Back in Sweden

It has been a while since I posted my last blog. I had intentions of posting a new entry, but kept on procrastinating until today when I decided it had to be done. I departed Chicago on the 4th of August on an emotional high. My parents, brother and aunt visiting from London all came to the airport to see me off. I rarely get emotional when saying goodbye to people that I will not be seeing for a long time, but this time was an exception. I was still doing relatively well until I went past security and was waving to them, I almost had tears in my eyes but quickly collected myself and headed to my flight terminal.

I flew with SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) and I have to admit that this was the most comfortable flight that I have ever been on, although I was still nervous for a good part of the flight. I barely noticed when the plane was in the air and had to look out the window to verify that we really were in the air. The flight was a direct one from Chicago to Stockholm and was approximately 8 hours long; I spent a good part of my time listening to my ipod and tried falling asleep but my attempts were unsuccessful. The stewardess presented me with a couple of drinks shortly thereafter and that calmed me down a bit and helped me relax for the rest of the flight.

My flight arrived in Stockholm on the morning of August 5th, I was shocked by the number of other American passports presented while waiting at passport control; I was not aware that Sweden was a frequent destination for Americans. I also thought about how much easier it was for me to get into another country than my own! (This stems from an incident last year when I was interrogated and forced to miss my flight to Chicago when I arrived from Sweden in NJ). Upon getting my documents approved by the customs agent, I proceeded to obtain my luggage and took a train into the city where I met up with Indra's mom and headed to Linköping. While on the train through Sweden, there was great sense of familiarity from seeing the buildings and landscape once again.

I spent the first couple of days trying to get over my jetlag and in sync with Swedish time. I also met some people whom I got acquainted with during my last trip and reconnected with them again. I have spent my first two weeks here trying to learn Swedish and get myself prepared for my first course at Stockholm University. The Swedish part is not going so well, although I feel like I am making some progress.

Classes begin on Aug 24th, and I am excited and nervous at the same time. I will be heading to Stockholm tomorrow the 2oth to have orientation and get to meet the professors in the Biology department along with my classmates. The biggest obstacle I am facing right now is securing a place to live. There is this long waiting list for student dorms because Swedish Universities are not required to provide students a place to live. The tuition is free, but you have to find your own accommodation. Tuition will no longer be free starting next year, so new students from then on will have to pay tuition fees and also find accommodation. I consider myself extremely lucky! Fortunately for me, there are some people who have offered me a place to stay while I keep searching for an apartment or a student dorm. There is supposed to be a number of last minute apartments available for rent within the next couple of days, I hope I am lucky enough to snatch one up. Wish me luck!

I am going to try to start updating this blog weekly at least, to provide updates on how I am adjusting to the new system and culture. I know I am also going to be very busy with class material and a social life so please be understanding if I again deviate from my plan of weekly updates. Med vänliga hälsningar, Toheeb

Sweden

A lot of people are unaware of this, but I had intentions of attending grad school in Sweden. I was fortunate enough to be accepted into Stockholm University and I welcome all the challenges that come with studying in a foreign country. I will be studying a masters program in Molecular Life Sciences; I am a bit nervous but I believe I will be successful if I just work hard and stay focused. It was a tedious process having to call numerous people almost on a daily basis to inquire about my application but the outcome at the end of the day was favorable.

Upon gaining admission, I faced another process of waiting trying to get my visa processed by the Swedish consulate. I was initially told that it took approximately two to three months to get the visa processed, but I believe my aggressiveness and pestering of the consulate and migration board paid off as I received my visa last friday; approximately a month and a half after my application was submitted.

I am very excited that I will be heading back to Sweden, I met so many cool and down to earth people during my visit there last year and am eagerly anticipating reuniting with them again. Indra is also very excited and I am excited to see her again after about a year. I look forward to experiencing a bit of the cool Swedish summer, having fika, and marveling at the sound of Swedes speaking English. I do not look forward to a higher cost of living, paying to use bathrooms (that is one thing I really think needs to be changed) and the absence of some of my favorite restaurants. However, the positives outweigh the negatives so I am sure I will be able to make an adjustment.

I will be departing Chicago for Stockholm on the 4th of August and should be arriving in Stockholm on the morning of the 5th. I hope I don't get too nervous like I usually do before my flights, perhaps a couple of patron shots should calm the nerves? I shall put that theory to test! My parents don't seem too happy about me leaving to go so far away, but the time has come for me to do things I want and need to do for my future.

The next two weeks will be very busy for me as I start preparing, sorting some things out here and in Sweden, and most importantly hanging with some friends before my departure. I sure will miss my friends, but I have been bugging them all to visit and also telling them to get Skype so we can still communicate. I hope to keep those who care to follow updated about my experiences, I am aiming for at least one entry a week but I can't promise that. That's all for now folks, stay tuned for the next entry!

Memorable Weekend

This past weekend, my best friend Patrick tied the knot with his lovely fiancee Kapria and it was definitely a ceremony to remember. I hardly go out with the guys and had been looking forward to this event for quite sometime. The weekend started off with the wedding rehearsal held at Brookfield Zoo, it was not much of a rehearsal as we were clowning around the majority of the time but we did manage to figure out what needed to be done on the actual wedding day.

We proceeded to have dinner that night, get to meet family members of both the bride and groom and got acquainted with other participants of the wedding ceremony. Afterwards, we headed to our hotel rooms to get some drinks and enjoy the rest of the night. We spent that night cracking numerous jokes about one another and remembering our memorable times from college.

The next day we woke up to get some breakfast, ran some last minute errands and began our preparation for the wedding ceremony. I was trying to get Patrick to do a video interview about how he was feeling before we started to get dressed but he was having none of it. Patrick and his fiancee did an excellent job of picking out the tuxedos because we were all looking so clean and sharp, professional photographers were also hired to take pictures of us getting dressed and I can't wait to see how they all turned out. The limousine ride to the ceremony was not pleaseant due to the limo company not bringing the vehicle that was requested; add to that us not leaving on time because they wanted to receive their money up front when they already had the payment information, worst of all the limo had a very musty smell and we had to sit in it for the 20 minute ride.

We arrived at the zoo and began the ceremony, I was a bit nervous as I did not want to be the one who ruined the wedding procession, luckily the bridesmaid that was walking down the aisle with me calmed me down and we did a good job. It was an emotional ceremony and we were all glad to be witnesses as our friend read his vows to his life partner. Finally, we had the reception where all the bridesmaids and groomsmen were introduced followed by the bride and groom, it was nice seeing all the happy family and friends gather to celebrate an important event. The surprise of the night was when Patrick's best man Bruce read the best man speech, those who know Bruce are aware of his shenanigans and we really did not know what to expect from him. Surprisingly enough, Bruce did a wonderful job on the speech and I am glad to have recorded that moment.

The rest of the night consisted of dancing, mingling, and joking around. At around midnight, we decided to call it a night as we were all exhausted from the running around we had been doing for the past couple of days. Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Patrick Robinson, wishing you a happy married life.