Finally some time to sit down and talk about the city I currently live in and the things I do here. On brief: I am in Stockholm and I got back to school. Oh, how I missed it! It wasn’t exactly the strong desire to be a student again that determined me to do that but the wish to study Media and to do it somewhere up North. So I moved to Sweden.  Of course first I had to get my admission results, plan my trip, worry, stress, nag people, put everything on paper, draw the line and get the result which was a plane ticket with my name on it, destination Stockholm.

Stockholm from Above

I arrived here at the end of Summer, theoretically, but got 3 more weeks of it. As a first impression everything here seemed blue, maybe because they’re by the sea? And if it’s not blue, it’s green, because the city is full of parks, squares with trees and benches. Lovely! My favourite place to sit, hang around or call it whatever, is on the sidewalk next to the sea. However, I spend most of my time in school, in the study rooms or in class with a pen and notebook, a pile of books and a hot cup of coffee. And with a lot of people that I just met, people that come from many countries with different views and each having an interesting story to tell, or two or more. You just need time to listen, and again, a cup of coffee. And a kanelbulle.

A Youth Hostel

After long walks, boat rides, worries about not getting your student card in time, finding a place to live, papers you have to submit to live legally here, walks with the classmates, bus timetables, papers to turn in, Sweden’s tennis matches to watch and the instinct to look at 3 different things in the same time, things that are in 3 different directions, one takes a break and… visits the King’s palace. Last weekend was the anniversary of 40 years or Reign for King Carl XVI Gustaf and there was free entrance at the palace (will have to revisit it when it’s less crowded and there is time to sit and read every label) plus the Royal family greeted the audience from the front of the palace. The event itself was pretty impressive and a bit overwhelming for someone who comes from a country that has no Monarchy (theoretically, because yes, we do have a Royal family). As much as I was enjoying this event, I left it to go to the protest for Rosia Montana. So I spent a few hours freezing on the streets of Stockholm, together with other Romanians, all of them pretty cool people that I am very happy to have met.

So after all the excitement one has a reality check: nope, still seems unreal. Better to just go back to school and enjoy all the interesting things that are discussed in classes, all the books in the library, the study rooms, the huge campus, hot coffee, great company, and yes, even the Swedish lessons are enjoyable though they give me a headache. And dig deep to find some good Swedish music.