Hej allesammans! In case you're wondering, the title of this blog does not refer to the global markets and whatnot, though of course that is very topical. Call me crazy, but I think Bush's plan, at least in the short term, was a very good one, and if it had been approved it would have least calmed people down and allowed the new President to come in and either carry on with it or scrap it if he felt the need. Oh well, at least I'm not a stockbroker!
And that's just one of the many positive things I've had to think to myself this week, because this week really has been one long depression. Typing up a 3,000 word essay: depressing. The view from my room: depressing. My room: depressing. The fact that some idiot keeps drilling at silly o'clock in the morning: VERY depressing.
Then you tie in the fact that Freshers' Week is under way in Cornwall, and I'm massively gutted about missing all of that. Oh Cornwall, why must your delicious pasties be so far away? Seriously, the Swedes need to learn how to combine meat with pastry: an artificial beach wouldn't go amiss either.
So yes, my room's depressing, Sweden's a bit depressing, not being in Cornwall's depressing: you get the idea. And yet, I'm not depressed now. How so, sir?
The answer is simple. If you're depressed, GET OUTDOORS! (In my case, I went for a bike ride.) If your room's depressing you, then go for a run, or go and play football with your mates: the trick is to find something that'll take your mind off your troubles. And to have someone remind you that, actually, you're pretty darn lucky. Has anyone else on my campus had the oppurtunity to study abroad? Well, to quote Dr Cox, "There are so many ways for me to say this... never, not in a million years, absolutely not, no way Hose, no chance Lance, nyet, negatori, nuh-uh, mm-mm, uh-uh, and last of all, man falling off cliff... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo... pff!" So it seems a bit rich for me to wail about being able to do something no-one else from my campus has been able to do before.
The world can be a very depressing place. But there's always two sides to a coin. You've just got to put things into perspective. And besides, I've only got... +100 days until I get back home. Ah.
Well, never mind, gives me more time to explore! See you next week for another instalment of...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Chris Stanley
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Week 14: Culture Clash
Hallå allesammans! Now then, seeing as last Saturday saw Uppsala celebrate its annual Culture Night, I thought I would do another little feature on culture. Not necessarily Swedish culture you understand, but just the little things that make Uppsala significantly different from Stroud, Falmouth, etc.
Firstly, fika. What is fika, I hear you cry? Is it a rival to IKEA? Well actually, it's the Swedish equivalent of coffee and cake, but it's also seen as a social activity, almost like going to the Vicarage for tea and scones. Fika is ridiculously popular, to the extent that one gets invited to have fika almost every day, which is a bit awkward if you don't like coffee (though tea is usually an option).
Secondly, health. The Swedes, as a whole, generally look rather healthy. Coming from a country where obesity is becoming a growing problem, it's refreshing to see most people either walking or cycling everywhere. Uppsala, like other towns in Europe, has cottoned onto the idea of giving cyclists a better deal, and thus the pavements are twice as wide and divided into two sections: one for pedestrians, one for cyclists. This is very sensible, but will probably not catch on in England, due to the fact that the streets and pavements are far too narrow, especially in London.
Thirdly, the Swedish psyche. If you say hello to a typical Swede, they will say hello back pleasantly enough, but that will be about as far as the conversation goes. They are not deliberately cold as such, but they are markedly reserved, and will not engage in long conversations until they "know what they are dealing with", as it were. Of course, after a few drinks, the average Swede will become an insane party animal, and will be more than happy to talk to you at length, even if you can't understand a word they're saying!
Finally, and this does make a difference, the Swedes start social things early, the best example being that they normally go out on the town at around six, and finish around eleven, which seems a bit odd to anyone who normally goes out on the town from about 10pm until 2am. But you get used to it after a while, and no-one minds if you turn up around 8!
But now, back to the interesting task of writing an essay comparing ginger tyrants: more on that story later. Until next time, this has been...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Chris Stanley
Firstly, fika. What is fika, I hear you cry? Is it a rival to IKEA? Well actually, it's the Swedish equivalent of coffee and cake, but it's also seen as a social activity, almost like going to the Vicarage for tea and scones. Fika is ridiculously popular, to the extent that one gets invited to have fika almost every day, which is a bit awkward if you don't like coffee (though tea is usually an option).
Secondly, health. The Swedes, as a whole, generally look rather healthy. Coming from a country where obesity is becoming a growing problem, it's refreshing to see most people either walking or cycling everywhere. Uppsala, like other towns in Europe, has cottoned onto the idea of giving cyclists a better deal, and thus the pavements are twice as wide and divided into two sections: one for pedestrians, one for cyclists. This is very sensible, but will probably not catch on in England, due to the fact that the streets and pavements are far too narrow, especially in London.
Thirdly, the Swedish psyche. If you say hello to a typical Swede, they will say hello back pleasantly enough, but that will be about as far as the conversation goes. They are not deliberately cold as such, but they are markedly reserved, and will not engage in long conversations until they "know what they are dealing with", as it were. Of course, after a few drinks, the average Swede will become an insane party animal, and will be more than happy to talk to you at length, even if you can't understand a word they're saying!
Finally, and this does make a difference, the Swedes start social things early, the best example being that they normally go out on the town at around six, and finish around eleven, which seems a bit odd to anyone who normally goes out on the town from about 10pm until 2am. But you get used to it after a while, and no-one minds if you turn up around 8!
But now, back to the interesting task of writing an essay comparing ginger tyrants: more on that story later. Until next time, this has been...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Chris Stanley
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Week 13: Sunny Stockholm?
Halla allesammans! So then, I can now honestly claim that I have been to the capital of Sweden and, if you believe the flag I saw, the capital of Scandinavia. So what was why my first impression of Stockholm?
Well, unfortunately, my first impression was that this was a city that seemed to attract rain. Seriously, in the four or five hours I was there, it just would not stop raining! Still, the mark of a good city is that it still leaves a good impression on you regardless of the weather conditions, and Stockholm certainly fits that category.
Stockholm, for a start, is not too overwhelming. It is certainly the biggest city in Sweden by far, but its population is only 1 million, which is only an eighth of the population size of London. This means that even if you were to get lost, it's pretty easy to find your way again, mainly because Stockholm is made up of small islands: if you don't know where you are, just walk towards the nearest river and get your bearings from there!
Possibly the most interesting of the islands is Gamla Stan, which means "Old Town" in Swedish: this is where the palace is, and it's also where the weekly Changing of the Guard takes place. Furthermore, it's where I got my Viking hat! Yes folks, there is actually a shop called "The Viking Shop", and it has pretty much everything a Viking needs, except maybe a monastery that you can pillage from.
In fairness to the other islands that make up Stockholm, though, there is something interesting on every island: whether it's the national museum on the north island, the giant tower that you can see all of Stockholm from the top of on the south island, or the Vasa museum on the east island, Stockholm is one of those places that you can spend hours on end looking at what is a picturesque city... except maybe on the south side, where there's lots of building work going on.
A final mention should be made to Stockholm's underground system, which is quick, efficient, and above all, rather cool; not the trains, but the stations, which each have a different style. One of them was designed to look like a green cave, and it also had a glass box containing a ship between the two platforms! Not something you see every day then.
So, Stockholm; rather soggy when I left it, but definitely worth at least one visit. Until next week then, this has been...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Chris Stanley
Well, unfortunately, my first impression was that this was a city that seemed to attract rain. Seriously, in the four or five hours I was there, it just would not stop raining! Still, the mark of a good city is that it still leaves a good impression on you regardless of the weather conditions, and Stockholm certainly fits that category.
Stockholm, for a start, is not too overwhelming. It is certainly the biggest city in Sweden by far, but its population is only 1 million, which is only an eighth of the population size of London. This means that even if you were to get lost, it's pretty easy to find your way again, mainly because Stockholm is made up of small islands: if you don't know where you are, just walk towards the nearest river and get your bearings from there!
Possibly the most interesting of the islands is Gamla Stan, which means "Old Town" in Swedish: this is where the palace is, and it's also where the weekly Changing of the Guard takes place. Furthermore, it's where I got my Viking hat! Yes folks, there is actually a shop called "The Viking Shop", and it has pretty much everything a Viking needs, except maybe a monastery that you can pillage from.
In fairness to the other islands that make up Stockholm, though, there is something interesting on every island: whether it's the national museum on the north island, the giant tower that you can see all of Stockholm from the top of on the south island, or the Vasa museum on the east island, Stockholm is one of those places that you can spend hours on end looking at what is a picturesque city... except maybe on the south side, where there's lots of building work going on.
A final mention should be made to Stockholm's underground system, which is quick, efficient, and above all, rather cool; not the trains, but the stations, which each have a different style. One of them was designed to look like a green cave, and it also had a glass box containing a ship between the two platforms! Not something you see every day then.
So, Stockholm; rather soggy when I left it, but definitely worth at least one visit. Until next week then, this has been...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Chris Stanley
Friday, September 5, 2008
Week 12: Back to Work
Halla allesammans! Now, whilst most of you are presumably still on holiday, this week has seen me begin my first of four modules. I don't quite know why, but the terms seem to be longer here in Sweden than they are in Britain, but that may be because most people are third-year students and are therefore used to twelve-week terms. In any case, now's definitely not the time for dossing about.
For one thing, Uppsala University is huge, and the Humanities buildings alone take up more space than the entire of Tremough Campus (excluding Glasney Parc): therefore, trying to find the right classroom can be a somewhat nightmarish situation. Not only do you have to get the right floor, you also have to get the right, er, "house"... one wrong turn and you could wind up fifteen minutes late! However, in Uppsala, this is not a problem, as traditionally lessons don't start until quarter past the hour, even though they're advertised as being on the hour. In theory, the lectures last two hours, although in practice it's more like an hour and a half, as the lecturer usually takes a fifteen-minute break in between.
My first module is Swedish History. What, then, does that involve? Well, to be frank, it's a rather hasty overview of Sweden from the Vikings to the Early Modern Era to the 19th Century to the Present Day, and as the module only lasts for four weeks, this has to be done rather quickly. Hence, I was learning about the Vikings on Monday, but today I was being told about the death of Karl XII in 1718, so effectively I've covered a millennium of history in less than a week. Hmm.
Fortunately, the assignment is a bit more organised: basically, I have to write an eight-page essay (about 3,000 words) comparing an aspect of English (or British) history with an aspect of Swedish history. So, for example, I could compare the political system in England with the political system in Sweden. Except for the bit where I'm not going to. Instead, I'm comparing the Reformation in England with the Reformation in Sweden, as it seems a bit more interesting. For example, both Reformations were enforced by Kings with ginger hair! So there you go.
Each module lasts about a month - except for the literature course, which can be done at any point within a five-week period - meaning that my term should (in theory) finish in late November, although it all depends on when I decide to do the literature course. The good news is that I definitely have three weeks off in December, so I reckon during that time I'll probably go off on a little excursion round other parts of Scandinavia; I particularly want to visit Oslo and Copenhagen, as well as Gothenburg and Trondheim.
I'll be going to Stockholm tomorrow, so next week's bulletin will probably involve me yammering on about the great Swedish capital. But until then, this has been...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Chris Stanley
For one thing, Uppsala University is huge, and the Humanities buildings alone take up more space than the entire of Tremough Campus (excluding Glasney Parc): therefore, trying to find the right classroom can be a somewhat nightmarish situation. Not only do you have to get the right floor, you also have to get the right, er, "house"... one wrong turn and you could wind up fifteen minutes late! However, in Uppsala, this is not a problem, as traditionally lessons don't start until quarter past the hour, even though they're advertised as being on the hour. In theory, the lectures last two hours, although in practice it's more like an hour and a half, as the lecturer usually takes a fifteen-minute break in between.
My first module is Swedish History. What, then, does that involve? Well, to be frank, it's a rather hasty overview of Sweden from the Vikings to the Early Modern Era to the 19th Century to the Present Day, and as the module only lasts for four weeks, this has to be done rather quickly. Hence, I was learning about the Vikings on Monday, but today I was being told about the death of Karl XII in 1718, so effectively I've covered a millennium of history in less than a week. Hmm.
Fortunately, the assignment is a bit more organised: basically, I have to write an eight-page essay (about 3,000 words) comparing an aspect of English (or British) history with an aspect of Swedish history. So, for example, I could compare the political system in England with the political system in Sweden. Except for the bit where I'm not going to. Instead, I'm comparing the Reformation in England with the Reformation in Sweden, as it seems a bit more interesting. For example, both Reformations were enforced by Kings with ginger hair! So there you go.
Each module lasts about a month - except for the literature course, which can be done at any point within a five-week period - meaning that my term should (in theory) finish in late November, although it all depends on when I decide to do the literature course. The good news is that I definitely have three weeks off in December, so I reckon during that time I'll probably go off on a little excursion round other parts of Scandinavia; I particularly want to visit Oslo and Copenhagen, as well as Gothenburg and Trondheim.
I'll be going to Stockholm tomorrow, so next week's bulletin will probably involve me yammering on about the great Swedish capital. But until then, this has been...
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Chris Stanley
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