Karlskrona Part 1 – 1st week Aug 23 to Aug 29th

For photos of the landscape around here, follow the link in the previous post.
Here are some early photos (I haven't been shooting around that much, will gather more):
http://picasaweb.google.com/105026054672533308619/ToAndInKarlskrona#

When I arrived in the apartment, the 1^st thing that struck me was the absence of curtains! My window is sort of in the inward corner of two buildings, there were people drinking at a table on the roof of the adjacent building and I was totally exposed!! The shower had a curtain so I put it on the window for some privacy! Hehe, it’s white with coloured balloons on it. Next, nothing to cook and wash with, no internet cable (thought it would be wireless but nope!). All that was dealt with more or less quickly. Funny things: the light buttons work upside down, opposed to wherever I’ve been before. When you have 2 at the same place (for 2 lights) it took a while to actually understand which one to press... sort of mind-fuck for a few days!!

Enough about domestic stuff! I’m in ‘down town’ Trosso, just next to the ferry terminal to Aspo, an island nearby where some people live – better watch out for sea level rise! I’m also at walking distance from the main square with lots of churches and ‘busy’ streets with shops, restaurants, cafes etc..., pretty sweet spot about 3km from the university. Roughly 30min walk.

Tuesday morning (Aug 24) I went to a ‘meet and greet’ session at uni to start meeting the group. We have a ‘learning lab’, a big room with couches, chairs, big whiteboard, a few tables, and boxes full of stuff from last year’s students everywhere (that all got organised later). So we all sat in a big circle and introduced ourselves. It was fascinating to hear about everyone’s background and story, there is a great diversity of people, from around 30 countries! The rest of the week was filled with social activities and other ‘meets and greets’ for the new arrives. Karaoke one night, drinks at the local sports bar another, bbq + night club another, etc... really cool. Stoked to have a few native Spanish speakers, I can finally pick it up again from what I can remember of the high school course! Need to get onto it more!! We also had a day at an ‘eco-farm’, more like a big vegetable garden where we helped out in weeding the place and prep cut grass for future plantations! Good fun getting our hands dirty.

Generally the people are really nice when you talk to them, without being overly enthusiastic. The younger crowd seems happier to put their English skills to use! In line with Sweden’s reputation, every second woman is a top model (will keep my eyes in good shape), I haven’t seen any sign of poverty, and everything is really clean! I can live here :D

Sunday 30^th a fellow countryman attending the course, Jovin, arrived and asked if he could couch-surf for a couple of nights. It was cool to speak a bit of mixed creol, French and English together! He came from Singapore, had worked in Europe before, and I was impressed with his background and achievements. Definitely motivating!!

I’ll gather some photos of people & activities from classmates and share them soon. Classes started Aug 30^th, details in future post ;)