sweden ink.

2009-11-28T01:17:00.002+01:00

another week's gone! ayykee.
but we're going to Malmö tommorow. to the newest ikea, the turning torso, and then laser dome in the late afternoon. im much looking forward!
hari raya haji dinner was good too.
weekend's finally here! woot. :):):D

Taizé Lund

2009-11-14T23:55:00.025+01:00

just when i thought i've reached the epitome of my exchange experience and wailed for home, He dropped me beautiful strangers, renewing a light of HOPE.

im in LUND UNIVERSITY! and tonight, im just so thankful that im here. the whole experience has been great so far. be it socially, academically or religiously. it doesnt need a Yale or Harvard to make a good one. at the end of the day, it is pretty much the opportunities you choose to accept and the extent of your willingness to share yourself with others.

it's Taizé Lund weekend here. Brother Matthew from Taizé has arrived in Sweden! and some young adults from all over Sweden came togeher in April to organise this mega ecumenical gathering. i registered myself as a volunteer some weeks ago. and Evelina assigned me the task of preparing food at Pingstkyrkan (Pentecostal Church) on a Friday afternoon. there, i met two swedish folks in a spotless kitchen down in the basement. they had a classy dining area too. almost like a five star hotel if you didnt see a cross on the wall. surprisingly, it was just me and two Swedish grandmoms. i had expected more youth volunteers in fact. and some youthy-camp-style-cooking-in-the-kitchen. we chatted while slicing the leeks and squash. i've to mention, they were really accomodating, speaking in english most of the time. you see, i hear about how my other non-swedish speaking friends feel so left out when their corridor mate yak in swedish. it wasn't that tough to overcome the barrier of languange, nationality and even AGE. i'll call it, the wonders of Church Culture.

so here's presenting, Birgitta (Bridget). the other, Gunborgs, left earlier. one pot contains the green linsouppa (lentil soup) for lunch on Saturday. and the other pots are filled with pasta sauce for dinner the next day too.

then, i headed to the friary first to meet up with the other students for evening prayer at the Cathedral.

Brother Björn made everyone check their duties and attendance for the weekend against a row of post-its on above the piano because most of us didn't check or reply his repeated emails. oops!

Stephen from Milan and Yocie from Indonesia.

then Benoit insisted we register proper, even though there wasn't much of a different. so here's inside cafe hut, beside Lund Cathedral. Maria was there too! one of the girls i went on the wood walk at Genarp with. but she and Josephina were too busy planning for this weekend that i havent seen them around since..

in the Cathedral, all the pews were removed and carried to the crypt. something never done in fourteen years! since the last Taizé meeting was held in Lund in 1995.

no pictures though. i think it's rude to snap when people are praying. even without flash.

so moving on to day two, Saturday..

08.30 Morning Prayer
10.00 Organ Recital
10.45 Bible Introduction
12.45 Midday Prayer
13.30 Lunch
14.30 Signs of Hope and sharing
17.30 Dinner
19.00 Br. Matthew talks about the Taizé community
20.30 Evening Prayer

i don't know the first person. but the next is Jonas, Josephina, Brother Matthew, me and Sam. Br. Matt joined us for dinner at the Pentecostal Church. there were other churches hosting the participants too. such as Baptist, All Saints, etc. this was an ecumenical event! it's wonderful to see christians working and praying together! also, a large group of fifteen year old confirmants attended this gathering in Lund. Sam was the speaker for the talk after lunch. he spoke about micro-financing as signs of hope. basically, loaning small amount of money to the poverty stricken people in africa. this will enable them to start up a trade to make a living. apparently 98% of the loans have been repaid. what's small to us, can in fact make a difference to them. remember, they live on $2/day. i was the only non-swedish speaking there. so i had a private interpreter(: but during the sharing later onwards, they attempted to speak half the time, as there were another two swedish male elders. in fact, all eight of them in my group were swedes from all over too. im glad i had to opportunity to mingle with them.

next, a picture in the cathedral before people streamed in. i'll find a nicer picture of the crowd when the official photos are out. so we had Taizé session and the lighting of candles to signify the resurrection of Christ because the night before, we remembered His crucifixion. This is practiced in Taizé (the village in France) every week. see the wooden stools, they are the cheat-kneel-kinda-stools. another clever creation!

the new testament is a swedish-english side by side version. Birgitta gave it to me on Friday after we shared a good time. inside, is a short note of love and blessings from her too. i think it was really sweet of her. i met her again earlier today! she gives hugs that radiate LOVE. thank God for angels. (:

then tomorrow, there's the Eucharistic celebration at the Cathedral at 11am.

2009-11-12T19:07:00.000+01:00

2009-10-10T02:43:00.003+02:00

my first attempt at baking kanelbulle turned out pretty well. the gang came over for a largely swedish meal. we played blackjacks with some horrible dares. stinky great fun still!

taize and fika

2009-10-07T00:30:00.004+02:00

on every first and third tuesday evenings of the month, there'll be a taize gathering at our weekday mass chapel. i like the familiarity of this prayer.(:

fika- a social institution in sweden. WARNING: AN ADDICTIVE HABIT! it's the practice of a coffeebreak. anytime and anywhere. swedes drink LOADS of coffee. there' ALWAYS a fika after church meets. and it lasted til ten plus tonight cos 12 pple sat around and talked christianity. met new friends! polish, bolivia and a dominican sister...

and while shoping at willy's today, i bought punshrulle. a swedish pastry. green marzipan with the ends dipped in chocolate, and inside a mix of crushed cookies, butter, and cacao, flavoured with punsch liqueur :):):). this pastry is often called dammsugare ("vacuum cleaner"), referring not only to its appearance, but also to the supposed practice of the pastry baker collecting crumbs from the day's cookies for filling. other names are arraksrulle (as arrak is an ingredient in punsch ) and "150-ohmer" (due to the brown-green-brown coloring). -wiki

somewhat like the Prinsesstårta..

but trying them once is enough, its uber sweet for me.

but we ate scones on Kanelbulle Day

2009-10-05T15:30:00.006+02:00

and this is sunday's lunch after mass. we made potato leek soup! and scones. its KANELBULLE DAY on the 4th October. makes me wanna bake cinnamons now too.

film evening

2009-09-23T15:11:00.006+02:00

23rd! today marks one month in lund. so fast. time to pay bills too. we've joined kristianstad nation. and we're going for the novischpub later this evening.

we watched a film at the friary last night. now im thinking if the word 'priory' in dominican priory is related to the word friary. hmm. so we had chips and cookies (yay!) and a film discussion after the show. its my second swedish film! so much more intellectual than the first one of vampires. here's a brief from wiki..

You, the Living (Swedish: Du levande) is a 2007 Swedish black comedy film written and directed by Roy Andersson. The film is an exploration on the "grandeur of existence,"[1] centered around the lives of an overweight woman, a disgruntled psychiatrist, a heart broken groupie, a carpenter, a business consultant, an elementary school teacher with emotional issues and her rug selling husband, among others. The basis for the film is an old Norse proverb, "Man is man's delight," taken from Hávamál in the Poetic Edda.[2] The title comes from a quote in Roman Elegies by Goethe, which is also shown as a title card right in the beginning of the film: "Be pleased then, you the living, in your delightfully warmed bed, before Lethe's ice-cold wave will lick your escaping foot."

Shot in an unconventional manner, it consists of a fluent succession of exactly 50 short sketches, most of them with a tragicomic undertone, and all except one filmed in one take. The cast is non-professional and alienating techniques such as presenting the characters in grim make-up and having them talk directly to the camera are extensively used. The financing was troublesome and the shooting took three years to finish. The film won the Silver Hugo for Best Direction at the 2007 Chicago International Film Festival and has received positive reviews.

Hazwan's Hari Raya

2009-09-21T23:24:00.006+02:00

hari raya dinner at delphi. goodies were all baked by hazwan's mom and dhl-ed over. coolness. (:

2009-09-20T13:50:00.007+02:00

pictures from stockholm!(: i finally found time to upload them because i didnt make it for today's excursion to the monastery. i was at central station at 9.25! then i called the indo and the french. the 5 of them altgt didnt answer my call. so i cycled to church for mass at ten. and there, i met the indos. oh well, im glad i've got some free time today to slack. spent the past few days reading and writing my essay for monday's seminar. oh, tonight's the hari raya party! im glad i'll be home for cny. whee.

anyway, stockholm was great fun. though it was a very last minute trip, booking train tics and hostel only two days in advance...

2009-09-20T13:34:00.005+02:00

2009-09-20T13:18:00.005+02:00

2009-09-20T12:53:00.002+02:00

2009-09-09T00:08:00.015+02:00

ive returned from the most random ever bbq. that materialised because two asian gangs bumped into each other at a supermarket after class. and tada. this-was-how-we-met. though i was home all day in my slackest week. i've got no lessons for the next two days too. but today was productive, i finally managed to start reading my text for trade theory. the other book which i ordered from barnes and nobles shld be arriving soon too. textbooks here are exhorbitant.

when a singapore mom comes over, we are treated to a FEAST. monday's dinner was at delphi's too. happening place. an asian crowd again. half of them reside there apparently. good thing germco was there too, so we cycled back tgt.

sunday: i went to bjarred again. this time, w/o entering the suana. this was after mass and lunch at the priory. im always well fed when im with them. appetizers + main course + desserts-brownies with extreme sugar icing. we came back from the beach for more desserts again. oh, my skyrocketing sugar intake has deepened my voice much. im glad i brought lohanguo over. and now after all the bbq food, i suppose i'll find my voice by friday. i wanna play brannboll! i missed it last week. we're playing it again next wednesday. i pray for good weather. yay(:

2009-09-06T02:42:00.013+02:00

the Kräftskiva aka Crayfish party. friday night 4/9.

of schnappes and crayfish and meatballs and potatoes and much more!

the Swedish drinking song.
Helan går
Sjung hopp faderallan lallan lej
Helan går
Sjung hopp faderallan lej
Och den som inte helan tar
Han heller inte halvan får
Helan går
Sjung hopp faderallan lej

petra's demo of how-to-eat-the-crayfish(:

and twin mentor group joins in after dinner.

2009-09-04T15:16:00.011+02:00

(onsdsag)
student mass and lunch. 12.10pm. everyweek! i like it so much that im looking forward to wednesdays again. its was celebrated at the Domincan Priory near the AF building. the mass was in spanish and some parts, latin. but they preached the gospel and homily in english. *thumbs up* the students prepared simple lunch for fellowship. so i finally met young catholics from the world over that day. then it was over to klostergarden for dinner at kylie's. close to 40 min of cycling towards the south. we brought princesstarta over. lime green marzipan swedish dessert. worth a try, but that's it. i thought it looked really nice at ikea's back home.

(torsdag)
laundry morning! finally. my slot was at 8am. i made sure i woke up on time. think i did four lots. i washed all the curtains and rugs at my place. regorganised the furnitures in my room. i like it so much better now! just maybe, i need to pick some flowers on the way back. heh. trade theory class from 2 to 4 with kenneth. classes here start a quarter past the hour, and there's a fifteen minutes break in between. and sheesh, i was plain whining about my november's schedule. sucky. met the mentor group at 5.30 at the central station. we took a bus to Bjarred for a Swedish suana. a long walk from the bus stop! and the wind's getting chilly these days. but still, i had a soft serve from a popular ice cream store. swedish people flock there during summer. the place's linked to mainland by what seemed like a 700m long bridge on stilts. we could see malmo and the turning torso, the oresund bridge and copenhagen from the suana! hott..

(fredag)
swedish test at 8am. i woke up at 6am to cram the verbs. almost everyone left before the hour. i found the airpump today too! minli's been trying all means to describe the exact location to me. and i've been keeping my eyes like WIDE OPEN for a pump. so she brought me to the pump after the test. its just a pipe sticking out from the wall. it couldnt look any more insignificant. but thank God, my tyre's just flat and not punctured. i dont wanna to waste money on bike repairs. oh! the bus fare to malmo wasnt 66! but around like 34. the value displayed is the value left. and the 1 of the hundred was just spoilt that day. so i'll be going to malmo more often without feeling the pinch now. :):) i want to shop. taco for lunch again. i've been walking my bike quite abit today. wind's at fifty kph! brrr.. so i dressed warm and cycled to ECIII just to see the note on the classroom door saying class is cancelled, bla bla bla. arggh. met the hongkong guys there. they wrote a translation for the note in english. very considerate! so i decided to walk the bike again, and took snapshots of my usual cycle path. oh. lionel came by after he picked his laundry. made him tacos. he brought germ's home-made dumplings too. and we tried to fry them. with margarine. i dont stock oil. now i wished i bought butter instead. the dumplings were so nua it turned out like pieces of chicken. somehow.

2009-09-01T22:00:00.010+02:00

i finally had a proper conversation with a swedish. now that they're all back in school. that occured when kylie was lost for over an hour even when minli rode out to get her. im still uncertain as to which nation to join. today lecture was good. they shld have economic history back home. swedish langauge basic course ended this evening. test's on friday at 8am. but i do want to join the rest at lomma on thurs. shall see how! (:

minli's shared corridor (kitchen, dining, living rms) at delphi. they each have one shelf in the fridge and one kit. cabinet. hmm..

2009-08-30T23:15:00.007+02:00

10am mass at st.thomas catholic church of lund - i brought along des's order of the mass translation in 10 languages.(: walked around the city centre. only Ahlens is open on sunday. bought two shawls(: and shopped at coop. finally bought myself jasmine rice! and taco sauce. tacos for breakfast this week! but i chose pita instead of tortilla. the difference is one's leavened(with yeast) the other's not. i think. hahs.

and i finally joined grp9 today at 7pm. we went over to maria's place for hotdogs(ikea style), salted popcorns (there's no market for sweet ones here) and chips. there were so many germans. and two japanese and another sg too and etccc. and arggh, we watched a vampire movie. sick sick sick. apparently it is a famous swedish production. we had english subtitles. i really dont like scary movies. plus, i rode home all alone. and everytime i see a passerby, i feel comforted. i counted, four times. and three cars. and a fifteen minute ride home through woody-wood-park-connectors.:/ met germco again! when i was parking my bike. thank God for familiar faces.:j

2009-08-29T23:25:00.005+02:00

2009-08-29T22:47:00.011+02:00

here's a peek to my housing at ostra torn. (uustrah-tawn)

valkommen til mitt ikea furnished dorm. (:
short rainbow arc

the guys played soccer while the ladies were preparing for potluck

the view from my dining area

my block's adjacent to the duplex blocks. pam and gang stays the left block, germ and co stays on the right. close proximity!

and the baking oven. though i wished it was a microwave.

the tall fridge and cabinets

the door to the left is the bathroom. its spacious and clean with useful cabinets and many hooks. the prev tenant left a broom and brush, hangers and photo frames. (:

2009-08-29T22:28:00.006+02:00

today's stay-home-saturday. i woke up at 2pm, cleaned up the house, cooked lunch and dinner. brought the clothes to the laundry room, realised i had to book a slot first, checked my post, got locked in the the laundry room. called germ to the rescue! and retarded me, push the door outwards! not pull inwards. ayes. skyped alot.:):) til laundry time at 10pm. which is now. but i dont dare to walk to the next block. its so dark and late. i'll do it another time. i shall attempt to upload pictures and get a tagboard working.

2009-08-27T18:48:00.011+02:00

a bus ride to malmo cost 42SEK.
the return trip cost 80SEK. ouch.

the 2 hk guys biked there in an hour and a half. so yes.. i rode back home after swedish class at 11. left my files and walked to the bus stop. (250m away) met minli and kylie again and the 3 other hks on the same bus. spent the whole aftn there shopping for pillows, blankets. bought a pyjamas set at 29SEK too. bought the items at member's price but i gave up filling up the form after awhile. since we checked out alrd. mentor groups going drinking again. eeks. i shall meet lionel to head to willy's instead. i haven't decided if we're walking there and pushing the trolley 1.5km home or bike there and carry the foodstuff on our backs. i prefer option one.

plans for friday:
9.30 to 1pm - swedish music, sweden and the swedes university studies
3 to 5pm - welcome reception
dinner - international potluck. i need to whip sth up. hmm..

2009-08-27T00:55:00.004+02:00

you see, if i could count the number of times God has been working in my life. i'll be counting everyday!

arise and shine at 6.30. swedish class was at 9-12. i left the house at 8.20-ish and took a long walk to class. met the sgs again. they rented their bikes! kinda spent three hours plus the whole day walking from shop to shop looking for a decent bike. either they were too pricey with no contractual agreements (like sell-back schemes) or they were rusty, brakes spoilt, seats off height, loose chain etc. spent lunchtime searching for bikes. registration meeting from 2 to 5. this time, it was more efficient. we left at 4 and toured the city for bikes. i finally bought one at 1400SEK. with triple brakes. phew. i skipped mentor group outing again today. they were going to vg nation party = endless drinking. lionel and pam hosted dinner today. the 9 of us sgs dined and mingled til now. just got back. they live in the block in front of mine. swedish class starts at 9 later today. we'll prob travel up to malmo's ikea to get pillows! yay!

oh yes, i've got a swedish mobile number now. so my sg's sim card has been removed from my phone. don't bother calling it. heh.

god natt.

2009-08-25T21:50:00.007+02:00

i roamed around the area to get accustommed to the location after brunch. came back, double checked with google. and left the house again. coincidentally i met the four other biz students who were about to leave also. so i followed them to the city area, intending to buy our bikes first before heading to info meeting. it was a futile attempt that turned out to be a useful awareness as i learnt how to ride on a bus. its cheaper if you travel in big groups. somehow. weirdness. at least now i know, you can hop on another or few more bus rides within an hour from the time you board the first bus.

i've been spending so much time with singaporeans today it seems. after swedish class, i met minli. she was thinking of going to willy's and i figured i really needed to do some grocery shopping. so i skipped mentor group picnic since i was super late and the party was down south. we detoured to her apt to get her shopping bags. we bummed ard abit, she gave half her loaf of bread to me. which is like as tall as the ones back in spore stand. her housing's so different from mine. with shared level kitchen and teevee! but noisy parties. my side of the town seems to be more atas thus quiet, and caters to family style living. oh well. there's much to buy at willy's, but i knew i cldnt carry much home. my shoulders are still aching and my palms are blistered from lugging thirty kg of belongings ystd. i don't have a bike yet, so i walked half an hour home, alone. the buildings are rather sparsely erected, i think it's safe too. i made sure i was home before the sun goes down, which is like around eightish nine. and i made simple dinner. i havent been taking photos, here's a brief...

2009-08-25T09:38:00.001+02:00

i've reached lund and i like my apartment. like in the photos, there's my own kitchenette and toilet. and most importantly, my own private space.

i forgot my retainers but i rmbed everything else.
my luggage wheel broke off but God sent an Iranian girl to my rescue. thank you.
i sat beside a Thai exchange student on Thai airs. food's good. but thumbs down for entertainment. but it saved me from being jet-lagged. cos i slept thru out.

there' general meeting later at 2pm.
swedish class from 4-6pm.
and mentor group picnic at 5pm.

im gonna have to find a supermart to top up my sim card, buy food. and get a bicycle to move around Lund. and i need a blanket and a pillow and my heater to start working...