Paul Georges . Alterego Construction

Left Skavsta this morning at 07h00 with Ryanair. The flight was great, everything went as planned. Hopped a bus from Girona to Barcelona, and here I am, in a Starbucks on La Rambla sipping on some green tea and posting to the blog. I’m going to keep this short and sweet because I need to get some sleep tonight; my cold still endures plus I woke up from my nap a while ago with an eye infection. The latter is taken care of, I got some drops. The cold, however, will only go away with rest. I spent my entire afternoon walking around Barcelona center and made my way up Montjuic where one can get an impressive view of this beautiful city. Barcelona is wonderful from every point of view. It’s different, it’s lively, it’s beautiful and it’s relatively cheap. I would kill to live here… all I need is to learn some Spanish (and Catalan) because, to my surprise, people don’t talk shit fuckall in English here. I’m off to either sleep or to do a bit of night photography! TONNES of pictures to come!

I’ll be leaving for Spain in 7 hours… I can’t wait! History, beaches, sunshine, architecture and nightlife! Wooooo! You know the feeling that one gets suddenly, the one that you feel like your bladder is going to explode from all the excitement and that you feel like you could take a piss for hours straight, well that just hit me now! Yayyyyyy! So cool!

I got to start packing… I tend to procastinate just a little bit. Once my bags are set and my room is all clean (I love coming home to a clean room) I’ll be ready to make my way to central station for my 04h00 bus transfer to Skavsta!

Next post shall be from Spain!

To Mom and Dad: have a great trip to Italy! Wish I could have been there with you guys… not to worry, you are going to have a wonderful time whether I’m around or not! Enjoy! Can’t wait to hear all about it!

The week proceeding my return from Denmark has been an excellent one. Time is flying by so quickly… I can’t believe I’ve already been in Sweden for over a month now.

This week I slept in every day; I’ve never been this lazy. Not to worry, I had plenty of time to study and to get out of the corridor and take advantage of the wonderful weather that Sweden has been offering us. Who would have ever expected that I would still be wearing shorts and sandals here up north in the month of September (clin d’oeil à tout ceux qui pensaient que j’étais fou de venir en Suède)! In spite of the fact that we are having Indian Summer here, my immune system still failed to block out the cold that has been going around here these passed weeks. Seems that no matter where I am on the globe, I can’t go without catching a cold around this time of year (I’m actually a bit early this time). Nothing that some green tea with honey and lemon can’t fix! I’m feeling much better already.

Wednesday Loïc, Dave, Silvia and I tried out the Kikkobar restaurant for some sushi. We ended up having the dinner buffet instead which happened to be quite cheap! We had some sushi as well. Dining out is great, beats pasta or pb&j any day!

Friday I had my second Programming Abstraction and Modelling test. The test was much less demanding than the suggested practice exercises so the turnout should be good. In the evening, Loïc put on a wicked fire juggling/devilstick/breathing show for a few of us in downtown Linköping near the river. I took advantage of the occasion to do some photography and practice my night exposures which is not an easy task; cameras can get a bit overwhelmed when they are suddenly forced to evaluate of huge flash of light coming from total darkness. Out of 276 shots a few came out quite well! Not too bad indeed! I’ll get them down even better next time! Below are a few of my faves, the rest can be found, as usual, on Flickr.

Saturday was another lazy morning. In the afternoon we played an alternate homebrewed version of ultimate frisbee which was lots of fun. That night there was a corridor party going on to celebrate 3 birthdays. The corridor was a disaster zone but was crowded with lots of friendly faces. The troup of determined soldiers made their way to HG afterwards to dance to some really cheesy disco music which the Swedes happen to love. Argh I can’t take much more of this crappy music.

Today I payed a visit to Nadia had to go to the hospital on Thursday because of some stomach aches she was having. Her stomache aches turned out to actually be a serious apendicitis and she had to be operated immediately. I went to the hospital on Friday to check up on her but the hospital workers did not allow me access to her room because I didn’t know her social ID number (give me a fucking break)! I was quite insulted but all is well that ends well; I got to see her today. Nadia, regardless of the pain she was having, still kept a wonderful smile and didn’t shy to tell jokes and have a laugh. Je t’admire vraiment Nadia… on va te faire une grosse lasagne!

I left the sjukhus (hospital in Swedish) to join my host family as well as Kat for traditional Swedish dinner: real freshly made köttbullar! Damn were they ever good, I would have had more but I didn’t want to make an ass out of my Canadian self. Kat made some white fish salad which is also supposedly traditionally Swedish… after all she learned how to make it in her Nordic Culture class! Nordic Culture class. Why don’t I have that class? It basically consists of learning all about tradition Swedish history, food, drink, events, holidays and legends. The best part? 15 fucking ECTS credits. 15! That’s double my hardest class! I’m so jealous of you Kat! So supper with Teresia, Aner and Kat was great. Good food, some red wine, friendly faces and wonderful discussions.

So once again another great week to add to the books. Many more to come, that I’m quite sure of.

I’m a bit tardy on this post so I’ve already forgotten much of last weekend, hence the importance of blogging and taking pictures!

Our second day in Copenhagen was much more laid back than the first. We had already visited most of the downtown area except for the area near Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen’s amusement park par excellence. Near Tivoli lies the City Hall Square which is surrounded by buildings decorated with corporate advertisements: McDonald’s, Burger King, Sony, etc. On arrival at the square, circa 11h00 in the morning, the girls headed their own way on a quest for shooter glasses. Loïc and I walked around the several big places of the corner. We also briefly visited Christiansborg Palace. Afterwards we rested in one of Copenhagen’s peaceful parks. At 13h30 we had a rendez-vous with the girls at the square. We met there, had a bite to eat at BK (expensive as hell!) and then we decided to hit the road back to Sweden.

In conclusion, we had a wonderful weekend. Copenhagen rocks… I wasn’t sure I was really digging the place at first but it grew on me as the first day developped.

Working abroad in Copenhagen seems to be quite an interesting opportunity. From what I’ve seen at JobsInCopenhagen’s website, many imporant IT companies seem to be seeking english speakers to employ. Me! Pick me!

Last night we made our way into Denmark’s capital: the lively city of Copenhagen. Loïc and I met up with two Québécoises in Jonköping, a neighbouring city to Linköping, in order to pick them up and bring them along to Copenhagen with us. I was in charge of printing out the directions needed to get to Chantal and Sabrina’s place as well as those needed to get to the youth hostel once having crossed the 20 km bridge that links Denmark to Sweden. A simple task, yet I somehow screwed up. In the end, everything turned out fine thanks to maps on the road as well as a laptop with access to unprotected wireless internet connections reachable from Loïc’s relentless Twingo.

We are staying at the Sleep-In Heaven youth hostel. It’s located approximately 20 minutes away from downtown. It’s a relatively busy place, it’s quite colorful and it’s got a great friendly atmosphere. At the moment I’m sitting down on an orange couch, candles are lit on the table in front near my feet, some guys are playing pool behind me and others are taking a break and reading a newspaper on the couch in front of me. The temporary tenants of the hostel seem to come from all four corners of the planet, which is great.

Sleep is wonderful… I can sleep virtually anywhere! I’m staying in a 14 person dorm, which is quite hardcore. I got in around 4h00 in the morning yesterday after a quiet beer in a local pub and a late night photography session, I set up my bed and soon afterwards I found myself in dreamland.
This morning I awoke ready for breakfast buffet, which I had payed for on arrival last night. I was so excited… breakfast buffet! I was so disappointed when I found myself staring at a table with bread and coffee. Grrr I hate false advertising. I took advantage of the fact that it was a buffet to fill myself up for a long day’s walk. No matter how cheap the breakfast was, the girl working at the reception played Bright Eyes on the hostel’s sound system all morning so I couldn’t possibly be mad! I was really impressed with the hostel receptionists’ choice of music. It made the stay so much more enjoyable than it already was.

With our bellies full of bread and coffee we moved into the inner city of Copenhagen. We walked from 10h00 until 19h00… let me tell you that my feet felt like two slabs of raw meet when we got back to the hostel. However the trek was totally worth it. We visited the city’s main tourist attractions armed with our cameras at hand. From gardens and parks to churches and palaces, we did our best to sightsee what the city had to offer in the few hours that we had at our disposal. I think we succeeded quite well at discovering the city of Copenhagen considering that the metropolis englobes 1000 years of history.

One of the most impressive sights of the weekend was definately Christiania, Copenhagen’s independant sub-society of hippies and squatters. The small district houses approximately 800 people, has it’s own government and laws and is known for its popular Pusher Street where hash and weed are openly (more or less) sold. The district, colourful and blooming with creativity, is a beautifully rundown area encouraging openmindness. Vendor stands were present throughout the district, selling all kinds of things from beer to food to clothes to art. There were several expositions to see, most stimulating social awareness. Personally, I thought the quarter was a bit fucked up due to the fact that there were so many tourists (much as myself) walking around in the streets, sometimes with young kids. Christiania is a wierd place… not because of its people, not because of the drugs, not because of the graffitied ruins either. Christiania is kind of a paradox to me… strangely due to the fact that I found myself actually walking, much like all the other tourists, through the district which I would expect no tourists to be allowed to visit. Nevertheless, Christiania was one of the major highlights of the weekend. Below are the only pictures I have of the place. In fact, you’re all pretty lucky to actually see these; taking photographs within Christiania’s walls is strictly forbidden (for some very obvious reasons). Let me tell you that they let me know quite quickly that photography was looked down quite quickly: as I was snapping the last of these three photographs, 4 or 5 passerbys began screaming violently at me.

After our visit of freetown, we made our way back up to Sleep-In Heaven. I couldn’t wait to sink into the wonderful orange couch that I am currently squatting (which can be seen in the photographs of the hostel above). We had cheap pizza for supper tonight. I’m supprised I didn’t get food poisoning (yet)!

After supper Loïc and I headed out to grab a beer in a cute pub closeby. I would kill to have more places like this one in Québec City… it was absolutely perfect. Christmas lights illuminated the walls, the decoration was perfect, the floors and walls were tried and showed extensive history, the music they played was wonderful and set the tone perfectly. Great spot.

Afterwards the pub I went for a walk solo downtown. I made my way to Tivoli square. What I read about Copenhagen is most definately true… this city simply never sleeps. At first I was expecting to discover Stockholm for a second time… I’ve never been so wrong. I got downtown quite late and every hour that passed seemed to bring more people to the streets. People were screaming, laughing, dancing, singing, pissing, barfing in the streets. Seriously, I’ve never seen anything quite lke it; the vibe that this city exudes is beyond anything I’ve experienced before. More to come! Photos on Flickr!

Here are some confirmed travel dates:

Copenhagen (Denmark): 15 september - 17 september
Barcelona (Spain): 29 septermber - 4 october
Paris (France): 14 october - 21 october
Moscow/St.Petersburg (Russia): 31 october - 8 november

Wonderfulness! I always wanted to travel… this is my time…

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I’m a newly-assimilated Lost addict.

I’m half done season 1. My goal is to be ready for the kickoff of season 3 on the 27th of September!

So it’s been a while since the last entry. I’ve not been keeping my promises to post as often as I said I would. It keeps getting harder to keep up with this blog as time goes by but it remains one of my favourite activities to record my experiences. I would even say that recording my stay here in Sweden has become an obsession that is devouring me from the inside out. I sometimes feel like I will regret not taking enough pictures or not writing enough journal and blog entries. This experience that I’m living, I am alone to live. Nobody back home knows of my travels, of the people I’ve met, of the places I’ve been. If I don’t record this voyage correctly, my four months spent here may simply be lost time. That’s why the photos are so important… that’s why the blog is so important…

“Je sais que je vais avoir besoin de toi à mon retour… je crois que c’est l’étape de mon voyage qui me fait le plus peur. Ma vie chez moi est en pause, sur stop, rien bouge. Et moi j’ai tout simplement réussi à fuire du cadre pour quelques mois.”

Enough of the serious matters… Friday we had an amazing party at National Husset! Yeah yeah I know, it’s not a party if it happens everyday. Sincerely, things have been getting much more quiet lately, for me at least. Some people continue to go out every single night. I personally don’t see the point but I’m not one to judge. So Friday a bunch of exchange students got together for supper, organized by the ESN (Erasmus Student Network). Students needed tickets for this and I was too lazy to go get one and quite honestly I wasn’t all that interested in the supper. However, I knew that there was going to be an after party, which everyone was invited to. So whether or not students were at the supper, we all showed up at National Husset afterwards. Seems the supper was quite good so I ate crow; I’ll know for the next time. At the club that night, everyone was just so relaxed and care-free, everyone was dancing, the music was great (what a relief). From what I’ve been told, I’m a podium hog: that gives you an idea of what kind of mood I was in.

Saturday was Japanese hand bell choir accompanied by the best ice cream of my life. At 11h00 Loïc knocked on my window. I had just fallen asleep at 4h30 that morning while writing in my journal. Let’s just say it wasn’t the best sleep I’ve gotten but I was feeling fresh in the morning. The sun was shining, the day was planned, music and ice cream… great stuff. So down we went, all five of us, to Domkyrka for hand bell choir, which for the record, sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard beforehand. My stay in Sweden has been filled not only with new sights but also with new sounds. I don’t have the slightest clue of how to explain what the bell choir sounded like. Ulrike a CD of their’s… I’ll try rip a song off of it and post it up here. However, I can let you in on what the choir looked like. After the performanc, all the musicians, some students, others masters of the hand bell, were very eager to receive curious audience members who approached them to find out more about the group and their instruments.

See Flickr for more photographs of the Japanese hand bell choir.

After our visit to Domkyrka we headed down a few streets for ice cream. It must have been 14h30… and I hadn’t eaten lunch (or breakfast) yet. Ice cream is great for lunch: mango, blueberry and chocolate. My mouth is watering, I swear.

Sunday was an easy day as usual. SundÃ¥gs fika has been incrusted into our korridor tradition. Every weekend I gain 2 or 3 pounds from all the chocolate and pasteries. This weekend Camilla offered some delicious rich biscuits filled with halloncräm (raspberry cream) and Loïc, being the French chef that he is, made us some wonderful profiteroles (sweet golden fluffy balls filled with ice cream and topped with hot chocolate sauce). Make that 4 or 5 pounds per weekend… Jonathan, you better be ready to whip me into the best shape of my life when I get back at Christmas.

So Monday, back to school. I don’t go to any of my labs because I can get all my work done from home where I happen to be much more productive and concentrated. Without labs I normally have two hours of lectures per day, except for Wednesdays which are totally free.

Indian Summer is upon us. Yesterday I wore shorts and sandals to go to the Göta Kanal which is located in a neighbouring town called Berg (pronounced something like Barrié in Québécois French). I got there by bike; I was expected the trip to be approximately a half hour’s worth of pedalling or so. It took about an hour in the end. The sun was vicious and I was passing by fields of cows without any water. I was relieved to finally get to the canal and to immerse myself in the lake. I know nothing of the Göta Kanal except that it is used to bring boats from point A to point B… I’m not conscient of its history whatsoever. I didn’t take the time… all I wanted to do was take a dip and shoot some photographs. Just my luck; the water was freezing and my batteries died upon arrival at the canals. It was worth the trek anyways, I got to chill out on the beach, talk to some friendly Germans, admire the view and get some shots, very few. If the weather remains as it is lately, I will definately get another chance to go swimming there.

Scholarship just came in!

06 SEP 2006 | Paie /UNIVERSITE LAVAL | 3 783.00

Cha-Ching!

Jag talar lite svenska! Yipee!

Yes, Swedish courses began this Monday. I’m not officially registered to the class (yet) but hopefully things will work out and I’ll get a spot in the classroom. Swedish is a really wicked language. It sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard before which is damn cool. Hearing Swedish spoken by natives kind of sounds like German with a wierd twist. I’ll record my corridor mates have a chat sometime and post it up here for your enjoyment. This may sound strange to some but it’s truely my first time learning a new language, from scratch, in a classroom with a professor. Yes, I speak two languages, but I learned English and French in such a small interval of time that both languages seem like they are both rolled into one chaotic mess of vocabulary and grammar. Seriously, my Frenglish is horrible… no French students undersand me when I speak goddamit! I find myself repeating sentences that contain “Québécois” words for them all the time due to the fact that I take my every day language’s correctness for granted. After all, when I speak the way I do back home everyone understands me perfectly! Well, almost…

It’s getting colder by the day here in Linköping. First it was jeans, then it was a sweater pulled over my t-shirt and now I rarely leave the corridor without my fleece jacket. Soon enough I’ll have to add my shell coat to the several layers I already pile on when I go out. The weather here tends to change in the blink of an eye. From bright sunshine to a total downpour, every bike ride home from school is a surprise. I’m actually quite anxious for it to start to snow.

“It’s warmer where you’re waiting, it feels more like July…”

I can’t believe it’s already Thursday.

Yesterday was Kalasmottagningen. Can you say Kalasmottagningen? After me… Calausmoutengien. Something like that anyways! Kalas is an event organized for the new Linköping University students which goes down at the Cloetta Center, the stadium which is the home of the Linköping Hockey Club. Yesterday student organisations strutted their stuff on and off stage, allowing new students to get acquainted with student life on campus as well as experience first hand what some of the organisations have to offer. We were treated to some live music by a variety of student groups and bands (dance, orchestra, big band, etc). We were also forced into listening to several extensively boring speeches… in Swedish! Monologues are already quite dreary in one’s mother tongue… imagine how bad they are in a foreign language that one understands squat of except the very basics… hello, thank you, beer and cheers.

So I was telling everyone that the band that was going to play at the end of the night, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, was going to put on a killer gig that should not be missed. I mean, this Swedish band has been to compared to Iron and Wine, The Dismemberment Plan and The Decemberists which happen to be three of my favourite bands of all time. I was totally psyched to catch a glimpse of these indie rockers, whose music I had heard little of, live from all the name dropping. Damn, was I ever disappointed. Repetitive melodies, boring lyrics and bad sound made The Soundtrack of Our Lives’ performance one that I would have gladly missed. I’m dying to see a good show lately. Somebody please send a good show my way!

Tonight is Silvia’s revenge dinner! Can’t wait!