Hej allesammans! I decided to do the blog a bit later this week, as I leave Sweden for manic cross-country travelling shenannigans of WIN next Sunday: due to said shenannigans, I will probably be unable to access t'internet for a while, so by blogging this Saturday and next Saturday, I will be keeping you as up to date as possible. Simple, really.
This week has seen the arrival of December, which has taken me by surprise: November went surprisingly quickly, especially compared to the other months I've been here. As you may have guessed from the title, I am fighting a losing battle with that most elusive of concepts: time. So much of it, and yet so little! Currently, I am spending a lot of time reading Shakespeare for my ridiculously long 15 page essay that I ideally need to finish before Friday. The Bard, surprisingly to some, does not always make a good read: his killing off of Arthur in King John is seriously lame: it is akin to Sirius' death in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Still, on the whole, his reputation as the best writer of the English language is probably justified. Richard III, incidentally, is deliciously evil: I'm writing specifically about how Shakespeare distorts history, and he doesn't half distort Richard!
Naturally, December has brought with it lots of Christmassy stuff: Advent candles, Advent wreaths (the ones I've seen on people's front gates are absolute monsters), and lots of Christmas lights. If there's one place that does Christmas well, and doesn't make it overly tacky, I'd have to go with Sweden. Much better than in England, where the merchandise comes out in July and Woolworths goes into administration! Still, I do miss some aspects of English Christmas: no mince pies are to be found here, and the Swedes are not as familiar with A Christmas Carol, or even The Muppets' Christmas Carol, which in my mind is essential Christmas Eve viewing.
Lastly, my InterRail pass has finally arrived, meaning that I have a definite ticket home for January, hooray! It will have been over 19 weeks since I left England by the time I return, so I'm looking forward to going back.
Until next time then, this has been...
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Chris Stanley
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Week 23, Part Two: Let it snow, let it snow, too much snow!
Welcome back. As you may have guessed, the subject that's been the focus of attention for most people in Uppsala this week has been: SNOW! And we're not talking about it just settling, we're talking about me finding my bike half-submerged in the stuff. As I type, the snow is just about starting to thaw, but we've had so much of it that I doubt it will be all gone until at least Thursday.
Most of you back in Blighty are probably a bit jealous that I've got all this snow to myself. But let me tell you, snow is only awesome up to a point. When it started snowing (Wednesday), it was just a light settling, and that was pretty cool: Sweden looks so much nicer in the snow, after all. By Saturday, there was plenty of it, and the high point was undoubtedly me sledging down a rather steep hill: I haven't gone sledging in years, so naturally I got a bit nostalgic.
However, by Sunday, it started to get a bit ridiculous. Snow in itself is not a bad thing, but snow combined with wind soon becomes horrendous. On Sunday the wind was positively howling, and on Monday it wasn't much better. Cycling through the snow was not much fun, mainly because it was a) snowing again and b) windy, meaning that for much of my journey I couldn't see where I was going! So after about a week of the stuff, I shall be quite glad to see the back of these small-scale blizzards.
Still, it has on the whole been fantastic, and at least the Swedes are prepared for this sort of thing: Britain always seems to go into a state of shock at the sight of a snowflake, and Gloucestershire schools shut down after one day of snow, so heaven knows how they'd cope with five days of it! But now, back to my book review, which is the last thing I have to do on my third module: after this, it's just one module, and then I'm all done! Hurrah!
Until next week then, this has been:
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Chris Stanley
Most of you back in Blighty are probably a bit jealous that I've got all this snow to myself. But let me tell you, snow is only awesome up to a point. When it started snowing (Wednesday), it was just a light settling, and that was pretty cool: Sweden looks so much nicer in the snow, after all. By Saturday, there was plenty of it, and the high point was undoubtedly me sledging down a rather steep hill: I haven't gone sledging in years, so naturally I got a bit nostalgic.
However, by Sunday, it started to get a bit ridiculous. Snow in itself is not a bad thing, but snow combined with wind soon becomes horrendous. On Sunday the wind was positively howling, and on Monday it wasn't much better. Cycling through the snow was not much fun, mainly because it was a) snowing again and b) windy, meaning that for much of my journey I couldn't see where I was going! So after about a week of the stuff, I shall be quite glad to see the back of these small-scale blizzards.
Still, it has on the whole been fantastic, and at least the Swedes are prepared for this sort of thing: Britain always seems to go into a state of shock at the sight of a snowflake, and Gloucestershire schools shut down after one day of snow, so heaven knows how they'd cope with five days of it! But now, back to my book review, which is the last thing I have to do on my third module: after this, it's just one module, and then I'm all done! Hurrah!
Until next week then, this has been:
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Chris Stanley
Week 23, Part One: Money makes the world go round
Hej allesammans! Apologies for the lapse last week: a lot has been happening. I'll try and fill you in on what happened the week before if I can, but it is a little hazy.
Firstly, the week before involved lots of financial wrangling on my part: fortunately, it all ended in success. After waiting almost two months for it arrive, my loan has finally come through, meaning I can actually pay off my rent, book tickets home, and generally have a bit more flexibility, which is a welcome relief after almost three months of worrying about my bank account. Why it took so long I don't know, but I am annoyed with Swedish banks, and NatWest are going to get a talking-to when I get back, not least because they keep charging me for withdrawals. Still, I can afford to spend a little more now, though I am limiting myself to 300SEK per fortnight at the moment (about £25) so as to have more money for my trip round Europe. I also managed to sort out my Erasmus grant, which means I will have an extra £500 by the end of the month, so I should be rolling in the moolah come December!
Secondly, the week before saw possibly the worst weather I've seen in a while. I know I'm English and I should be used to the rain, but OH MY DAYS! It just would not stop raining! And when you have to cycle back and forth to lessons in the rain, well, let's just say I was eternally grateful when the sun finally decided to return on Saturday. Of course, it was back to rain on Sunday, but oh well!
I also spent quite a lot of time doing work: I have a book review due this Thursday, and there were quite a few lectures and seminars the week before (including one at 9am, oy vay), so I have been kept rather busy. Coming up, what happened this week!
Firstly, the week before involved lots of financial wrangling on my part: fortunately, it all ended in success. After waiting almost two months for it arrive, my loan has finally come through, meaning I can actually pay off my rent, book tickets home, and generally have a bit more flexibility, which is a welcome relief after almost three months of worrying about my bank account. Why it took so long I don't know, but I am annoyed with Swedish banks, and NatWest are going to get a talking-to when I get back, not least because they keep charging me for withdrawals. Still, I can afford to spend a little more now, though I am limiting myself to 300SEK per fortnight at the moment (about £25) so as to have more money for my trip round Europe. I also managed to sort out my Erasmus grant, which means I will have an extra £500 by the end of the month, so I should be rolling in the moolah come December!
Secondly, the week before saw possibly the worst weather I've seen in a while. I know I'm English and I should be used to the rain, but OH MY DAYS! It just would not stop raining! And when you have to cycle back and forth to lessons in the rain, well, let's just say I was eternally grateful when the sun finally decided to return on Saturday. Of course, it was back to rain on Sunday, but oh well!
I also spent quite a lot of time doing work: I have a book review due this Thursday, and there were quite a few lectures and seminars the week before (including one at 9am, oy vay), so I have been kept rather busy. Coming up, what happened this week!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Remember? Remember what?
Hej allesammans! Two big events happened since my last post: firstly, we had Guy Fawkes' Night or Bonfie Night; and secondly, we had Remembrance Day. At least, everyone in the UK did: Sweden more sort of didn't.
Of course, I wasn't surprised by the fact that most Swedes had never heard of Guy Fawkes, but it was a bit odd to find myself in a country where there are no memories of war. Sweden, as a country, has not been at war since 1814, which compared to England, is an incredibly long time ago. Indeed, Sweden is the first country I have visited that was not involved in either of the World Wars: the only other country I know of that can also claim this is Switzerland.
But it was still a bit weird: no Bonfire Night, no fireworks, no poppies, no rendition of the Last Post, no two minutes' silence: I'd got rather accustomed to these over the years, and to be devoid of all them made November feel very unlike itself. Still, the Swedes did have one special day this week: November 6th was Gustavus Adolphus day. Gustavus Adolphus, in case you didn't know, is probably Sweden's most famous king, mainly because he went round and duffed up Germany during the Thirty Years' War before being killed in battle. So I did at least learn a little more about Sweden's culture, whilst being somewhat deprived of my own. In case you missed the two minutes' silence on Remembrance Sunday, by the way, go onto BBC iPlayer and search for "Remembrance Sunday": the silence is awesome, and The Last Post even moreso.
Finally, I think I should mention something that came up on BBC News this morning: when it comes to gender equality, the Scandinavians reign supreme. In the current survey, Norway are top, Finland are second, Sweden are third, and Iceland are fourth. Another triumph for Scandinavian Womens' Lib then, it seems, although Sweden have slipped a bit: they were top last year. The survey also showed that England are a bit rubbish: only 13th, it seems. Still, as a man, I presumably shouldn't be complaining! So until next week, this has been:
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Chris Stanley
Of course, I wasn't surprised by the fact that most Swedes had never heard of Guy Fawkes, but it was a bit odd to find myself in a country where there are no memories of war. Sweden, as a country, has not been at war since 1814, which compared to England, is an incredibly long time ago. Indeed, Sweden is the first country I have visited that was not involved in either of the World Wars: the only other country I know of that can also claim this is Switzerland.
But it was still a bit weird: no Bonfire Night, no fireworks, no poppies, no rendition of the Last Post, no two minutes' silence: I'd got rather accustomed to these over the years, and to be devoid of all them made November feel very unlike itself. Still, the Swedes did have one special day this week: November 6th was Gustavus Adolphus day. Gustavus Adolphus, in case you didn't know, is probably Sweden's most famous king, mainly because he went round and duffed up Germany during the Thirty Years' War before being killed in battle. So I did at least learn a little more about Sweden's culture, whilst being somewhat deprived of my own. In case you missed the two minutes' silence on Remembrance Sunday, by the way, go onto BBC iPlayer and search for "Remembrance Sunday": the silence is awesome, and The Last Post even moreso.
Finally, I think I should mention something that came up on BBC News this morning: when it comes to gender equality, the Scandinavians reign supreme. In the current survey, Norway are top, Finland are second, Sweden are third, and Iceland are fourth. Another triumph for Scandinavian Womens' Lib then, it seems, although Sweden have slipped a bit: they were top last year. The survey also showed that England are a bit rubbish: only 13th, it seems. Still, as a man, I presumably shouldn't be complaining! So until next week, this has been:
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Chris Stanley
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Week 20: What do Swedes think of Obama?
Hej allesammans! So then, the result is in: and with 349 electoral college votes to McCain's 162, Obama won rather convincingly, and will be the US President from 20th January 2009 onwards: sadly, we won't be rid of "Dubya" until then, which is a bit irritating, but at least he only has eleven weeks or so before his horrendous time in office comes to a close.
Naturally, I'm rather pleased. I am not the easiest person to place on the political spectrum: I am not a Socialist or Conservative, and I don't support the Lib Dems. But I believe two things are central to government:
1. One party in government only work for a maximum of two terms: after that, you need a change of party. No change, and both the government and the party start to lose their way. It happened to Thatcher's government, and it's happened to the Blair-Brown government. Three consecutive terms of the same government do not generally bode well.
2. In a world of globalisation, it is vital that you don't put people with barely any foreign policy experience in a position of power.
For these two reasons, I believe it was vital that Obama and the Democrats won. Most people were fed up with the Republicans, and McCain, for all his maverick claims, is a Republican. If he had got in, we would have had twelve years of Republicanism, and eight years is quite enough. At least the Republicans will now realise in defeat that they need to reform the party, because under Bush, it has badly lost its way. And the idea of Palin (whose foreign policy experience is laughable) being Vice President, and potentially President, was deeply worrying to me.
But what do Swedes think? Well, one Swede who will be rather chuffed about it all is the PM Fredrik Reinfeldt. He's a big supporter of Obama, and the latter's election victory will only ensure that ties between Sweden and the US remain strong. Ordinary Swedes don't seem particularly fussed by it all, but as Sweden is generally less conservative than most countries, I would guess that they favour Obama over McCain. Reinfeldt is himself a very young PM, and although a bit more right-wing than most of his predecessors, is roughly at the same point on the political spectrum as Obama, so if the majority of Swedes voted for Reinfeldt, I'm guessing most would back Barack.
The effects of this election have been felt and will be felt all over the world, and although a peripheral player on the world scene, Sweden will undoubtedly feel the effects. Sadly, I won't be around to see them, as Bush doesn't leave office until after my return to England. What rotten luck...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Chris Stanley
Naturally, I'm rather pleased. I am not the easiest person to place on the political spectrum: I am not a Socialist or Conservative, and I don't support the Lib Dems. But I believe two things are central to government:
1. One party in government only work for a maximum of two terms: after that, you need a change of party. No change, and both the government and the party start to lose their way. It happened to Thatcher's government, and it's happened to the Blair-Brown government. Three consecutive terms of the same government do not generally bode well.
2. In a world of globalisation, it is vital that you don't put people with barely any foreign policy experience in a position of power.
For these two reasons, I believe it was vital that Obama and the Democrats won. Most people were fed up with the Republicans, and McCain, for all his maverick claims, is a Republican. If he had got in, we would have had twelve years of Republicanism, and eight years is quite enough. At least the Republicans will now realise in defeat that they need to reform the party, because under Bush, it has badly lost its way. And the idea of Palin (whose foreign policy experience is laughable) being Vice President, and potentially President, was deeply worrying to me.
But what do Swedes think? Well, one Swede who will be rather chuffed about it all is the PM Fredrik Reinfeldt. He's a big supporter of Obama, and the latter's election victory will only ensure that ties between Sweden and the US remain strong. Ordinary Swedes don't seem particularly fussed by it all, but as Sweden is generally less conservative than most countries, I would guess that they favour Obama over McCain. Reinfeldt is himself a very young PM, and although a bit more right-wing than most of his predecessors, is roughly at the same point on the political spectrum as Obama, so if the majority of Swedes voted for Reinfeldt, I'm guessing most would back Barack.
The effects of this election have been felt and will be felt all over the world, and although a peripheral player on the world scene, Sweden will undoubtedly feel the effects. Sadly, I won't be around to see them, as Bush doesn't leave office until after my return to England. What rotten luck...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Chris Stanley
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Week 19: Some Swedish Swine Swiped Something Of Mine!
Hej allesammans! A rather scary thought to begin with: this is my 70th day in Uppsala, which not only means I've been here for effectively 10 weeks, but also means that I've reached the half-way point of my time abroad. Needless to say, this has all gone very quickly, but time has a way of doing that when you're enjoying yourself, and I like to think that I am.
However, it has not been 100% sweetness and light this week: on Wednesday, I had to deal with something rather irritating: the theft of my phone. I say theft, because it doesn't seem as if there was any possible way for me to have lost my phone, which means that, presumably, it was stolen from the changing rooms whilst I was playing indoor football. Needless to say, I shall not be taking anything of value there next time!
In some ways, the loss of the phone is very, VERY annoying. Firstly, it was a Christmas present; secondly, it was a pretty good phone; and thirdly, it meant I had to spend about 400 SEK on a new one. However, considering what could have been lost or stolen, the phone is perhaps not as high on the list as say, my passport, my laptop, my keys or my wallet/credit card, so it is not all bad. And to be fair, the new phone was quite cheap, and in some ways is better than the old one, if only because you can compose your own ringtones! The alarm clock also seems to be a bit more effective in getting me up, which is no mean feat.
Other things happening really are an increase in my workload: unlike the last week or so, I've actually had quite a lot of lectures and seminars this week, with a few more to follow tomorrow, as well as an assignment for Friday, so I am being kept busy for once! This has helped to take my mind off a sore throat I picked up after singing along to one too many songs at a party: sore throats, for the record, are more trouble than they're worth!
So yes, 10 weeks down, 9 and a bit weeks to go. And of course, the clocks went back on Sunday, so it's now getting darker a LOT quicker, meaning that I'm going to have to get used to 6 hours of daylight! And the new President, whoever that may be... but that's a topic for next week, of course! Until then, this has been...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Chris Stanley
However, it has not been 100% sweetness and light this week: on Wednesday, I had to deal with something rather irritating: the theft of my phone. I say theft, because it doesn't seem as if there was any possible way for me to have lost my phone, which means that, presumably, it was stolen from the changing rooms whilst I was playing indoor football. Needless to say, I shall not be taking anything of value there next time!
In some ways, the loss of the phone is very, VERY annoying. Firstly, it was a Christmas present; secondly, it was a pretty good phone; and thirdly, it meant I had to spend about 400 SEK on a new one. However, considering what could have been lost or stolen, the phone is perhaps not as high on the list as say, my passport, my laptop, my keys or my wallet/credit card, so it is not all bad. And to be fair, the new phone was quite cheap, and in some ways is better than the old one, if only because you can compose your own ringtones! The alarm clock also seems to be a bit more effective in getting me up, which is no mean feat.
Other things happening really are an increase in my workload: unlike the last week or so, I've actually had quite a lot of lectures and seminars this week, with a few more to follow tomorrow, as well as an assignment for Friday, so I am being kept busy for once! This has helped to take my mind off a sore throat I picked up after singing along to one too many songs at a party: sore throats, for the record, are more trouble than they're worth!
So yes, 10 weeks down, 9 and a bit weeks to go. And of course, the clocks went back on Sunday, so it's now getting darker a LOT quicker, meaning that I'm going to have to get used to 6 hours of daylight! And the new President, whoever that may be... but that's a topic for next week, of course! Until then, this has been...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Chris Stanley
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Week 18: Immigration, Accommodation, and Transportation
Hej allesammans! This week, I've been tackling three rather major obstacles: writing an essay on immigration, getting the accommodation sorted, and planning the logistics of transportation to England.
The first obstacle, writing an essay on immigration, is part of my second module. Basically, I had to write part of a big group essay: it was 32 pages and there were eight of us, so I wrote about 4-5 pages. Immigration is of course, a major issue in the world today, and being an immigrant in Sweden myself (if only temporarily), it's interesting to look at various trends in immigration to the Nordic Countries, because you get to learn more about international relations: the Swedes like the Brits and the Yanks, the Danes don't always get on with the Germans, and all the Scandinavian countries are a bit scared of Russia, especially Finland. All four Nordic Countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) are also seen as being top places to go if you want to re-settle: after being here two months, I would have to agree.
The second obstacle: accommodation. Basically, I've chosen a rather lousy time to move out; I have to leave my accommodation between the 31st December and the 1st January. Naturally, the accommodation office is shut on both these days, so today I had to go in and basically thrash out when I could leave, and how I could hand my key back to them. Fortunately, the Swedes are flexible enough to allow a friend to hand in the key for you, and even though I wouldn't be paying the rent for January, they're fine with me staying there overnight on the 31st. Indeed, the only problem with the Accommodation people was their stupid opening hours: 8:30am - 11:30am on Mondays, but 2:30pm-5:30pm today and tomorrow. Silly Swedes!
Lastly, transportation. Getting to Uppsala was relatively easy, but getting back to the UK has proved to be extremely tricky. Flying out on the 2nd/3rd was WAY too expensive (£100 at least, and £150 when at a convenient time), so I've had to alter my mode of transport and go with the train. Naturally, train travel is not as quick: it takes 7 hours to get to Copenhagen, another 5 to get to Hamburg, and 13 hours to get from Hamburg to Paris (though fortunately that's because it's a sleeper train). From there, you get another train to Calais Ville, which takes an hour or so, then walk 15 minutes to the ferry, which takes 90 minutes to get to Dover (though of course you save an hour). And after that, it's another 2 hours to London. Suffice to say, you're travelling for the best part of two days! But I'll probably split that lot up a bit by staying overnight in Paris, which would be rather cool.
So, three problems, all hopefully tackled. I'm almost half-way through my time in Sweden, which seems quite incredible, but there is still a LONG way to go. And just as well, as I need to finish all my modules first! Until next week then, this has been...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Chris Stanley
The first obstacle, writing an essay on immigration, is part of my second module. Basically, I had to write part of a big group essay: it was 32 pages and there were eight of us, so I wrote about 4-5 pages. Immigration is of course, a major issue in the world today, and being an immigrant in Sweden myself (if only temporarily), it's interesting to look at various trends in immigration to the Nordic Countries, because you get to learn more about international relations: the Swedes like the Brits and the Yanks, the Danes don't always get on with the Germans, and all the Scandinavian countries are a bit scared of Russia, especially Finland. All four Nordic Countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) are also seen as being top places to go if you want to re-settle: after being here two months, I would have to agree.
The second obstacle: accommodation. Basically, I've chosen a rather lousy time to move out; I have to leave my accommodation between the 31st December and the 1st January. Naturally, the accommodation office is shut on both these days, so today I had to go in and basically thrash out when I could leave, and how I could hand my key back to them. Fortunately, the Swedes are flexible enough to allow a friend to hand in the key for you, and even though I wouldn't be paying the rent for January, they're fine with me staying there overnight on the 31st. Indeed, the only problem with the Accommodation people was their stupid opening hours: 8:30am - 11:30am on Mondays, but 2:30pm-5:30pm today and tomorrow. Silly Swedes!
Lastly, transportation. Getting to Uppsala was relatively easy, but getting back to the UK has proved to be extremely tricky. Flying out on the 2nd/3rd was WAY too expensive (£100 at least, and £150 when at a convenient time), so I've had to alter my mode of transport and go with the train. Naturally, train travel is not as quick: it takes 7 hours to get to Copenhagen, another 5 to get to Hamburg, and 13 hours to get from Hamburg to Paris (though fortunately that's because it's a sleeper train). From there, you get another train to Calais Ville, which takes an hour or so, then walk 15 minutes to the ferry, which takes 90 minutes to get to Dover (though of course you save an hour). And after that, it's another 2 hours to London. Suffice to say, you're travelling for the best part of two days! But I'll probably split that lot up a bit by staying overnight in Paris, which would be rather cool.
So, three problems, all hopefully tackled. I'm almost half-way through my time in Sweden, which seems quite incredible, but there is still a LONG way to go. And just as well, as I need to finish all my modules first! Until next week then, this has been...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Chris Stanley
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