Things to do
Archived Posts from this Category
Rainy Göteborg
Posted by Suzi on 14 Nov 2008 | Tagged as: Cafés, Education, Places to visit, Things to do
What a week - the rain seems to have been nonstop and I’ve spent very damp mornings in my SFI classes. I’ve also spent an unhappy amount of time on trams and buses after getting a puncture mid week. Despite classes starting at 8am I have spent a very happy week at SFI learning Swedish - but it’s early days still and I’m still trotting out the sentence: ‘jag förstår inte svenska’ (I don’t understand Swedish) whenever I have to talk somewhere that isn’t class.
I’ve been spending the rest of the time meeting up with Karin and Cheri and of course going to the bookclub where we discussed The Sea by John Banville at length (well in between the cups of tea and life stories!). There really is nothing like sitting in a warm room with a cup of tea and a whole bunch of woman.
On Wednesday night I went to see When We Dead Awaken by Ibsen at the Pustervik Theatre in Järntorget which I thought was very well done. I hadn’t seen that Ibsen play before so it was great to stuff it into my mind along with his others and where better to see it than in a Nordic country in the depths of a rainy November.
Today I introduced Jin Sook from my SFI class to the delights of the Stadsbibliotek (City Library) and she treated me to lunch in the lovely little restaurant opposite where for about 79ske (£6.60) you get a very hearty lunch. I finished off today by going to the Arbetsförmedling (unemployment office) to see if they could help me to find a job. I’m not sure they can but still it was probably worth a try. They suggested that I come back when I have learnt Swedish and in the meantime contact my embassy to ask what companies there were here that employ English speakers!
Muted colours in a wet and dark autumn
Posted by Suzi on 07 Nov 2008 | Tagged as: Things to do, Wanderings
Yesterday I went to spend my alloted 20 minutes talking to the person in charge of my SFI course. It was quite good getting some time to talk to a teacher and ask questions. The work experience I get to do after a few months consists of two full days a week at a place of work - it’s unpaid but does provide you with a reference as well as experience.
I then met up with Cheri and spent a very pleasant day wandering around town, eating nachos and drinking coffee in the city museum.
Today despite the rain I met up with Karin and wandered up through the Botanical Gardens to the wonderful wooded area behind. It’s great for walking and consists of a lake, woods and heather covered heath. The colours were all muted greens, oranges and purples and the mist hung on the hills: making the walk have a sort of refreshing autumnal beauty about it. After the drizzle drenched us we went and sat in the steamy warmth of the greenhouses in the Gardens and munched our picnic.
Yesterday it turns out was Gustav Adolfsdagen (Gustav Adolf’s day). I’m sorry I didn’t celebrate it - partly because he was the king that founded Gothenburg but more importantly because you get to eat a delicious looking cake!
I’m now snuggly tucked up at home watching the darkness descend through my rain smeared windows enjoying fika.
Tipspromenad
Posted by Suzi on 02 Nov 2008 | Tagged as: Things to do
I went on my first tipspromenad today. This is a typically Swedish thing that often happens on a Sunday morning. It’s a walk with quiz questions placed at intervals and really quite good fun. Karin and I caught the bus out to Partille and walked around the woods there attempting to answer questions. I enjoyed the benefit of one-to-one tuition as I tried to read the questions - it’s actually surprising how much you can guess from a few words!!
A new website
Posted by Suzi on 11 Sep 2008 | Tagged as: Art, Things to do
The weather was really quite lovely today so after a morning in front of the computer, I went out for a cycle and went scrumping apples. I had to do a fair bit of jumping up and even found myself climbing up a bit of a tree.
I’ve finally finished and got my Dad’s website up and running. I’ll probably make a million changes before long but for now you can check the new Gunns Gallery website.
Free culture in Gothenburg
Posted by Suzi on 15 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Things to do
I’ve finally got myself into a routine learning Swedish and can now actually say a couple of sentences - I’ve been mainly focusing on how to say I can’t speak Swedish and today I actually got to say ‘Jag förstår inte svenska’ to a real life Swede. I’ve been using a variety of programmes all of which seem very good. I’ve also treated myself to a couple of kids books from the library (hard going I can tell you - these kids don’t get it easy!) and have relied ever more on the translating genius of Systran without which I would be lost.
It’s not all work! Tonight I’m going to go on one of the free cultural events going on in the city. For the last few nights we’ve been watching the fireworks out of our window and wondering what was going on. Now a helpful poster at the library has told us all. What would I do without these steadfast cultural institutions!