Nearly finished the first course

Sorry I have been so lax in posting to the blog for the last month but I have been caught up in the final weeks of the Global Health course which is the mandatory, 20-credit foundational course in the International Health Masters' program. I wrote the exam this Monday (November 19th) and today I submitted my literature review with 30 minutes to spare to the online student portal.

Next week we all have to do 15 minute presentations based on our literature reviews and then our opponent, who is one of our classmates, has 5 minutes to critique our work. Of course each of us must be both an opponent and a presenter so really there are two tasks remaining although being the opponent only involves verbal criticism - there's no need for a presentation. This time next week this first course will be finished then we have a weekend of breathing room - during which I may go to Stockholm or just hang around Uppsala, I haven't decided yet.

Tomorrow I am going to try and gate crash a conference - free registration closed on November 7th but I'm just going to turn up and see what happens. It's on antibiotic resistance which is a fascinating topic (really!) if more than a little bit frightening.

Me at the Studentlopp

Here, courtesy of the Studentlopp Facebook page, is a photo of me at the start of the race last Saturday (October 13, 2012).

Thanks Anna for alerting me to this photo.

Young Entrepreneurs

Never mind a lemonade stand - ice cream is a much better bet. Doubt you could do this in Victoria since setting up a table in a shopping center would probably be against some rule or another. Didn't stick around to see how these two young businesswomen made out but I'm sure they were successful.

These two young ladies brought the table, ice cream, scoop and cones from home (I presume) and set up near ICA Vast to sell cones to hungry shoppers on a sunny Saturday

An Excellent (free) tour of Uppsala

Today I had the absolute pleasure of going on a free tour of Uppsala with Jonas Häggblom one of the guides and masterminds behind Sweden Free Tours/Uppsala. I met up with Jonas (and his fellow guide Pär Holmberg who didn't come with us as he was off to play football) at Stora Torget (the main square) where he was just finishing a coffee from the nearby Pressbyran shop. At a little after 10:00 am we decided that I was the only tour attendee and off we went. I won't give away all the details of the tour but just tempt you with some photos (starting with one of Jonas himself).

My guide Jonas - no brolly needed on today's tour though it started off cloudy

We began down by the river where Jonas explained the historical significance of this picturesque waterway to me and then we walked across the river and past two of the buildings belonging to Uppsala's student nations. The second nation whose building we stopped to admire and learn a bit about was that of Västgöta nation (commonly known as VG) where I will be going tomorrow to get my temporary ID card for orientation week.

Looking southeast along the River Fyris

VG's building dates from the 17th century

Next we walked up toward the castle and Carolina Rediviva (the university library). Here I learned a little about Gunnar Wennerberg as well as the origins of and precious objects housed within Carolina Rediviva. Then it was up the hill to the castle for a few stories about the building itself and tales of the bad (often horrendously bad!) behaviour of Swedish royalty in days gone by. 

Gunnar Wennerberg - looking toward the Carolina Rediviva

Carolina Rediviva

Gustav Vasa

The castle's cannons were (and are still!) trained on the cathedral so that the king could keep the clergy in line (though presumably that is not necessary today)

After pondering the castle and its history we wandered over to the part of the botanical gardens that was the original 'castle garden' where Jonas told me about the exploits of Uppsala's most famous (scientific) son - Carl Linnaeus. Then it was time for a break which we took outside of the Saluhallen. After a drink and snack we went on to the university's main building then to the fountain that is supposed to mark the spot where a spring miraculously erupted from the ground when St. Eric was beheaded. 

The castle garden

University main building

Can't remember who this is (sorry Jonas) but the woman is his 'idealized' image of his daughter

Top of fountain which still spews forth water from the miraculous spring

bottom of the fountain

view to the river below

We then walked up to the courtyard of the cathedral which is currently occupied by bleachers for a theatrical performance happening over the next few days (Kronikespel). As well as admiring the cathedral we looked at the Gustavianum which is now a museum. This was, regrettably, the end of the tour which had taken about two hours and twenty minutes. There are four tours each weekend, two in Swedish and two in English. Presently the English tours are at 10:00 am on Saturday and 2:00 pm on Sunday and the Swedish tours are the opposite (2:00 pm on Saturday and 10:00 am on Sunday) but check the Sweden Free Tours website to make sure nothing has changed - their contact information is also on the website should you wish to confirm by email or phone.

Thanks Jonas for a wonderful time and I wish you all the best in your ventures (and especially in next Saturday's exam).

Oh happy day!

I stopped by the Coop Capella second hand shop to buy a binder for my first class (which starts in two weeks). While there I spied a desk (or more properly I guess the word that Camilla - the very pleasant employee that assisted me used - secretaire) that I coveted and the price seemed very reasonable (450 kr - less than $75). I went to the counter to pay for my binder (a massive 5 kr or 75 cents) and asked whether they delivered and was told they do for 200 kr (and that's not per item but per delivery). The person behind the counter also said that if I paid in full for something they would be happy to hold it until I could take delivery. Better and better!

The desk that first caught my eye

The middle drawer pulls down to reveal vertical compartments and there is a roll top

I then asked if they ever got sofa beds (or bäddsoffa in Swedish - not that I said that) and they told me yes, down in the basement (which I didn't even know they had). Camilla accompanied me downstairs and showed me a sofa bed that will suit me admirably (though I'm a bit concerned about the size - I don't want it to dominate the room too much). And I also picked out a wall unit (not sure whether to call it a buffet and hutch or what). Total, with delivery and student discount - just under 1,400 kr. I think $210 for these three items is an extremely good deal. 

Since I last posted I have scored a rolling office chair in the 'free for all foyer' in the apartment building and my landlady gave me a low table about 2 foot square that she had also picked up downstairs some time ago but has no space for. So I think I am pretty much set! The couch comes with 4 cushions and those will serve as pillows until I get the chance to buy some proper ones. I might also research how much a new cover would be since I'm not crazy about the blue. 

The sofa bed - it has a proper pull out mattress that is very comfy and much bigger than what I'm used to (I've been sleeping on a single bed for more years than I want to count) - such luxury!

The top of the wall unit - I think the middle shelf has an internal light above it

Bottom of the wall unit

Saturday night in Uppsala

What's this single, Canadian transplant doing on a Saturday night in this student-town with a reputation for non-stop partying? Watching television and working on my blog of course. In all fairness there is an invitation to go for beer with some other recently-arrived students but I haven't made up my mind yet. My landlady has gone away and I've been reveling in the only 'alone' time that there's likely to be for me in the next 24 months. It really is true what they say about living by yourself for so long - it does kind of spoil you for living with others and I hope having roommates, especially in such a small space, isn't going to be too hard to adjust to.

Today I went for a jog and while loping around discovered another supermarket - Nelins - which had quite a good 'foreign' food section (Thai, Indian, Chinese) with some interesting looking items and some that I haven't seen elsewhere (like red, green and yellow paste for Thai curries). No Asian vegetables though - like Thai eggplant, bok choy, gai lan and the like. Something I did see in ICA this afternoon though which I don't know that I've ever seen in a Canadian supermarket was transparent apples which I remember my mother telling me made the best apple pie (and I'm sure that the proof of the pudding was in the eating). I know I've walked and jogged by lots of trees that I thought were transparents - you can bet I'll be keeping an eye on them as fall harvest time approaches.

Unusual sight of the day though has to be what I saw almost hidden by the tall grass in an overgrown backyard at the end of my jog (so unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me). An auto rickshaw! Weird. When I got home from my jog I went out into the patch of forest - not more than about a soccer pitch in size - and picked blueberries. Not a lot and they're not very big but there's certainly enough for pancakes tomorrow morning.

Blueberries and the 'forest' they came from

Just a quick note to alert you to a New York Times article on Uppsala. I didn't realize that so much of what I have been enjoying in Uppsala - the modern train station, the delightful promenade along both sides of the river and the very nice (free) bathroom in a newly opened establishment (which I won't mention by name - don't want to give the game away) is of such recent construction.

Välkommen till min blogg

So, here I am in Uppsala, Sweden. I arrived in Stockholm just after midnight - so at about 00:05 on Friday, July 13, 2012. I had a very pleasant flight from Gatwick with Norwegian which I understand from a Swedish friend is going to begin running very inexpensive flights from Stockholm to New York (maybe something to keep in mind for those of you that might like to come visit). I reached my hostel at about 1:30 am, was asleep by 2:00 am and, much to my surprise, awoke feeling quite well rested at around 9:00 am.

I took the train to Uppsala where my Swedish angel Gunnel met me (I had found Gunnel and the room in her flat through studenboet.se ). It truly was a Friday the thirteenth for me because every time I tried to use either a credit card or my debit card it did not work. Gunnel paid for me on the bus to get to her flat where I have been staying since my arrival in Uppsala. Now, nearly a month later, I am still unable to get my debit card to work in any bank machine but now have a Swedish bank account with money wired into it from Canada so I have access to funds. But it was a pretty rough first 10 days. Credit cards now work fine both for paying for things and for getting cash advances (thank goodness!).

I was very fortunate to find a permanent place to live (which I secured on July 31, 2012) for when I leave Gunnel's place although I won't be moving in until the first week of September. The flat, which I will be sharing with three other students, is unfurnished and it's going to be great fun kitting it out on a budget by searching through second hand shops and 'Sweden's answer to eBay' (blocket) and going to the phenomenally good Vaksala Torg flea market where I have already had great success.

Now, nearly a month after arriving in Sweden, I am settling into a routine. I am back to jogging 3 or 4 times a week. I've joined the public library and am reading English fiction (when I know I should be getting books in Swedish - preferably from the children's section - and trying to learn the language). I've resumed daily updates on my yyjworks.com blog (which is all about finding work in Victoria - working on it will determine for me whether one can continue to effectively work and write about a subject from far away) and am getting ready to launch this 'Susan in Sweden' blog on Monday, August 13. Mostly though I'm anticipating the start of school (September 3) and next week will begin in earnest on the task of purchasing the eight books (which seems a bit excessive for a 3 month course - here in Sweden you do one course at a time rather than several during a single semester) on my reading list for as little as possible.