SwedenInTouch

S-U-B-M-I-T-T-E-D

Olivia Biermann — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:03:02 GMT

Hej allihopa,

the last couple of weeks I forgot about so many things going on around me including my swedenintouch-blog.

It's been an exciting time because I was finishing the work on my master thesis. I sent in the first complete draft to my super supervisor around three weeks ago, which he commented on with "you're almost done". Super cool!! I expected all kinds of comments from "you have to re-write (everything)" to... I don't know... but not the almost-done-thing. So that was great!

Thus, I didn't have a bad conscience really when I started my journey to Berlin and home (which is close to Hannover in Germany). I had planned that trip long in advance actually because I hadn't been home since Christmas and now my Mama's birthday was coming up. I went with Antonio and I showed him around in Berlin (where I lived before coming to Stockholm) and in Löhne, my tiny hometown. It was sooo niiiice being home.

When I came back there was one week left to work on the thesis. As before, I spent every day in the library. Sounds super.. boring?!? But I think I also enjoyed it. It's been a cool experience working with my own data and I was never really stressed during the whole thesis-writing thing. It's just that kind of work that you can't finish quickly obviously, but working a bit on it every day, you also see progress and that is motivating.

Even better once it's finished! Can you imagine my relief? The whole thing started with my supervisor asking me if I spoke Spanish in November 2011, getting to know the project in theory, decision to go there, (mental) preparations and the first meeting with the founder of the NGO, a lot of organizational stuff for the project, the time in Ecuador, and then writing it down...

Now I'm just trying to digest that all this happened - so fast. Next week on Friday (25th), I'll have my thesis defense. 16-17 o'clock, if you wanna come. Graduation is on the 31st.

The next chapter is soon gonna start and I have already made Plan A, Plan B, C, D, ... Let's see - but anyway, I'm planning on staying here in Stockholm.

Migrationsverket - residence permit extension

Ivana Komatina — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:04:37 GMT

First of all: I am typing this post from my phone. Expect typos, strange fonts, inappropriate pictures and so on.

Now for the big news!

After ONLY 14 (letters: fourteen) days I have received my residence permit extension from Migrationsverket. It is unbelievable!!! First time I had to wait 3 months, next one was done in 4 or 5 and now this in just two weeks. I couldn't be happier. I even screamed today - only for a second, but I did.

If you are a student in Sweden and you are extending the permit I have only one advice: ask your coordinator, supervisor or whomever to write you a document stating the dates.

At the webpage it is written that you need confirmation about the grades and enrollment. Since I was prolonging my work on the thesis, I asked for this extra piece of paper saying what happened to my studies.

Apparently it worked as a charm and I got papers in no time. I do know some other people still waiting for this decision, after quite a while.

Other than this happy news, I don't have much to say. Weather is Gothenburg crazy: sun then rain, school is full of future architects getting prepared for the final exhibition and I love my friends. Normal, happy, student life - at least this week.

I went to get some tan on 10 degrees. That is what Sweden does to a person – a Brazilian girl and I thought it was warm enough to sunbathe. I guess you can call us “hungry for summer”

It is the final week of master thesis work and everybody is working 24/7. If you have time pay a quick visit to the Lightgarden in the A-building. There are many exhibitions going on and competitions. And from 23 there will also be final thesis presentations. I will try to post the programme and pictures, since I am helping to organize everything anyway.

Go Sweden!

Chesna Corday — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:56:18 GMT

I've been watching BBC World News a lot lately and all im hearing and seeing is bombing in countries, an air plane crash, Eurozone problems etc.. etc.. And then Sweden comes in saying "We have a website where people all over the world share photographs of their daily lifes and were they live" LoL! Go Sweden.. Go You.

KI Students at WoHIT 2012 Conference

Elena Eftimovska — Sun, 13 May 2012 08:49:43 GMT

KI master students in Health Informatics from year one and two had a unique opportunity to volunteer in one of the major events in the field of health informatics in Europe – World of Health IT (WOHIT) Conference that was held in Copenhagen 7-9 May 2012.

Delegation of eight students from Karolinska Institutet together with fellow students from several universities in Europe: University of Copenhagen , Tallinn University , University of Gothenburg , Aalborg University Denmark and ESADE Business School volunteered at the conference using the exclusive opportunity to network, attend education sessions, obtain contacts of future job leads and explore the latest products at the Health IT market.

This concept of volunteering on the conferences enables students to reach important professional contacts and stay informed with the latest trends in the industry or to see practical implementation of what they study. The event had over 106 world class exhibitors with new product launches, educational sessions, interoperability demonstrations and high level eHealth conference taking part in parallel. Especially interesting was the mHealth Symposium with educational sessions offering intensive knowledge exchange, cutting-edge smartphone applications in use and international best practices in mHealth that go out of the hospital and into patient’s pocket.

My personal favorite was the demonstration of so-called Patientville – connecting the patient journey from emergency - through all stakeholders - to his home with eHealth solutions. A demonstration of the all the systems such as prehospital patient journal, live videoconferencing system between the ER and the ambulance on field, to hospitals information systems, to ePrescriptions to virtual rehabilitations with Microsoft Kinect camera in patients home. A very effective way of presenting how eHealth solutions can enrich and reconnect health care on different levels.

When given the chance to participate one has to use the time wisely.

Here are some tips for successful professional and academic networking:

Feel free to approach speakers and companies and show your interest/knowledge and curiosity in the field of health informatics. The discussion you bring on the table is much richer than the one from other visitors only interested in “price and discounts”.
Have business cards ready. Electronic or simple plain paper ones will do the trick J You might be talking to your next employer.
Ask companies with interesting products or academic speakers to visit your university and give a lecture. My fellow students from year one arranged a lecture like this in just 2 days post conference J Great move!

And finally students should have a place to share all the info and important events, grants, job postings or funding opportunities. We use our facebook page for that purpose with the moto – “Let us help each other, sharing is caring!”

Elena

http://www.swedenintouch.se/Elena-Eftimovska/

Mummy Love

Beckie Francis — Sat, 12 May 2012 21:50:56 GMT

May 13th is Mothers Day. Not here in Sweden, but in my home country and many more countries around the world. Although I will not be with my own mother, there are many life lessons that she and other mothers have instilled in me. These lessons have become principles that guide me in both my academic and personal life.

Don't Procrastinate:

A line from Benjamin Franklin, "Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.” Procrastination has been a close friend of mine. Together we have had good times but we have had even more unpleasant times. Although I am getting better with my time management a few recent instances have once again shown me the importance of getting things done in a timely fashion. Tomorrow is promised to noone and you never know what can happen. If something needs to be done, do it and do it now.

Press On:

Never give up. Setbacks will arise and obstacles will come your way but never lose sight of your goals. You may have to take a detour to reach your final destination but the key point is reaching it. Everything will come to pass in due time. Remain positive and press on.

Never Stop Praying:

I was raised in the church and prayer is a pillar in my life. As children growing up, we were always encouraged to say our prayers on a daily basis. Even now when I speak with my parents they remind me to thank God for my blessings. For me, prayer is the key that opens door and will remain with me always.

~B. Francis

https://www.swedenintouch.se/Beckie-Francis/

Göteborgsvarvet - the world's largest half marathon

Ivana Komatina — Sat, 12 May 2012 14:28:33 GMT

Hello,

How do you feel about running 21km around the city?

Today it is the half marathon day in Göteborg. Starting from Slottsskogsvallen to Hisingen island and back, over the Götaälvbron, through Avenyn and Vasa (where I saw it) and then back to the starting point in Slottsskogsvallen. I am not a fan of running, but there must be something in it since 59 000 runners registered for this. I didn't really plan to see the event, but since I was in the city early this morning I just got caught up with everything. As you can see on the pictures (sorry for the quality, it is very cloudy today and my phone is not happy) there were a lot of people cheering and just looking at the runners. But there where also a lot of stands and companies promoting themselves. Like this yogurth I got while walking past, and that I adore - from the bottle to the taste.

So, here are pictures, starting from Götaplatsen towards Kungsportsplatsen and Brunnsparken. It is the exact opposite of how I was walking.

Music stand at Valand

I wonder how long it lasts, since the traffic is stopped till 19 today. Last year, a runner from Kenya finished it in an hour or so - amazing!

Let us see what will happen this year.

Soo...

Chesna Corday — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:41:52 GMT

Going to start learning a word a day in Swedish and see how well that goes..

So This is Ikea

Beckie Francis — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:13:52 GMT

Sweden: home to H&M, Volvo, The Pirate Bay, Absolut Vodka, Spotify and also guest home to Skype and Sony-Ericsson. Another popular brand with roots in Sweden is none other than Ikea, the home goods store known to many near and far. Prior to my arrival in Sweden I had heard my share of reviews about Ikea. My first recollection of Ikea was many years ago from an Aunt while visiting the U.K.. I thought nothing of it, but little did I know that it was to be the beginning of many more Ikea associations. In both the U.S. and the U.K. many have raved about the magnificence that is Ikea. I remember a couple of years ago when I was looking to rent a flat in England. While searching I noticed that quite a few of the 'for lease' advertisement signs highlighted the fact that the apartments came with Ikea furniture. Apparently having Ikea furniture was a big selling point but of course to me it held absolutely no value.

Despite hearing so much, before coming to Sweden I had never before stepped foot in Ikea. As such, when the opportunity presented itself for me to visit Ikea, I simply couldn't pass it up. The closest Ikea to Skovde is in Jonkoping. It's about 45 minutes to an hour away I think, to be honest I don't remember how long the journey took. I've always been the type of person to shy away from what is hip or popular at the moment. If people are raving about a movie for example, and insisting that I should watch it then I tend to do the opposite. Simply because usually when someone hypes something up so much I set my expectations really high and expect nothing but the best. As such I was expecting nothing but the best from Ikea. I arrived at Ikea with a Swedish mate of mine, who acted as my 'Ikea tour guide' (smiles). She explained to me the layout, how things worked and then took me around the store. Now for me I didn't get any fireworks, see any dancing fish or even get to shake hands with the royal family of Sweden. With the way people raved about Ikea I was expecting all of these things to happen, or at least something along those levels. Instead what I found was...a furniture store. Yes, many of the furniture pieces are space-efficient and they come in nice, modern, bright colours but still it's just furniture. To be honest I don't know why I expected anything different. I think maybe if I was actually buying something it would have been better. Really though I think it's just that I had really high expectations. One thing that I was impressed with was the Kanebullars for 5 SEK (smiles) I mean that's pretty cheap, at least I thought so. Now although Ikea, didn't exactly tickle my fancy at least I can now say that I have been. I mean to come to Sweden and not got to Ikea is something you simply just don't do!

~B. Francis

https://www.swedenintouch.se/Beckie-Francis/

Aqaba and Wadi Rum in Jordan

Saleh Qutaishat — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:24:37 GMT

Aqaba and Wadi Rum in Jordan are sunny warm wonders.

On Friday, 11 May, 2012, I'll be at wadi Rum and Aqaba. My trip will start from Amman at six o'clock in the early morning.

Please enjoy the scene by following the following two links:

http://vimeo.com/34838125

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnGsIkG0F2Y

Dr. Saleh qutaishat. Petra University at Amman, Jordan.

Don't leave us!

Sarah Berglind — Thu, 10 May 2012 09:19:54 GMT

Our region has a lot of offer both during your study time and afterwards. Instead of moving home consider staying to work and enjoy all that Dalarna and Sweden has to offer:

Read about other people's experiences of moving to Dalarna and get advice on how to do the same at http://dalarna.se/PageFiles/2599/Of%20Dalarna%202012%20engl.pdf

The general webpage of Move to Dalarna is http://dalarna.se/en/

Short visit to Rosendal

Ivana Komatina — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:06:48 GMT

Picture post!

A friend from Spain is staying at my place which makes it completely impossible to do my usual "hanging next to a computer all the time" stuff. But since he is still sleeping I have some extra time to upload the pictures from yesterday. We went to Härlanda Tjärn in Rosendal and of course I didn't take my camera, but my phone is always there. And as you can see I cannot stop using Instagram.

I was also in a summer mood, with the two flowers from H&M

Last, but not least - I finally got a chance to see student housing in this area.

There is a relatively big number of yellow, 2 or 3 stories high buildings at Rosendal. The area itself has playgrounds for kids, barbecue and sport terrains. Directly from it you can go to the lake and access running paths that surround it. There are also some gardening plots to rent nearby.

The only negative thing I can say is the distance and fact you have only one bus (number 17) that connects you with the rest of the city. It is a good connection, but during the night I am not sure how it works. Still, if you are searching for a place to live don't overlook Rosendal. It may not be a party campus, but you will get to enjoy the best of Swedish nature just 5 minutes away from your home.

Warm hugs,

Ivana

Walpurgis

Sushmitha Sathiyamoorthy — Sun, 06 May 2012 12:28:35 GMT

The arrival of spring is celebrated in Sweden as the Walpurgis night on the 30th April, which is the eve of the Walburga's eve on the 1st May.Nearly all choral singers get together to welcome the spring on this very day. Bonfires are lit on hilltops and a number of people gather around the bonfire wearing caps resembling the ones the high school graduates wear on this evening.

Bonfire at Skansen.

Uppsala has a whole day of celebrations to welcome the spring with lots of parties, boat race and what not. Unfortunately since i couldn't make it Uppsala for the same, i decided to go to Skansen to see the celebrations.

Skansen has free entry for students on this day and you can see the bonfire and the several concerts performed by the local choral singing groups.

And spring is indeed here! (Though its still cold for me! ) :P The cherry blossoms around the city is an enchanting sight!

Hope your weekend was great! See you all in my next blog post.

sunny may

Arieni Lestari Putri — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:23:37 GMT

Hello everyone..!!

It's May already, yaaayyyy !! Spring (or Summer?) is in the aiirrr..and Sweden on this season is the best !! People always put a smile on their faces on this season :) Yess sure, they did ! Because during the winter, the weather just so cold and it makes u don't even want to meet people outside, all u want to do is stay at home and have a warm cup of coffee or tea. And now on spring, the sun is shining warmly, and the grass started to green and it makes people really happy, yess realyy really happy :))))

And for the last three day the sun shined very very warm (*or even hot?) in Gothenburg. I guess it's around 14-20 degrees with less wind. Many people start to took off their jacket and even use their short pants and sandals, and again, put a smile on their faces :)

So, today me and some of my friend (who finally met at school while rushing in our own stuff and thesis aaaarrrggggghhhh) decided to have lunch outside on the grass. And as expected, many many many people also thought the same with us.

So here it is, the view in front of my building during lunch today...

It is really beautiful, fun and again, makes us HAPPY :)

I hope tomorrow the sun will shine brightly and warmly again :)

Regards,

Arieni

There's Just Something About That Wagon

Beckie Francis — Thu, 03 May 2012 07:44:16 GMT

I love cars! There is something about the sleekness of a well-designed car, that makes me go ooh la la! Back in the day when I was at university (as if that was so long ago right?) I use to study cars. I had a car magazine that I kept with me at all the times. When I wasn't busy I would pull out the magazine and study the cars.....the specs, prices, makes, models, I knew them all. I even took a photography course and my final project looked at what you could tell about a person by the type of car that they drove.

Porsche Cayenne, a thing of beauty!

Now coming to Sweden, I have of course have kept my eye on the cars. One thing I have noticed is that all the cars are of a similar style. Ok, maybe not all but if you have twelve cars in the car park, approximately ten of them will be a version of the station wagon. Seriously.

All variations of a station wagon.

A fondness for wagons.

There's just something about that wagon.

The Swedish sure do love their station wagons. In the United States there is more of a preference for larger vehicles like SUVs, which to be quite frank are really just larger, better looking station wagons of a sort. It makes sense though since everything in the States is bigger including the cars and the roads. Therefore there is ample space to maneuver your large vehicle through the wider roads. In the U.K. everything is quite the opposite and so the cars and the roads are fairly smaller. I'm not quite certain about the popularity of station wagons here in Sweden though. Perhaps their large cabin area provides for ample space to transport things or perhaps it's a cultural thing and you just follow the crowd because, well because that's what you do. After all Sweden is the birth place of Volvo. Whatever the reason is station wagons definitely run things here in Sweden.

~B. Francis

https://www.swedenintouch.se/Beckie-Francis/

Excitement in Sweden

Beckie Francis — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:30:54 GMT

On Friday as I returned to my place, I was met by a crowd of people standing in the pouring rain outside an apartment building. There was a mixed crowd - male and female, young and old, along with an ambulance, fire truck and a police vehicle.

As the rain was beginning to fall heavier and the people started to scatter

The location of the fire, with the doors and windows wide open

Unfortunately for this individual, the start of the weekend was ushered in with a fire of sorts. To my knowledge noone was hurt, thank God. There was possibly alot of smoke with a lingering smell because the door and windows were open and remained open for the next couple of days. Judging by the number of people I saw standing outside after the fire had chiefly passed I am under the impression that this was also excitement for them. Skövde is a quiet town and I can't recall when, if ever, I have heard sirens of any sort. The complete opposite of where I've lived before. There you would hear sirens wailing on a consistent basis. I also know I am lacking serious excitement because I just wrote a whole post about a fire that has absolutely no relevance to me. Yep, it's definitely time for me to get out more and create my own fun (smiles).

~B. Francis

https://www.swedenintouch.se/Beckie-Francis/