Finally, a second entry!

---

So, in the tradition of procrastination, I am writing this belated second entry so I can put off school work for a bit today. A lot has happened in the last two weeks since I last wrote, most notably the welcome dinner for the international students, a couple parties, our trip to Örebro and my first two classes (Aspects of Sweden, and “Svenska som främmande språk”...Swedish as a foreign language).
In our first week here, we went to Arena and Nöjesfabriken, two clubs in Karlstad. There was also a sangria party in Potatisen, one of the student residences downtown. Apparently these are a somewhat regular occurrence, which would be nice considering its one of the only cost effective ways to drink here...for less than $10 Canadian, you could drink as much sangria as you wanted.
So my first day of class was last Wednesday, it was not what I was expecting at all. There is no textbook, no final written exam, and you didn’t have to take notes because the teacher just printed off the powerpoint slides for the class. We do have 3 different teachers for the course though, so maybe it will become more challenging when another one takes over? I also had my first Swedish lesson today. It will be much harder than my other courses, and I know I’m really going to have to work hard at it. I can now say (in Swedish) my name, where I am from, and what language I speak.
This past weekend we wanted to go to Ikea, so Ashley (another Canadian girl) and myself found that the closest one to us is a little over an hour bus ride away in Örebro. It just so happened that Alex, the Swedish guy on my floor was going to visit his brother in the same town so we took the bus with him and met up with his other brother. They then showed us around the city and a restaurant that had the best lasagne ever. We did make it to Ikea, it was about the same as home, although the one we went to was smaller and had less things. I’m not sure how easy the whole trip would have been without our Swedish interpreters.
So I just got back from the grocery store with Annika, a German girl who lives in the building beside mine. We ended up buying more food than we needed of course, so it was a long walk back. Now that I know what a lot of things are, it’s easier grocery shopping. Anyway, I am going to attempt to do some work now. Tomorrow we are going to a hockey game in Karlstad...everyone is looking forward to it...even me!!

---

Photos

Canadians at Potatisen Party
Gavin, Justin, Lindsay and myself at the sangria party

Potatisen Party
Annika, Ulrich, Reinhard, Lindsay and others at sangria party

Welcome Dinner
Ashley, Lindsay, Reinhard and me at the welcome dinner

Market in Örebro
This was exactly like the farmers markets back home (there were even those infomercial type products), but it was outside in the snow/cold and really busy on a Friday afternoon.

Comments

[Heather]

Loved the photos of you and your new friends and especially the buildings in Orebro!! I really liked the building by the water-it was beautiful.