Back to School

Getting back into the swing of Uni now. It's good having to have some form of structure to the week again. So the way the schedule at Uni works here is you focus more or less on one subject at a time, so at the moment I'm doing Swedish Politics in a Comparative Society and that's it! The contact time is only like 4 hours as well so it's a really relaxed lifestyle. 

The only thing I wonder with this structure, is if it give Swedes much of an opportunity to learn how to multi-task? Or does that type of stress go against their beliefs of what a healthy lifestyle and work/life balance is? I mean I hate the crunch at Uni where you are getting attacked by all four units at the same time but I still think it is good for you to be able to really knuckle down and pull through when you can...however, this is an exchange semester, so the more cruisey it is for me, the better!

A group of us ended up checking out the archipelago on Saturday which was lucky, a lot of us planned to do it on Sunday and the weather would have been awful for it! Was a nice day out but it's the countryside, a lot of nothing to do. Then again after all the nights out it was actually a nice change.

It was quite funny how the walking paths were just rocks embedded in muddy grass and some planks of wood and the path is indicated by a little blue dot on a rock every 100meters or so. I would be sure someone would have hurt themselves here before and back in Australia that would have prompted clear signage, a proper walking path and signs saying that you stray from the path at your own risk. It makes you feel like you get treated as a bunch of retards, really.

It is quite nice that you can access the rather large boats with a small cafeteria in them with your daily tram card/ticket. I would have expected to have to pay an extra fee for that. One thing I must say about the public transport here is that they put a fair bit of trust in you to do the right thing. I haven't once been checked to see if I had a valid ticket here in Gothenburg. 

I wonder how many people take advantage of it? Then again apparently if they do catch you it's a 2,000SEK fine (roughly $350) which is pretty hefty. However I remember in Perth when security wasn't so tight, daily commuters would risk not getting the ticket and even if they were caught once per week they still ended up around $20 better off than paying the fare.

(A calm change compared to one of two pub crawls in two consecutive nights)

I really am so grateful to be living here in Helmutsrogatan. I went to someone's apartment for pre-drinks in Olofshöjd and, damn, the place was almost like a prison. Tiny rooms with no kitchens or even a little fridge in them, around 18 people have to share a kitchen which is roughly the same size as the one I have in my room here. So unless you are eating out all the time then the place is almost unlivable. I guess at least they would be grateful for a place to live? There were some students who were still looking for a place to live when we were going through the University Inductions.

It's getting pretty exciting as a few people are already talking about trips to Oslo and some to Lapland and Russia. Looks like I'd better manage my time well since there obviously is not going to be much of it left over for studying. For now though, it's Swedish National Identity to go over. 

Let's do this! Pass with Distinction style!