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I have returned safe and sound :) Busy time ahead. Will try to update Russia part 2 and then my easter travel to Helsinki, Tallin, Riga, Bergen, Oslo and Copenhagen. Enjoy the new song! Min svenska tenta i tva vecka!

Reflections from Russia...Part 1

Spasiba! (Thank you in Russian)

Russia is at the border of Asia and Europe and thus you can see a mix of 2 cultures there. Its really an amazing country. St Petersburg was the old capital of Russia, with many many grand palaces and art museums, the most famous Hermitage (If you really look at all the art pieces inside, it will take 11 years to finish! I was lost for 2 hours inside trying to find Da Vinci which was actually on the 3rd level and trying to find the exit! ) I told many people its a strange country and i will touch on that later...some pictures first..

First supermakret stop in Russia near the border...We were supposed to buy food for lunch... but..

Russian vodka 1 bottle ~ 6 sgd Beer 1 sgd All the ang mohs rushed for it and they practically got drunk every single night.

And then we came to Vybrog, supposed to be a finnish town but due to war, it became a Russian town in 1938. If you can't get the alcohol in shops, they even have this man with a shopping car, selling cigarattes and even more alcohol! Welcome to the land of DRUNKARDS. Oh ya, we changed our EUROS to roubles on the bus as there was this walking bank, a man with millions of roubles (real) and changes money for you. Incredible!

and alcohol comes in all shapes and sizes! How cool! And with 3-4 hours more of bus ride, we finally reached our first hotel...Hotel Sovetskaya!

But it was a nitemarish start...because of the city's water system, you can't drink from the tap but the more amazing thing was, if u tried to fill up the bathtub with water, its BROWN in colour. SONG BOH!!! Totally disgusting. Our first room had no hot water so we complained to the counter. They sent a drunkard up, who fiddled with the tap for 1 minute and then gave up. When we went in to see, he removed the knob and yes, we can't even turn the tap now. WTF?!Did I say Russia was strange?! After numerous attempts, we finally managed to change to a better room.

The next day, we finally commenced on our city tour of St Petersburg! Finally some nice pictures! According to the guide, St Petersburg has an average of 35 sunny days a year (OMG) and has a totally of 364 bridges linking the various islands.

Me at a horse structure (I forgot the name!) in front of St Issac Cathedral at ploshchad Dekabristov (Decembrists' Square, named after an uprising in 14 Dec 1825) Btw everywhere in Russia is some kind of kaya kaya...Kievskaya, Sovetskaya, Mayakovskaya, Valdimirskaya, yayapapaya hahaha

St Issac Cathedral - It is one of the world's largest and most ornate cathedrals. The church was named in tribute to Peter the Great who was born on the day of St Issac of Dalmatia. Expensive to go into the church, so I only went up the colonnade for a sky view!

Hotel Astoria, famous for its guests who were previously Lenin and George W Bush. One of the most expensive 5 star hotels, definetely much better than my kaya.

Next stop: Smolnyy Cathedral. Very striking because of its blue design. It was previously a convent founded to educate young nobleman, but nowadays its a concert and exhibition hall about its history. From the nearby Smolny Institue, Lenin orchestrated the Octorber Revolution in 1917

Me with some young russians who suddenly appear in droves. Everyone was so exicited and grab them to take pictures haha. Notice they are not looking at my camera hahahahaha

Rostral Columns on Vasilevsky Island, they are navigation beacons only lighted on special occassions like when I am in russia hahaha

View of the State Hermitage Museum across the river Neva. Note the frozen Neva.. you can actually walk on it! Me and the Trinity Bridge... Centre of bridge actually opens in Summer months for boats to pass through..Church of the Spilled Blood It was built on where Alexander II was assissinated. It is very beautiful in typical soviet style.

Souvenir market!

Things were not chepa so we..... took pictures instead keke

Chess boards and matryoshka dolls!

We love Russia! Me and 2 Koreans Wonji and Jin who are studying at nearby Jonkoping State Hermitage Museum No one will believe you went Russia if you din't visit this museum. One of the world's greatest art musuems. Better get a map inside if you dun want to get lost like me haha

Me and the Hermitage and Aleksander Column

The Bronze horsman at my finger tips!

That pretty sums up the first day in St Petersburg! Will update about Moscow and more of St Petersburg when i get back from Easter break...See you 2 weeks later!

Up and Away

It will be my first trip out of Sweden, and a very expensive one...

Jag aker till Ryssland St Petersburg och Moscow fran idag till nasta torsdag. Vi Ses!
( I am going to Russia St Petersburg and Moscow from today till next thursday. SEE YOU BACK AGAIN!)

Winter Activites

Exam's finally over for first half of my studies here, I don't know how I did but hope for the best! Now I shall introduce you some very exciting winter activities before we bid winter farewell :) Its the coldest and longest winter in the last 64 years according to my peer student,I had good timing to choose to come to Sweden...its nearly April but you can still see white all over the place....

Activity 1 : SNOW ANGEL

How to do it:

1. Find a CLEAN place with THICK snow (not with pee, branches or mud)

2. Lie Down and get ready....
3. Flap your hands up and down, your legs open and close...
4. Get up and TA DA! ( Don't ask me why there are 2 holes in the centre hahaha, I have no idea)

Activity 2 : Build a Snowman

Snowman on the frozen Lake Roxen, one of the biggest lakes near Linkoping. Building a snowman isn't so easy after all, even when 5 pple are doing it. Notice the snow man is wearing specs....he's a chao mugger. I have to type until i reach the end of this column or else my text will jumble up. So i have to type more words here. What else can i say? Well, I think I am nearly there, Yes...reaching....Yes..OK!

A View of Frozen Roxen (It rhymes!) Frozen Roxen Frozen Roxen Frozen RoxenFrozen Roxen

The whole white patch is the frozen lake...

Activity 3: Snowball fight

Best time is when some one is taking a picture...the rest throw at him/her...

Always Ready....

Ready to Strike!

Victims.... Kena Revenge attack...We were all on the frozen lake....and had to bash through to get to the lake.... Doesn't this remind you of the GOOD OLD DAYS :S Activity 4: Ice Fishing (Highly Recommended)

I liked ice fishing the best.....anything with food is always good..

Equipment required:

1. A frozen harbour

2. An Old Jap-Swede Fisherman with fishing rods to spare

3. A drill

4. A big bucket for your catch

Me in action....

FYI: It took 5 seconds for a fish to be caught! The picture on the left shows me fishing and the picture on the right 5 secs later shows me with my catch....SO EASY MAN. The fish just keep coming non stop. Even when I was trying to keep the line and leave, as I roll up the line, I caught fish again. haha Incredible! The Japanese old man said to me :" You.......Professional!"

What the fish! hahahaha

Group Shot with the REAL PROFESSIONAL....Its was really damn fun and we really enjoyed it alot. Its these things that keep people alive during the cold gloomy winter I guess. I am glad I survived the first winter of my life....the coldest, the longest, the most amount of snow. I am developing Spring feelings now(the Swedish call it) as the days are getting longer, the nights are getting shorter, the snow is melting, life is getting brighter. Spring IS coming I repeat...ITS FOR REAL ITS COMING.

Even school now seems livelier, there were so many people there today and for the first time I couldn't cycle on the path haha. I wonder where these people come from, seems to have awaken from their winter hibernation. However I am not complaining. And to end it all......

Jag tycker inte om vinter! Jag tycker om vÅr, sommar och hÖst! Valkomen till vÅr! :)

Worry

I am worried real worried.....the prospect of retaking 2 exams in June is getting more and more real...

Feeling like a duck stuck on the frozen lake right now :S I must be mad

Exams are coming...

Was in stockholm on the 24-27th Febuaray, update pictures another day. Now is exam period. Pray for me!

Back date....

Welcome Dinner for the international students...31st January 2006

It was at Herrgar'n, organised by the ESN for the new exchange students! Price 80 SEK..you will know why.

Menu of the Day:

Chantarelle Soup

Beer

Fillets of Beef

Red wine (as in one bottle for every 2 person :S)

Apple cake

Coffee

You must be wondering why I keep posting food here...now who the hell is interested in what I am eating? Okok i post pictures of people this time hahaha

See the outstanding tall guy there on the right...Bastien from France. He is 2 metres tall mind you. In the background, the happening Ah Pek from US....worked for more than 30 years and now he is on exchange hahaha unbelievable. Very enthusiastic fella, participates in alot of activities like skiing, partying haha

Random shot before the dinner commenced....group of Germans in the corner. More than 50% of the exchange students are from Germany. They simply love Sweden!

And the group of people singing in front...are the Swedish from the ESN Linkoping. The Swedish really love to sing. They had a song book for everyone, and a survival guide:

If you want the toastmaster to start a song you shout TEMPO! followed by the song number..

A gyckel is a show or performance showed during the dinner. It can be a song, sketch or anything funny. And if you like the perfomance and want more, shout OMSTART! and there they go again and again and again...hahaha

The Germans' turn to sing...look at the number of them!

On the left is guy from Italy, I forgot his name, the Shanghainese girl Wenqi who is doing intern at the hospital here, the blonde Austrian girl Claudia, and behind the one wearing specs, Nicolas from France. All watching in awe at the presentation! Group of Finnish Singing for us now...Did I say singing was their favourite activity?? They should come Singapore for Kbox...Bree from Liverpool, UK, also on intern at the hospital here as Cardiologist and yes, also born in the year of the dog! She's a Liverpool and wolves fan hahaha :) Ermmm and Marcin from Poland behind(I don't know how come he appeared behind :S)
This is GuGu from Italy, not Gu Gu but GUGU. He likes to eat ice cream, especially during winter HAHAHAHAHA Thank you ESN! *Applause*