Eating an ice cream at 3°C? Done. ✓

Yes, you heard it well. Last days in Sweden were extremely cold (for me, obviously). I was able, from my window in the old house, to see in the morning the ice on the roof in front of me. It was INCREDIBLE.
I will show you the picture because one friend of mine wasn't believing it.

I mean, if you are a Scandinavian reader it is nothing but for me, as Italian, in the first days of October see something like that was completely blow-minding.
Today it is quite okay, like 7°C in the morning, but like three days before we were at 1°C. Just 1. And I was freezing while I was waiting the bus that terrific morning. In my hometown in Italy there were the same day minimum 16°C. Checking in the last month, I had been able to see that usually there is a difference of 10°C. An thank god i'm from North Italy.
But i am surviving. I had been one day with a light fever because of someone that "infected" me in the library, but i am surviving. And generally i'm really a sickly person.
Few days ago, during the lunch break i met a friend of mine and she was excited because outside there were different promotional stands, giving stuff for free.
So, as we say in Italy, "to a donated horse you don't look in the mouth", and we went outside.
The day was one of the coldest one I experienced from my arrive in Karlstad, but at the same time because we are in the "sunny city" there was an amazing sun (it is normal in here, it's for a reason that they called the city like that).
I'm starting to think that swedish sun is like the Teletubbies' one, made with photoshop or something like that. It like this sun but when it comes to what it should do (heating) it is totally fake!
Btw, these were the stands (yeah, people is not dying freezing but i checked the weather in real time).

The funny thing of that is that there was a guy distributing ice creams... yes, ice creams. And we took them. I was like "okay, i have it in my head, but can I eat it?", i checked the temperature and it was 3°C, but it was so tempting that I decided to dig in! I swear that my mouth, staying outside, in contact with the ice cream, was an ice cube but it totally worth it. I love Algida brand (in Sweden it changes name in GB Glace), and there is nothing that could distract me from eating one of its ice creams, also in January, also if there are -20*.
So, between the things we got, there is a 4 colors: now, finally, i will have the chance to feel like Paolo Bitta (italian Camera Café's character).
My life is complete now.
That's it.
I want to clarify that Algida or spanish Frigo or GB Glace, whatever is its name, didn't payed me for the promotion (joking again, get used to it).
See you guys, and if you need info about Sweden or would you like to know more just ask me in a comment.
Bye!

First month in Sweden: summary & new goals

Credits: theaccidentalextrovert.com © 

Hi guys!
Hope you're enjoying the Friday :)
I'm going to! Finally today me & my colleagues reviewed for the last time our assignment and we handed it to the professor.
So, yeah of course i will have to study but my weekend will be quite without any deadline in mind or stuff like that.
The first month in Karlstad and in Sweden is done! I arrived the 21st of August. Today is 1 month and 2 days. Wow.
And it's time to celebrate and made a some sort of summary.
In this first month several things happened: in the early days i had been staying for few time in the flat of a lovely Bulgarian girl, i moved to a host family (first time), i started the university, i had my first two written assignment in my entire life (in Italy not really common), i have been meeting people from India, Thailandia and Reunion Island, i learned by heart the n.1 bus line schedule and i have been seeing a of forests, i fed a moose, i payed 35 kr for a bus ticket (>3,5 euros) and a lot of other stuff. Positive and negative, but i think that the positive ones were many many many more!
Karlstad is the city i was expecting for? I can not say I totally fall in love with the city, that i cry as a Bieber's fans when I go to the center. I have to be honest. But i really like it and enjoy a lot the nature and its amazing and outstanding landscapes. I love the city when it's quite but not to much, i love the color of the sky in the afternoon, i love the Hej of the bus driver every time i get on the bus, the fika breaks, the student friendly environment, the kindness of the people, the singing Swedish melody when they talk to each other.
Yeah, Swedish people are kind and nice. I love them. They could look shy but i rarely see a Swede that don't openly smile to me when we start talking or don't try to help when you look like having troubles, also the most stupid one. They have dinner with open windows, because they don't have fear that the neighbor look to them or try to do the businesses... i love Swedish attitude and i love their culture.
I do not regret anything, for the second time in my life after the polish experience (yeah, i had been living in Cracow for more than one year). That's what i needed, i think.
Sometimes you obtain what you want without knowing what you really want.
Because, yeah, of course my goal was to study in Sweden and i wanted to get in contact with Scandinavian culture but i didn't really know what to expect but i think it is overcoming my expectations.
The only problem is, as Abba teach, money, money, money. Sweden is expensive for a medium class Italian like me and i am really a person emotionally attached to money. So, when i start to calculate how much i spended or how much i am going to spend here i do not really like it, and i do not really know if the money that i earned in Poland is going to be really enough in order to support my all study period of 2 years. I made a lot of sacrifices in order to have as much money as i could and now to see that is not enough is not a good feeling. After almost 2 years in which i didn't ask my parents anything, in which i was able to provide for myself everything it is not a good feeling. I know my parents are totally okay with that, they love me, and they would give me all their savings, how cares!
They were prepare to pay for me everything, so you can imagine but I don't want to.
I though about looking for a part time job but here it is practically impossible to find a job without knowing the language, so it is not a possible solution for now, unfortunately.
We will see, sometimes i just foresee too much and at the end it is not necessary and I also think that how much i am going to spend doesn't have to be a metric in order to calculate my success in this pattern. I'm learning a lot, i'm happy here and i'm improving myself and this is what matters.
So, because the first month is gone I would like to set new goals:
1. Start to seriously learn Swedish. In the next days i will have to the office for enrol myself for the SFI, a free swedish course offered by the kommun.
2. Try to foresee less. I will try in the next month to be more "daily person". It's years i'm trying, i hope it's the right time.
3. To partecipate more to the activities around the city and the one organized by the university. A lot I have been missing because I'm a lazy person, and with that i mean that basically I  like to lay in the bed during the weekend. There is the craft evening , the language café, the pub events, the waffle friday... and I never take part in this events.
4. To celebrate a nice birthday. The 27th is my birthday and few days ago i didn't really want to celebrate it because i live far from the center and even more far from the campus where everybody that i know lives and i do not have my place to host them. But thanks to the really nice girls I met in the university and their enthusiasm, i think I will organize a massive italian dinner for everybody in their common kitchen. I hope to do my best and represent Italy in the best way!
So, that is for this time. Outside it's heavily raining (it's two days that the weather is shitty) so i will take the chance to start my 1° goals of the month.
I hope you like it. If yes, i let you know you can subscribe to the blog.
See you soon!

Karlstad (Svezia) raccontata tramite le mie foto

Eccomi nuovamente qua! 

Come promesso ecco le foto che ho fatto di Karlstad, la cittadina svedese in cui vivo, in un pomeriggio di libertà dall'università!

Attaccato alla casa in cui mi stanno ospitando dei signori svedesi c'è un bosco enorme. 

Praticamente in un minuto a piedi pare di entrare dentro ad un documentario sull'ambiente.

E' incredibile il verde che ricopre la Svezia. Basta fare due passi (a meno che non si abiti nella Piazza principale - Stora Torget - che si ha una foresta a portata di mano).

E' una cosa meravigliosa e che amo. Dopo aver passato un anno a Cracovia, una delle città più inquinate d'Europa, è (devo ammetterlo) un sollievo poter respirare un'aria intrisa di natura e poter ammirare così tanto verde.

Quindi per prima cosa ho deciso di andare a fare due foto nel bosco.

Alcune foto sono di "bassa" qualità perché scattate con il cellulare.

Il palazzo sulla destra è dove abito io e proprio a fianco c'è il bosco.

Vicino a dove abito, nella strada verso la fermata dell'autobus, c'è un parchetto per bambini e ci sono molte pietre colorate. Non è una attrazione (ovvio), ma mi piacciono un sacco.

Vista appena si esce dal bosco. Subito iniziano le case.

Dopo il bosco, ho deciso di spostarmi altrove, nel centro.

Vista sul fiume, vicino alla statua.

Sola, la "paladina della città". La statua si trova nel centro cittadino.

Statua nella piazza centrale.

Karlstad, come ho detto nel post introduttivo, è famosa per avere il più lungo ponte di roccia della Svezia. Grande attrazione della città, tanto che c'ho trovato due turisti cinesi/giapponesi/boh nelle vicinanze. Karlstad è una sorta di Venezia.. oddio, non è sulle palafitte però ha molti canali, fiumicini, fiumi, laghi, laghetti, lagoni... il blu ed il verde la fanno da padrona. Quindi mi sono affiancata al fiume e poi e ho fatto tutta la strada fino al ponte.

Anatre che si fanno gli affaracci loro.

Finalmente il ponte! (sulla destra)

La cosa che mi ha stupito è che è vietato il transito a pedoni o biciclette, ma sopra ci passano tranquillamente gli autobus. Una scelta che non ho capito per un'attrazione turistica.

Alcune sono semplicemente "artistiche" (esagerazione), ma mi faceva piacere condividerle con voi perché comunque danno l'idea di quanto sia pacifica e semplice nella sua bellezza questa cittadina.

First day at University + Skatteverket

Hello, it's me... again!
Today it was my first real day in the university. Also if the lessons start tomorrow morning, today there was the introduction meeting at the master/bachelor's programmes.
Unfortunately i would loved to make some nice photos around the city but the weather wasn't really good. Just 12°C degrees and rain (wasn't really heavy but the little one that put your never under pressure). And obviously I've risked to be late, so i've forgotten the umbrella in my room and i've choosen the wrong pair of shoes, so my feet had been wet for almost 4-5 hours. Yeah, and now i'm feeling sick (what a surprise!). Sometimes it seems like i'm looking for it, but it's not true, i swear.
The university was overcrowded, and full of life. I've loved it!
We have met with the professor and the career conselour. We are not going to have a lot of lessons. In Italy you have 6-7 hours per day, but here just 1 and an half, sometimes 3 hours max. I'ts mostly individual studying. And i'm going to be confused, i'm sure about that: i was so used to spend such a long time in the classes that now after one hour and an half I will say to myself "and now what i have to do?". Study, com'on. I will need to stay focused, if not i'm going to waste a lot of free time in doing other things.
I've just to get used to it. It's not going to be impossible.
After the introduction i had been trying to get the university card or al least register myself to the student union but there were crazy queue, so i gave up.
So, why not to try to get the personummer?
If you don't know personnumer it's really important in Sweden. You regolarize your "position", also because without it you can't do anything, litterally. It's really important and because i'm going to stay two years for studying reasons i have the right to receive it. I was a little waiting because with the refugee's issue they are constantly changing the rules and you never know what it's going on.
In order to ask for it you have to go to Skatteverket (Tax Office). There is also one in every city. Maybe i was lucky but there wasn't a really long queue. After 10 minutes it was my turn. They were really nice to me, and after 15 minutes they told me i was going to gain the personnumer and they are going to send to my address within 6-8 weeks.
I'm hearing all the time people complain about how is hard to have it, but hopefully it's not going to be problem for me. And you don't know how i'm happy.
So, I returned home, i finally wore dry shoes and i relaxed myself a little bit.
I'm really excited about tomorrow, can't wait to start, even being sick.
So, let's pray for good weather and i hope to be able to post nice pics of this lovely city.
Vi ses! See you!

Why I decided to move to Sweden

It's a question everybody is asking me, so i think it's time to answer.

I have been always interested in the economic aspect of life and few years ago i was starting to ask myself why Nordic Countries are such a model for us that we are never able to reach (i'm Italian). Sweden (together with other countries in Scandinavia) is lacking a little bit in natural resources (the weather makes impossible to pursue a good agricultural economy, and Sweden has to import a lot of what we find in the supermarkets). So, what make a such small and big country at the same time (really huge territory but just 9 milion inhabitants) growing so well, why they have a really good country when it comes to Human Developement Index, one of the highest in the worlds (Norway and Denmark are champions in that), how they reacted so well to the financial crisis of 2008. I'm italian and, as most of you know, and i'm really disappointed by my country. And it seems to me our model is totally wrong, it's not working. Regarding everything: from immigrants to corruption and so on and so forth.
I had been living in Italy for most of my life and i wanted to move to Sweden in order to start my master degree there, but i was late with my studies and i didn't have really the chance to try it.
Also because my mood was like "could i do that?", "maybe it's not my thing to go abroad". I thought i wasn't enough strong, you know what i mean. And suddenly a really big chance occured to me and it's name is Erasmus Traineeship. It's a post-degree program that most of you know, i'm quite sure of that. So, i told myself: i want to test myself. So, let's start with a short period, and see what come out of. So, after few weeks, life decided for me: it was going to be Poland for two months. No other options.
At the beginning i was (i don't hide it under the bed) a little bit disappointed: you know, i applied for Germany, England, Spain but at the end it was "just" Poland. In Italy we haven't really good opinion about this country. Neither god nor bad. My friends were telling me "oh, wtf are you doing?" "my god, keep attention, it could be dangerous". Really. They were ignorant, as mush as I was.
So, i moved to Poland, Cracow. And - wait for it - i totally fell in love with this wonderful, extraordinary city. I can say without hesitation it was the best period of my entire life. And i was feeling good there, far away from my mother country. And i felt really bad because i was expecting something totally different, and... "Italy is my country, and i don't want to stay there, i'm a piece of s**t". But it's the truth, nothing more. So, i thought that maybe i could find my way in the world, that it's not so impossible to leave for a long time abroad, that i can do that. So, i gave up about the idea to continue my studies in Italy and i looked for a job, and i found it without really big problems (thousand of international corporations). And i had been there for one entire year, without going home that much (in total just 2 weeks). So, why not Sweden?

I really loved Cracow but the wages to be honest for italians are so low that doesn't make possible to save enough money for italian cost of living. So, i decided to apply for Sweden and Karlstad, this small city in the South (other italians are going to laugh at me, i know it guys), is going to be my home for the next two years. So, that's pretty much my story. If someone needs to talk about moving abroad or needs info about Sweden don't be afraid to contact me.
So, stay awesome bros, as PewDiePie, the Swedish Youtuber, says all the time.