||||Hacking Europe

Well, not much is going on. That seems to be the problem. It’s nice to have a routine, but it has to be a fun one. I’m really starting to understand why the Swedes drink so much. First off, the classes here revolve around case studies, associated research writing papers on this research and then presenting on the paper you wrote. Now this doesn’t sound to bad, but it’s a case a week. And it’s the same f*&kin’ thing every week. So on the weekend, once you have explored the city, you can play video games or go out partying. There are 4 types of parties, corridor parties which are like dorm parties. There is H.G. boring sausage fest, Plato and Flammon which is dangerous biking while drunk. The music is a little weird, it’s not your typical club music, they often through in some weird folk stuff. Oh and Swedes can’t dance, but that’s entertainment and makes me feel better about dancing. The only thing keeping me sane is traveling and soccer (fotbol).

While I have been thinking about making preperations to go home, I had a couple of thoughts about re-entry culture shock. I feel that when I get back, either everything is going to be different or everything is going to be the same. We’ll see how that works out.

I’ve also been working alot on my server. I’ve had time to generate some ideas and ways to implement them. So in the future I’ll be migrating hosts to one that is much more secure … I hope. I’m also running out of storage, I’m going to need to install another 500gb array to help with my growing collection. I’m also super impressed with my Xbox360. I can’t wait to build a media center computer / server. I’d love to find a linux based solution to cast stuff to my Xbox.

As for now I gotta run, Oh and don’t get me wrong I love Sweden and the Swedes, I just need to go back to Stockholm for a few days.

So Estonia was neat. Tallin is a small, old, ex-soviet city. The country itself is ranked as one of the most technological. It’s also said that Estonia has the prettiest women in the world. Although there were some nice looking women there, I think it’s offset by its small population. In any case it was worth going to and exploring another city, country and culture. It makes me look forward to visiting Russia. I have to admit most of the fun was the way of travel to Estonia. There is a cruise line that takes you from Stockholm to Tallin. At first I thought it was a ferry, ya know you drive your car up there, roll it on the boat and relax. You can take your car, but it was like a mini Carnival cruise. It had almost everything you could get on a cruise, buffet, spa, bars, restaurant, and even a nightly stage show. Every night was a heavy party night even though there was hardly anyone on the boat. It was still fun though. It was almost like it was an “Atlantis” cruise. Complete with the drunken karaoke and our weird circle dance floor formations. I’m not sure if we talked about this before, but whenever we go out as a group we tend to take over the dance floor and dance in a circle like some kind of weird satanic / pagen cult. Anyways it was a lot of fun and I feel bad for the few that couldn’t come on the trip with us. I also got a haircut, it’s a little extreme and I’m going to blame it on the alcohol even though I cut it before we left.

The more time I spend in Stockholm the more I miss Chicago. Don’t get me wrong, I love Sweden and Linkoping, but it’s not a big city. Even D.C, my hometown is awesome, but it just doesn’t have the same vibe. D.C is old and historic, it has a certain character that nothing else can replicate, but Chicago is this massive urban area with a new lively young professional vibe. There is nothing like walking downtown between these massive buildings then all of a sudden you walk out of this massive canyon of buildings into a new awesome futuristic park complete with a lake. And most importantly, everything you could want is just a few blocks away. Stockholm is a lot like Chicago and I could easily see myself living here. I guess what I’m feeling is homesickness, finally after 7 or 8 months. It’s a weird feeling though. I think maybe a proper term for it is city sickness. I’m pretty sure I will be traveling more in the coming weeks as I start to distract myself from departure preparations for the summer.

Just a few quick things this week.

I’m going to heading to Estonia which should be fun, looking forward to some tax free wine!

The other thing I wanted to through out there was about old Swedish people. In my Leadership and Culture class we had a presentation that talked a bit about elderly care for Sweden. Granted there is only 9 million people, but there is still an issue. In fact very similar to the US issue. Although ours is on a much larger scale, it’s interesting to note that even ones with a small population still have a public vs private care system debate and overall a lack of funding and support. And yet here I thought everything was almost perfect in Sweden. This only amplifies the realization of the issue we are going to have in the states in the next 10 -15 years.

Ok, interesting thing here. This five week class we are in ended and we had finals today. First off … do not forget to register for finals. I know it sounds weird but you have to signup ahead of time for a spot to take the final exam. Right like someone is going to take the class and not take the exam … weird I know … But anyways, the exam was 5 essay questions. These questions were based on the articles that were given out during the class … ok not to bad. Here is where it gets hairy, we had about 15 or so articles averaging 20 pages. A couple of the questions weren’t too bad, i.e, relate these two papers to a concept in class. But the rest of the questions were really tough. They asked some really specific stuff about each paper. They expect you to be able to remember and pick out 2 or 3 paragraphs from a 15 to 20 page paper. I was able to answer all of the questions for the most part. They may not all be right. Worst case, I just re take the final like everyone else that forgot to register and didn’t get to the exam hall early like me and Johan.

Other then that … not much going on this week. I’m going to a 90’s party tomorrow as Tupac … should be interesting.

Well I just got back from snowboarding … it was pretty sweet. We stayed at my roommates cabin and not only did we get a chance to relax but we also has awesome weather for snowboarding. The last day was a little rough due to some excessive wind. However we did some snowmobiling instead and man … what a blast. If you ever get the chance … go snowmobiling … it’s a rush. I gotta run for now, tonight is movie night, then some beer pong. I have to defend my crown!

This has to be the coolest thing ever. Right now … I’m on my way to go snowboarding. I’m not on a train or plane … but a VAN!!!! Yes that’s right, a van. We have a smartphone, connected via 3g and using a Wifi Modem/Router software on the phone we are able to distrubite internet access to machines in the van. Now for the really cool part. The van has a media center computer built in. So I’m updating my blog and watching OutCold on a sweet 22in LCD screen!!! Ah … this is the life. I never want to leave Sweden.

Ok, first off I forgot that last weekend was Superbowl weekend when I wrote that post. I had a huge Superbowl party, almost 30 people. I want to give a quick hats off to Eli and the Manning QB domination for the last 2 years. I think it’s amazing that two brothers won back to back.

Now for Sweden;

I’m pretty settled in now, and things are pretty sweet. Things are organized, efficient and stuff works. It’s hard to explain. As I’ve said it before, the culture is somewhat americanized but they are still very euro and scandinavian.

Few things new students will need to know, learn fast, and do:

1. Get a bike!

This is very important! There is a bus system but biking is by far the way to travel. I know I know, the whole biking in the snow/ice isn’t that bad. I’d rather get where I want to go fast and cold then walk slow and cold. I’ve only fallen twice, the first time was an accident … it was icy and I was going way to fast. The second time wasn’t my fault, I blame it on the “Incredible Hulk” ( Hypnotic and Hennessey ).

You can pick one up for 500-800 sek. I went a little overboard and got a nice bike ( I hate it when things break ) and I paid a little over 1700 sek with lights and lock. Oh before I forget, front and rear lights are mandatory, it’s dark a lot of the time, and you will get a ticket. There is a place in Ryd Centrum, but all of those bikes look like they were from the 60’s. Go visit my man in Gammla Linkoping, he’s down the road near Mona Lisa Pizza. I need to get an address but I’ve been slackin’.

2. Don’t be blue, get in a queue.

Ok, you will learn this quick, the Swedes love lines and you know those little deli number ticket things … yea … everywhere. So don’t understand why your not getting attention? … This is why.

3. Onlinepizza.se

This one explains itself, online pizza. Although the pizza isn’t the same as back home, its still food. Now, you’ll still miss the days of Onetable and grubhub but this is as good as it gets in the Ghetto.

4. Ryd is the Ghetto

Don’t let the cool name or the sly talking LiU administration fool you, Ryd is the ghetto man. As thug as it gets. Just the other day a little 5 year old Indian gangster kid jacked me in Ryd Centrum. I never saw that squirt gun coming. Also, ALWAYS carry a nine when cruising the long, lonely, cold and well lite paths because YOU WILL GET LOST!!!! Life in the Ryd Centrum Ghetto is tough, almost everything you need is a 5 minute walk or 2 minute bike ride away. In all seriousness it’s not that bad at all. The only really bad thing is that it took me 2 weeks to figure out where I lived because everything looks the same. I always say it looks very “Soviet” because the buildings look like something straight out of Communist Russia.

Well it’s gettin’ late over here. I’m going snowboarding this weekend so don’t expect a second post this week.

Again with the late post … I’ve just been so hammered here. The work load here is a boat load more then in France, and a bit more then in the states. It seems that the Swede’s like case study and research type assignments. I have a few things to talk about but I really don’t have the time. I’m going up to Stockholm this week and hopefully I’ll have a chance to say something profound this weekend. But until then … busy busy bee.

Well again I lack on the 2 post a week promise. I’ve been super busy with these Swedish classes. Finally I passed the oral exam and have some time to relax this weekend. I have a take home final exam due in two weeks, and the regular semester begins Monday. Sweden is still pretty sweet. It’s pretty americanized but it has all the really cool benefits of being European. Nothing to ground breaking, the wallpaper in the apartment is finally done so we can start settling in. Other then that pretty busy with school. Hopefully I’ll have something profound to say soon …

Sorry I haven’t kept up with the two post a week deal. We have this intensive Swedish class that takes up all of my time, then with the apartment stuff and trying to seem socially active … there isn’t much time left in the day. But in a overview things are going really well here. The more I’m in Sweden the more I love it. I met some other American international students that gave me a few things things to watch out for but so far it’s really been awesome. I gotta run, Swedish is starting in a bit.