A new week has started and almost passed by... I had some days off in the beginning of this week and now when I'm back at work it's almost weekend again! The days are flying by and we are almost halfway through Summer Academy - how crazy?!

 

Today it's Thursday, which means classes for almost everyone. The building is full of students and so is the harbour. The sun is shining and people are drinking coffee on the wharf, watching the boats come and leave. We have the best office view in the whole city and it's a really good place for our students to experience the best of Kalmar and the Swedish summer. Here's a lot of people every day, having coffee, eating lunch, enjoying an icecream or just walking around watching all the nice boats. There are a few yachts but mostly sail boats. God, I really wish I wasn't that motion sick. I would really like to sail, but would probably throw up even before we've left the harbour... 

 

Last Saturday Isabelle, who is social responsible, took about 60 students to Öland for a guided bus tour. Each weekend we offer field trips and tours and these are really popular! The trip consisted of a tour through the south fo Öland where they had a few different stops, for example Stora Alvaret (English translation: "Serioussness"), the dominant environmental feature of the island. This is the habitat of numerous rare and endangered species. The first known scientific study of the biota of the Stora Alvaret occured in the year of 1741 with the visit of Carl Linnaeus (for fact: the man Linnaeus University is named after). The weather wasn't the best but I heard a little bird whisper in my ear that the trip was really appreciated! Swedish summer is not really world known for having the best weather, so you always have to be prepared for rain and coldness. On the other hand, when the weather is good it is really great, then Sweden probably is the best place to be!

 

This weekend the trip goes to the deeper Småland. The students will visit IKEA in Älmhult, Kosta, an elk park, the place where Carl Linnaeus was born and so on. The trip is divided into two parts and the first one is on Saturday. The second is on Sunday. I will not be joining these trips either, but next weekend I will join the biggest trip - to Stockholm! We will be away for three days and we have a packed schedule - only with fun things of course! The most spectacular thing with the Stockholm trip is that it's the Gay Pride Festival - a festival that is held once a year. This will probably be a very memorable thing for many international students. The gay culture isn't that big/well-known in every country as in Sweden. It's the first time for me as well being in Stockholm at the same time as Pride so I really looking forward to see it!

 

I will tell you more about the Stockholm trip, now it's time for me to clear my notice board of post-its. Later!

 

/Jonna

 

In the middle of this Summer Academy hysteria it struck me that I forgot to update you about June 6th. I am talking about that day, the day I have been fighting for the last three years, the day that has been the light in the tunnel during this spring of essay writing. Of course I'm talking about graduation day! It is more than a month ago since I graduated and just that feels crazy. After a spring that not resembled something else, frigid days and long nights, it was finally our turn to march down the stairs in Kalmarsalen, listen to graduation speeches and receive our diplomas at the stage. A pretty surreal day. 

 

We started the day by having champange breakfast at one of the city beaches, the sun was shining and the happiness flowed. After the graduation ceremony I had lunch with my grandparents, my two sisters and my mom. My two little nieces wanted to celebrate me as well so we had a "fika" (very Swedish for those of you that don't know. Fika is a term that really needs an explanation, it'll come later) in the afternoon before it was time to celebrate with all my friends. It was an epic night for sure!

 

 

 

Yesterday I said that the sun was shining. Well, I lied. Or at least the sun was shining in the forenoon, but after that the sky opened up. Kalmar was on the news because it came so much rain that the streets flooded. And the rain continued today... I feel bad for the students that has arrived to a rainy Sweden but hopefully the summer will arrive (or come back... after all we did had summer for a week) pretty soon.

 

 

Some information about Summer Academy (from the webpage http://lnu.se/education/linnaeus-university-summer-academy?l=en):

 

Linnaeus University Summer Academy was introduced in the summer of 2014. The Summer Academy runs from July 6 – August 14, including an optional introduction week. The location is the beautiful city of Kalmar, one of our study sites.

The courses within Linnaeus University Summer Academy originate in Swedish culture and an innovative mindset. They are workshop-oriented and have a strong student focus. Through Summer Academy you get a feel for what it is like to study at Linnaeus University, both for you who want to try university studies in Sweden for a shorter period of time or for you who will continue your academic studies in the autumn semester 2015. The courses range from language, human rights and entrepreneurship to sports, glass design and sustainable development. All courses are 7.5 credit full-time courses, many with general entry requirements.

More update will come! Just wait for it =)

 

So, Hi!

 

Summer has started and so my new job. This summer I will work with the Summer Academy at Linnaeus University as administrative responsible. Fancy, I know! After weeks of preparations the official introduction day is here! We had about 450 admitted students but hopefully around half of them will show up. I will really try to blog and update about this summer, mostly because I want to use it as a diary to go back and look at in the end of this summer. I will try to write everything in english (so momo and popla - if you don't understand you can use Google translate!).

 

I will describe everything in deeper details, now I just wanted to make a small update and the only thing I have to say now is: let's get this summer started!