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.
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.
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteNow I have find your blog! It will be so interesting to see my hometown and Sweden through your eyes. Did you see that New York Times had a big article about Uppsala last weekend?
Kristina