I am officially a member of the Upplands Nation!
Now, what is a nation?
According to Uppsala University’s website:
“The thirteen Student Nations are clubs dating back to the 17th century. Each nation bears the name of a certain region in Sweden and historically it was a club for students from that region.”
It used to be a rule that everyone who was a student at UU had to join a nation. It wasn’t until very recently that they no longer made it mandatory. However, I don’t know why you would not join one. Each Nation has a huge house that has a pub, a club, a restaurant, a library...pretty much anything you could ask for. They also have really great prices on the Big Three: food, coffee and alcohol.
Not every nation offers the same quality of things. Some are known for their weekend clubs, some for their delicious food and some boast a large selection of beer or boast a friendly fika atmosphere. Each nation also has groups of their own. Upplands, for example, has a brass band, a monthly magazine, a sports club and a theater group. Every Nation is different.
And no, a Nation is nothing like a fraternity or a sorority. Besides the fact that anyone can join any Nation they want, you can also participate in any Nation’s activities. Almost none of the activities are exclusive to “member’s only.” Even if a Nation has a Formal, called a Gasque in Sweden, anyone can go, members just get priority on the tickets.
Since we arrived to Uppsala, Taylor, Ryan and I have been trying to go to a different nation each time for lunch, fika, dancing or drinking in a pub. We tried to get a feel for each Nation. We waited until the last possible day to sign up for a nation because it was so hard to choose! Every time I would ask a Swede for advice they would say, “Don’t join this one because of this, this Nation is cool, this Nation isn’t....but it doesn’t really matter which one you choose.”
It’s true that it doesn’t “really” matter which nation you join. You should join the nation you plan to visit the most because members get discounts on cover to the clubs or maybe even food.
It really came down to same problem I had when choosing a sorority. Each one was the practically the same, only the people in them are different.
So we chose Upplands Nation because we knew the most people there. Every one is really friendly and we actually made Swedish friends there. (Texas and Sofia (the only two Swedish people I’ve mentioned so far) are in Upplands Nation).
So far, I love it and I’m really happy with my decision. Taylor and Ryan also joined Upplands Nation for the same reasons. I even got a free dinner and a free cup of coffee for joining!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Helsinki
It all started on a slow Sunday night in downtown Uppsala. Taylor, Ryan and I met this wonderful Swede named Texas. Yes, his name is Texas and no, he’s never been to Texas. But he also happens to be an American culture junkie. His knowledge is not only really entertaining but also really helpful when it comes to bridging the gap between all things Swedish and us. Upon meeting Texas, he could name all of Chicago’s sports teams, our mottos, our tourist attractions and even made fun of the Chicago Cubs.
Anyways, it was no wonder that Texas had the hook-up when it came to finding a place to watch the Bears vs. Packers game. We had met some Illinois State University students recently so we invited them and anyone who wanted to come, to watch the game with us.
Not many people go out on Sunday nights and the game didn’t start until 9 PM Swedish time. Needless to say, it was about 7 Americans, 1 Swede and 1 New Zealander in a completely empty bar watching the worst game ever. The only upside was that we didn’t have to deal with any Packers fans. But while talking to the ISU students, we made a wonderful discovery.
Apparently, there is a cruise ship that goes from Stockholm to Helsinki, Finland almost everyday and if you book the tickets last minute and you are a student, you can get the fare pretty cheap. It’s basically a “booze cruise.” It earned this nickname because onboard the ship all the alcohol and cigarettes are tax-free. This is amazing because Sweden has fixed-prices on their alcohol and it’s very expensive compared to alcohol pretty much anywhere else.
So we took the ISU students’ advice and booked a cruise. Here’s the best part: It only cost $5 US Dollars. $5 dollars per person got us a place to sleep. You’re supposed to buy the really expensive food on the ship... but we packed our bags with food and barely bought anything on the ship.
At first I was really nervous because I only spent $5.... so the ship must be deteriorating or really small or dirty or something. But when we got to the harbor in Stockholm, our boat was a big cruise ship. It was not unlike the cruise ship I took to Caribbean with family a couple of years ago.
We left on a Tuesday, partied and gambled all night on the boat, and when we woke up on Wednesday, we were in Finland. We only had about 8 hours onshore before we had to be back on the boat. But we got to see a lot of the city. First we found some really delicious and cheap food for lunch (I actually had Indian food for the first time ever...in Finland). Then we just started walking towards the big cathedral and just wandered around. It was actually a lot of fun because the cathedral was absolutely beautiful. It was so large you could see it from the harbor. We also ran into the Helsinki City Museum (which had free admission). When all of that was done, we had about two hours left before we needed to be back on the boat. We asked the nice museum staff for any advice and their advice was to get on one of the main tram lines and take it all the way around the city. It was the best advice ever. For about 3 Euro we saw every side of Helsinki in about one hour. We never would have known to do that and now I can’t wait to go back so we explore the other side of the city.
Wednesday night was just a repeat of the night before but when we woke up on Thursday morning, we were back in Stockholm.
Overall, Helsinki was a wonderful city. I really loved it. I’m really hoping we can repeat the cruise in the future (maybe when it’s a little warmer out).
Anyways, it was no wonder that Texas had the hook-up when it came to finding a place to watch the Bears vs. Packers game. We had met some Illinois State University students recently so we invited them and anyone who wanted to come, to watch the game with us.
Not many people go out on Sunday nights and the game didn’t start until 9 PM Swedish time. Needless to say, it was about 7 Americans, 1 Swede and 1 New Zealander in a completely empty bar watching the worst game ever. The only upside was that we didn’t have to deal with any Packers fans. But while talking to the ISU students, we made a wonderful discovery.
Apparently, there is a cruise ship that goes from Stockholm to Helsinki, Finland almost everyday and if you book the tickets last minute and you are a student, you can get the fare pretty cheap. It’s basically a “booze cruise.” It earned this nickname because onboard the ship all the alcohol and cigarettes are tax-free. This is amazing because Sweden has fixed-prices on their alcohol and it’s very expensive compared to alcohol pretty much anywhere else.
So we took the ISU students’ advice and booked a cruise. Here’s the best part: It only cost $5 US Dollars. $5 dollars per person got us a place to sleep. You’re supposed to buy the really expensive food on the ship... but we packed our bags with food and barely bought anything on the ship.
At first I was really nervous because I only spent $5.... so the ship must be deteriorating or really small or dirty or something. But when we got to the harbor in Stockholm, our boat was a big cruise ship. It was not unlike the cruise ship I took to Caribbean with family a couple of years ago.
We left on a Tuesday, partied and gambled all night on the boat, and when we woke up on Wednesday, we were in Finland. We only had about 8 hours onshore before we had to be back on the boat. But we got to see a lot of the city. First we found some really delicious and cheap food for lunch (I actually had Indian food for the first time ever...in Finland). Then we just started walking towards the big cathedral and just wandered around. It was actually a lot of fun because the cathedral was absolutely beautiful. It was so large you could see it from the harbor. We also ran into the Helsinki City Museum (which had free admission). When all of that was done, we had about two hours left before we needed to be back on the boat. We asked the nice museum staff for any advice and their advice was to get on one of the main tram lines and take it all the way around the city. It was the best advice ever. For about 3 Euro we saw every side of Helsinki in about one hour. We never would have known to do that and now I can’t wait to go back so we explore the other side of the city.
Wednesday night was just a repeat of the night before but when we woke up on Thursday morning, we were back in Stockholm.
Overall, Helsinki was a wonderful city. I really loved it. I’m really hoping we can repeat the cruise in the future (maybe when it’s a little warmer out).
Uppsala Update
I wish I had some really excellent excuse for my lack of an update. In reality, I’ve just been having too much fun running around Uppsala, hanging out with friends and sometimes just doing nothing.
I have a lot of free time. I’m a full time student at Uppsala University and I only have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays for 2 hours each day. Granted, I’m not taking the hardest classes. I was trying to get into some international health classes that would go from 8AM-5PM for 4 days a week but somehow I didn’t get in to those classes. So I’m taking nothing but Swedish culture classes with other exchange students. I guess I really can’t complain.
Since I have all this free time, I’ve decided that I need to pick up a hobby or two while I’m here. First things first, I’m getting a gym membership. I literally have no excuse for that anymore. I also found an English Bookstore in downtown Uppsala. So I think my love of Uppsala’s coffee shops and the fact that I’m a few years behind in my reading might pair up nicely together. My friends and I also recently discovered the wonders of the sauna. Every building in Flogsta has a sauna on a the top floor. I think we will be taking advantage of that Nordic tradition quite often.
So I’m a little behind in updating but I’ll make separate entries about my trip to Finland and my nation! For all those people suffering in the blizzard in the Midwest, I think I have to tell you that it hasn’t snowed in Sweden in almost 2 weeks and today was a high of 38. And you thought I was crazy for wanting to go to Sweden...
I have a lot of free time. I’m a full time student at Uppsala University and I only have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays for 2 hours each day. Granted, I’m not taking the hardest classes. I was trying to get into some international health classes that would go from 8AM-5PM for 4 days a week but somehow I didn’t get in to those classes. So I’m taking nothing but Swedish culture classes with other exchange students. I guess I really can’t complain.
Since I have all this free time, I’ve decided that I need to pick up a hobby or two while I’m here. First things first, I’m getting a gym membership. I literally have no excuse for that anymore. I also found an English Bookstore in downtown Uppsala. So I think my love of Uppsala’s coffee shops and the fact that I’m a few years behind in my reading might pair up nicely together. My friends and I also recently discovered the wonders of the sauna. Every building in Flogsta has a sauna on a the top floor. I think we will be taking advantage of that Nordic tradition quite often.
So I’m a little behind in updating but I’ll make separate entries about my trip to Finland and my nation! For all those people suffering in the blizzard in the Midwest, I think I have to tell you that it hasn’t snowed in Sweden in almost 2 weeks and today was a high of 38. And you thought I was crazy for wanting to go to Sweden...
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