heavy you fail to notice the hills. On the return journey we found a sudden appreciation for the natural beauty around us and stopped once or twice to admire it. We were also no longer given suspicious looks, but rather knowing grins and the occasional chuckle.

Three hours after leaving on our adventure we arrived back at the flat, but we were faced with one final challenge. The couch could not fit through the door. Luckily Myron lives on the first floor and there are no burglar bars covering the massive windows allowing us to get the couch into his room. Everyone was very pleased when the couch finally stood in the room, none more so than Myron.

At the end of the day it was a very funny experience and to show his appreciation Myron cooked us a three course meal of soup, pizza in a tin (I'm not kidding, but it's another story for another time) and cinnamon buns. Now after an adventure and meal like that what true student can say that fetching the couch was not worth it!

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My first IKEA experience

...was something I'm not easily going to forget for two very simple reasons.

Now those that know my mother will know that she is a very particular person and it's something we all love about her. Now IKEA would be my mom's paradise!

IKEA is a Swedish trademark known all over the world except in South Africa. You should have seen the looks I was given when I told people I'd never heard of it before, I thought I'd just spoken dirty or something! It is a massive shop that has only Swedish designed products for your home and they have just about everything!

When you arrive at the shop you have to go upstairs and walk through what seems like an unending maze of displays showing you how your home could look. It is at the beginning of this maze where my mother would be very happy! Everyone who visits IKEA can take a pencil, a piece of paper (for writing what you want to buy) and of course a TAPE MEASURE to make sure everything fits in the right place. When I saw that I could not stop myself from laughing when I though of my mom and her many tape measures!

The other thing that I really found amusing was at a DIY shopped called Biltemma. Now when I say DIY I really mean it. All you need is a chassis and you could build a car from scratch! It has everything from computer parts to car parts, tools, boat parts and of course car accessories. It was here that I again could not stop laughing at the shelf packed full of car dice that would make any true Boksburger proud.(See photo)Was thinking I need to buy a set for my bike, but have not decided yet. Scared someone might steal it.

In the end it was a very normal shopping experience and if it weren't for these two reasons I don't think I'd even be writing this post, but I just thought I'd share a little something I found amusing.

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