On Sweden and Going Back to School

Well hello strangers! Did you miss me yet? No? Oh well!

It has been almost five months (can you believe it? It feels just like yesterday) since I packed up my life in Kuwait and moved here to beautiful Jönköping, Sweden. Let me tell you this: it was not easy at all!

After a tiring (and trying) 40 hours of continuous traveling I finally managed to make my way to the middle-southern region of Sweden and settle into what would become my home for the coming couple of years. The journey was full of surprises, both good and bad, but I will leave these stories for some other time.

As for now, let me just fill you in on some of what have become of me these past few months. First, well, I am now back in school working on my Masters degree in Business Development. I had not realized how much I have missed being a student until I went back to being one. It is a sweet life especially here in Sweden. My stress levels have fallen down dramatically, I even gained me a few kilograms (of which I am very proud).

Cold Sunrise

My school is very lively and attracts students from all across the globe. I have met people from so many different nationalities and backgrounds it is mind-boggling actually. Students from every continent flock to this peaceful, medieval Swedish town, and with them, they bring new flavors and experiences.

Of course, I also have to mention that it has been extremely draining to keep adjusting to the cold winter of the North. Just when you think it could not get any colder, it does! At this very moment as I am writing this post it is -7 degrees outside with a windchill factor of -14!!! (Last night it was closer to -20) However, I have to admit that being through all this cold is quite refreshing really, particularly when you step into the warmth of your apartment and start to feel life kicking back into your now-numb and pale limbs

Oh, and let me tell you about the northern winter sun. It is a very shy sun We see it once every couple of weeks for a couple of hours and daylight is less than 5 hours long. By 4 pm everything goes dark and silent and light would not make it through until 8 am the next day.

I guess this is it for now. Until I figure out the direction of this come-back to the blogosphere, I will leave you with a few pictures I have taken recently on a cold morning hike up a little hill overlooking the city. Just follow the link here.

There are some sunrise shots for my friend, Intlxpatr