Sweden

Back by popular demand in Sweden...The Sun! It has been sunny and warm here the past few days so I got a chance to do a little exploring.

The coast of Sweden is littered with thousands of rocky islands. Many people live on these islands or at least have summer homes on them. I took a day trip with some other international students to the islands closest to Gothenburg. These islands are unique in that there are no cars. All the roads are narrow and people get around on bikes or these cool motorcycles/tricycles.

Here is one of the many small island harbors.

I like this garden fountain. Heavenly.

This house is a common example. Bright colors, green yard, and chairs out front.

Here are a couple of the people I went with: James from Cal Poly and Ian from Queens University in Belfast. Mmmmmm lunch.

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Since the weekend sun continued into the week I took some more pictures of where I live.

Here is my building.

Exciting, I know. Notice all the bikes. It is rare for a student to have a car here. People of all ages ride bikes. They ACTUALLY obey all trafic laws too. Crazy!

Here is my living room, AKA the only room I have.

Notice the blankets/furniture covers. The sandpaper blankets that came with my apartment are just slightly softer than the steel wool couches. I know the walls are blank, I am working on it.

Here is my office/kitchen/bedroom.

Around the corner to the left is a minifridge, two burner stove, minioven and tiny sink. This place is actually really big for a student apartment. Other people have only enough room for a bed and desk.

Since I am on the topic of buildings, here are some more buildings on campus that I like:

I almost forgot. One perk of where I live is the park I cross to get to school. Here is the path I walk every morning.

I talked to a professor today about possible masters thesis work. Looks like I might be developing a remote controlled SAAB...

This is my first contact with the outside world since I first landed here in Göteborg Sweden on August 22nd. In an effort to keep my fan club updated on my latest adventures I will try and add to this blog frequently. I am not one for wordy entries so my blogs will be mostly pictures.

Before I talk about Sweden check this out:

It's an ipod vending machine at San Francisco International airport. No Joke! This thing was full of every ipod product and accessory. Right next to it was the cell phone vending machine. There was even a line of asian tourists waiting to use the machines.

After flying through London and getting super searched I landed in Sweden. Raining! How fitting. I remember it as a rainy place and the memories came flooding back.

I spent my first 8 days in Sweden sleeping on my friend Mattias' floor while I looked for my own place. The university finds housing for exchange students but not masters students. Crap! After numerous, emails, calls, and appartment visits I still had nothing. I went to the offices of a housing management company and asked for help. They said use their webpage. I said it's no help and continued to give them my sob story until they offered me an appartment right on the spot! I now have a furnished studio appartment near the university with all utilities included for $540 a month. Most Swedish students don't believe I live in this building because the waiting list on the internet is around 3 years. I just got lucky I guess. A huge perk of this building is the pool on the first floor and the bar on the second. The best part is the bucket on a pulley between the bar and the pool. Hoist money to the bar, down comes beer! I'll get some picture of the setup later.

About the title: I have been sick for the majority of my time here. I am finally getting over a bad cold. Many international students are sick right now. Damn Swedish germs!

Ok, too much typing, back to the pictures.

Here is the view south from my balcony. Typical Swedish countryside. I am one mile from school and about 3 miles from downtown.

Here is the view north from my roof. This neighborhood is mostly students.

Classes have just started and should be good. I am currently talking to numerous professors about possible masters thesis work. I will hopefully have the masters degree in automotive engineering by June.

Here is popular lunch spot on campus. The building in the background is a restaurant. Much better food than anything on the calpoly campus.

The buildings on campus and all over the country for that matter are very cool to me. Sweden is very modern and stylish in every aspect. Check out the electrical engineering building.

Glass is heavily used in Sweden. I am guessing because of the limited light for the majority of the year. People here rairly have hats or sunglasses on, even on sunny days.

I hope this guy is not serious.
Bikes are very expensive in Sweden.

There has been no shortage of social events in the past couple weeks. I have been meeting tons of people daily. So far I have been hanging out with mostly people from english speaking countries. There are a few Americans, English, Irish, and Australians. We have a great time making fun of everyone else. They make fun of us too. Even the mayor gave a speech last night and made a crack about Americans. It's all in good fun.

I will post more pictues of where I live and who I hang out with soon.

Until then...

skål (Swedish for Cheers if you couldn't guess)