I woke up by myself at 8 am. I looked out the window and realized that the weather was cloudy for the first time in about 2 weeks. Admittingly a bit bitter, my only day off couldn't be sunny after all this??, I went for my morning walk dressed in shorts and my first Michigan shirt. Wearing that shirt always makes me feel a bit nostalgic. I remember buying it before going to the football game in Ann Arbor with my friend Amy. It was a Saturday when UofM took on Indiana at the Michigan stadium. Ann Arbor was crowded with football fans having tail gate parties everywhere. Finding parking was impossible, but I was amazingly happy, and felt very American.
I started walking. Without music in my ears for a change. When I go for walks here in the country, I like just listening to the silence instead of listening to music. As I'd gotten about half way I heard something that first sounded like somebody running through the bushes, then it sounded like a car coming from the bushes. But it was neither it turned out. It was the rain. The rain that had been held back for two weeks and now decided it was time to get back at people in this area by drowning them. Including me. It took me two minutes to realize I was wet all through and that I might as well just keep on walking - the damage was done.
Had a swim in the rain once I got back. I love swimming in the rain. The water feels so warm if you jump into it when you're already wet. Then breakfast; yoghurt, fresh rasberries, strawberries and wild small strawberries that I picked on my walk. There's nothing like wild small strawberries that you pick in the ditches here. I tried to read the newspaper that I'd also picked up from our mailbox but it was a bit too wet and kind of fell apart when I tried to open it.
After breakfast, the weather changed. Bright sunshine, clear blue sky and no wind. Perfect.
I took on the boat. Washed it clean from all the dirt it had collected over the winter. Then I swam out and pulled all of the grass out from the cracks in out little raft that my sister and I jumped down in the water from when we were kids. Well, to be honest, I've jumped from it some today too. It took forever to get it done. But in the heat, working in the water is the best thing you can do.
I had lunch in a deck chair. Salad made from lettuce and spinach leaves, avocado, melon, red pepper, cucumber, feta cheese and just some balcamic vinegar and olive oil. I listened to the radio show "Sommar"; today it was presented by an actor who talked about her life, and I realized I agreed a lot with her view of our existance.
I put on an old CD with "Swedish summer favorites". May sound corny, but I love it. I made apple crumbler and vanilla sauce for my dad, had some myself and then fell asleep in the sun until he got back.
Sometimes summer can't be beat by anything in the world.
fredag 3 juli 2009
torsdag 2 juli 2009
Spanish vs Swedish vs Arabic
I love learning languages. I love listening to new languages, hearing the different sounds, that melodies, the intonation. And I'm fascinated by people's abilities to master 4 or 5 different languages, and switch between them just like that.
But. There's always a but. WHY on earth do people at my job, and I mean co-workers, speak Spanish to each other when they know I don't understand? It's like in kindergarden when people talked behind each others backs although it wasn't behind each others' backs because the art of whispering wasn't fully mastered. I mean come on! And I'm being serious here. Today I worked with two ladies. One in her fifties and one in her early thirties. They're both really good Swedish speakers although it's not their native language. And still, when the three of us were in a room together, sometimes they'd just skip to Spanish - mid sentence. Like I didn't hear. Like I wouldn't understand that the rest of the sentence probably wasn't meant for my ears. I think it's incredibly rude. I don't care if they speak Spanish to each other in the staff room or wherever, but when we're in charge of 10 people together, and I know that speaking Swedish isn't at all a problem, it pisses me off. Am I unreasonable or should it annoy you too?
But. There's always a but. WHY on earth do people at my job, and I mean co-workers, speak Spanish to each other when they know I don't understand? It's like in kindergarden when people talked behind each others backs although it wasn't behind each others' backs because the art of whispering wasn't fully mastered. I mean come on! And I'm being serious here. Today I worked with two ladies. One in her fifties and one in her early thirties. They're both really good Swedish speakers although it's not their native language. And still, when the three of us were in a room together, sometimes they'd just skip to Spanish - mid sentence. Like I didn't hear. Like I wouldn't understand that the rest of the sentence probably wasn't meant for my ears. I think it's incredibly rude. I don't care if they speak Spanish to each other in the staff room or wherever, but when we're in charge of 10 people together, and I know that speaking Swedish isn't at all a problem, it pisses me off. Am I unreasonable or should it annoy you too?
onsdag 24 juni 2009
Sing-a-long
Today was my first day at my new job. I was there three days last week too, but those days I shadowed a co-worker so today was my first day with real responsibilities. And I was so nervous. I started my shift at 7 am and I don't think I was sound alseep until 1 am last night.
But it went well. Most of the patients I cared for today have to have two people attending to them, so I always had somebody to ask about the one million little details that I don't know yet. It's especially hard since I'm a summer employee and will be working all the three units that belong to this ward. (Blue, green and yellow) That way I'm not getting to know the patients as well as the regulars which makes me not as efficient as would be needed sometimes. When I did my introduction, I did it on the blue and green unit, and of course I was assigned to the yellow one today. Just my luck. .
But anyways, the day passed by extremely quickly. We had our hands full all the time, and I got some of the older patients to light up a bit when I told them I sing in a choir. One really old one told me he went to the same music school as I did. Although he started in the 30s and I started in the 90s. So now I'm encouraged to sing all the time. That part is what I really like about this. To be able to share stories with and help people. At this job I actually feel like I'm there for a reason, and that my being there makes a difference for the people in the hospital. The other stuff isn't the funnest stuff on earth. But it needs to be done. And yes, sometimes it's pretty disgusting, I would be lying if I said otherwise. But at those times, I just try to focus on the fact that I'm the one in the better position. I don't have to lay there while somebody else is taking care of me because I'm to sick/injured/senile to do it myself.
Tomorrow I have to get up early again and since I didn't get much sleep last night, I'm now going to make sure do tonight.
Sleep well!
But it went well. Most of the patients I cared for today have to have two people attending to them, so I always had somebody to ask about the one million little details that I don't know yet. It's especially hard since I'm a summer employee and will be working all the three units that belong to this ward. (Blue, green and yellow) That way I'm not getting to know the patients as well as the regulars which makes me not as efficient as would be needed sometimes. When I did my introduction, I did it on the blue and green unit, and of course I was assigned to the yellow one today. Just my luck. .
But anyways, the day passed by extremely quickly. We had our hands full all the time, and I got some of the older patients to light up a bit when I told them I sing in a choir. One really old one told me he went to the same music school as I did. Although he started in the 30s and I started in the 90s. So now I'm encouraged to sing all the time. That part is what I really like about this. To be able to share stories with and help people. At this job I actually feel like I'm there for a reason, and that my being there makes a difference for the people in the hospital. The other stuff isn't the funnest stuff on earth. But it needs to be done. And yes, sometimes it's pretty disgusting, I would be lying if I said otherwise. But at those times, I just try to focus on the fact that I'm the one in the better position. I don't have to lay there while somebody else is taking care of me because I'm to sick/injured/senile to do it myself.
Tomorrow I have to get up early again and since I didn't get much sleep last night, I'm now going to make sure do tonight.
Sleep well!
tisdag 23 juni 2009
Exam results
The results from the exam we took May 29th are out.
To keep students from knowing each other's results we take so called: "Coded Exams". That means that prior to taking the test we're given a code to write down on every page on the exam along with name and the Swedish equivalent of a social security number, and once the results are published, only the codes are showing.
This time they forgot to give us the codes beforehand, so we were told to jot down the number on the desk we were sitting at at the time. I remember that I sat at desk # 75, thus my code was 75 and when the rumour that the results were out reached me, I went looking for the result for # 75. Well what do you know, 75 wasn't even on the list!
Either I've remembered the wrong number, which is kind of weird because I remembered my friend Anton's number correctly. Or my result just isn't registered which would be even worse. What more is, that it's impossible for me to figure this out right now since the semester is over. Had it been, let's say April, I'd be able to go into the secretary and ask for my exam. But since a) I'm in Stockholm and b) It's summer; I can't!
So, right now I can only pray that the result exists, that it's satisfactory and that I don't have to re-take the exam in August. That'd be such a drag I can't even begin to describe it.
Sometimes I truly wonder where my head is. Don't you?
To keep students from knowing each other's results we take so called: "Coded Exams". That means that prior to taking the test we're given a code to write down on every page on the exam along with name and the Swedish equivalent of a social security number, and once the results are published, only the codes are showing.
This time they forgot to give us the codes beforehand, so we were told to jot down the number on the desk we were sitting at at the time. I remember that I sat at desk # 75, thus my code was 75 and when the rumour that the results were out reached me, I went looking for the result for # 75. Well what do you know, 75 wasn't even on the list!
Either I've remembered the wrong number, which is kind of weird because I remembered my friend Anton's number correctly. Or my result just isn't registered which would be even worse. What more is, that it's impossible for me to figure this out right now since the semester is over. Had it been, let's say April, I'd be able to go into the secretary and ask for my exam. But since a) I'm in Stockholm and b) It's summer; I can't!
So, right now I can only pray that the result exists, that it's satisfactory and that I don't have to re-take the exam in August. That'd be such a drag I can't even begin to describe it.
Sometimes I truly wonder where my head is. Don't you?
måndag 22 juni 2009
The quest for spinning classes
A day off.
What do I do with a whole day off with nothing planned? The sun’s been shining, which makes me hope that the weather people finally understood that we’re in fact approaching July and not October.
Because the last three weeks has involved a lot of candy and ice cream and cake eating, I felt I needed to at least get to the gym. When I moved back from Uppsala for the summer I froze my gym card so that I wouldn’t need to pay for it during the summer. My plan was to just stay healthy and go for walks, do sit-ups and push-ups at home for the time spent in Stockholm, and then get back on track with my spinning and weight training once I got back to Uppsala. Well now that didn’t happen. I went crazy after about a week of walks and sit-ups and I started looking into the alternatives I had for getting some type of training during the summer. Since Stockholm isn’t a city built for poor students, everything here’s about twice as expensive as in Uppsala. After a lot of consideration I finally settled for getting a gym card at Friskis & Svettis. I went there during high-school and I didn’t really like it, but it’s definitely the cheapest alternative. And since I’m mostly into spinning these days, I wouldn’t need to attend the, in my opinion, pretty worthless aerobic sessions like I did before.
It turns out that this gym has a booking system for their classes. And what more is, it turns out that people seem to have a very great need for booking their classes in advance because pretty much ALL the spinning classes are full a week in advance. SO that means there are no classes for me to attend. This drives me insane as I’m a person who doesn’t function very well if I don’t get my daily dose of exercise. And I’ve paid quite a lot of money to be able to participate in the classes listed on the schedule, and then it comes down to me not being able to because they’re all full. I think this is almost fraud and I’m considering talking to the manager at the place and ask for my money back. However, I’m too much of a coward to actually go through with it.
That’s all for “Complaining Today” this beautiful Monday. I hope the sun will be as warm tomorrow.
Over and out!
What do I do with a whole day off with nothing planned? The sun’s been shining, which makes me hope that the weather people finally understood that we’re in fact approaching July and not October.
Because the last three weeks has involved a lot of candy and ice cream and cake eating, I felt I needed to at least get to the gym. When I moved back from Uppsala for the summer I froze my gym card so that I wouldn’t need to pay for it during the summer. My plan was to just stay healthy and go for walks, do sit-ups and push-ups at home for the time spent in Stockholm, and then get back on track with my spinning and weight training once I got back to Uppsala. Well now that didn’t happen. I went crazy after about a week of walks and sit-ups and I started looking into the alternatives I had for getting some type of training during the summer. Since Stockholm isn’t a city built for poor students, everything here’s about twice as expensive as in Uppsala. After a lot of consideration I finally settled for getting a gym card at Friskis & Svettis. I went there during high-school and I didn’t really like it, but it’s definitely the cheapest alternative. And since I’m mostly into spinning these days, I wouldn’t need to attend the, in my opinion, pretty worthless aerobic sessions like I did before.
It turns out that this gym has a booking system for their classes. And what more is, it turns out that people seem to have a very great need for booking their classes in advance because pretty much ALL the spinning classes are full a week in advance. SO that means there are no classes for me to attend. This drives me insane as I’m a person who doesn’t function very well if I don’t get my daily dose of exercise. And I’ve paid quite a lot of money to be able to participate in the classes listed on the schedule, and then it comes down to me not being able to because they’re all full. I think this is almost fraud and I’m considering talking to the manager at the place and ask for my money back. However, I’m too much of a coward to actually go through with it.
That’s all for “Complaining Today” this beautiful Monday. I hope the sun will be as warm tomorrow.
Over and out!
Back to business!
How about starting up this blog again?
It’s summer and I have nothing much to do but to work. And this could, once again, be used as a means to keep the English going and gather thoughts.
I suppose I owe you an update. Or, actually, I suppose you need one in case you want to be able to follow what’s currently going on in my life. And that is sort of a must if I want you to keep reading. Which of course I do.
Last time I wrote was November 26th, my 22nd birthday. I’d just started the Biochemistry course which had me panic struck at times, and pretty much destroyed my Christmas vacation. I did, however, really enjoy seeing old friends and family over the holidays, as well as revisiting a ski-resort area where I spent all my winter breaks as a child. Eventually, I did well on the Biochem exam and started a new semester by welcoming the new students in the same way that we were welcomed in the fall. I was one of three officers for these events, something that was decided at the PPK (the end of the initiation period party) dinner in the fall. The Biochem exam and the arranging of the initiation totally sucked the energy out of me as there were some pretty intense twists to the planning of all that. And, although I enjoyed every moment of it of once the circus was under way, I did get really sick and I was definitely rather relieved once the three weeks were over.
Study-wise this semester has been varied. We started with a cell biology course with some medical genetics and histology incorporated in it. It was interesting and quite fun at the beginning, but the further we got, the more I started to dislike it. I think it was because of the length of it all. It just never seemed to end, and towards the final days of studying for the exam, I was so sick of the material I could hardly stomach to even look at my books. But the test went well, although just the thought of it still gives me the chills. 7 hours and 7 questions.
Then it felt like spring came to Uppsala. And it came along with a pretty easy and mostly very interesting course; “Homeostasis and Endocrinology”. My view of the town of Uppsala changed quite a bit during this time, and I must admit I really like it now despite the cons of every smaller town in the world, that is the lack of anonymity. But it does live up it the spring, no question about that. Especially when it’s warm and sunny out. There are so many traditional events that take place in Uppsala during the spring. There’s Valborg, the Spring Prom, concerts with different choirs (Mine being one of them) the openings of different clubs and restaurants. Time just rushes by, and suddenly summer’s here, we’ve passed through more than half of June, Midsummer is over and all my friends have left Uppsala for summer jobs, travels and catching up with old friends.
I’m spending my summer at Danderyds Sjukhus, one of the big hospitals in Stockholm. I work as a nurses’ assistant at a unit for patients that are released from their medical treatment but in too poor a condition, physically or mentally, to be able to return back home. It’s a great opportunity for me as a med-student to see the health care system from this perspective and I’m learning a lot. I want to think it’ll make me a more humle and respectful doctor in the future. The job is frightening in many ways since I’m actually responsible for people’s lives for the first time in my life. It’s enriching knowledge wise because I’m a total newbee, and it’s hard, both physically and mentally. Watching some of these people and learning their tragic life stories sometimes just makes me want to cry. Knowing that my coming into work each morning could perhaps ease the lives of these poor people a little bit, makes it worth every second.
So that’s where I am as of right now. I’m looking forward to feeling more safe and grounded in my position at work, to see all my old friends and to just gather enough thirst for more medical knowledge so that I’ll feel energized enough to start up the second year of my med-school career.
Over and out
It’s summer and I have nothing much to do but to work. And this could, once again, be used as a means to keep the English going and gather thoughts.
I suppose I owe you an update. Or, actually, I suppose you need one in case you want to be able to follow what’s currently going on in my life. And that is sort of a must if I want you to keep reading. Which of course I do.
Last time I wrote was November 26th, my 22nd birthday. I’d just started the Biochemistry course which had me panic struck at times, and pretty much destroyed my Christmas vacation. I did, however, really enjoy seeing old friends and family over the holidays, as well as revisiting a ski-resort area where I spent all my winter breaks as a child. Eventually, I did well on the Biochem exam and started a new semester by welcoming the new students in the same way that we were welcomed in the fall. I was one of three officers for these events, something that was decided at the PPK (the end of the initiation period party) dinner in the fall. The Biochem exam and the arranging of the initiation totally sucked the energy out of me as there were some pretty intense twists to the planning of all that. And, although I enjoyed every moment of it of once the circus was under way, I did get really sick and I was definitely rather relieved once the three weeks were over.
Study-wise this semester has been varied. We started with a cell biology course with some medical genetics and histology incorporated in it. It was interesting and quite fun at the beginning, but the further we got, the more I started to dislike it. I think it was because of the length of it all. It just never seemed to end, and towards the final days of studying for the exam, I was so sick of the material I could hardly stomach to even look at my books. But the test went well, although just the thought of it still gives me the chills. 7 hours and 7 questions.
Then it felt like spring came to Uppsala. And it came along with a pretty easy and mostly very interesting course; “Homeostasis and Endocrinology”. My view of the town of Uppsala changed quite a bit during this time, and I must admit I really like it now despite the cons of every smaller town in the world, that is the lack of anonymity. But it does live up it the spring, no question about that. Especially when it’s warm and sunny out. There are so many traditional events that take place in Uppsala during the spring. There’s Valborg, the Spring Prom, concerts with different choirs (Mine being one of them) the openings of different clubs and restaurants. Time just rushes by, and suddenly summer’s here, we’ve passed through more than half of June, Midsummer is over and all my friends have left Uppsala for summer jobs, travels and catching up with old friends.
I’m spending my summer at Danderyds Sjukhus, one of the big hospitals in Stockholm. I work as a nurses’ assistant at a unit for patients that are released from their medical treatment but in too poor a condition, physically or mentally, to be able to return back home. It’s a great opportunity for me as a med-student to see the health care system from this perspective and I’m learning a lot. I want to think it’ll make me a more humle and respectful doctor in the future. The job is frightening in many ways since I’m actually responsible for people’s lives for the first time in my life. It’s enriching knowledge wise because I’m a total newbee, and it’s hard, both physically and mentally. Watching some of these people and learning their tragic life stories sometimes just makes me want to cry. Knowing that my coming into work each morning could perhaps ease the lives of these poor people a little bit, makes it worth every second.
So that’s where I am as of right now. I’m looking forward to feeling more safe and grounded in my position at work, to see all my old friends and to just gather enough thirst for more medical knowledge so that I’ll feel energized enough to start up the second year of my med-school career.
Over and out
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