Hej då Sweden

As I write this I am sitting in my new (old - I got my former apartment back) apartment in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The weather is gorgeous and later today I'll head out to enjoy Symphony Splash along with about 40,000 others. It is good to be back in Canada and I am certainly enjoying the luxury of having my own place - no more sharing of kitchen and bathroom - although it is daunting to have to start pretty much from scratch in terms of furnishings and kitchen stuff and linens and ... (especially with no IKEA just a bus ride away - the nearest IKEA is on the mainland which entails a way too expensive ferry ride if you're going to take a vehicle).

I am certainly missing all my fabulous classmates who are scattered around the world either vacationing or returned to their countries. Here is a favourite graduation photo of us on the steps of the University Main Building. For now it is hello Victoria and goodbye Uppsala. For at least the next year or two.

A Wonderful Ride on a Vintage Train

One of the last things I did in Sweden was to go for a ride on Lennakatten - the vintage, wooden steam train that runs in the summer time between Uppsala and Faringe. It was a lovely trip - good weather and the pretty Swedish countryside all around. I went all the way to Faringe, which in retrospect was not such a good idea since I went on a Sunday and NOTHING was open there so I was left cooling my heels for an hour and a half (as I recall) with no activity to pass the time (don't know why I didn't take a book). Solution is to take a picnic if you are going on a Sunday or get off at one of the other stops (Marielund or Almunge) where there are refreshments available.

The steam engine is powered by coal - keep this in mind if you sit by an open window (you'll get sooty)

The front of the locomotive

Close up of the locomotive

Letting off steam

Wooden interior of train

Playground with a train motif (just after you leave Uppsala station)

There is something so evocative about the hissing and chugging of a steam-powered train

A view of the passenger cars that make up the train

Famous Swedes

I enjoyed the photo exhibit (think it was called Crossroads) at the airport on June 11, 2014 (and yes again the date on the camera was set wrong but since the poor old thing is now consigned to the garbage ...) when I left for India. Was surprised how many of the Swedes I now recognize either from their image or their name or both. How many do you recognize?

Noomi Rapace from The Millennium Trilogy films (and of course other Swedish productions not as well known to North Americans)

Michael Nyqvist - also from the Millennium Trilogy films (and of course other Swedish productions not as well known to North Americans)

Hans Rosling - our class's hero!

Writer Jonas Gardell author of  'Don't Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves' a trilogy of novels about the effects of HIV/AIDS on the gay community in Stockholm in the 1980s

The one and only Zlatan

Moving out

Please return the keys along with the signed sheet to the key centre at 107 Kungsgatan. Pictures below explain location and key drop off procedure if office is closed.

Take the 5, 20, 22 or 42 bus and get off at Vimpelgatan

Closer view of bus stop

Keep walking in the same direction that the bus is going (down Kungsgatan) - you are going to the building behind the trees in this photo

View of the door to the office - key drop off slot on the left

Close up of the key drop off slot

SFI (Swedish for Immigrants)

SFI (pronounced ESS-EFF-EE) is the government-run program that all newcomers to Sweden are entitled to enroll in once they get a personnummer. Uppsala University also runs Swedish classes for International Students but I never bothered to try and get into one of those classes since we were told repeatedly that 2-year master's students were at the bottom of the priority list for being given places (which I never understood).

I thought, naively as it turned out, that getting my personnummer wouldn't take very long and that I could enroll in SFI in either late 2012 or early 2013. But in fact it took about 9 months for me to get the ten-digit number that is almost essential for life in Sweden and thus I did not get signed up for SFI until September of 2013. I decided to try distance in the first place but this was a mistake and after a few weeks I gave it up altogether as I was finding the pressure to keep up with my self-imposed standards for homework accomplished and results obtained in conjunction with a heavy courseload at school was turning me into a very unhappy individual.

I started again in February 2014 at a Saturday class that ran for 3 hours from 10:00 am to 13:00. The method for which class you are put in for SFI is quite interesting - it is not based on your knowledge of Swedish but rather your educational background from your home country. I guess this makes sense and indeed I have seen how difficult the reading and writing part of learning Swedish is for people who have very little formal education in their past (especially true if they are from a country with a language that doesn't use the Roman alphabet like Thailand or Syria). As you might guess my reading and writing are at about a C level but my speaking and listening skills are abysmal.

I have made not much progress but to be truthful I also haven't tried very hard. Obviously I am in a privileged position as an English speaker - there is an excellent chance I can make myself understood with 99% of Swedes I may encounter - plus there is very little incentive for me to apply myself. I was going to go to just a few more classes before I left Sweden but our teacher, the delightful Åsa, dropped a bombshell yesterday telling us that the outfit she works for, because of a shortage of teachers, has decided to eliminate most of the Saturday classes. Now the Saturday class will be just once every four weeks. I could try and get into an evening class or switch to the only other outfit in town that runs classes on Saturday (Hermods) but I think I will just let it go.

Here is a writing assignment we did in class. Apologies to my Swedish friends since it is probably riddled with errors. And thanks to Åsa for her patience and good humour with our class.

******************************************************************************

Hej vänner! Åsa, min SFI lärare, har bett oss att skriva ett brev om vad du gör en vanlig dag. Här är mitt brev.

Jag vaknar klockan halv åtta. Klockan halv nio äter jag min frukost. Sedan läser jag e-mail och facebook. Jag promenerar till skolan. Jag arbetar på min uppsats. Klockan tolv äter lunch men vänner. Nu när vadret är vackert på terrassen i solskenet. Efter lunchen springer jag vid en å. Efter springtaren arbetar jat på min uppsats i två eller tre timmar. Omkring halv fem promenerar jag hem. Jag lagar middag i det gemensamma köket och äter på mitt rum. På kvällen tittar jag på teveprogram på min dator eller så läser jag en bok från biblioteket. Omkring halv elva lägger jag mig.

Road Trip - Lake Mälaren

At some point in the last year I picked up a brochure describing a series of slott (castles/palaces/stately homes) around Lake Mälaren, Sweden's third largest lake. This looked like an interesting and enjoyable excursion for when the weather improved - presuming of course one had access to a car, certainly not something that is cheaply available for rent in Sweden nor something that many of my classmates possess.

But as luck would have it the planets aligned and on April 28th those of us still in town (many had left on trips to visit home or simply to relax a bit as we had submitted the first draft of our thesis on April 25th) had a vehicle at our disposal and we decided to head off fairly spontaneously without too much forethought or planning. We left about 10:30 am and headed out on our (partial) tour of the castles around the lake. We were aware before we left that the castles would not be open - most do not open until the beginning of 'tourist' season (so either late May or early June) and are even then often only open on weekends. But we were looking forward to the drive and being out in nature just as much.

My photos have a date stamp on them - and for some reason this date is one day behind, so it was actually April 28, 2014, not April 27.

Wik

First stop was Wik, some 20 km southwest of Uppsala.This was the oldest castle that we saw being well over 500 years old. There was a pleasant nature trail and the weather was gorgeous. It was disappointing not to be able to see inside this rather odd looking building - the shape makes it look as if it is about to float out into the lake or rise like a balloon into the sky. But after glancing at the website I get the feeling that perhaps it is better not to see inside since it is now a conference centre and that must have entailed significant renovation (wiring, plumbing etc).

Walking toward Wik - what a glorious day!

Wik Castle as you approach from the parking lot

Oh to be inside that round room with its view out over the lake

Another view of the corner

Astrid capturing all of us capturing Wik photographically

Wik from the front

We ate banana bread, unsuccessfully tried to create 'jumping photos' (we are not a physically well-coordinated group it seems) and just soaked up the sunshine and the peace and quiet.

A passing employee (I think) was kind enough to take our photo

Astrid, Viktoria, Maija and Sofie

Biskops Arnö 

I think this is where we went next (how embarrassing that less than a week later I can't remember in which order we traveled). From what I can understand this is kind of a focused, specialized highschool (or is it a college?) that offers course in documentary filmmaking and photography. The 14th century vaulted hall (or what is left of it) was kind of underwhelming but the oak tree of slightly more recent vintage (maybe only 600 years old!) was magical.

The 600-year-old bishop's oak tree

Astrid, Maija and Sofie manage to go halfway round the tree

Astrid and Viktoria

Pretty Swedish vista

Viktoria, Sofie and Maija walking in the grounds of Biskops Arnö

Skokloster 

Lunch was outside on the deck of Lilla Torget, a pizza and pasta place in Örsundsbro. Reasonably priced, tasty and more than enough to fill us up after our strenuous morning. 

Then it was on to Skokloster, a huge building built in the mid 17th century and currently under repair (actually for the next 6 years according to the signs on the building). Part of the roof was under a tarp but as we passed by the front entrance we could also see scaffolding and men working inside - I am not sure if they were able to open as published on May 1 to welcome visitors. We then sat in the pretty, parklike setting where we spent some time just sitting and musing on how a whole different world exists outside our 'International Health at Uppsala University' bubble.

For some reason I don't have a photo of Skokloster - this one is 'borrowed' from the castle's website

Apparently this church is even older than Wik castle (13th century!)

Astrid capturing me trying to capture Viktoria and Maija jumping

Neither jumpers not photographers did a good job (probably more my fault than theirs for an unsuccessful capture)

Maija in the distance

Not open - would also like to see inside this building

Viktoria, Sofie and Maija at a (non)ancient table at Skokloster (circa 1985)

Sigtuna

Last stop was the attractive little town of Sigtuna that is Sweden's oldest being founded in 970 A.D. We wandered down the main street and posed for pictures in front of the museum. We browsed in a couple of rather chi-chi shops and then collapsed onto a bench by the lake and enjoyed the sunshine for a while before it was time to head back to Uppsala.

Apparently both Wik and Skokloster can be reached by bus from Uppsala so I am thinking to go back to the latter (once I confirm by phone/email that they are actually open on weekends in May) some Sunday soon so I can have a look inside both the castle and the church.

Maija, Viktoria and me - walking Sigtuna's main street

On a bench by the lake - me, Sofie, Maija and Viktoria

Viktoria, Maija, me, Astrid, Sofie

Love this photo - it is like we are all looking into a different future direction and expecting something different to happen for each of us - which is probably pretty accurate as in a couple of months our lives will be on completely separate trajectories after almost 2 years of moving in sync to a large degree

Medical Faculty Masquerade Party

The International Health master's program that I am doing is part of the Medical Faculty here at Uppsala University and in early April we had a party where we all were supposed to wear masks. Actually decorating (and in some cases making from scratch) the masks turned out to be great fun. Mine got a little bit out of control and I ended up looking like a Mexican wrestler which was not quite the effect I was going for. Still, it was surprisingly enjoyable making/decorating the masks and many of us mentioned how we'd like to do creative things more often. Need to make that happen when I am back in Canada - but will try to avoid more Mexican wrestler masks.

Some of the first year students from our program making/decorating their masks

Sofie (centre of picture) my classmate with her elegantly simple mask

Mask decorating in full swing

My rather ridiculous and garish mask

Sulochana's (classmate from Nepal) much more tasteful and classy mask

Spring in Uppsala

It is rather ironic that as I write this today (May 1, 2014) it is a chilly 7 degrees C outside and there are still patches of snow (yes, SNOW) in the shade. The sun is shining now but earlier today it was quite gloomy and really very cold, especially for the first of May. But the winter of 2013/2014 was very mild with little snow and no really long stretches of cold temperatures. A very welcome change from last year. Here are some photos that capture spring in Uppsala - let's hope it returns in the next couple of weeks.

Beautiful blooming trees in the courtyard of a building in the centre of town

The bridge over the river - the orange and yellow building in the background is Västgöta nation (Uppsala's oldest, founded in 1639)

More blossoms