Week 4...

Things are beginning to settle into a routine now, though there’s still plenty of new and interesting stuff going on. On Monday 4th September it was my German friend Konrad’s birthday, so I had a bit of a mosey on down to the appropriate halls, where there was a bit of a gathering. Drunk Germans are funny.

Also this week I have discovered many a new place. During a wandering through the town, I discovered an actual CD shop! These boutiques have been noticeable by their absence thus far, so I was pleasantly surprised not just to find one, but actually a good one! A good range of many types of music, bargain sections, t-shirts and freebies can be found here. This week alone I have acquired 2 cds for the equivalent of £1.50 each (one by the laughably-monikered “Snakegod”) and a free Amon Amarth banner. I am happy with this place, and shall visit more when I have das Geld.

On Tuesday 5th I moseyed on down to the town library to get me a book for my new project. In a little over a month, we are expected to read a Swedish book and do a 15 minute presentation on it. Now, personally I’m capable of this, having studied for 2 years and done the same number of oral exams, but I can see it being a real problem for the complete beginners, especially those who haven’t done languages before. I could be proven wrong, but I rather think they need to adapt their system here. Anyway, I got a book about the dead coming back to life in Lappland, though that was partly by chance because Henning Mankell was proving too difficult.

On the same day, I could be found watching a Swedish film in an effort to improve my language. While this wasn’t as successful as it could have been, I was kept amused by the fact that Garfield is called Gustav in Sweden. No-one knows why.

This week I have also taken a long walk up the river, just to see where it goes, which was nice and peaceful, and made for a very relaxing afternoon :)

Last night, Saturday 9th, I persuaded a few people to come with me to Taj Mahal, the only rock club in Västerås. Well, I say club, it turned out to be more of a bar. And an Indian Restaurant (which explains the name). With goldfish. I quite liked the atmosphere though, and I’d happily go there again, though preferably on an actual rock night; as the band on last night were a reggae band (the rather impressive Dick Diamond), the whole night was themed in that direction. All the same, a good night, methinks.Especially as we saw a hedgehog on the way home!

From Sweden 1

Mainly this week it’s been quite quiet though, which is why I’ve finally got round to updating this. Ta for the patience (if any of you were actually bothered) and from now on updates will be both reasonably regular and fairly current. :)