I anticipate I will be home from Japan around Christmas Eve, and from the little information I can get about the college in Sweden at this early stage, I believe accommodation will be ready Saturday 19th January, with the orientation week beginning the following week. This will give me about three weeks to get my life sorted before I am uprooted again to a different climate and culture. Seeing this as a challenge, I've decided to start thinking ahead about what needs to be done:
The Swedish flag.
- Insurance: I have just applied for my European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), a free initiative in the EU that allows me to get free hospital care (or something to that effect. . .more research will be done closer to the time) in any European country. [EDIT: Received my card, took about 3 weeks or so.]
- College: I apply to Sodertorns Hogskola in September and travel over in mid-January. When I apply I pick where to live and the subjects I want to study. I don't need a visa because I'm a European citizen and it's being organised in partnership with my home university in Ireland.
- Flights: I thought the Dublin - Tokyo flights were a bit of a headache, so it's a relief that the Dublin - Stockholm route appears to be much easier. Glancing at the Aer Lingus website, I can see there's a flight for €51 on Sunday the 20th January, while Ryanair have a flight on the same day for €90. However there are midweek prices that cost €46 (Aer Lingus) and €49 (Ryanair). I assume bags etc cost more, so when I go to book the tickets this will have to be looked at. Also prices are going to go up closer to the time, so I'll be looking out for the usual Autumn sale for a better deal.
- Money: Sweden uses the Krona, not the Euro. How inconvenient of them I must say! But anyway, apparently Sweden is expensive. Especially Stockholm. But you know what? I live in Ireland, which is also said to be expensive. And I'll be going to Tokyo, which apparently has a reputation for being one of the most expensive cities in the world. So I will accept this challenge! Really my biggest problem will be trying to sort out the exchange rate (at the moment, €1 = 8.7Kr) as I hate numbers, this will be quite a mountain to conquer!
- Accommodation: This is something I have looked up! I have a choice of two college-arranged apartment blocks, or I can face the Stockholm housing market, which we are strongly advised to avoid. The two on offer are quite similar in terms of size and rent, with the only problem of distance to the college. Neither are close - both are more than an hour away and require the usage of public transport such as buses, trains and the underground. My final decision will likely be down to the other guys from Ireland and where they want to live.
- EUROVISION: Ah yes, the European Song Contest. An annual event since 1956, if I am correct. For those of you watching the 2012 competition, you will already know that Ireland came 19th out of 26 on 46 points, while the winners were Sweden, with a massive 372 points! This means that in 318 days, on May 18th, the contest final will be held in Sweden, and with any luck Stockholm! Although I am looking forward to it, the ticket prices for this year's Azerbaijan final fetched up to €240, and I imagine next year will see no improvement. [EDIT: It has now announced that it will take place in Malmo, which is really far from where I will be in Stockholm. You can get a bus, train or flight. If we still choose to go I reckon we would take the train which is cheaper than a plane but is slightly faster than a bus (just over 4 hours on the fast train). That is definitely problematic.)
Euphoria: Sweden's Eurovision 2012 Winner Loreen (credits: Eurovision)
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