Week Ten - Vecka Tio (Personal Development) 17-03-12 - 23-03-12

The lovely blue sky from my window.

I am starting to feel like I am on holiday as the sun is shining in the sky without a cloud in sight. The temperature has reached fifteen degrees Celsius this week which is an improvement from the snow we had several weeks ago and according to the weather forecast the upcoming week is going to be quite warm so I can sense that there will be a few BBQs and parties to attend. The Erasmus group are already sticking out amongst the people of Trollhättan by wearing vest tops, shorts and flip flops whilst the Swedish are still wearing their winter coats and scarves. 

I am feeling rather carefree after completing all my university work on Wednesday and I haven’t got class until Monday, which is when I start my new module - ‘Education and School Practice’. So until then I am making good use of my free time and the sun. 

I took a walk into the town of Trollhättan and I was amazed to see how busy the town was but I soon figured out that it was because it was a market day. I enjoyed walking around the stalls at the market and experiencing some Swedish culture I hadn’t yet had a chance to see. I didn’t notice any bargains so I left with nothing but on my return to Lantmannavägen (where I live) I noticed how lots of little flowers were beginning to poke up through the grass and amongst the trees, a true sign that spring is here. 

The best day this week was without a doubt, Friday. Weather wise and fun wise it has been one of my favourite days in Sweden. Everybody was in good spirits and we were all preparing our meals for the ‘International Dinner’ and competing for first place. Megan, Maria and I as well as Ryan (a student from University of Ulster) had previously practiced making Irish stew but after a failed attempt we decided to play it safe with cottage pie instead. It turned out pretty well but we didn’t win first prize, although I think we had more fun making our food compared to actually eating it. 

The ‘International Dinner’ gave me a good opportunity to get to taste foods from all over the world including Ukrainian, Turkish, Chinese, Latvian, Korean and Polish specialities. I know I will never have an opportunity like this again so I made the most of it by tasting everything and enjoying some more than others. It was interesting to see the different types of foods and strange to see a few more countries having potatoes as a speciality! The dinner ended with the very late arrival of the Italian students and their home made pizzas singing their national anthem – showing how they eat much later than most of us, yet the pizza was gone in a matter of seconds. 

Some of the different foods at the 'International Dinner'.

 

Megan. Maria and I visited the same park that William and I went to but it was a totally new experience this time as there was no snow or ice on the ponds/lake. I was able to dip my feet into the cool water and relax by the side in the heat of the sun. Hopefully there will be more weeks like this.

Sitting by the pond in the park.