V-Dala LandskapPosten article (November 2011)

The days are getting colder and shorter and in November the snow will most probably cover the streets of Uppsala. While that may seem daunting for those coming from warmer countries, where this kind of weather is inexistent, it can actually be quite enjoyable. You will find nations are especially cozy places to hang out with your friends during this time.

Pepparkakor, a type of cookie made of ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves, will soon fill every supermarket as part of both the winter arrival and Christmas preparations. A word of warning though: you may start hating these cookies after so many weeks eating them and when you see them everywhere you go! If you prefer drinks, check out the julmust, a Christmas drink you can only find on this time of the year, also in any supermarket close to you. Here in Sweden, Christmas celebrations occur on the 4 weekends before the day itself, which in Swedish is referred to as “Adventsljusstake”, meaning “Advent wreath” in English. In those weekends you will have the chance to visit one of many Christmas markets, hear Saint Lucia sing (a singing procession headed by one girl wearing a crown of candles) or see the many decorations all over town. Closer to the date itself do not miss the opportunity of trying the traditional Swedish julbord, the standard Christmas dinner in Scandinavian countries. Of course, glögg (comforting Swedish wine), together with a nice fika, should always be present in our lives.

Getting involved in a nation is a unique experience that solely Uppsala can offer. If you can afford it, you should attend one of the many gasks, such as the very popular julgask at V-Dala on the 17th of December. It is guaranteed you will get considerable amounts of drinks, alcoholic or not, have a nice three course meal and enjoy the company of those sitting beside you, while singing Swedish songs.

The V-Dala International Committee is always looking for people who would like to help with the organization of its diverse events. We are, for example, organizing a game night, in which you can play a big variety of board games with your friends. Also, there will be a snowman competition, probably one of the highlights of the semester, with prizes for the teams building the best snowman. Moreover, preparations for the ski trip next semester are already taking place. If you want to take part in this active group please send an e-mail to iu@v-dala.se.

Looking forward to see you all in our future activities!

Tiago Pinheiro

International Secretary

V-Dala LandskapPosten article (October 2011)

It doesn’t matter if we are Swedish students or international students. It doesn’t matter if we are from an energetic & vibrant city or, from a small village full of untouched natural beauty. We don’t care which corner of the world we come from because these corners are part of the same room. 

When you live in Uppsala, you know in your heart that we are all equal... and at the same time we are all unique, we all have something to share, something to say, something that will enrich our views and perspectives.

There is no absolute truth, although we tend to believe so. There is no path to follow, although we feel the need to check a map or draw a plan. But one thing is certain: we are all in Uppsala, we are all in Sweden and we all have the opportunity of playing a role in one of the most uniquely fulfilling student town in the world, let alone Europe! Whether you like to dance, do some sport, go clubbing, travel, meet new people, you will find Uppsala has something to offer you.

The leaves have already started falling, each in its turn, creating a new path for the new students to experience. This started with the truly diverse orientation week and many took part in trips to IKEA with the same excitement one goes travelling. As it gets colder you will meet new friends with whom you will look forward to share a bottle of glögg (comforting Swedish wine), have fika with or have a laugh after a busy day studying. Some of you will also experience a gasque for the first time and realize how singing brings people together. And how great it is going to be to build the first snowman! The V-Dala International Committee will make sure your weeks are filled with activities, allowing you to try new things and interact with different cultures. Among our many plans are origami workshops, to teach you the Japanese art of paper folding, international cuisine nights, to try food from all countries in the world, a ski trip, turning your winter into an adrenaline slope, etc… Game nights and winter fika will also play its role in warming up the cold winter.

In my humble opinion I should say each person will experience this new life differently but all will certainly make lifetime memories.

Welcome to Uppsala.

Welcome home!

Tiago Pinheiro

International Secretary

Ski trip at Romme Alpin, Sweden

Not many people know but I've long had a list of things I want to do in life. One of those things is skiing. I went on a ski trip last weekend with the Chinese-Swedish association (SKS) to Romme Alpin, Börlange. It took 2h30min by bus and I had to wake up at 6 AM after going partying the night before. However, I managed to sleep on the bus and soon found out I had not been the only one on the bus that had been to the same corridor party.

The weather was perfect during the two days of the trip: sunny and between -3 and 0 degrees. When arriving I got amazed with the hight of the slopes and wondered how I would manage to ski all that downhill! The ski resort wakes up very early (9 AM) and soon becomes crowded, as it was when we arrived. We got the equipment and I soon discovered that ski boots are not at all comfortable, maybe in order to prevent you from injuries.

There are two kind of lifts: the ones where you sit, and the ones you grab and get pulled. The first time I tried the second one I let go too soon, almost when getting to the top of the hill, which made me slide downhill all the way backwards! Funny for the first ski experience! Learned my lesson on when to let go the lift handle! During the only lesson we took the instructor teacher how to make the snow plow (how to break when going downhill). Apart from that we didn't learned anything from him and I had to figure out how to turn and break when doing that to avoid gaining too much speed. At first I was counting the number of times I fell but soon lost count!

In the end of the first day I had done green and a blue track (which is harder than the green). During the blue I basically fell most of the times and tried to make it straight down because couldn't manage to break very well in such steep slopes.

At night we got a room in the ski lodge, which was modern and cozy. Then, we had an amazing Chinese dinner at a restaurant in the center of town (never saw so many plates I had no idea what it was in my life). I had a lot of fun asking what each thing was, what it was made from and about other Chinese customs. This is the best way to learn things, by talking to people ;-)

The next morning we had a fabulous Swedish breakfast waiting for us! I found how amazing it is to have yogurt with own-made cereals at breakfast and now do that all the time. Everything was very clean and had a home-kitchen style. Hard to explain this if you've never been here. Some people call it Stockholm style.

I soon found out that somehow I had become really good at skiing during the night. Its like if my brain consolidated all the movements and techniques I needed when sleeping. Some people had described to me that happening to them but I had never understood it before. Therefore, I managed to do all the green and blue slopes falling much less and in a very enjoyable way. I even managed to do a training similar to the competitions on TV in which you have to change direction between each color bar buried into the snow.

In red, the slopes I've skied on

One thing I haven't mentioned yet is the feeling I got when arriving to the ski resort: I arrived to paradise. However, when I got to top of the mountain I didn't know where I had arrived. I guess there is always a place better than the other, even when you don't believe it.

Last but not least, I didn't took many photos because didn't want to bring the camera with me to the slopes since falling could make me break it.

If you're wondering why I seldom post things on this blog I answer what someone once told me here in Sweden: "If you are constantly writing about your life you've no time to live it"

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