.::. Food .::.

Food is a big part of my life here. Because apart from cooking, going to the supermarket, going to classes and doing reports and readings, there isn't much to do. Apart from going for parties, drinking and getting drunk that is.



Doing our marketing at the 'Asian Market' is very much on our Saturday 'To-do list' now. That and doing laundry. Fruits and vegetables are cheap there, less than half price compared to supermarkets. I'm going to go there religiously every week! I love the rock melon! It's less than $2 and really sweet. I'm thinking if I should try to be vegetarian here man, fruits and vegetables are so much cheaper than meat. Hahs.

Went to Fai's and Aom's place to finish up on our 1st report. They cooked me great tom-yum soup to make me feel better about my internet, or lack of. It was really great, and I think I can cook my own tom yum soup now! But they made it really spicy, even for me! According to them, it's the authentic thai tom-yum soup.

That's Fai cooking her favourite eggs.

We had a great dinner on Sunday night. Pasta with mushroom, tomatoes and minced meat, corn soup and chicken I think.

I think I'm a great cook in-the-making. I love my soups!

We handed in our first report today, the presentation's tomorrow. One down, 3 more to go. It's crazy. There's endless things to read.

.::. Happy Birthday .::.

It's the boyfriend's birthday today. The first birthday I'm not around since his 18th birthday.

But still...may he have a great birthday. =)





It's beautiful here, and everything is perfect. Except that it would have been better if he were here to share these with me.

I'll be back, and there will be countless birthdays together.

.::. The Early Morning Beach .::.

I stayed up to finish up the Lovely Bones. It's quite nice and touching, but I don't quite like stories which jumps to different scenerios and charcters all the time.

I woke up early anway, and headed to the beach. Thought that I should get some 'exercise' done when the weather is good before heading to the library.



Everytime I come, I'm in awe. The beach is alot less windy and lot more calm in the morning.

=)

Really tranquil and peaceful. I sat down and read a about 40 pages of Rick Steve's travel guide. More of a relaxing morning than an exercising one. I must make a point to wake up early and head to the beach in the mornings more often, before winter comes.

These pictures were not even taken with my DSLR, it's taken with my IXUS 870IS.

My favourite place.

xoxo

.::. Ultimate Inefficiency .::.

Warning: Rant.

I'm going 2 weeks without internet at home and it drives me crazy. I'm always planning my time around the library opening hours so I can get my research and stuff done online. Then there's the mad rush to find all the articles and save them before the library closes so that I can read them at home. I hate it, I feel rather disconnected from the world and my friends back home. I can't Skype or webcam with Joey either.

My roomate is without internet for almost the whole month. When she tried to apply for internet through the phone, she thought that they were going to send her stuff. But ended up, nothing came. Calls to the call centre seem to result in different response. Some of them said that international students are unable to apply for internet, some said that we can apply for it just like the Swedish and some said that we had to pay upfront for the whole year. They can't even seem to be sure of their own internal policies.

Then we had no choice but to get the landlord to help. The plan was for us to register the internet under my roomate's name and pay for a year's subscription upfront. Upon payment, it takes a week for them to send the modem over. The landlord wasn't comfortable with having the internet under his name, I reckon it's just a Swedish thing though I find it hard to comprehend. My other coursemates applied internet under their landlord's name, so the bill comes every month and they got their modem within a week or so.

They took 2 days to send the bill over and I paid for it the very day I received it, hoping that my internet will come SOON. It's the 9th day since we paid the whole year of subscription and the modem is nowhere in sight thought I'm awaiting the postman's arrival eagerly every single freaking day.

Swedish people like to take things slow and it's not in their blood to call and rush for things, even though those are things you have paid for and have a right to ask for. The landlord finally made the call to the enquire about the status, and it's on the 9th day after we paid that they claim that the modem is not sent out yet because there's certain missing information such as date of birth.

All I feel like doing is to curse this freaking inefficiency. How can such inefficiency be possible for a big company?! If information is incomplete, why did the bill come so promptly? And if information is incomplete and they can't send the modem out or process our order, why didn't they bother to call and contact us? We freaking paid for the whole year! It's ridiculous that it took them so long and we had to call them and get such a ridiculous reply. Does it matter if they didn't get our date of birth?!

I've no idea how long are they going to take to send us our modem. Maybe after a week, they might claim that some information is incomplete again. Or maybe they lost our address. I'm lossing faith. I don't get it. I know people are laid back and relaxed here, but I really can't comprehend how they can stand such inefficiency. It takes forever to get things done here.

I reckon Singaporeans are simply too spoilt. We are too used to getting things done quickly and everything is about efficiency. If things are not done, we'll call and complain and fight for our rights. Practically everything can be done immediately and nothing takes more that a week. Maybe that's why work stress is so high and we always have too many deadlines and late nights.

I still can't believe that we take this long just to get internet, especially when we have already paid for a whole year's subscription.

.::. I love Malmo Library! .::.



I spend most of my afternoons/evenings after school here to study and use the internet (since I STILL don't have internet at home). I love it that they have tables with your own light and own electrical plug for your laptop (very important since my laptop's battery is spoilt).

I love the library, it's really pretty! This is one of the many reading areas which looks out to the greenery.

And these are some of the bookshelves.

Most importantly, they have lots of books!

So yea..I love it here. I think we should improve the libraries back home!

.::. Happiness .::.

I think I'm happy, in a calm and contented sort of way. I'm well settled, I love my 'home' and I am glad that I have a nice roomate who cooks for me sometimes and chats with me (in chinese). It's a great bonus to have a roomate who gets along well with you and that you have company. I'm not someone who tries hard to make more friends. To me, if we do get along, friendship comes naturally. I think it's probably easier to get along (on a deeper level) with someone with similar cultural backgroud. So this is a great bonus. =)

I reckon the lifestyle is alot more laidback here. I spend alot of time cooking, grocery shopping (the only type of shopping I can afford), going for lessons and group discussions, doing research and reading at the library and heading out to the nearby beach when the weather is good. I really enjoy strolling on the beach and snapping beautiful scenery.

I felt wretched the first week. And I had to keep reminding myself why I was here and what I wanted to achieve. But now, I'm sure and I'll make sure I acheieve what I set out too.

Lessons here last about an hour or so and the lecturers bascially just touch on the main points. And after every lecture, there's at least 2 chapters to read. So that's at least 8 chapters to read every week. Not to mention the research for the 4 reports due. I seem to have endless materials to go through.

Time to work harder. =)

.::. Lomma Beach .::.



I was planning on staying home or camping at the library to get my research and reading done. But the weather was too good to resist and I went to Lomma Beach instead. It's a beach about 10km away from Lund.

So many people were tanning or going out to sea!

With Fai..

Our group. We played some "Chinese Football" and soccer on the beach. The weather was beautiful, sunny but not hot nor sweaty. Perfect!

I rushed back in the evening and headed to the library for some research. *sigh. My modem is STILL not here and I STILL do not have internet. It's damn irritating.

Meanwhile, I've tonnes to do, all the way till exams in the last week of October. No time for traveling. =(

.::. Welcome Party .::.

Saturday was the Welcome Party for the freshies. I guess it might well be the first and last party I'm going.



I curled my hair! But the wind was so strong that it straightened before I even reached the party.



But I was cold, and didn't have any 'party' clothes to wear!

It was an adventurous night. *sigh. Long story. Let's just say that we forgot our ID and had to go back to get it, missed our bus-stop and had to walk like 20minutes in the very cold before we reached the party. Then we walked 30minutes to spend the night at a friend's place nearby but took the wrong train home the next day and ended up at some other town! Not much harm although we had to walk alot.

Everyday is a learning experience here.

I think I was the only one who wore long sleeves and turtle neck to the party. People still wore rather little. Either they have very good jackets or they are simply too vain to be scared of the cold.

With my roomate, Jia Sui and Anny - 2 taiwanese girls.

The party wasn't much fun, they played mostly house and/or trance. I simply didn't like it. And there's so many predators looking for their prey - not my kind of fun.

I think my chinese and thai will improve here.

.::. Peek-a-boo .::.

It was so cold and rainy on Saturday and Sunday morning. But the sun peeked out in the evening, and the weather was rather good. After some internet-ing at the library, we left when it closed at 4pm and headed to the beach. I had to go, since I knew sunny days were numbered and I badly wanted to see the beach when it was sunny. I cycled there while my roomate jogged.



The beach did not disappoint, it was beautiful.

There were even people swimming. I guess it's the last chance before it turns really cold.

I sat down here...and read a book.

Read 'The lovely bones' which I borrowed from the library.

Time was so short, I can sit there for hours and just look into the sea and enjoy the peace. I only managed to read the first few chapters before meeting my roomate at the nearby supermarket after her run. It gets really windy when the sun sets.

I hope there will be some more sunny days for me to enjoy the beach...

But then again, I'm getting busy with lots of stuff on my agenda.

.::. Around my neighbourhood .::.

It's getting REALLY cold these days. It's so windy and it rains often. I think I need a better waterproof and windproof jacket. It's only September.

There was finally some sun a few days ago, and I managed to visit the beach nearby. I walked about 20 minutes to the beach and walked along the long beach for an hour or two. It was breathtaking. How I wished the weather was good more often, so I can have a picnic or read a book by the beach. But it was VERY windy though.



The sunset. It sets at about 8pm nowadays. But I guess it'll turn dark earlier and earlier from now on.

The beach. I walked for a long long time all the way to the turning torso. It really makes you feel at peace.

You can walk out or jump into the sea to swim. I think it's crowded during summer. But well!!! Summer is over.

=)

My favourite picture so far. =)

.::. My home here .::.

I travel by bus-train-bus to school everyday now. Everything takes about 45minutes compared to 15minutes cycling at my old place. But I very much prefer my present place and would rather take the public transport than cycle, especially since it's getting so cold and windy now. I prefer living in the bigger city than the small (and boring) university town. It seems like all people do is visit nations, have parties and drink and drink and drink - not my kinda thing. Buildings are beautiful, but streets are dead come evening and weekends. It's slightly better in Malmo, but shops are still closed early

I finally got settled down and I'm loving my place.

We've got more or less everything. =)

This is tonight's dinner. *yums. Cold weather makes me crave for spicy food even more. It's a hassel to think of what to cook and to bring out for lunch everyday! But eating out is way too expensive. It doesn't help that I seem to get hungry so often! I wonder if it's the cold weather!!

Life's boring here. I reckon I should write about it in detail someday. But there's nothing much to do when shops close at 7pm on weekdays and 3pm on Saturdays and stay closed on Sundays. All we do is visit supermarkets, and more supermarkets which have longer opening hours. People here are so relaxed and it takes forever to get things done.

Though I'm getting used to things here, I still miss home.

.::. Goodbye Summer .::.

Just a week or two ago, it was still sunny and I went out in my jeans and tee. But now, it's getting so cold and windy! I'm already wearing 2 layers with my jacket to stay warm. I totally can't imagine winter. The wind here is crazy!



Went with Aom to her mentor group meeting yesterday since it was in Malmo and near my place. We visited the turning torso again and the beach rather near my place. It was so windy! Look at my hair! It's perpetually messy.

After awhile it started raining. But the rain here stops really quickly.

Visited the city hall again.

And there was a beautiful rainbow near the Central Station. Very pretty...

So cold, so cold. Goodbye summer, hello gloomy weather.

.::. On the move .::.



Fai and Aom came over to my old place to help me move my 2 big luggage. My backpack was all the way higher than me and so heavy that I can barely balance, much less move my 40kg over luggage. My handle of my luggage broke when they tried to carry it down the stairs. I discovered that my backpack had so many compartments for me to squeeze things inside. I was really touched and thankful for them. Fai even helped me with the luggage all the way back to my new place. Thank you!

And because I know them, I get free lunch at the Thai restaurant nearby. *awwww. Really great asian food!

Our place has got almost everything, except a microwave. I managed to get a second-hand one for a really good price. But problem is that I didn't think that it was so big and heavy, so I went alone. It was so heavy that I can't walk long with it. I ended up having to call my roomate and wait for her to finish her lesson before moving it with me. Still, we struggled up the bus and the 5minute walk home. It was all worth it though! We've everything and all settled in. My roomate is really sweet, she have been cooking for me the past few days, and it's really great to have food to eat when you get home tired and hungry. *touched. It's really better to stay with someone you know, and a chinese to boot. =)

And this is the beautiful library where I use my internet daily now. It closes at 8pm. It's really beautiful and filled with many books. The good thing is that there are always seats in some corner and many electrical points. I'm beginning to think that Singapore's library ain't that good. There are 30 school libraries in Lund itself and one more state library. And a few bustops or 15minutes walk away from my place, there's this big state library too. I reckon there are many nice places where I can study at.

It's damn cool that library membership is free and you can borrow 50 books for four weeks (2 weeks for some) at one time! FIFTY BOOKS!!? I was quite shocked and reconfirmed this many times, I thought it was like a quota for a year or something. There's even lots of CDs, like pop songs and even chinese songs! It's too bad that the collection of english books ain't that big.

I only have about 10 hours of lessons every week, but I've like 4 five-page reports due in about 6 weeks. Exams are in the third week of October. I guess I should start some serious studying soon.

It's getting cold here. It goes to the low tens on some days and I'm really cold since there's very strong wind here. I'm already wearing 2 layers with my coat. I can't imagine how to survive winter.

On a great note, I just paid for my internet and I hope I get my modem soon!

.::. Moved .::.

In case people are wondering what happened to me, I've moved! I moved to Malmo to share an apartment with one taiwanese girl and it has been great. I finally feel 'at home' and got settled down. The first week was hellish, I was so homesick and I really didn't like the place that I stayed. It didn't help that I didn't know anyone yet and felt so alone. But things really picked up since then, and I'm starting to enjoy my days here.

I've been really busy since moving last Friday. My luggage was crazy and the handle broke!! *sigh. I knew those lousy soft case can't be trusted. I hope it can last and let me bring my stuff home. The weekend was filled with full-day tours and we went to Anny's and Emma's place for dinner again. Then I went to Ikea and bought lots of stuff and carried everything home myself. And today, we got a big second-hand microwave oven and moved it back home. So tired!!

I'm really very touched to have met very nice people here. If not for them, life really wouldn't be so easy here. Thank you Fai, Aom, Chia Sui for helping me move my stuff! And there's Anny, Emma and Henry who makes staying here so much fun. It's great to speak chinese at home and have a group of taiwanese friends since there's so much we've in common and things we eat. Hahs. Emma made really nice desserts that day!

I haven't got internet and it sucks big time. Otherwise, everything is perfect. We've got an oven, microwave, toaster, coffeemaker and hot water boiler at home! We're waiting for the bill to come so that we can pay and they can send us the modem and stuff. Hopefully we can get it by next week.

School started on Monday and everyone seem to have got their textbooks. *sigh. I can foresee how much I'll have to get done within the next month or two. Things are mad expensive here. Textbooks cost $150 and journals which they complie for us to read cost $15.

Guess friends are really important when you're so far away from home. I'm really thankful for them. Have got MANY pictures, but guess that has to wait till I get internet at home.

.::. Skane Tour .::.

Went with the school tour on Sunday. Full day tour around Skane (pronounced as "score-neh")



At one of the national park.

The seaside at the national park.

At another beach, with damn strong wind!!

=)

.::. Halmstads .::.

I moved out of my old room and moved in with a taiwanese girl. Went to Halmstads to visit my new landlord last Saturday since they wanted to see me.



We caught the 7.45am train and was there by 9plus. Halmstads is a small and quiet town.

Realized that my landlord was a Taiwanese and they lived near the beach. It was so cold, the wind was crazy!! Just look at our eyes and hair. But some people are like surfing and playing water sports there.




At one of the church at Halmstads.

Then there was dinner - korean BBQ with kimchi! Damn shiok.