Fika! Have a break!

Fika may sound like some odd sexual endeavour or a swear word of sorts but in actual fact it is a coffee break. I cannot believe that I have dedicated an entry to this before. Oh the horror! How could I leave telling you about such a quintessential part of Swedish life till so late in the game.

There is more to a Fika than just a coffee break. Or is there? (Dom dom dom). Fika, as far as my understanding of it goes, is when you take a break from whatever it is your are doing and top up your caffeine tank and have a little something to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Believe it or not I didn't drink coffee before I came to Sweden. Well, not good coffee anyway. I used to think that instant coffee with milk and sugar was the way it was done and found that filter coffee made me feel ill. However, after only a few weeks in Sweden I was a convert in every sense of the word. I now drink coffee black and strong!

Anyway - enough about me and back to Fika!

Volvo and Saab - the cars of Sweden

Volvo! Is there anything more Swedish than a Volvo? Fika? IKEA? a Daclarian horse? There are many things that are distinctly Swedish but the world over everyone knows Sweden for their ability to mold both safety and style into a car that has become a symbol of automotive innovation!

Ales Stenar

Constructed around AD 600 the 67m ship-shaped rocks of Ales Stenar are fascinating. It is believed that the stones were erected as a solar calendar.

Foteviken Viking Reserve

After spending a lovely morning strolling through Hjärup and Lund, Oliver and I decided to take a trip to the famous Foteviken Viking Reserve.

A hike in Söderåsen National Park

Knowing that my Jojo Summer Card was about to run dry I decided to make one last cool summer trip on it to Söderåsen National Park. I expected it to be pretty but no where near as diverse and as beautiful as it actually is.

It's a train!No,it's a bicycle! No, wait! What the hell is that?

Up-down, up-down, my legs are pushing themselves, and the swooosh, I freewheel for a short while, clickity-clack, clickity-clack, the slight downhill means I am picking up a little speed, clickity-clack, clickity clack, we giggle, this is simply too cool, too random, it's awesome!

People have a way of making random inventions that exploit things of the days gone by; a burnt house makes for an awesome paintball field, or an old submarine as a new age museum. What would you do if you had a stretch of old railway that was no longer in use but that stretched through beautiful farm lands and little bits of valley? Make a rail-bicycle of course!

Ice Hockey!

We were totally this close!

Last night I got to go to my first ever ice hockey game! and it was a big one! It was a 40 year anniversary game so the stadium was quite full! We went to watch the Malmo Red Hawks on their home turf.

Soothing cemeteries

I don't know if it makes me weird but there is definitely something soothing about cemeteries, especially these old cemeteries in Sweden. I find myself drawn to them. They are quite and the trees  sway with a wisdom that only they know and which seems just out of reach of those that wander the paths beneath them.

The Polar Plunge!

Yesterday, myself and some mates from class made a mission to Kallbadhuset (literally translated to Cold Bath House). I was a little nervous about the whole thing....one, you had to be naked while relaxing in the sauna and two it involved jumping into icy cold water.

An abundance of acivities

One of the greatest things about being at University is that you are able to explore many different things, find interests you never thought you had, and do things you'll never do again. And I'm not just talking about the course work ;) Universities provide a whole new world with so many things to try and do.

During my undergraduate and honours degrees in South Africa I worked several jobs so my ability to exploit these opportunities was limited. Despite this I still managed to have my own show on UJFM during my first year and worked as a tutor and assistant during my third and fourth years. Maybe it was just me or maybe it is because my eyes have been opened by Lund University that I realise there wasn't that much to do at UJ.

At Lund University the amount of things there are to do is utterly crazy! Everytime I go onto Facebook there is some party somewhere where you have to do something or drink yourself silly. But on top of this usual university garb there are trips to other countries, booze cruises, and generally just awesome excuses to get out of town. The only ones I have were my day trips to Goteborg and Copenhagen. Being in a long distance relationship isn't cheap so I am having to save my pennies to visit Oliver which unfortunately means I miss out on some of these great excursions (but it's OK I don't mind).

However beyond the travel there are tons of groups and activities you can get involved in: everything from set painting to unions and radios. So with so much to be had what have I opted to do?

Well I joined Radio AF, Lund University's radio station and every other Tuesday I go on air with other presenters and just speak about random shit for an hour. It's great and it isn't too demanding which is even better considering the unbelievable amount of reading and work that is involved in a Masters. However, I also wanted to get involved in something a little bit more meaningful.

Because of time constraints back home (a poor excuse I know) I was hardly ever available to get involved in volunteer work. However, here I have joined UNICEF Lund! Again it is not too time consuming but being an active member is super rewarding and we were encouraged to come up with project ideas and ways of improving the group. With this in mind I came up with a pen pal idea and luckily people liked it, even the big bosses in Stockholm. So the project (now called Writing across Borders) got approved and now it is underway. The basic idea is to get children from two different countries (in this case South Africa and Sweden) to write letters to one another to teach each other about their homes and in turn teach tolerance and curiosity. To read more on this initiative you can read the entry I wrote for the UNICEF blog last Friday. The only hirdle left in the project is getting funding to post the letters from SA to Sweden.

The kids involved in Writing across Borders in Sweden

Now I wish I could get involved in even more...and in the upcoming months I am sure I will! So I will be keeping my eyes peeled and let you know the next time I stumble into something awesome!