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August 20, 2004
Day Two
It's 9:06 a.m. on Friday morning and I'm home. Let me briefly recap my experiences yesterday.
I arrived at the train station in Karlskrona at approximately 1 p.m. (having switched trains in Kristianstad) to find that I was completely lost. I hauled my luggage back and forth a couple times (to the taxi stand—with no taxis, to the map of Karlskrona—with no "you are here" sign, back to the taxi stand—"Call 14880 for taxi", but no phone) before asking someone how to find a taxi. They had no idea (I think there was a language disconnect), but fortunately, a taxi pulled up at that moment and took me to Campus Grasvik, where I easily found the International Office.
The people at the International Office had no record of my name, no record of the apartment I was supposed to stay in, and no knowledge of the package I mailed to them 2 weeks ago—but they were VERY polite and friendly about it. After a few phone calls, everything was straightened out, I was given water and an apple (almost dying from exhaustion at this point), and a cheerful Indian guy (whose name I cannot recall) took me to the housing agency and got me checked into my new place. Unfortunately, there is no furniture yet (it's coming Monday) except for a temporary IKEA bed (basically a cot). While waiting for this bed to arrive (someone from the International Office had gone to pick it up), I was given a lovely tour of the campus (four buildings and a main courtyard) and got some additional information. I received an access card which will allow me access (duh!) to all the buildings after hours. I also got a new school email address and log-in account.
I found out that I will need to register for a "personal number"—similar to our Social Security Number, before I can get a local phone or open a local bank account (which I will need to pay my rent). I can get this number at the local "tax office"—but so far that's all I know. I will also receive a student ID card in about a month, but until then, I can just tell people I'm a student to get all the special perks.
At this point, I was ready to cry with exhaustion. I kept asking questions and then forgetting the answers. At some point, the people at the International Office noticed my dazed expression and decided that all the rest of the introduction stuff could wait until another day. In fact, I think they weren't quite prepared, as most of the students are arriving next week (hence the empty apartments).
When the temporary bed arrived, another nice young man from the International Office (from Pakistan, this time) drove me to my apartment, saving me the trouble of getting all my stuff on the bus. After a bit of confusion we found the place on the 4th floor of building 65 in Kungsmarksvägen, on the outskirts of town. It was empty—no closets, no shower curtain, no anything). In fact, my first thought was that it looked like a leftover of the Soviet empire. To be perfectly honest, my first real thought was "this is such a shitty place, I want to go back home", but I realized it was probably the sleep deprivation talking. I'm in a two-person apartment, and I had hoped that my roommate would already be there (and have made some preliminary decorating adjustments), but so far, I'm it.
I was exhausted, but decided to walk down to the local grocery store for some food before I collapsed. I emptied my backpack and set off, only to discover that the grocery store ("with everything you will need") was more like a convenience store—and not just any convenience store. Rather than a 7-11, the ICA was more like a gas station quickie-mart. And since I don't have a microwave, cup/glass, silverware, cookie tray, or bowl, my selection (once I could identify the item at hand) was somewhat limited. I managed to pick up the following objects:
* a tiny apple, a tiny tomato (I'm going to eat it like an apple), and a tiny orange
* a tiny frozen pizza (I was going to ignore the picture directions and cook it directly on the oven rack, but then I realized I had no way to take it out of the hot oven once it was done, so it's still in the refrigerator)
* a can of Pringles
* a bottle of water (thinking I could use it as a makeshift cup in the future—I discovered it was seltzer water when I got home—yuck)
* Two rolls of toilet paper (which later turned out to be paper towels—oh well, they function just the same)
* A set of paper napkins (which I will use as napkins, plates, dish towels, etc.)
I walked back to the apartment, noticing that the apartment complex is designed into two rows of curving buildings, effectively creating a private garden/play area in the middle. There is a whole slew of children's play equipment set up in this area, along with a soccer field, basketball hoops, and walking trails. There are wildflowers and trees everywhere—it's really beautiful. The buildings themselves are not—think of movies in the 1980s depicting the Soviet Union. The architecture is kind of industrial, kind of run down, kind of, well, shitty.
At any rate, I managed to find my apartment again, when I realized there is no freezer—just a refrigerator. Or at least, I think there isn't. But there are two refrigerators (exactly the same), so I turned one REALLY cold and one just sort of cold. The pizza went in the first one, the fruit in the second. Seems to work ok, so far.
I ate a couple Pringles, drank the seltzer water (which I despise, but didn't want to stick my head under the faucet), and tried to open the windows (it was very stuffy). I noticed two things that made me want to walk out of the apartment and go straight to the train station—the windows have no screens, and birds are EVERYWHERE. Actually, they aren't everywhere, just on one side of the apartment, where the kitchen, patio, and living room are (the two bedrooms are on the other side). But that means that they can get inside if I open the windows—or they can get on ME if I go onto the porch.
Lest you think I am overreacting, I would like to point out these are fat, dirty, AGGRESSIVE pigeons—not some wild variety of thrush. They are constantly perched all over everyone's patios, and along all the window ledges. Needless to say, I could not bear to open the windows on that side. Settling for opening the windows in my room, I fell asleep in my crummy cot, wondering what I had gotten myself into.
Day 2 began much better.
I was up at 6:30 a.m. to find that I had (at some point during the night—I have only vague recollections), taken all my stuff out of the suitcases, thrown everything on the floor, and used the empty suitcases to prop open the giant window in my room (it kept slamming shut).
I was also surrounded by stinging insects. In fact, as I write this, there is a giant wasp, two medium-sized bees, and a tiny bee (maybe a baby, maybe a hitherto unknown species of deadly yellow jacket) all buzzing cheerfully around. I've decided to ignore them and be grateful that the pigeons haven't figured out how to get in yet.
Anyway, I ate some more Pringles and the apple and decided to take a shower. What followed was a bizarre experience. Because there is no shower curtain (nor am I sure that there should be, as the tub is free standing with a drain in the corner of the bathroom to catch any spilled water), I decided to start with a bath. I quickly realized that this bathtub might be the best part of the apartment. It's huge, with a slanted end that is perfect for reclining. I quickly got over my uneasiness about the murkiness of the water, and jumped right in (at which point the water got much dirtier). I laid there for a few minutes and then decided to try washing. There is a detachable showerhead at waist level (when standing outside the tub), which I used to wash off soap and shampoo, while sitting in the bathtub. Not too bad, overall. The tricky part came when trying to stand up and do a final rinse—there is just NO WAY to keep the water inside the tub. Whatever—I felt so much better clean that I didn't even care that the floor was liberally sprinkled with water. I'll have to ask if this is the correct way to go about showering, of if I'm missing a crucial step (like using a shower curtain, I suppose!).
Once clean, I chose clothes out of the pile on the floor and got to work. There is a large walk-in closet to be shared between the two bedrooms (well, I assume it's a closet—they call it "storage"), where I stacked clothes on the top shelf and hung up a few things (using the 4 hangers I brought with me). I put my socks, shoes, and underwear in the front hall closet, using several of the drawers. Once my wardrobe arrives on Monday, I'll transfer the socks and underwear back to my room, but I just couldn't bear to have stuff all over the floor for the weekend. Hope my roommate doesn't get freaked out when she tried to hang up her coat and finds 40 pairs of panties in the entryway!
So now things are picked up and put away—to the best of my ability. It's just before 10 a.m. now, and I've made a little list of things to do:
* Walk down to grocery store #2 (Willies) to see if the selection is better
* Take the bus to Centrum (the town center) and walk around
* Take the bus to school, where I can ask about where to buy silverware, a cup, a bowl, etc.
* Figure out how to update my journal—getting information from this computer to a school computer may be tricky, I won't be set up for internet access at home for another week or so
* Walk around and get a feel for where things are—the town is very pedestrian/bike friendly
Tomorrow, orientation begins with a BBQ in the school courtyard at dinnertime. With any luck, I'll be able to meet some other students. It would be a big relief to figure the remaining mysteries (where are the window screens?) together.
That's all for now.
