On the move part 2

In Sweden! Snow and tasty water (first thing I do when coming home - drink Swedish water). On the bus to Linköping now. Slept for a while on the plane and then had a chat with the guy sitting next to me. He was shocked by the snow, heading for Stockholm over New Years and realised he might not have pacjed warm enough clothes. :P

Nothing else to report really.

On the move part 1

I didn't sleep last night so hopefully I'll be tired enough to sleep on the plane which leaves in 2 hours. I think Stansted must be the airport I've been to the most times - it feels a tad like home. A very busy, cramped and boring home... 😜

Mum!

Maybe a strange way to communicate with my parents but I figured it makes sense.

Dear mum, I think you ought to be able to comment on each individual posting I make here, either by clicking on the "no comments" that stands out like a sore thumb at the bottom of every entry (does no-one read this or is it super super tricky? Or is it somehow disabled and I'm being a bit dim?) or by clicking on the actual entry, like the heading of it and thus opening it so you only see that one entry and then there's a small box at the very bottom where you can write your comment.

So anyone who reads this - please comment so I know it works. You should be able to do so without having to sign in. And it's quite nice for me to know if anyone is out there, so to say ;) And please ask questions if you have any, makes my life easier as I wouldn't have to think of anything original to write about.

Well, as I addressed this to my mother, I'll finish it like that too. Love you mum, you're the best. Tied with dad of course, give him my love :D lots of love from eran lilla Arta.

Last day in England

Good evening!
I've spent the last few days just relaxing, went for a few drinks with a friend Sunday and the rest of the time has been mainly in the house. Such a strange feeling having bo studying to do and nothing else either really. I have thought about writing some posts about the paperwork and such involved in studying abroad but then I always found something more fun to do ;)

Tonight me and my husband went for a lovely meal at Jamie Oliver's restaurant, my parents gave us some money for Christmas so that we could do something nice together. But weird that we will be apart for the coming six months but it's such an opportunity for me and my hubby is extremely supportive :)

So the travelling begins in 3 hours and I will arrive in Hong Kong around 5 pm on the 2/1. So around 12 hours in Linköping and something like 15 hours in Istanbul. Car-plane-bus-bus-car-plane and then probably buses or taxis around Istanbul - then plane and then I believe a minibus will pick us up and take us to campus.

Might be bored tomorrow during my stay in Sweden so might post some more then. For now you get the first pic I took with my camera - haven't transferred any others to my phobe yet and it's packed...

Night night

Merry Christmas!

Woke up to the jingle of bells, Santa had left us stockings filled with sweets. Whole family got up early and gathered in the front room to open gifts :)

Everyone had, as always, gone a bit bonkers with buying gifts, it feels nice getting someone something that they will really like. I got some really fantastic gifts, really thoughtful. Elaine and Richie, my in-laws, gave me a fantastic camera which will be great in HK. Gareth, my brother-in-law, gave me a wonderful set of spa-things, including a "sleep mist", super fancy! :)
Matthew, my husband, gave me a beautiful old edition of "The Professor" by Charlotte Brontë. And lots of other things.

So now everyone is playing with the gifts and smiling and we're about to start getting the food ready. So in short - it's very much Christmas here.

Merry Christmas everyone! My new camera is charging but soon you can look forward to some high quality pictures!

Dipping day

More Swedish Christmas traditions, seeing as it is Christmas today! The strange Brits don't celebrate until tomorrow which means that I get two Christmases in a row ;) today we have done some cleaning, some shopping, cooking and now I'm  watching what most be the most viewed program in Sweden: From All of Us to all of You. Disney special from the 50s which is, somehow, essential for a Swedish Christmas.

So God Jul to everyone celebrating today!

Day before dipping day

Day before dipping day - during Christmas many Swedes heats up the stock from cooking the Christmas ham, spiced, and dips hard bread into it to and then eats the bread with ham, apple sauce and mustard. It is bloody delicious and one of the things I really miss when I celebrate in England. So dipping day = Christmas Eve.

So today is, to me, the day before Christmas. Even though we don't celebrate until Christmas Day here. And back home it's minus and snow. Here we have had a lovely warm day. Bit windy but warm winds. So during my shoppingtrip into town and walk home I was basically dressed in a skirt and a jumper. Something very wrong about that, so close to Christmas.

At the moment I'm watching Armageddon, an old tradition me and a good friend started years and years ago. Not very Christmas-y but to me it feels like Christmas as I refuse to watch it any other day...

Adding some pics from street musicians brightening up what must be one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Swedish culture summed up

Treating my in-laws to Swedish meatballs. Sweden on a plate. 😊

Byebye!

Been a while now. Not too surprising to be honest, we had quite a bit of exams and so on in November/December. But it's all done now! I went to England Thursday evening so am now at my in-laws' place, seeing my husband who went here in early November.

I have packed up the flat and given keys to my tenant. Last few days were a bit strange; hectic and depressing at the same time as it was fun and exciting - I had put away all of our personal belonings, leaving only furniture and kitchen stuff really so it was really rather empty. I also had 5 different bags on the go at the same time: 3 for HK (check-in 20 kg, carry-on 8 kg and a handbag.) And a carry-on plus handbag for England. Thought I had it all under controll but when I arrived in England Thursday I realised that I'd left the adapter in my HK bag.... oh well...

So besides packing and exams I tried to meet up with some friends, lots of Christmas meetups: Swedish mulled wine in lots of variations basically!

Here's a group of my friends from Linköping, giving me a lovely send-off :D

And some of my classmates just after our last exam, having a fika :) (essential  Swedish word similar to afternoon tea but a lot more frequent, at any time of the day and consisting of anything from coffee and sandwish to coffee and something sweet. Or just coffee... we like coffee.)

My travel friend!

This is my friend Jenny, we're just having a bit of a meeting, discussing the last things to think about before we head out! :)