Kick Off Week

Hello readers!

I hope all of you are doing well. I am proud to report that I made it through my first Swedish class yesterday and I was able to speak some VERY BASIC Swedish. This is the start of week 2 here in Sweden and I am getting a hang of things and establishing a routine here. I'm going to go back to my previous post and continue the story from there. I arrived on Sunday and basically collapsed in bed after getting some basic things squared away and saying hello to some of my neighbors. The following day, which was Monday the 22nd I woke up early and well rested and made my way to the bus stop which was nearby to get to the campus. I ended up meeting Arnuad (my friend from Belgium who I went with to Vilholmsro for the first time) and his roommate Alex, who is from Germany at the bus stop. This was a great time because I was able to get some talking time with them and was able to get to know them a bit better and pave the way for friendships. After a short while, the bus meet us and we went to downtown Jonkoping to go to the introduction lecture on campus.

The introduction/welcome meeting/lecture was a great time and we were able to learn more about Jonkoping, the university, and Sweden itself there. But other than that- it was a rather basic meeting full of intro topics, until the end of the meeting where we were given an unexpect surprise. After completing personal introductions, there was a massive noise that erupted behind and before I knew what happened, a large group of students dressed as Cowboys, Indians, Germans, Army personnel, Lifeguards, Disco Dancers, Frenchmen, Hip Hops stars, and more burst into the room with drums and whistles. They then broke the entire International student body up and we joined teams; this is when I became a party of Team Army. From there, I got to meet the "Fadders" of the group. Fadder is the Swedish word for sponser or an authoritative/supporting figure, and they would be leading the group. The Fadders of our group were Fredrik, Hauke, Ida, Cisella, Ida, Sarah, Annika, Becca, Anna, and Warren. After meeting everyone, we went to go purchase bracelets that allowed us to take part in activities and get into clubs in town. Later that afternoon, Jonkoping Student Association (JSA) held a cocktail party so that we could get to know each other better and meet more people. We then went from there to the JSA party over at Club Caj, also known ad the Karlssons Salong). This was a great time and quite a learning experience; I had never been to a European dance club before and this is also where I learned that Swedes really know how to have a great time. There was a lot of dancing and it was an overall great time there. I also found out that night at approximately 1:30 in the morning that the bus service ends at 11:30 at night during weekdays. But with meeting up with some other guys from Vilhelmsro, we were able to split the cab fare- and stumble in at 3 AM.

On Tuesday, I received something that I would be wearing throughout the entire week- my green coveralls (or overalls if you like) and I was told that they would be used for something important later on that day. Reporting to a large lecture hall in the JIBS (Jonkoping International Business School) building, we settled down for a 2 hour lecture. 5 minutes in, dejavu occured and once again our Fadders burst in and rounded all of us up to go to the park for an event (the lecture was a fake). There, we had the overall ceremony that required us to take a pledge and put the overalls on over our clothes, dance with them on, and participate in 2 hours of fun in games in the Swedish sun. This was a blast and I met many people there who have become friends. From there, we went to a place called Akademin (university owned night club) and once again was out till 3 or so in the morning.

On Wednesday, I took the opportunity to sleep in a bit and missed a non-manditory meeting (according to many, no one was there) but ended up going to the paper writing workshop still. After a couple hour break, we hopped on buses and went to a place called the Kinnarps Arena, where the local (and very strong) hockey team plays at during the season. This event was called inspiration day and we got to listen to several speakers talk about Jonkoping and Sweden and how the Swedish way of life works. I also learned many things about the Swedish state of mind there- for example; they have a personal bubble and they don't appriciate it when its invaded. This is one example of many though. From there, we had a 3 hour break before having to meet up at a pre-party (Swedes love to do this- as do many Americans, including myself) and we went to the Centrum Bar and Nightclub from there. This was a great day and one that I will always remember- especially due to the speakers at the arena. Well, I think that is enough for one day. I will once again continue with this story again soon- and it leads to me jumping in a canal twice in one day and a toga party. Any ways, I hope all of you are doing well. Have a good one!

Hey da!

Andy Jones