Welcome!

Hello! If you happen to know a random loon called Christopher Julian Stanley, and you're wondering why on earth he's going to Sweden for five months, then you've come to the right place. As Edmund Blackadder once said, "Pull up a muffin" and "Sit yourself down", and feel free to ask me some questions about my impending voyage to Uppsala, or comment on my blogs.

Signing off,
The Intrepid Explorer

Frequently Asked Questions

Chris, I hear you're going abroad for five months?

That's correct. From August the 20th 2008 until January 16th 2009 I will be studying abroad on the Erasmus programme for the first half of my second year at University, residing in the delightful city of Uppsala.

Uppsala? Where's that?

Uppsala is in Sweden, and is approximately 50 miles north of Stockholm. It's also about 1200 miles from London.

So why Uppsala, then?

Uppsala University is one of the Universities that is linked with my uni, the University of Exeter, through the Erasmus programme. Exeter students can study abroad in places like Uppsala for the first semester of their second year, then return to Exeter for the second semester.

Studying abroad - but wouldn't you have to be fluent in the language of the nation you're visiting?

Nope, that's only if you're studying in France, Germany, Italy or Spain. I'll be doing an English speaking course - mind you, that won't stop me learning a bit of Swedish in order to get by!

Wouldn't it be easier just to do all of your degree in the UK?

It would, but it would also be less challenging, and I like a challenge. It's also a great oppurtunity to see how history is studied outside of the English education system, and let's not forget it's going to look great on my CV!

When will you be blogging?

I'll be doing a major blog every Tuesday, from the 20th June 2008 until at least the 27th January 2009. If anything exciting happens I'll do a mini-blog on that too.



Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Week 16: Birthday Boy!

Hej allesammans! So then, 20. Hmm. Does this mean I can't act like a teenager anymore? Well, probably not, but a lot has changed since my last birthday. This time last year I was in Devon, now I'm in Sweden. ECCLES had yet to be founded, now it's FECCLES and is becoming a ridiculously huge society. Gordon Brown was quite popular, now he's had to bring back Peter Mandelson to try and save his skin (good luck with that one). Steve McClaren was in charge of the England team, now it's Fabio Capello.

So, a fair few changes. Sadly, the perennial powerful idiot George W. Bush is still in the White House (if not for long), Labour are still in power, and stockbrokers are still idiots with money. But that won't get me down today! For one thing, the weather has been gorgeous here. Really sunny and no rain whatsoever! It's even rather mild, though I expect come November it will be freezing.

I also had a lecture today, which I was expecting to be three hours (they're not actually three hours, we have breaks), but was instead only two. So that was good! And I've received lots of lovely birthday messages on Facebook. So, overall, a very good way to adapt to being 20! Now I just need to work out how to deal with turning 21...

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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