14/08/07
finally reached the campus. the lifestyle here is so laidback. like what alan said, people here don't mind waiting. i suppose they have too much time and very little to do. the things here are expensive! 3-5 times the normal rate in Sg! my 1st purchase was donuts at 3 for 20kr. still ok. the next one though was stunning. 4 fuji apples + 8 rolls of toilet paper + a long roll of bread for 50.50kr, which is around 12sgd!
so many things to do to settle in. cleaning of room, fixing of key card for access to classrooms, paying of rental bills and fixing up the internet connection. sian half man, i regretted not buying the 1st plug which i saw back home. in the end i have to wait for the trip down to town to it! and it's 5km away..lucky got bus but super infrequent! 1 hr per bus arrival haha. but the bus service is super punctual and advanced, something like the train system in japan where they tell you how long more the bus will take to arrive.
should have packed in my pillow and bed linen as well if i had known that my luggage is only 14kg. washing powder too! haha. on curtains in my room too..but on the bright side, i am totally mesmerized by the furniture here! IKEA writteen all over them. from the airport, school compound to most importantly my room! the room is spacious, bigger than mine and dear's!
however if there's 1 thing that i miss about home, it has go to be dear, grandmother and he convenience of home and friends. made my 1st acquaintance in mike yesterday. he stays just 2 doors away. i'm tucked away in a norner and it seems that there is a dominant group on my level. hope can make peace with them =)
1st dinner was cup noodles! thanks yips and gang. we ended cleaning our room around 8pm and made the trip to the amrt opposite(konsum) and when we decided to eat at the pizzaria below our block at 9pm, it was already closed. blur. weather is still not too bad, the wind is chilly in the evening though. i would say 20deg in the day and 15 in the envening. not everyone here speaks english, the elder generation especially. daytime is long, starts around 4am and ends around 930pm.
the airplane trip was long! my greatest fear has got to be running into air turbulence. irritating because it's scary. plane will bobble up and down. no weeping scenes at the airport and i'm touched by my secdondary school buddies who sent me off. not to forget my dear,her family and my family! i nearly wept when i left grandmother. hope she's doing fine. haha, the check in at SG was a gan chiong affair. last call already but alan was still waiting for his uncle. in the end meng and i went to the gate 1st and thankfully alan caught up. so paiseh to walk around with my floorball stick in sweden la! haha..land of floorball lehz..
have to congrats meng on getting letter of commendation for mp 2002 la. so clever that guy.
received a letter from the sec sch pals and floorball peeps. many thanks. kenghooi very funny, called me to find me in sweden already! then he had to hurry hang up in fear of the high costs haha.
lulea is way ahead of singapore in terms of recycling. one has to purchase plastic carriers during shopping or bring your own..EVERYDAY! not just the 1st wednesday of the month. got our first experience when we asked for a carrier and the lady explained that we needed to pay 1.5kr but she still gave us 1 free. kind soul!
just praying that we don't run into any bad souls and that studies will be fine. 6 hours slower as compared to SG. shops here close early. even school offices. around 4pm. town should be 6pm and they open for really short hours during weekends as they usually go enjoy their weekends at home. not like singapore..
15/08/07
had toast and milo for breakfast yesterday and slept super early! even earlier than the first night. around 830pm. crazy timing. they don't have milo here. and the noodles are sold in individual packets rather than in 5s. it seems i'm living a very healthy lifestyle here haha. finally on the 3rd day of arrival i see rain in lulea. it's still drizzling outside as i'm typing so i don't know whether to go out later. i better wear my jacket later. it's going to be so cold!!!!
went to town yesterday to buy adaptor, bed linen, curtain and tupperware. wa wanted to buy pillow as well but..so expensive! imagine $10 for a sofa cushion??!! haha..saw so many interesting faces in town. all sorts of characters. i must say that the swedish are handsome and beauties! their features are so striking and distinctive. gosh. saw kpmg, pwc, EY and deloitte in town. mengsoon snapped them down to show lifang. shall get it from him later haha. went to this giant supermarket called Willy's. it's something like Giant in singapore. alan was shocked to find the giant version of cereal which is 1kg at $7. what a bargain. we purchased a 5.25kg of washing powder and did something sneaky. we went to kop a roll of plastic bag meant for fruits. well it's a very thin roll though. haha. yesh la..we are thieves..lol..
popped by the 2nd hand store called Red Cross which is beside Willy's. bought our curtains and bed linen there. after which we went to the sea! the 2 places are just located right by the seaside. fascinating sight. the lifestyle is absolutely heavenly. it seems that no one needs to work. we see people walking their dogs or getting into their speedboats and going out into the sea on a wednesday! so relax..the skies are very clear with very little clouds and so the sun's especially glaring. saw my dream house at the seaside too! they are just located facing the sea la! woohoo..with balcony!
ooo ya we had lunch at this fast food restaurant called Max. it should be their version of burger king i guess haha. bought a wednesday special which consists of a beef burger which is like Big Mac, fries and a drink which you can fill up yourself for 50kr. exp exp. the bus rides are 10kr and they are not air-conditioned. but the windows are like air-con buses. the cold air more than makes up of it. the temperature i'm experiencing now is their hottest apparently from what i asked. the brightest months have passed with 24hrs daylight. and there's a chance we may experience 24hrs darkness! blur..
mike mentioned that the average pay here is 18000kr. so high la no wonder their expenditures are so much higher. got to know 4 new peeps yesterday. a swedish guy who's studying his masters in chemical technology, Stefan; 2 australian ladies Eva and Fiona, Eva is staying on Meng's level while Fiona is in another block and last of all a spanish guy called George. he's been around for 2 years already hehe. had difficulty pronouncing his name is spanish so he said his name is pronounced George in English. HAHA.
hopefully the internet connection is up when i go to school later. =)
