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
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
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
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