I am a universtity student (all but dissertation),major in English Language and Anglo-American Literature in the North of Italy. In a few months I might have the chance to go to Sweden and teach English and Italian in elementary, middle and high school. My destination could be the village of Liden, in Sundsvall Kommun. I know it's about 50 km from the town of Sundsvall.
1. Would you be so kind as to give me more info about bus or train transportation from Liden to Sundsvall? I enjoy nature, beautiful and peaceful environments, such as Liden, but I would also like to know weather communting to and fro' every day from Liden to Sundsvall is possible and comfortable enough or not. I'm asking that because other than teaching in Liden I would also like to attend some univerisity classes at Sundsvall University.
2. Although I of course want to learn Swedish, my question is: would I get along well enough without knowing Swedish, at the beginning at least? I mean, do people who live in Liden speak some English or German?
If there's anything you would or would not recommand about moving to Liden for a few months, please let me know. that would be of so much help.
Reply to this Hi, about question number 2 don't worry, most if not all Swedish people speak English so everyday living will not be difficult. About question number 1 I found a website which is also available in English (so they won't edit the link I write it as this) it is called "dintur.se" and it is searchable both with names and by map. Checking it out there are 6-7 connections a day, it takes 1 hour 10 min and cost 73 kronor (about 7 Euro). It will be a modern comfortable bus, I am sure. I come from this area of Sweden, if you like nature then you are sure to enjoy it, though Liden is probably a very small place (I haven't visited myself). Sundsvall is a medium size town with everything you would need and there is a fast train connection with Stockholm and an airport. I think it will be a great experience for you. The only negative thing may be that there won't be many things to do in Liden in the evenings, probably there won't even be a cafeteria there. But I expect your colleagues will be friendly and invite you to various events. There may also be various local stuff like gym class, soccer team etc. Best time of the year will be Spring if you can choose, Autumn is rather dark and depressing.
Will be interesting to hear what you think of our part of the world.
Reply to this Hi there!
thank you so much for your timely response. Very kind of you. I checked that durintur website out, very helpful indeed. Travel fares, schedules and duration are ok, especially if I want to take the bus to Sundsvall twice or three times a week. About nightlife, well, not having many things to do in the evenings doesn't bother me much. Besides, what you mentioned is exactly what i hope, that is, getting involved with local activities and being invited to events by collegues and stuff like that. I hope that will happen. As for the season, I was actually planning on going in Spring, so, as you suggest, that would really be the perfect time, I guess. One more thing I'd like to inquire and it's about where to stay. My plan was to wait until I get in touch with school collegues there and see what they suggest. I wonder whether it will be easy to find something cheap, like a room and a shared kitchen in some apartment maybe, but i don't think that will be the case there. In Italy, very small villages like Liden only occasionally have rooms for rent. But that's just an Italian example. Maybe someone will give me a room for rent in their own house?? I don't know how that works there... Would you, on the contrary, suggest that I share an apartment with other students in Sundsvall and commute every day to Liden? I figured that might be too expensive and I would end up not fitting neither in one place nor in the other one, if you know what i mean.
I will know if I pass the final selection for this job position in a couple of days...If i win the position and if you want, i'll keep you updated about this potential adventure of mine. Meanwhile, if you need info about my area, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, let me know. I'll be glad to help. Thank you again for your time and kindness.
Reply to this Dear Francesca, difficult to advice on where to live because it will depend on how many hours you will teach and how demanding your university course will be. I think in Liden you should be able to stay in a room in someones house, this is often possible. The school should be able to help and find something, I don't think it will be a problem in a small place like this. In Sundsvall there should be student accomodation available. But I think maybe better to stay in Liden, if you don't like it you could move to Sundsvall later, or maybe somewhere in between but as you say that may mean that you don't fit inanywhere.
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