Really... my final post ever from Sweden!? This is sad, because I've enjoyed my time over here so much. Tomorrow I leave in the evening tomorrow night, and take a train to Copenhagen at midnight. I will sleep in the airport overnight, because my flight leaves early at 7.30. Hopefully, since I'm flying gold, I can chill and eat free food in the "gold lounge" or whatever.
Recap of James Jarman's and Victor's Visit: They came in Wednesday, and I showed them what Sweden was like, and I think they enjoyed it. We went and hung out at O'leary's sports bar Thursday night. Friday we went snowboarding at a "mountain" 30 minutes away. The mountain wasn't very big, so it was a perfect opportunity to try and learn snowboarding. After falling on my ass the first run down, I picked up on turning/carving and the rest was easy. Even pulled an air off a jump. :) After waking up early on Friday to go snowboarding, we went to a goodbye party at Villhemsro, a student accommodation 10 minutes by bus. James and Victor were meeting people, as people were crying and saying goodbye, so it was interesting, lol. But its a different experience for them, because they came as friends already knowing someone in Sweden.
My finals went well, and I hope I passed all 4 classes so I get my international engineering minor. Everything has been coming to a close the past 2 weeks, so I've been slowing getting ready to go home. I said a lot of goodbyes today, or "see you laters." Most semesters at UCF fly by, but this semester felt like a long time. I've been in Europe for a long time, and done a lot of travelling: Copenhagen, Munich for Oktoberfest, Kiruna, Tallinn-Estonia, and of course Norway and Stockholm with my father. I really bonded with my friends in Delta, and we have become very close. I will miss them a lot, and probably won't see them for at least a year or two. Starting off 4.5 months ago not knowing a single soul in Europe, to the place where I'm at today is really rewarding to think about. I will really miss Sweden, but my time here is finished. Time for the next chapter of my life, to use the things I learned here. Hej da!
Jönköping University
Monday, December 20, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Friends are coming soon
As I write this, 2 friends from back home - James Jarman and Victor- are almost here to visit me in Jonkoping. Should be a fun time, and I am very excited at showing someone from back home "my" city. I am done with my finals, but still have 2 small assignments to turn in. But basically, I am free from school now. I just get to experience the last couple of days the way I want - no school. I am thinking about going snowboarding this friday at a "mountain" within an hour drive from here. Yes, snowboarding....the hill isn't very steep, so this will be a good opportunity to learn it - can't be more difficult than wakeboarding.
The sidewalks here are frozen solid. This happened because the temperature went above 0 and the snow melted, then the next day went back below and froze. Its very difficult to walk on them, and I have witnessed one person falling - hilarious! lol
Last sunday, I went to my contact person Madde's house and made Lussebullar, which is typical for Swedish people to eat this time of year. It was fun hanging out, talking about the semester, and playing Swedish games, such as laying out a bunch of raisins on the table, and guessing which one the other person was thinking of. lol yea, Swedish people can be weird. We also drank the alcoholic version of Glögg, which was strong and overpowering. They only drink Glögg during the holidays.
The next couple of days will be full of goodbyes, because I come home in 6 days. :(
The sidewalks here are frozen solid. This happened because the temperature went above 0 and the snow melted, then the next day went back below and froze. Its very difficult to walk on them, and I have witnessed one person falling - hilarious! lol
Last sunday, I went to my contact person Madde's house and made Lussebullar, which is typical for Swedish people to eat this time of year. It was fun hanging out, talking about the semester, and playing Swedish games, such as laying out a bunch of raisins on the table, and guessing which one the other person was thinking of. lol yea, Swedish people can be weird. We also drank the alcoholic version of Glögg, which was strong and overpowering. They only drink Glögg during the holidays.
The next couple of days will be full of goodbyes, because I come home in 6 days. :(
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
KIRUNA + End of Semester
Okej, so I'll do a quick blog update because I'm taking a break from studying. I have a Materials and Simulation Final on Sunday. On tuesday, I have a short paper due for Intercultural Communication, as well as a quiz and we also do a 10 minute presentation about our country in front of the entire class. So this is my last blog update until monday. It's also really sad that I have less than 2 weeks remaining here in Sweden. I think it will be just as tough to say goodbye as it was coming here. All good things must come to an end, though.
Last weekend, we took a trip to Kiruna, and it was a blast. Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden that is located above the artic circle, with a poplulation of merely 20,000. The city is alive because of the worlds largest iron ore mine located right beneath the city. Actually a cool thing about the mine is that it is actually destroying the city (due to creep/land deformations from the mine), so the city must rebuild away from the mine in the next 5-10 years.
The fun part of the trip:
We did a dogsled tour the first night, and it was a unique experience. We didn't get to actually drive the sleds, but it was still pretty cool to be driven by Huskies. Our sled was kinda heavy, and I could tell our guide was having difficulties driving the sled - as a result we got a little bit off course and ran into a tree! lol. On Sunday, we went on a snowmobile tour to the ICEHOTEL. The ICEHOTEL (http://www.icehotel.com/uk/ICEHOTEL/About-ICEHOTEL/) is purely made from ice and snow, and was under construction when we saw it. Also the snowmobiles had awesome acceleration (topped out at 105 km/hr) and it was a great way to see the untouched beauty of Swedish Lapland. Our accommodation was an 11-person cabin about 5km away from the city at a place called Camp Alta. It was nice to sit around our fire and warm up after being in -20 degree Celsius weather. Finally, we did not get to see the Northern Lights. :( I think it was too early in the season, which is disappointing. I'll add it to my bucket list and do it later in life. To sum it up: awesome trip, kinda expensive, but definetly worth it. :)
*Check back later for pictures from the trip
Last weekend, we took a trip to Kiruna, and it was a blast. Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden that is located above the artic circle, with a poplulation of merely 20,000. The city is alive because of the worlds largest iron ore mine located right beneath the city. Actually a cool thing about the mine is that it is actually destroying the city (due to creep/land deformations from the mine), so the city must rebuild away from the mine in the next 5-10 years.
The fun part of the trip:
We did a dogsled tour the first night, and it was a unique experience. We didn't get to actually drive the sleds, but it was still pretty cool to be driven by Huskies. Our sled was kinda heavy, and I could tell our guide was having difficulties driving the sled - as a result we got a little bit off course and ran into a tree! lol. On Sunday, we went on a snowmobile tour to the ICEHOTEL. The ICEHOTEL (http://www.icehotel.com/uk/ICEHOTEL/About-ICEHOTEL/) is purely made from ice and snow, and was under construction when we saw it. Also the snowmobiles had awesome acceleration (topped out at 105 km/hr) and it was a great way to see the untouched beauty of Swedish Lapland. Our accommodation was an 11-person cabin about 5km away from the city at a place called Camp Alta. It was nice to sit around our fire and warm up after being in -20 degree Celsius weather. Finally, we did not get to see the Northern Lights. :( I think it was too early in the season, which is disappointing. I'll add it to my bucket list and do it later in life. To sum it up: awesome trip, kinda expensive, but definetly worth it. :)
*Check back later for pictures from the trip
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Holiday Season
The snow keeps falling, the weather keeps getting colder (last night it was -10 Celsius)....but despite this I am still really enjoying the Swedish winter. There is a Christmas market going on now that is literally a 3 minute walk away, so today I went around explored and took some pictures. It was pretty cool seeing how the Swedes celebrate the Christmas holiday, with a lot of food, candy, sweets, singing, etc. There was a stage set up that had people caroling and also some teenage girls that put on a "dance performance." I sampled this drink called Glögg, which is a Swedish drink that only comes out around christmas time - http://www.saunalahti.fi/~marian1/gourmet/xmas11.htm. The fire department was there, and did a rescue simulation. I am like a half kilometer away, and I hear this "YYYAAAAAA" then a loud SPLASH. I feel bad for that volunteer who had to jump in the lake to be "rescued", because unless you paid me at least 500,000 SEK, I am not jumping in that ice bucket.
Tyler's friend Matt is visiting from Canada, and he's a pretty cool guy. Likes to drink as much as Tyler, and today they are drinking for a straight 24 hours. I am not participating in this because I have to study for my Swedish exam this friday. If I don't pass this class, I will not meet the requirements for my International Engineering minor. Pressure's on!
I bought my ticket to the Goodbye Dinner for this Wednesday, and I am predicting it to be a sad night. This will be the official goodbye, because some students will leave to go back home right after finals. Also I've noticed that where exchange students live has a big affect on their experience in Sweden. Cliques have formed, and people even have names for their accommodation. For example, Vilhelmsro calls themselves "VCrew," and one guy even got a tattoo of their "logo." The people in Furan used the Superman logo and put an F instead of an S. Observing this, we in delta had to come up with a cool name too and came up with "Delta Force." If you check out my Tallinn pics you will see that we put our logo on the back of our white t-shirts. People living in Bäckadal think they are the funnest group. They are fun and awesome people, but not very diverse (mostly French).
For me, living in Delta has been the best experience for me. We are not just really close friends, but more like a family....even fight like one (Friday night there was a big argument about Josete being too loud, was intense at the time but the next day we all made up). Whenver I am at the University or at a night club, I talk to everyone, but when I come home, its nice to have their company. Okay, that is my Delta speech, hope you liked it. :)
Finally, check out the picture of the university on this blog page. Together the Engineering School and JIBS (Jonkoping International Business School) are shaped like a key...symbolizing that the university is the "key to the city."
Tyler's friend Matt is visiting from Canada, and he's a pretty cool guy. Likes to drink as much as Tyler, and today they are drinking for a straight 24 hours. I am not participating in this because I have to study for my Swedish exam this friday. If I don't pass this class, I will not meet the requirements for my International Engineering minor. Pressure's on!
I bought my ticket to the Goodbye Dinner for this Wednesday, and I am predicting it to be a sad night. This will be the official goodbye, because some students will leave to go back home right after finals. Also I've noticed that where exchange students live has a big affect on their experience in Sweden. Cliques have formed, and people even have names for their accommodation. For example, Vilhelmsro calls themselves "VCrew," and one guy even got a tattoo of their "logo." The people in Furan used the Superman logo and put an F instead of an S. Observing this, we in delta had to come up with a cool name too and came up with "Delta Force." If you check out my Tallinn pics you will see that we put our logo on the back of our white t-shirts. People living in Bäckadal think they are the funnest group. They are fun and awesome people, but not very diverse (mostly French).
For me, living in Delta has been the best experience for me. We are not just really close friends, but more like a family....even fight like one (Friday night there was a big argument about Josete being too loud, was intense at the time but the next day we all made up). Whenver I am at the University or at a night club, I talk to everyone, but when I come home, its nice to have their company. Okay, that is my Delta speech, hope you liked it. :)
Finally, check out the picture of the university on this blog page. Together the Engineering School and JIBS (Jonkoping International Business School) are shaped like a key...symbolizing that the university is the "key to the city."
Friday, November 26, 2010
A Swedish Thanksgiving
Spending time with my "overseas" family was a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving, even though I miss family/friends/old traditions back home. But hey, I'm in Sweden, so I had to do something different. There was about 13 of us, and we all made something different, something that represented our culture, and combined them for one awesome dinner. Shots of Jager from Boris, the German, started it off.....then we had my green bean casserole (turned out excellent!), Chili from Tyler and his friend, Salad, sausage and a typical cake from Slovenia, Quiche from the Dutch girls, Ratatouille and some wine from the French, Goulash soup from the Hungarian, and finally Tiramisu from the Italians...Translated, tiramisu literally means "pull me up"....which I heard the story at least 3 times while eating. Overall it was a great meal, but would have been better if we had more room to maneuver. 13 people jammed in a tight corridor was tough.
If you are wondering why the facebook event for this was called "First Annual Marc Sucks Feast in Sweden," you can blame Tyler, the Canadian roommate, lol. He didn't want to call it Thanksgiving because in Canada, its in October. So after I made him an administrator for the event to invite more people, and he hijacked it.....removing me as an admin., changing the picture and posting "I've got the Power" on my wall. We had a good laugh.
Australian culture day was on Wednesday, and was fun hanging out in the Student Haus. After trying some Australian snacks, we went outside in the snow and kicked the football around (Australian football, that is). One of the Sarah's from Australia that I talked to said that this was an accurate representation of Australian people....if thats the case, then I would like to visit Aussies in their home territory one day.
If you are wondering why the facebook event for this was called "First Annual Marc Sucks Feast in Sweden," you can blame Tyler, the Canadian roommate, lol. He didn't want to call it Thanksgiving because in Canada, its in October. So after I made him an administrator for the event to invite more people, and he hijacked it.....removing me as an admin., changing the picture and posting "I've got the Power" on my wall. We had a good laugh.
Australian culture day was on Wednesday, and was fun hanging out in the Student Haus. After trying some Australian snacks, we went outside in the snow and kicked the football around (Australian football, that is). One of the Sarah's from Australia that I talked to said that this was an accurate representation of Australian people....if thats the case, then I would like to visit Aussies in their home territory one day.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
what a week
Here was my past week in Sweden:
During the week, Tallinn Cruise: We took a bus ride to Stockholm, and then left for an overnight trip to Estonia. The first night there was a dinner buffet with unlimited food and alcohol for two hours: lets just say that Jonkoping was the loudest school there. Party at night (was okay), then we arrived in Tallinn, Estonia at 10AM. At 12:15 I proceeded to wake everyone up, which was dificult, lol for obvious reasons. Our first impression of the city was that it was dirty, depressing, and just overall not very cool. This was just by the boat docks, because once we arrived at the
This past weekend: Friday night just stayed in and watched a movie ;) and last night we did our normal trip to Huset after a birthday party on the 5th floor. Was a fun weekend, but during the week was better.
-The weather is getting colder (obviously) and has been snowing more often. Also, the main street is lined with lights overhead, which makes it look awesome at night. Unfortunately night begins at 4pm.
-Initiation is going on back home for Beta Theta Pi. I can't wait to meet the new brothers of my chapter. Which is actually coming up too soon. Just about a month away until this whole process is over!! :( I cannot say goodbye to this just yet, and will probably shed a few tears when the time comes.
Things I'm looking forward to:
-Thanksgiving is this thursday. Need to represent the USA on this one.
-James Jarman and Victor visiting me in December
-Taking 3 finals....just kidding! not looking forward to this one.
-Kiruna trip. There's 9 of us going, and after calling a few audibles, we finally have the plans set. We are flying there on saturday (no 24 hour train ride), taking a doglsed tour in the evening to see the Northern Lights. Sunday we are taking a 6 hour snowmobile tour to the ICE Hotel (which we will see under construction), and monday we are getting a tour of the iron mine, which is the largest underground mine in the world. I'm really excited for this, but need to do school work in the mean time. Hej då!
During the week, Tallinn Cruise: We took a bus ride to Stockholm, and then left for an overnight trip to Estonia. The first night there was a dinner buffet with unlimited food and alcohol for two hours: lets just say that Jonkoping was the loudest school there. Party at night (was okay), then we arrived in Tallinn, Estonia at 10AM. At 12:15 I proceeded to wake everyone up, which was dificult, lol for obvious reasons. Our first impression of the city was that it was dirty, depressing, and just overall not very cool. This was just by the boat docks, because once we arrived at the
This past weekend: Friday night just stayed in and watched a movie ;) and last night we did our normal trip to Huset after a birthday party on the 5th floor. Was a fun weekend, but during the week was better.
-The weather is getting colder (obviously) and has been snowing more often. Also, the main street is lined with lights overhead, which makes it look awesome at night. Unfortunately night begins at 4pm.
-Initiation is going on back home for Beta Theta Pi. I can't wait to meet the new brothers of my chapter. Which is actually coming up too soon. Just about a month away until this whole process is over!! :( I cannot say goodbye to this just yet, and will probably shed a few tears when the time comes.
Things I'm looking forward to:
-Thanksgiving is this thursday. Need to represent the USA on this one.
-James Jarman and Victor visiting me in December
-Taking 3 finals....just kidding! not looking forward to this one.
-Kiruna trip. There's 9 of us going, and after calling a few audibles, we finally have the plans set. We are flying there on saturday (no 24 hour train ride), taking a doglsed tour in the evening to see the Northern Lights. Sunday we are taking a 6 hour snowmobile tour to the ICE Hotel (which we will see under construction), and monday we are getting a tour of the iron mine, which is the largest underground mine in the world. I'm really excited for this, but need to do school work in the mean time. Hej då!
Monday, November 15, 2010
22nd birthday
hej, thank you all for the birthday wishes. It was cool having friends from different countries write "happy birthday" in a bunch of different languages on my wall. Also, I miss back home, and even though its been the best time of my life over here...I know I have to get back to "reality" sometime, lol. My birthday night was fun, supposedly everyone counted down to midnight and yelled HAPPY BIRTHDAY, and I hugged everyone. Sunday, about 12 of us went to a pizza place for a bday dinner, and I ordered the Kabob Pizza (looked bad, but tasted phennomenal). No cake, but it doesn't matter to me because whats important is the company.
Today was pretty busy. We spray painted white t-shirts for the Tallinn cruise, which is tomorrow!! We had stencils that said random things like "Team JKPG" and "I'd hit that" and we made our shirts unique. Should be fun, and we leave tomorrow!!
Also, today I had the opportunity to help a researcher in one of the materials and casting labs at the university. I helped in an experiemnt that basically heated a magnesium and aluminum mixture, cooled it down a little and poured out the "sloshy" mixture. Boring? a little bit. Was cool when some of the 600 degree celsius material missed the container and almost caught the floor on fire. Other than that, its just something to put on my resume. :)
I failed my Swedish Exam!!! I feel dumb, and now have to re-take it on December 3rd, right before the Kiruna trip. No pressure, though, because if I fail it again I don't get my minor in International Engineering.
Finally, I forgot this story: About a week ago, I got a haircut from a swedish guy who spoke literally no English. The only word he knew was "shorter?" After his boss translated my request, I sat there extremely nervous and watched closely the entire time. Turned out great though.
Today was pretty busy. We spray painted white t-shirts for the Tallinn cruise, which is tomorrow!! We had stencils that said random things like "Team JKPG" and "I'd hit that" and we made our shirts unique. Should be fun, and we leave tomorrow!!
Also, today I had the opportunity to help a researcher in one of the materials and casting labs at the university. I helped in an experiemnt that basically heated a magnesium and aluminum mixture, cooled it down a little and poured out the "sloshy" mixture. Boring? a little bit. Was cool when some of the 600 degree celsius material missed the container and almost caught the floor on fire. Other than that, its just something to put on my resume. :)
I failed my Swedish Exam!!! I feel dumb, and now have to re-take it on December 3rd, right before the Kiruna trip. No pressure, though, because if I fail it again I don't get my minor in International Engineering.
Finally, I forgot this story: About a week ago, I got a haircut from a swedish guy who spoke literally no English. The only word he knew was "shorter?" After his boss translated my request, I sat there extremely nervous and watched closely the entire time. Turned out great though.
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