GO INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE

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A magazine for all International people in Sweden

Transcript of GO INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE

Welcome to Go International! This magazine has thrived as a project from few international students and expats living in Gothenburg. Every international living in Gothenburg has relocated here for many different purposes. Many internationals are here in Gothenburg due to a study program, a few are here on business , some are here in Gothenburg due to a career choice, and many international people are here in Gothenburg because they have met a swedish significant other.

No matter what the purpose is, we all have one thing in common; we are all away from home in a new country. Moving away from your country can be as challenging, but can also be fun. A fresh start in a new city can always be wonderful but also have unexpected moments. Everyone has been through the difficul-ties of adapting in a new country. Keeping this in mind, we have designed and implemented this magazine in order to not only guide you, entertain you, but also inform you with all the information you may need being an international here in Sweden.

With Go International we want to take you through an exciting journey that is filled with informative tips, juicy gossip, educational information, and much more! We will explore hot spots, fun places, fill you with trendy news and give you useful advice on easy ways to adapt into a new culture, style and tradition. And all this in English! Go International is full of information that everone can relate to, no matter which country you have come from. Hope you enjoy the journey through the articles! Claire Hultin and Ermeli-na Kanushi

1. GOTHENBURG ON THE GOTop trends in fashion, media, venues, culture.Top hang out spots right here in Gothenburg.

2. EVENTS & NIGHTLIFEUpcoming Events in SeptemberPlaces to go and see /AttractionsHottest Venues and Nightclubs

3. ART, MUSIC & FILMFeatured artwork, featured bands, and international filmakers here in Gothenburg.International music, art, and movie places, top popular songs, hot new films

4. INTERNATIONAL NEWSTips/ Facts on countriesPolitics/Economical news in different countries

5. STUDENT HOUSING & APARTMENTSSGS and blocketTips and Tricks when searching for apartmentsGreat locations to find apartments, and price ranges

6. HOW TO SURVIVE IN GOTHENBURGHow to adapt to the cultureOutlining Gothenburg and attractionsSFI, jobs and internships

7. SPORTS AND ATHLETICSSport events, groups, locations, gymsInformation on Swedish sports & international sportsInternational Sport News

8. STRAIGHT TALKA day In the Life of a SwedeAdvice ColumnOpinions from international people and their culture

9. THE GOSSIP IN GOTHENBURGStories from international people and students here in Gothenburg on their social life.

10. ACADEMIAPublished articles from students and academic essaysChalmers and Gothenburg University

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Go Gothenburg is a section on Gothenburg trends. Every city or culture has trends that make up the soci-ety. Trends create a movement within culture and they tend to curve people´s interests. Interests can change over time due to trends that obviously make up the society! Here we talk about some of the trends that have hit Gothenburg during this time of year. This includes fashion trends, food trends, lifestyle trends, and many other types of trends.

FASHION Now that September is over and we have entered October which means initially fall weather has really kicked into high gear, the summer trends are now officially over. People are focused more on the Swedish en-vironment around them which means they are focused on staying warm, and avoiding less rainy and uncom-fortable situations. People are now wearing semi winter coats, boots, and are carrying umbrellas everywhere in Gothenburg. Rain boots, hats, and leather/cotton jackets are now the big fashion trend. However, people still want to stay stylish regardless of how the weather might be treating them. Men are focused on wearing hoodie sweatshirts with a jacket hanging over them while women are focused on leggings with shots, jeans tucked in with high boots.

FOOD AND TV Now that we have hit rainy weather season many of people are focused with being inside rather than outside during this time of month. People are therefore focused on TV shows in the evening, and baking foods such as Kannel Bullar and so forth. A show that has become a major trend within the Swedish population is How I Met Your Mother which is a TV series similar to friends. Other TV shows pertaining to wom-en are Pretty Little Liars, Smallville, and Bachelorette which are quite popular amongst the Swedish Community.

FOOD AND TV Now that we have hit rainy weather season many of people are focused with being inside rather than outside during this time of month. People are therefore focused on TV shows in the evening, and baking foods such as Kannel Bullar and so forth. A show that has become a major trend within the Swedish population is How I Met Your Mother which is a TV series similar to friends. Other TV shows pertaining to women are Pretty Little Liars, Smallville, and Bachelorette which are quite popular amongst the Swedish Community.

ENTERTAINMENT Going to the Bio is a very popular thing to do amongst people during the rainy season. There are many cinemas in Gothenburg worth going to and for not so expensive prices! The Aftwork becomes a more popular trend. For those who do not know what the term Afterwork means, it is a term that is used when people decide to go to a pub or bar after work and those venues/places offer afterwork prices. People who are not as active because of the rainy season tend to chill out or lay low and enjoy a good beer. A huge food trend that alot of Swedes and International people are becoming engaged in is smörgås! Smörgås is a type of sandwich that can be made with all types of bread, butter, and cheese! Smörgås is easy to make and best when on the go! All Swedish families eat smörgås for breakfast or as a snack.’

HOLIDAYS Now that it is October a big October trend will be the fact that many International people cele-brate Halloween and absolutely adore dressing up! Dressing up for Halloween has been a trend that has become popular recently in other countries besides that of America. Swedes, especially enjoy dressing up and going out on the town during Halloween!Trends... they come and go but they still circulate society and the population but Gothenburg Trends are very different from the rest of Sweden´s trends because of the differences in environment, culture, and history!

Written by Claire Hultin

Another big trend written by an expat here in Sweden would be on crayfish parties that a lot of Swedes love to participate in! Here is an excerpt from her article on the next page:

CRAYFISH PARTIES TREND August, September, even October is the traditional time in Sweden to have a crayfish party. The party is called a “kräftskiva” in Swedish. A few weeks ago I attended my first one. Usually crayfish parties are held under a tent or out on someone’s deck. The reason for this is that the crayfish “juice” ends up going everywhere and even though it’s a pleasant enough odor during the party, it is a horrible smell the next day when it’s worked its way into the rugs, etc. The party I attended was an annual affair at my workplace where employees and their families are invited every year. Since I wasn’t here last year in August, this was the first one for me. Since my office doesn’t have a large outdoor space, they have the party indoors in the large lunchroom/meeting room. A few days before the party, a special company delivered 15 or so thick mats to put under the tables. I didn’t even know there existed companies that do nothing other than deliver to, take away, and wash industrial mats for offices (not just for crayfish parties but for other purposes such as when it gets super wet, slushy, gritty, etc. in winter).

Swedish crayfish parties tend to feature silly paper hats, paper tablecloths, and paper lanterns with a clown/moon—the latter of which I don’t quite get the connection. Plastic bibs are always welcome but there weren’t any available at the party I attended. The crayfish were boiled in salt water and seasoned with fresh dill. They were served cold and we ate them with our fingers although at this particular party there were some special imple-ments that looked like dull knives available as well.

Expats and Crayfish Here’s where it gets dangerous for us expats. Traditional crayfish parties typically feature lots of drinking songs, beer, and snaps (vodka). It can get pretty rowdy. No problem! Expats can drink with the best of them, right? Wrong! The problem is that you need to get some food into your stomach while you’re doing the drinking.

If you don’t know your way around a crayfish, it can be quite challenging to actually get some food into your stomach—at least enough to help soak up all that liquor. I’ve eaten my share of crab and lobster and it’s still entirely unclear which are the edible crayfish parts and which aren’t. Plus, it’s a lot of work getting those little critters open. And then you spend a lot of time staring in amazement, crayfish suspended in your hands, at the natives who are loudly slurping crayfish parts. The slurping, by the way, is encouraged.

It seems so, well, un-Swedish that you can’t help staring. So…not so much food in the stomach, lots of alco-hol…lots of singing and suddenly…you are more drunk than you would like to be. You didn’t realize it but, while you were staring in horror at your crayfish, the natives were helping themselves to the Västerbotten pie (cheese pie made with cheese from Västerbotten), salads, and bread. But your stomach is empty because the crayfish just don’t have much meat (at least that you can find, anyway). Solution?Here’s my simple tip to all you expats, visitors, and newbies to Swedish crayfish parties: Eat a lot of food before you get to the party!

Written by Kate Reuterswärd http://blogs.sweden.se/expat/author/kate/

Gothenburg nightlife always amazes the Interna-tional people because there are always many exciting places to venture off to. However, they can’t be quite hard to find if you don´t know exactly what you are looking for! What Gothenburg has to offer is quite a lot for a small city compared to others around the world. You can find quaint little pubs by Andra Lan-gatan, hot clique clubs on the Avenue, and even funky places that could be for rock and rollers, or hipsters! We write reviews on places all the time and choose what we think is the best spots for Internationals!

Below is a list of cool nightlife places to visit:

Berså is a very stylish club by Kungsportsplatsen which is opened from 22:00-03:00. Admission is 80 SEK but there is a free admission before 23:30. Mainly house music is played at Berså and it is the spot where the Swedish youngsters hang out. However, it is also a great spot for the International people to meet new people. The age limit to this club is 18 and up!

Club Calor has many different themed nights and opened on certain days. It is a small little club on the Corner at Victoria Street 3 and has a 23 and up age limit. The music is very diverse at this little shin dig which attracts a lot of Spaniards and Brazilians.

Club Lounge (s) is located at Kungsportsavenyn 5 and is open from 9:00 to 4:00 in the morning and has a high admission which is 150 SEK. It is geared toward the older crowd which starts with an age limit of about 25 years and up. A very hard club to get into and also very exclusive indeed, it is the place to be even for Internationals. The crowd is dressed very stylish and ellegant and the people are focused on the party life style.

Club Valand which is located on Vasagatan 41 and opened from 22:00-5:00 in the morning is an absolutely awesome and posh club. International Parties of the year have been hosted at Valand and apparently the next Halloween International Party will be hosted at this place to be! Admission is usually 100 SEK but sometimes preordered tickets to private parties are much cheaper. The age limit is 20 ages and up! The place looks like a castle inside and has a grand staircase that is abso-lutely gorgeous. Located directly on the avenue it is one of the most classical stylish venues in Gothenburg!

Events coming up in October!

STUDENTS GONE WILD PARTY @ THE INTERNATIONAL CORNER Thursday October 11th, 2012.

The International Corner provides the next big party which entails a laser show, sound system build to per-fection, and a very awesome dance floor. For the month of October, The International Corner is offering free entrance before 10:00 pm and a very different assortment of beverages for very good prices! This themed party is based on the students! Exams are either finished or are coming up soon and it will have been a rough couple of weeks. This means that we need to party it up one last time before the Halloween parties! Screw the exams, come out, meet new people, and go wild! http://www.facebook.com/events/503457056331961

ERASMUS HALLOWEEN PARTY @ THE INTERNATIONAL COR-NER Thursday October 25, 2012. The International Corner provides the last party of the October Month based on Halloween for the Erasmus students. However, all students are welcome! Halloween or also known as All Hallows’ Eve is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the eve before the Western Christian feast of All Hallows! The International Corner wants to celebrate a big night and have a Halloween party that no student will ever forget! Come ready to party and bring a cool cos-tume whether it be scary, funky, sexy, fun, daring, or whatever your imagination runs away with! Event is listed here: http://www.facebook.com/events/503457056331961/

INTERNATIONAL HALLOWEEN PARTY @ VALAND

Our next big event since the last party we hosted entitled: INTER-NATIONAL PARTY OF THE SEMESTER & SWEDISH FASHION SHOW is going to be called INTERNATIONAL HAUNTED HOUSE PARTY ft. Blizz Bugaddi and Zombie Fashion Show. We will have the event at the end of the month. For this event we will have a Haunted House theme in the old Castle looking building now formally known as Club Valand. Everyone can dress up in fun and stylish costumes! However, we will be having a zombie fashion show and a hit new sin-gle by Blizz Bugaddi performing. Throughout the night we will have ghouls and zombies scaring people throughout the grand staircase and up and down the nightclub! Date is yet to be decided..

JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE NIGHT

Journey to the End of the Night is a free street game of epic proportion run by volunteer masterminds in cities around the world. It is a race through city streets. With over 5,000 players all-time it is one of the most success-ful street games in the world. It has been played in San Francisco, New York, London, Los Angeles, Berlin, Chi-cago, Washington DC, Vienna, and more. Runners participating will try to make it to six checkpoints as fast as you can, while avoiding being caught by chasers. Those who are caught will become chasers themselves, rising to pursue their former friends and allies. This is a footrace–only your own two feet and public transit are permitted. No bicycles, no skates, no cars, no taxis.

This is an intense game, capable of changing your perspective on an entire city. But while it will test your met-tle, Journey is not an exclusive sport by any means - players range from spunky 18-year-old athletes to computer geeks to 50 and 60 year old common citizens. Journey is not a competition of youth and strength, but a game to test yourself against the city. This is liberty through genuinely free, self-conscious, authentic play.Written by Vaidotas Paradauskas

Event in Gothenburg: http://www.facebook.com/events/334406319969431/The official game site: http://totheendofthenight.com/aboutAnd check out video from San Francisco: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmXk7vTc5LA

Rules: http://totheendofthenight.com/gameplayIt is about to be played in Gothenburg on Saturday night, 10th of *November*.

Journey to the End of the Night was created in 2006 by Ian Kizu-Blair, Sean Mahan and Sam Lavigne.

Facebook groups to learn more about International Events can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/475981745752621/http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/studyingoteborg/

Below are our top popular places to be for The International Expats in Gothenburg and also The students of Go-thenburg. We have written exclusive pieces with a synopsis on the restaurants/clubs.

Bryggeriet is a restaurant, sports bar, and nightclub which is located on the Avenue in Gothenburg, Sweden. They opened their doors in 1993 and have been a great and absolute best choice for anyone who wants to eat really delicious food, follow their favorite sports team, or dance the weekend away with the excellent DJs and music they have to offer!

The atmosphere is chilled out on weekdays but on the weekend the music is turned up to the max and only follows the beat of the people. They offer excellent pork on Tuesdays, pea soup on Thursdays, after work on Fri-days, and every sport team is played on the big screen TVs that you can imagine. Bryggeriet is located at Kung-sportsavenyn 3 411 36 Göteborg and you can call their main number at 031-711 92 60. For all the party goers, Bryggeriet keeps the popular nightclub open until 03:00 every Friday and Saturday into the morning!

One of the hot spots that have been spreading like wild fire is The International Corner Restau-rant/Pub and even Night Club on weekends. It stretches out in the middle of student housing by Olofshöjd. Located in Utlandagatan 24 B. in Johannaberg it has become the meeting place for all International students from all over the world.

The International Corner started up Septem-ber 5th, 2012 with it´s amazing Grand Opening with Dj´s Patryk G and Nick spinning the mu-sic all throughout the evening. Following the Grand Opening, The International Corner started having events like Monday Movie Night showing the most popular and new upcoming movies, Swedish Study Group on Tuesday which includes Swedish tutors and lessons on a projector, Wed is Game Night which includes video games on a big screen, black jack, and Mafia Games, Thursday is Beer Pong Karaoke Night which is one of the most exciting nights, and Friday The Internation-al Corner has something called Lounge Night which includes cheap afterwork deals and fun music!

Every once in a while The International Corner hosts big parties on the weekend for Erasmus and other International people. The International Corner also sponsors other events such as The In-ternational Parties around Gothenburg and also supports Go Gothenburg, Go International, and Expats In Gothenburg.

Written by Go International Team

Art, music, and film are a huge part of the Gothenburg culture! What would we do without the intricate and beau-tiful master pieces that Swedish and International artists, musicians, and film makers create! There is so much creativ-ity that constantly surrounds Gothenburg on a daily basis and as small as Sweden is, it has become an icon for the rest of the world due to the art that is has portrayed through film making, art, and music.

ART Röda Sten Art Centre presents the preparations for Göte-borg International Biennial for Contemporary Art now for the month of October! Röda Sten presents many pieces of art by artists from all over the world. It is an extremely inter-national place that is filled with unique pieces and has many exhibitions.

Francis Alÿs who is apart of the exhibition at Röda Sten is an artist is acclaimed for his intricate political and poetic interventions in the social fabric, in its broadest sense. The video work Chateau du Sable is part of an ongoing project called Children’s Games. The project is a tribute to children’s games as bearers of symbolic social structures, and as cre-ative inspiration for the building of new societies.

Another great artist is Zille Homma Hamid who has an installation of experiments with the relationship between unity and diversity, where the different mediums textile, wood and photography repeat and overlap eachother. The work appeals to our different senses by high-lighting textures as well as patterns, taken from traditional weaving techniques worldwide. The aim is to generate a sensory journey beyond fragmentation and individualism.

FILM A few exciting and new Swedish films that have come out recently are Once Upon A Time in Phuket, Snabba Cash 2, and Avalon. Snabba Cash 2 Is a movie based on the book by Jens Lapidus. It is the sequal to Snabba Cash 1 and is about a promising business student who became an organized coke smuggler and ends up serving hard time in prison. The movie is about several people whos stories intertwine with each other. The movie also portrays the Serbian Mafia. The Avalon which is another Swedish film that came out recently is about Janne, a 60 year old party promoter who is arranging a nightclub at the annual tennis week in the small coastal town of Båstad. An accident turns his life upside down and he must deal with the situations in his life.Once Upon a Time in Phuket is a movie is about Sven who currently holds a dead end job that he would like to get away from. When one of Svens friends dies unexpectedly and so he decides to cut his ties and embark on a new adventure that leads him to Phuket, Thailand. The movie is very humorous and an excellent Swedish movie to watch!Written by Claire Hultin

Music in Gothenburg is booming with new potential. This month we decided to focus on a particular pop star named Blizz Bugaddi. He is an exceptional musician and is now has become a big part of the International community entertainment. He has performed at two of the biggest International parties we have had this year and he will keep on performing throughout Sweden. Once you sit together with Blizz he makes you want get to know him! We talked with him for a a few hours before he took the stage of Sticky Fingers at the International Party. He is determined and inspired and I think we should expect more from him in the future! A special thanks to his manager for translating! Here we have interviewed him below:

Q. What made you decide to get into the music business?A. I have been involved in music since I was twelve and afterwards I did a song with some friends which made quite an impact on the Swedish national radio. It’s something I loved since I was a child.

Q. Are you actively involved in writing music?A. Yes! I love writing music. I have been also a ghost writer for some other known artists in Sweden. I love to play with beats and turn them into a song.

Q. What comes easier to you, lyrics or music? A. I’d say lyrics and text come out easier for me. I get much more inspired.

Q. What artists have influenced you the most?A. Oh so many, Elvis Priesly, Tom Jones, Prince, Lady Gaga, Chuck Berry, Little Richard. I’m influenced by a large range of artists, I’m not limited within a specific genre.

Q. You’re using English lyrics in your songs; does that mean that you plan to pursue a career in a European lev-el, out of Sweden too?A. In some time yes. I wouldn’t like to stay in Sweden. For example, most great names in house music come from England so we want to try to go abroad and try to win each market or each country one at a time.

Q. How do you like to spend your day-offs when you don’t have to do anything related with music business. A. Thai food! (laughs) I like to go to the gym, work out, I like to enjoy the sun whenever I get the chance because here it’s not so usual. (laughs) It’s raining at the moment as a matter of fact. Sometimes I wonder why I’m living here! (laughs). Also, I love thai food!

Q. We know that you have been in the studio during the last days. Tell us what have you been “cooking” there.A. We are working on three new songs with some really great names in the industry. I’m really excited about the work we’re doing there!

Q. When should we expect this new material?A. We don’t know yet! Maybe you will hear some of it to-night! (laughs) But we’re not sure yet. We can tell you that they’ll come out with a bang! People won’t know what hit them! (laughs) We want to make a big impact!

Q. Is there anything you want to say to your fans?A. Of course, I want to thank them for their support! They are lovely, we have a wonderful fanbase! After all, what is an artist without any fans? So thanks again and buy my singles, buy a t-shirt! (laughs)

Q. Any scheduled appearances? Apart from tonight, obviously!A. There are a couple of appearances but they’re not con-firmed yet so we shouldn’t say anything yet. But everyone will learn about it as soon as they’re announced, by Face-book and internet. But I’m constantly looking to perform live; it’s one of the thing I love in this business!

Written by Petros Tsavdaridis and Neeha Karamchedu

International news is absolutely vital to follow and import-ant to keep yourself updated on a weekly basis. It is imperative for International people to follow their countries politics, news, innovation, and economy to better understand what is going on. However, it is also important to follow world news as a whole because each country is impacted by other coun-tries that surround them. In this section we focus on interna-tional news from all over the world and what is going on in society and in today’s world.

OBAMA OR ROMNEY? Obama or Romney? ELECTIONS IN THE U.S. In the United States, the presidential election campaigns are picking up with each passing day. The next election is to be held on November 6, 2012. Many candidates are colliding for presidency but the most exciting competition seems to occur between Obama and Romney. On the one side, Barack Obama, who is current president of the United States since 2009, continues his struggle for gaining power again. On the other side, Mitt Romney, who is the nominee from the Re-publican Party, has a big rival against Obama because there are many people that support him profoundly.

According to last surveys, 52 percent of electorates will vote for Obama and 46 percent of them will vote for Romney, but this situation can change at any time. Both politicians give speech in different states to raise their number of electorate. However, this process doesn’t continue so silence as it’s pre-dicted because they don’t neglect to criticise each other in ev-ery meeting and this competition increases tension every day.

All of claims are quite multidimensional. While the biggest trump of Obama is thought as Michelle Obama, it is said that the unique secret of economy and employment on Romney’s hands. However, we shouldn’t forget that the most critical thing is the decision of public and next month, we’ll see who will be winner at the end of this marathon.

THE TRADE VOLUME BETWEEN CHINA AND THE EU IS ONE THE DECLINE The trade volume that started to slow down last year between China and the USA is proceeding to decrease. While this trade volume is on the boom until 2011, it started to change with the effect of Euro debt crisis. This situation does not only affect the EU but also China in the economic sense. This year, the growth number of China is under most of predictions and it seems to continue in the next year. Analysts say this deterioration cul-minates with the diminution of demand and export in trade. Therefore, the recovery of this relationship between China and the EU considering trade volume is not expected. All these situations puzzle that China is not unique country that has cheap labour force anymore. Therefore, it needs structural reforms in trading area.

EURO DEBT CRISIS: GREECE CASE The budget deficit of Greece is rising day after day. The representatives, who compose of the European Union, European Central Bank and IMF, deduce about the growth of budget deficit. On the other hand, the prime minister of Greece, Antonis Samaras emphasized that he wanted waiving some part of debt. Public is the unhap-piest side in this case. They think that additional precautions such as external aids ruin social balance and these policies aren’t fair.

This case brings to mind Euro Debt Crisis again. Main debates are about the function of Euro. It is claimed Euro couldn’t prevent the debtor countries as a strong currency. Analysis underlines the situation of Greece, Italy, Ireland Portugal, France and Spain would be different today if they were preserved by Euro.

There are several options for Greece as many coun-tries have, but they are quite suspicious solutions in the implementation process. The first one is on the ECB’s hands. The ECB could extend the date of payment about Greek bondholding, but the strong resistances not to extend are proceeding in the ECB itself. The power of the IMF is the second option. The IMF could extend the repayment date for the loans of Greece, but the persuasion of fund committee seems not easy again. As third option, other Euro members could lend more money to Greece but they don’t agree regarding lending money according to their parliament negotiations. The last option is about Greece itself. Greece could decide to cut its spending in many areas but it could cause social discomfort for citizens. This means another crisis that could occur socially.

Today, we cannot say there are no options to amend to Greece with respect to these possibilities but the obsta-cles are the main problem as it is predicted. Therefore, world agenda still keeps an eye on Greece.

IPHONE 5 AS AN ECONOMIC MOTIVATION iPhone, which is designed and marketed by Apple Inc., is demanded incrementally with each passing day. Nowadays, everybody talks about iPhone 5 and its features. It has gone beyond pre-dictions because huge mass of people pre-ordered before it was launched.

After the first advertisement of iPhone 5, company stakes have reached the highest level. This situation brings to mind that great intense of iPhone 5 can assist getting rid of the economic crisis of the US. Moreover, it cannot be ignored that iPhone 5 has sufficient power to vitalize smart phone market and competition area.

Written by Nergis Ozdamar

STUDENT HOUSING CRISIS Student housing and renting apartments have be-come a major struggle here in Gothenburg, Sweden. It has become a huge problem and a desperation and struggle for students who have come here from their host universities and also come here to start a very long program. Initially, these students have worked very hard in order to be accepted as an International Student here in Gothenburg, but somehow are not treated fairly once arriving here. Many students are desperately searching for apartments, or student housing through SGS or oth-ers and some students are in a waiting list for over two or three years in order to get a small room apartment. Students only other alternative is to pay for hostels at the moment or couch surf until they find a more suit-able explanation.

Essentially, there has been a proposal that is being discussed in the building committee and a group of Politian’s formally known as the Moderats, the Christian Democrats, and Liberals are all apart of pushing this proposal. They are trying to achieve obtaining tempo-rary building permits for barracks, modules, and other housing alternatives on any land that is not being used within the city. There are certain areas not being used such as Backaplan, Lindholmen, and Frihamnen that they may consider taking over. They are even consider-ing parking lots near Sahlgrenska. There are many indi-cations that the proposal will go through in some form.

At this point we need a solution. A huge portion of exchange students come to Gothenburg, cannot find a place to live, and are forced to go back to their coun-tries again. The student union Göta Studentkår has an understanding that there is a major shortage in student accommodation. However, they fear that the temporary solutions may become permanent. Written by Claire Hultin

A TIP FOR ERASMUS STUDENTS ON STUDENT HOUSING If you are an Erasmus or Exchange student in Göteborg , you need to fill application forms via your new universities website. Be sure that you have contacted with the person . Generally, Uni-versity of Göteborg and Chalmers Institute of Technology are working collectively with SGS . Even though there is a cooperation between both sides , as the demand for the housing is high , one may be faced with difficulties.

In order to prevent it , I recommend you to read following tips so that you will enjoy your lifes most unforgettible moments as a student in Göte-borg. Erasmus or Exchange students are guaran-teed to find an accomodation unless they did not miss the due date of the application. Otherwise , they should be in contact with the housing offices directly. Unfortunately the website is in Swedish but you can also leave a message in English.

Renting a flat may be another option. But you need to know that it may not fit with your budget. So , sharing private rooms may be the solution if you do not have to afford renting a flat. For universities in Göteborg , one may need between 2500 kr. to 5000 kr. per month.

Before starting to worry about where to stay you may take a look at those websites and also can follow some Facebook groups which are really helpful. Unfortunately the websites are generally in Swedish but do not forget that most of the peo-ple over Göteborg can speak English perfectly. I do not think that there will be a problem if you are in contact in English.

Written by Gülsün Demirezen

http://www.sokstudentbostad.se/ www.jagvillhabostad.nu

http://www.swedenintouch.se/Forum/Top-ics/?roomid=77A facebook group that may help you find apart-ments can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/255871701189776/

Surviving in Gothenburg can always be tough when the weather drastically changes during the month of October and people tend to become less open and more to themselves. However, this column is typically for International people to get a grasp on the wonderful things we can experience while attempting to adapt to the Swedish culture and envi-ronment. We also want International people to get a feel on practical things that can be hard to figure out while living in a new country.

NEED A CLINICAL CHECKUP? Alot of International people are puzzled by the way it works in Sweden when needed to see a doc-tor. The system here may be a bit different than in other countries. The term for clinic is called Vård-central and there are many listed on the internet near your area. For information you can go to www.akademihalsan.se or for students if you look in the Gothenburg University Study Guide or you can also call call 031-106970 for assistance

Going to the clinic is very fast and simple. The cost is usually 300 kr and 100 kr for a Swedish citizen when being appointed a checkup. Usually, you do not have to schedule a checkup but you can just arrive at the clinic, and wait in a queue. Most doctors are really nice, speak fluently english and prescribe very good and inexpensive medicine. Here is another link to a guide of Vårdcentral places!

http://www.vgregion.se/sv/Primarvarden-Goteborg/vardcentralergoteborg/VardcentralenGibraltarga-tan/Written by Claire Hultin

FEELING THE BLUES Are you feeling tired, anxious, or sad? Right now we are experiencing a very interesting transition. Almost everyone starts to experience it during the month of October. People feel there is no real reason behind why they are feeling a bit grumpy or tired, but there is always an underlying reason why we feel the way we do. The environment around us changes during this month which inevitably means our actions also change and also our routine becomes different. We stay inside more because of the weather, we spend less time in the sun, and have slowly started to experience hibernation mode due to the rainy weather.

Psychologically speaking, we as humans usually become happy when our endorphins and serotonin increase. These are our happy chemicals! However, we also need certain vitamins like vitamin D for example. During this time period we are depleted of these chemicals that are produced in the brain because we get these chemicals from for example, the sun and working out. The sun produces serotonin and working out increases the level of endorphins in your body. During the Swedish summer people are more active and also in the sun which is the reason why they are naturally more comfortable and happy. During the fall season we go through the tran-sition of “the blues” because we are not as active and not as much in the sun. There are ways to get around this! It is important to try to spend anytime you can in the sun when it is out and constantly stay active with sports, socializing, or other activities. You can beat out the blues and stay productive and happy! Just be patient and endure the transition by adapting in other ways.

Written by Claire Hultin

FINDING A JOB AS AN INTERNATIONAL IN SWEDEN If you want to live in Sweden and you’re not an EU or Swiss citizen, you’ve got basically three op-tions: one, study; two, have a lasting and genuine relationship with someone else who has permis-sion to live in Sweden; or three, find a job. Choos-ing to study in Sweden is probably the one you have the most control over; the second is a little more up to fate. And then there’s the third option. Finding a job in Sweden is tough, especially since the EU has certain protectionist laws that make it difficult for European countries to hire non-Europeans. (This does not necessarily apply to international companies, which are free to transfer employees throughout the organization.)I get questions about searching for a job in Swe-den all the time, so I thought I’d share some of my experiences. First, you need a little inspiration, check out the Work Blog here at blogs.sweden.se. Kristin’s story is a clear example that it’s never too late to make big changes and do the things you want to do. If you want to live in Sweden, don’t let your age hold you back! Before I found out about the sambo visa, I tried to get a job in Sweden from the United States, and I also had a really hard time. At that time, I was a qualified ESL teacher with work experience with-

within that field, plus a degree in English from a top college in the US. Even so, I didn’t hear back from a single job that I ap-plied for. Not being able to find a job in Sweden was one of the reasons why I ended up taking a six month detour in Vienna: a great place to be, but not my final destination.

It’s all about networking—no matter how tenuous the connec-tion. The way I eventually got a job was through very, very ran-dom networking. I was taking Swedish classes (SFI) and went to buy a snack during the break. (Surprise, surprise, right?) I started talking to the woman next to me about which candy bar I should get, and it turned out that she was Swedish and study-ing to be an accredited ESL teacher. She said she would refer any new clients to me because she was too busy with her course-work to take new students.

I never heard from her again, but she passed on my name to another ESL teacher, who I still have never met, who passed on my name to a private language school that was in desperate need of an English teacher at the last minute. The job interview (conducted over the phone) went like this: “Do you have any experience? Ok, that’s good. Do you have any sort of degree or accreditation? Ok, great. Could you possibly start tomorrow? Ok, you’re hired.” I’ve been there ever since.

All of this is a very long way of saying that I think network-ing is everything in this country. I have a friend who was really successful finding a job here (also as a teacher) by setting up informational sessions and interviews with a bunch of princi-pals while she was still in the United States. She came during her spring break and traveled all over the place to meet with them. At the end of 10 days or so, all of them had offered her a job. Providing you’re qualified for the job, the biggest challenge is getting your foot in the door. Connect with people through social media or international groups. If you have friends or fam-ily in the area—or any contacts at all—the first thing you should do is ask them to network like crazy for you. This is not the time to be shy!

If you don’t have any personal contacts in Sweden, then you should try to network over Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn. Start conversations with people in the fields you want to work in. Demonstrate how committed you are to finding a job in Swe-den. Ask for advice. You never know who might refer you to a friend who might connect you with an opportunity that just so happens to work out! Another way to network is to get in touch with people through expat or international groups, both in your home country and abroad. I’m a member of the Ameri-can Women’s Club (you don’t have to be American or a woman

to join) and a nominal member of Internations, which is a very vibrant group throughout the world. Put it out there that you’re trying to make connections with Sweden when you’re in your own country, or schedule a trip to Sweden and try to meet as many people in person as you can while you’re there.

Attend a conference or enroll in a program. This is in the same vein as before: connect, connect, connect. I have a friend who came to Sweden to teach a summer course at a university here as a fun way to take a trip to a new part of the world. They liked him so much they offered him a job—two years later, and he’s still here. Once again, as long as you’re qualified for the job, just getting your foot in the door is the biggest challenge, regardless of whether you’re planning on falling in love with Sweden or not! Another strategy might be to do a 1 year Mas-ter’s course in the field you want to work in. Although this is more expensive and time-consuming, you’ll have a full year of networking and connection-building built in, and you’ll have a structure and contacts at your school to get you started.

Written by Kate Reuterswärd http://blogs.sweden.se/expat/author/kate/

THE MAGIC OF SWEDISH BANKING It’s not often that I go to another country and feel like, WHOA, this is the future of _______. Coming from the United States – the home of Apple Com-puters, Silicon Valley, and TV channels that exist for the sole purpose of selling useless gadgets – I tend to think that my homeland is on the cutting edge of technological progress, for better or worse.When it comes to banking, though, Sweden totally has us beat.

Internet culture defines the world of personal finance here. You do everything with your online banking site, from paying bills to sending mon-ey to friends to authorizing governmental forms. And you do it all with a little instrument called the “dosa” (due-sah). When I log into my bank account, I don’t use a password. I enter my Swedish personal number (a 12-digit number equivalent to a Social Security number), then I enter my PIN into the dosa. The dosa generates a unique 8-digit code after I choose the “log-in” function, and I enter that into a field on my bank’s website. Then I’m in.

The dosa gives you extra security for your bank account: no one can just steal your password and get into your account, and you need both the Swedish personal number and the PIN to the dosa to get the access code to the account. At the same time, there’s no password to remember, which I like because I tend to forget them. I know it sounds stupid, but I have two bank accounts in the US,

one in Sweden, two Social Security numbers, two blogs, a credit card, and four email addresses. I get confused.

Online bill payment is nothing new in the US (and probably much of the world), but the way they do it is slightly different from what I was familiar with.I pay my cell phone bill online, for example. Every month, I get a text message from the cell phone provider telling me that my bill has been delivered to my account. I log in to my bank account, and there’s a special area for incoming bills. I can review the bill from my bank account, save it if I want, or my bank account will archive it. Then I just confirm that I want to pay it, once again using a unique 12-digit code generated by my dosa. What’s most interesting here, though, is how friends pay each other back for things like shared presents or nights out. Giving cash to each other is obviously an option, but people are just as likely to say “just forward me the mon-ey.” Then one person gives the other his/her routing number and account number, and the other person forwards the money into his/her account.

I’ve tried to do this in the US, and I have found it extremely complicated and difficult! First I have to try to forward the money, and it forwards a token amount like 19 cents. That amount shows up in the second person’s account with a code, and then I have to confirm that the money went to the right person by entering the code again. It takes a couple of days for the first money to be forwarded, then you have to collaborate again on the code, then a couple of days for the real amount of money to be forwarded. Here, I just enter the amount of money I want to send, the person’s name, routing number, and account number, and press enter. Then I confirm that all the informa-tion is correct with a 8-digit unique code generated by the dosa. So easy, so painless!

Written by Kate Reuterswärd http://blogs.sweden.se/expat/author/kate/

Sports are always going to be a popular section in Go International. Athletics and Sports are undeniably pervasive in the Swedish society and amongst international people. Americans have their baseball, basketball, and American football. The Swedish have their iceskating, innebandy and dog-sledding. However, a huge part of Eu-rope and the rest of the world focus primarily on football (soccer). Here you will find all the latest news and events on sports around the world and right here in Sweden.

ATHLETICS BEAT RANGERS 12-5 FOR 3 GAME SWEEP Texas Rangers’ Alexi Ogando walks off the mound in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. The A’s won 12-5 to clinch the AL West title. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

OAKLAND, Calif. - Josh Hamilton made one thing clear: The Texas Rangers will forget their stunning season-ending sweep at Oakland and regroup as an American League wild card.So much for a third straight AL West crown. Texas needed one win against the upstart Athletics in three games, and didn’t get it.

“You guys have a hard time believing we can forget about it and move ahead,” Hamilton said. “But that’s what we get paid to do. We’ll go home, regroup and go figure out what we have to do.”The Athletics captured the AL West with another improbable rally in a season full of them, coming back from four runs down and a 13-game division deficit to beat the two-time defending league champion Rangers 12-5 on Wednesday. Hamilton dropped a fly ball in cen-tre field for a two-run error that put the A’s (94-

-68) ahead 7-5 in a six-run fourth inning. The A’s only added to Texas’ troubles the rest of the way. “You can have all the experience as you want but when you run into a team that’s hot, experience has nothing to do with it,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. Texas (93-69) is headed to the new one-game, wild-card playoff at home against Baltimore on Friday night, with the winner playing the New York Yankees in the division series.The A’s get some time off before opening the division series in their first post-season appear-ance since 2006, playing Game 1 at Detroit on Saturday. The Athletics needed a sweep and they delivered to win their first division crown in six years and 15th in all. They overcame a five-game deficit in the final nine days and took sole possession of the West’s top spot for the first time this year. “We knew this is a beast of a team we would have to beat, and to be able to beat them three games in a row and win the division on top of it, really it’s a magical type thing,” manager Bob Melvin said.Grant Balfour retired Michael Young on a fly to centre for the final out, then raised his arms in the air as the A’s streamed out of the dugout and began bouncing up and down in the infield.”2012 AL WEST CHAMPIONS” flashed on the scoreboard two days after the A’s clinched a playoff spot Monday and held a wild dance party in the club-house.”I’m glad there’s not one tomorrow or Friday,” owner Lew Wolff said. “I can relax and go home. I’m run-ning out of underwear.”

Ryan Cook, pitching for a fifth consecutive game, gave up a double to Nelson Cruz before retiring the next three Texas hitters with strikeouts of David Murphy and Mike Napoli. Catcher Derek Norris pumped his right arm as the Coliseum fans jumped to their feet. Norris then homered leading off the bottom of the eighth for his second RBI. It was his seventh homer and Oakland’s majors-leading 112th since the All-Star break. “Ever since Day 1 I’ve been here, it’s been, the A’s can’t compete with the payroll, can’t compete with this team or that team,” Norris said. “We’re better off if we’re down. It just gives us the extra energy.” The A’s join the NL West champion San Francisco Giants as division champion

s. The Bay Area is already buzzing about a possible Bay Bridge World Series like the 1989 championship swept by Oakland, one interrupted by an earthquake. Hamilton’s miscue while charging forward might haunt the to-be free agent if his Rangers don’t get past their wild-card game.”I just missed it, man,” Hamilton said. Murphy’s two-run single highlighted a five-run third inning that put Texas in prime position. In the fourth, Moss drew a leadoff walk and Josh Reddick followed with an RBI double. Josh Donaldson singled and Seth Smith’s base hit made it 5-3 and chased Ryan Dempster with none out and runners on first and second.

Washington turned to the lefty Holland, a starter who was tagged for four runs in the first inning of the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader with the Angels before working into the seventh. He retired the first two batters before Crisp’s double down the right-field line. The only other teams to come back from at least 13 games down to win the division were the 1914 Boston Braves, the 1951 New York Giants, the ‘78 Yankees and the ‘95 Seattle Mariners. “Anything can happen in the long season,” said Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish, who will start the wild-card game. “That’s why we play 162 games. We’re going to forget about this and get ready for the next one.” Now, Texas has all the pressure as they try to make another run deep into October. These are the same Rangers who twice came within one strike of the franchise’s first World Series championship before losing Games 6 and 7 to the wild-card St. Louis Cardinals. It was Texas’ second near miss in as many years after losing the 2010 World Series to the Giants. “We have to go win that playoff game,” Napoli said. “We didn’t come here to lose. They got it done and we didn’t, plain and simple. It’s going to be a tough road.”

NOTES: Texas’ Geovany Soto snapped an 0-for-16 streak with a single in the third that chased Griffin. ... The Rangers also scored five runs in an inning vs. the A’s Tuesday night winner Travis Blackley on Sept. 27. ... The A’s won the season series 11-8, just the second time in seven seasons they’ve done so. ... The sellout crowd included 1,000 standing-room only tickets. ... Holland pitched in relief for the second time this year.Written by Janie McCaule

Straight Talk is a section that focuses on keeping it real and discussing the issues, problems, or even advice/opinions on what international people face on a daily bases with universi-ty, work, and family live while living in Gothenburg, Sweden. International writers discuss everything from managing their time, to developing relationships, getting acclimated at their job, dealing with school, and many other every day issues. We focus on international people as a whole and their adaptation into the Gothenburg City society.

STUDENT TROUBLES WITH MANAGING TIME Being a student at the University of Gothenburg makes me think about productivity and the ability to manage time well and learn effectively. Especially important are these skills when you find yourself in a situation like me, when studying interna-tional master course you do not understand and that is based on a reading of plenty professional articles that simply cannot

keep up finish. You just have to learn how to be organized.

For me a simple rule following the philosophy of Tim Ferris, applies. I devote to study only a limited amount of time. I’m trying to concentrate on important things and emit unnecessary ones, which is the ma-jority. At least in political science, the scientific articles you must read as a whole rather than concentrating on the words. And that’s what I’m doing, I’ll read the introduction and conclusion, and then in my own words summarize content of the article in a few sentences. Usually it is sufficient and if not, whenever I can go back to the article and look for details. The important thing is not to add an extra work for yourself and rely on your abilities.

In addition, everything looks worse in the beginning. When I started this course I was almost sure I will have to quit. Now I think I’ll be OK, even if the reading is still just as difficult, and I know that politics still just a little. The difference is that in the beginning you do not realize that most things sounds a lot more compli-cated than they are. Words have the power to obscure the reality and that we can use. I’ll give you one with the school unrelated example that illustrates this well:

I run an NGO which promotes education, volunteering and training oportunities for young people. If you take a look to our website, you may get the impression that we are doing well. We receive emails from people who would like to work with us or who we would like to pay for advertising. People view us as professionals, because we have a nice website, a lot of activities and we can speak nicely about ourself and our mission. But the truth is that we are only 3 students who write articles at home when they have nothing to do. No office, no paid staff, no PR. That does not mean that our work is not useful, simply it means that from a bigger distance you can see something more complicated or more professional than it really is.

As I wrote in the previous article, the biggest enemy is usually your own mind. It is the same in this case. When you want to be productive you have to: select the important parts, devote to work or study just a limited time (but with high concentration) be aware that your work may just seem to be difficult, but if you named it in other words, it could suddenly seem more humane. Be prepared to skip something or to not know. You are a human, not a machine. You cannot know everything. Remember, the one who know the least is the one who can learn the most. And the fun part at the end: other people (classmates) usually also do not know, also have fears and also have problems managing learning. You just do not see it!

Written by Zuzana Joc DostálováKANEL BULLAR DAJ AND HOW TO CELEBRATE Being in Sweden means you don’t have a change to escape fika. But also: why would anyone want that? Prob-ably everybody already got an insight in the relaxing culture of having coffee or tea with friends, chat for hours and just enjoy being together and socialize with others. And what comes with it? – Cookies and cakes off all shapes, colors and flavors.

So don’t forget the 4th of October, because it‘s going to be Kanelbullens Dag (Day of the cinnamon bun). That very special day was created to celebrate Sweden’s home baking tradition. Yes, it might be a bit odd to those who haven’t experienced a day on which pastry plays a significant roll and people going crazy over eating them. But it is a part of the wonderful Swedish culture you’re living in and when it’s raining outside, going for fika is one of the best things you can do.

So either go into any bakery on that very special day or bake them yourselves: Ingredients25 buns35 g (1¼ oz) yeast100 g (3½ oz) sugar300 ml (1½ cup) milk1 egg120 g (4 oz) butter1 tsp salt1 tbs ground cardemom750 g (26 oz) flourFilling:100 g (4 oz) butter50 g (2 oz) sugar2 tbs cinammonGlaze:1 egg2 tbs waterpearl sugarPreparation

Crumble the yeast in a bowl and stir in a few tablespoons of milk. Melt the butter and pour the milk on it. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead the dough in a dough mixer for 10–15 minutes. Let the dough rise while covered at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough so it is about 3 mm (1/8 in) thick and 30 cm (12 in) wide. Spread the room-temperature butter on top. Make a mixture of sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it over the dough. Roll the dough the long way and cut the roll into about 25 slices. Place them with the cut edge upward in paper molds. Place on a baking

sheet and let rise under a towel for about 60 minutes or until the buns have doubled in size. Beat together the egg and water, brush the mixture carefully on the buns and sprinkle pearl sugar on top. Bake in the oven (220oC/425oF) for 5–6 minutes. Allow to cool on a rack.Receipe from: http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Food-drink/Swedish-culinary-classics/Kanelbullar-/Written by Levke Blaas

15 WAYS TO SAY I LOVE YOU IN SWEDISH

We Americans are known for throwing around the word “love” to mean everything from “This is an amazing sandwich” (I LOVE JIMMY JOHN’S!) to “I want to spend the rest of my life with you” (I love you). We think this is normal, but the rest of the world tends to express their feelings more subtly.

If you’re coming to Sweden, a straight up “Jag älskar dig” might be hard to come by, but listen closely enough, and you’ll hear it being expressed in other ways.

1. Want to go for a fika? Vill du fika med mig?2. It’s not snowing that much. I’ll come to you. Det snöar inte så mycket. Jag kommer till dig.3. You can stay here if you want. Du kan stanna här om du vill.4. I’ll make breakfast. Jag fixar frukost.5. You can keep some stuff here if you’d like. Du kan ha lite saker här om du vill.6. I’m going to Ikea. Do you want to come? Jag ska till Ikea. Vill du följa med?7. My father’s turning 50. Would you like to come to the party? Min pappa fyller 50. Vill du komma till festen?8. Are you cold? You can turn up the thermostat if you want to. Är du kall? Du kan skruva upp värmen om du vill.9. Let’s book a trip. Vi bokar en resa!10. Would you like to sleep here on a more permanent basis? Vill du flytta ihop?11. I booked a laundry time for us. Jag skrev upp oss för en tvättid.12. Should we get a bigger place? Borde vi skaffa ett större boende?13. Would you like to be on the lease? Vill du stå på hyreskontrak-tet?14. Your mom called me to ask me if we’re free for dinner next week. Din mamma ringde och undrade om vi kunde komma på middag nästa vecka15. How would you feel about a baby? Känner du för en bebis?13. Would you like to be on the lease? Vill du stå på hyreskontrak-tet?14. Your mom called me to ask me if we’re free for dinner next week. Din mamma ringde och undrade om vi kunde komma på middag nästa vecka15. How would you feel about a baby? Känner du för en bebis?

Kate Reuterswärd http://blogs.sweden.se/expat/author/kate/

THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY OF TAX SEASON IN SWEDEN

You’re all alone, and every little noise is magnified by the solitude in your apartment. Somewhere in the hall, you can hear footsteps and the sound of something heavy being dropped unceremoniously outside your door. Then the creak of a rusty hinge; the swoop of something smacking on the floor. You sit, quivering: trying not to make a sound, already fearing the worst.

And then slowly, haltingly, you get up from the couch, silently cursing as a noisy floor board gives away your movements to no one in particular. And as you near the door, you reach out with trem-bling fingers for the large envelope that’s fallen to its resting place on your door mat. I knew it. I had hoped it wouldn’t be true, but there it was. Undeniable. My tax statement from the Swedish Tax Authority. My earnings for the year 2010 were roughly equivalent to a bag of chips and half a can of soda from the overpriced local grocery store around the corner, but in 2011, I had gotten a job. In 2011, I could afford the entire can of soda, plus a whole bag of candy for my beloved. The Swedish government would surely want its cut of the riches. Visions of my loved ones swam before my eyes.

What do they have a right to? My home? My property? Perhaps even my first born child (payable in arrears, I assume)?

After all, Sweden is internationally renowned for its odious tax system, purposely designed to crush the spirit and bank accounts of those productive individuals who dare to make some money. What did I have to offer them? If I were dispossessed of my home, where would I go to escape the cold? For the first time since I moved here, it seemed like the fika train was coming to a sudden and precipitous halt. The pieces were all coming together. In this land where the word “skatt” means both “tax” and “treasure hoard,” an army of modern-day Vikings would surely appear in the form of a marauding bureaucrat, sent at the behest of the Swedish Tax Agency to pillage all the material possessions I have worked my fingers to the bone for. I did the only thing I could think of (not that I recommend this approach, but it has worked for me in numerous occasions).

I opened the envelope and scanned the contents for an amount of time totaling either 35 minutes (careful study) or 3.759 seconds (token effort) before deciding the Swedish was sufficiently difficult for me to cop out of trying to understand it myself. With that decided, I retreated to the bed, where I lay curled in the fetal posi-tion and trying to think happy thoughts until my native

guide would come home to explain it to me. When he finally did come home, a seemingly interminable amount of time later, I had moved onto stage two of my coping process (in which chocolate is consumed). He read the document and let out a loud and raucous chortle. “Damn Swedes,” I thought immediately. “HE MOCKS MY PAIN.” As Simon began to explain the contents of my tax statement, something shifted in the air. Was that a choir of angels I could hear singing faintly in the distance? A rainbow on the horizon? A giant, life-sized Easter Bunny driving an ice cream truck? No. It was just my tax return. I’m getting a tax refund. Not just a little tax refund… an enormous tax refund.

BUT SWEDEN, I THOUGHT YOU WERE A SOCIALIST STATE. WHERE IS THE SOUL-CRUSHING? WHERE IS THE BANK ACCOUNT PILLAGING? HOW YOU HAVE TRICKED ME. I’ve had to realign all my preconceptions and biases. Maybe this whole “we’re going to steal all your money and dance on the smoldering ashes of your capitalist dreams” reputation is nothing but a de-fense mechanism. After all, Sweden’s main drawbacks are taxes and weather (and a lack of polar bears (and the housing shortage (and a bizarre love of the word “lagom”))). Sweden therefore continues to amaze me in every way!

Written by Kate Reuterswärd http://blogs.sweden.se/expat/author/kate/

THE GOSSIP IN GOTHENBURG Do you remember the day you set foot in Gothenburg, Sweden as an Erasmus student abroad? Do you remember the fun and outrageous experiences you had and the people you met? The crazy and wild moments you encountered? Here you will find the gossip and stories written by international students about their craziest or even most embarrassing moments abroad. Beware of the outlandish stories, campus nightmares, and nights that can never be forgotten!

MIDSOMMAR PARTY IN GOTHENBURG

As an Erasmus student I decided to hang out in Gothenburg for the summer because I achieved getting an internship for a really cool social network company. I ended up getting invited to a swedish party in June which little did I know was a Midsommar party on an island called Bräno. I originally am from Turkey and in Turkey things are very different than in Sweden. Turkey is usually alot warmer then Sweden, especially in the summer and the Swedish people are actually alot different culturally speaking. However, I loved the Swedish culture and I was excited to be in Sweden for the summer.

Upon getting ready for this Midsommar event I decided to bring a few friends along. Two friends from Germany who were also my flatmates decided last minute that they wanted to join in on the fun. They explained to me that Midsommar is not only a fun event but it is also the craziest and most dangerous event of the year. Almost all Swedes drink and party until the sun comes up and the night and it is one of the most unforgettable nights of the year. After hearing this bit of news, I just couldn´t wait to join in and get going to this island.

We stopped by Systembolaget and picked up beer, cider, and a huge bottle of vodka. I got a phone call from my friend that invited me to the party and she explained we would also be spending the night in

a cabin, running around a maypole, eating seel, and drinking snapps. She also said we needed to bring sleeping bags. We headed back to the apartment, grabbed sleeping bags, rushed to the tram heading towards the ocean and grabbed the ferry towards Bräno.

We finally got to this mysterious Island and we were told to follow the balloons every couple of meters or so toward these secluded cabins. After about a twenty minute walk deeper and deeper into this Island, we finally made it to this Midsommar party in the cabins. There were around sixty people there, mainly Swedish and some International people. Once we ar-rived, we were greeted by many people and given places to sit while we feasted with so many assortments of Swedish foods followed by many snapps that we drank for the first time. As everyone feasted people began to become more and more drunk.

People started to leave the table and gather around this tall long maypole. They danced, laughed, drank, and told old Swedish stories about their ancestors and vikings back in the middle ages. Alot of people ran back to the cabins to grab their bathing suits and decided to jump into the water. I was so excited that I ran and changed into my swimming trunks! The water was extremely cold but the alcohol help keep me warm as I swam laps in the water while chatting with my friends on the shore side.

Eventually we made it back to the cabins and by this time people were profusely intoxicated. People were dancing, drinking, and talking the night away! At one point a window was shattered and a door was kicked in. Many people were kicked out of the event and I saw alot of people kissing. One couple was kissing and somehow they toppled right into the bushes! During the midst of drinking and listening to music, I followed some people off into the woods and we lit torches and ran around singing and telling each other random stories about one another.

I fell asleep eventually in my sleeping bag only to be woken up to a girl yelling so loud that I felt myself shake! I saw that a guy had lit a blow torch right over her head as she was sleep-ing. No wonder she was in panic! He almost lit the place on fire and to top it off he was insanely drunk! I somehow man-aged to fall back asleep, wake up super early in the morning, and left the island with my eager and tired friends. We still discuss this Midsommar night’s eve to this day, thinking about how crazy, exotic, exciting, fun, and out of control the whole night was!

The Academia section is a section that allows students to submit articles that may potentially be published. Every year students write numerous amounts of articles/essays that are read only by their professors, grades, and discarded never to be read again. Here, students have a chance to get their articles/academic essays read for the population/people to see and view. The people of Go International Magazine believe that students should also be heard when it comes down to their ideas and academic contributions.

Workplace bullying as a social phenomenon. Causes and Consequences.University of GothenburgDepartment of Sociology and Work ScienceBy Svetlana Tropina

Author:Svetlana Tropina At the present time the topic of bullying is especially relevant since for improving the efficiency of labor and productivity in the workplace the employee must provide a favorable working atmosphere. Many people with working experience can share cases of attacks or aggressive behavior from colleagues, as well as from the gov-erning party. Cases of psychological attack can be found in all areas of the individual activities.Our society has moved from an industrial society to information society a few decades ago. This led to a rapid increase in the number of office workers, as well as increased competition among the staff. According to the re-port on bullying, the European Working Conditions Surveys carried out in 1995/6 and 2000 show an increase in all aspects of violence and harassment. Also physical violence seems to be experienced most in the health care and educational sectors throughout the European Union. Moreover, it shows that women suffer more than men from all known forms of violence, such as: physical violence, intimidation, unwanted sexual attention and so on (Violence, bullying and harassment in the workplace 2007: 4, 5).

The purpose of this essay is to examine the concept of bullying, its causes and consequences. It is fairly easy to identify signs of physical violence, but more difficult to ascertain the fact of psychological violence. There-fore, this essay attention will be devoted to bullying at workplace.Research on the chosen topic should start with the selection of the most important components of bullying be-havior. There are many definitions of bullying, but they all boil down to one. According to the research (2010) there are five basic components, such as:

1. Intention to harm: bullying is deliberate, with the intention to cause harm. For example, friends teasing each other in a good-natured way is not bullying, but a person teasing another to upset them is bullying.2. Harmful outcome: one or more persons are hurt physically or emotionally.3. Direct or indirect acts: bullying can involve direct aggression, such as hitting someone, as well as indirect acts, such as spreading rumors.4. Repetition: bullying involves repeated acts of aggression: an isolated aggressive act, like a fight, is not bully-

bullying.

5. Unequal Power: bullying involves the abuse of power by one or several persons who are (perceived as) more powerful, often due to their age, physical strength, or psychological resilience (James 2010).For a more concise definition of the concept of workplace bullying can be defined as action that refers to repeat-ed, unreasonable actions of individuals (or a group) directed towards an employee (or a group of employees), which are intended to intimidate, degrade, humiliate, or undermine; or which create a risk to the health or safety of the employee(s) (Crepaldi & Lodovici & Corsi 2010: 65; Di Martino & Hoel & Cooper 2003: 3-25). Mobbing includes such type of behavior in which a certain group of people from time to time carry out a purposeful attack (pursuit), prejudicing the dignity of the victim, also undermining the reputation and professional compe-tence. According to Fineman’s book, mobbing is regarded as conspiratorial, where a person with a grudge mobi-lizes others against the victim (Fineman 2003: 156).

Bullying differs from aggression in the sense that the latter - it is rather an distinct case, while the bullying and mobbing are systematic terror against the individual. Both can lead to terrible consequences such as: insomnia, apathy, loss of concentration and ability to work, and other mental disorders. Bullying is also different from harassment «which tends to have a particular focus, for instance gender, sexual preference, race or disability; workplace bullying can focus on anything that challenges or interests the bully in some way. While harassment is usually obvious to the victim and can be readily identified by an observer, workplace bullying can be difficult to identify and diagnose as it tends to manifest itself as a series of small and apparently insignificant events over time ... » (McLay 2009).

The word bullying has gained a certain position in common awareness. It is unnecessary to make a distinction between bullying from colleagues or from customers: most bullying happens inside the workplace, among fellow workers” (Violence, bullying and harassment in the workplace 2007: 17). What are the reasons for such aggres-sive behavior? Prerequisites may be different. It can be certainly claimed that the original problem does not lie in the victim, but in bully. Another area of dispute is whether bullies have low self-esteem. Some researchers claim that they do, others that they do not. Bullies may score average on self-esteem tests but actually have a ‘defensive egotism’ - thinking highly of themselves but very sensitive to any criticism (Smith 2004: 100).By contrast, accord-ing to the theory of S. Fineman, problems lies in the self-esteem conflict of individual that are caused by unfortu-nate experiences, and that left the imprint in early childhood (for example, the torturer could itself be a victim of bullying at school, camp, kindergarten). (Fineman 2003: 157) The author’s vision refers to the term «narcissistic personality disorder», which is associated with the bullies. Narcissistic personality disorder consists of arrogant behavior, self-importance, lack of empathy for people that can lead to cruelty to others, because this type of personality does not associates itself with the feelings of other people (Groopman & Cooper 2006). Those same qualities are inherent to tormentors. In theory, it is believed that bullies often suffer from an inferiority complex, hence, they use terror in order to conceal the true identity. But in practice, this theory has been disproved, since this type of person intentionally hurt by staying emotionally calm. The so-called attention to those individuals who are not a member of a particular social group and have not achieved equal status with others, and accord-ingly, are lagging behind in development and the achievement of common goals.

The key idea is to understand the relationship between the violator and victim. It is important to consider the fact that bullying takes place where exists inequality (status, age, gender or any other), which is a background for the subjection of one person to another. In such relationships there will always be only two poles: the victim and the person who causes emotional or physical pain. S. Fineman in his study also argues that bullying is associated with differences in power and status. Employees, who are in the hierarchy at a level lower than the others, are at risk to succumb to negative influences. The author gives an example: about 20 percent of public sector workers have repeated cases of abuse on the part of managers (Fineman 2003: 156). Studies show that bullying is often welcomed by the organization and employees.

welcomed by the organization and employees.

Some of the accusations and humiliation of an employee may be caused by unfavorable working atmosphere in the organization, which requires finding a “scapegoat”, as well as power over others. The reason is as personal malice caused by fear or envy. Here the psychology of masses and a complex relationship of social processes of the organization come into effect. Therefore, to combat bullying we need to find the cause or causes of bullying and change the relationship between victim and tormentor.

Violation can be occasional or continuous, chronic and endemic (as in slave workplaces), invisible and ‘unneces-sary’ (as inequalities are so entrenched), normalized and naturalized (as in the acceptance of sexual harassment as part of some jobs), an indication of changing power relations or a reassertion of power by dominant groups (as in men’s responses to women’s power). (Sieben & Wettergren 2010: 149)

Violence is not a key element of the theories dealing with the structure of organizations. Currently, more atten-tion is paid to positive emotions. However, this concept implies that the behavior of certain individuals is unac-ceptable, even threatening (Sieben & Wettergren 2010: 148). In different contexts, the concept can be understood in different ways. For comparison with previous views on the issue, the author of essays will give an example of research that gives an idea of violence in organizations. According to the book «Emotionalizing Organizations and Organizing Emotions», in organizational contexts, ‘violence’ may be seen to extend to cover harassment and bullying. Violence could also be seen as ‘persistent attempts by one person to torment, wear down, frustrate or get a reaction from another’. Third concept emphasizes that violence can be a result from intimidation, interroga-tion, persecution, discrimination and exclusion. Term of ‘opaque violence’ can be used, according to example of the book «Emotionalizing Organizations and Organizing Emotions», when there are long-term power disparities within any organization, which turn inequality into violence (Sieben & Wettergren 2010: 148). Speaking of or-ganizational bullying we can mention ‘organization violations’, described by the authors Barbara Sieben and Åsa Wettergren and Stephen Fineman (concept of ‘organizational violence’), which includes a wide range of terms and phenomena directly related to this essay. From Fineman point of view, «violence translates into practices that systematically cause danger, risk or exploitation to employees. Organizational violence is most virulent when ap-plied to poorly protected, low skilled, workers (such as recent immigrants anxious for work) or in regions where unemployment is very high» (Fineman 2003: 164).

Studies, conducted by the European Union, worked with data from different countries, such as: Denmark, Fin-land, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. Often it was difficult to make accurate conclusions, since every nation has different understanding of the issue.

The report “Foundation findings: Physical and psychological violence at the workplace” introduces the idea of interdependence between location and the risk of bullying. In researchers’ vision, “it can be seen that in general, exposure to physical violence and threats of violence are greater in northern Europe: higher than- average levels are reported in the Netherlands (10%), France and the UK (both 9%) and Ireland (8%)” in 2005. Northern Eu-ropean countries remain at the top of the list in relation to reported levels of workplace harassment or bullying with Finland and the Netherlands recording the highest levels (17% and 12%, respectively) while countries with the lowest levels of exposure to bullying are Italy and Bulgaria (2%) (Foundation Findings: Physical and psycho-logical violence at the workplace 2010: 9). Theory mentioned earlier can be compared with the study, conducted by Vittorio Di Martino, Helge Hoel and Cary L. Cooper, who claims that “there are large country differences in violence occurring at the workplace. Country differences in the social and economic context, such as general lev-els of crime, economic and social change, the presence and, in some countries, growth of the informal economic sector, could have an impact on types and levels of violence” (Crepaldi & Lodovici & Corsi: 65). Each new study confirms the increasing diversity of factors influencing the degree of risk of being exposed to bullying.

“According to the results from 2000, bullying in Denmark occurs more often to women (7%) than to men (5%). Trends cannot be identified due to the change in the question compared with the earlier surveys. Differenc-es by occupation are not very prominent according to these results. Among women, primary school teachers or nurses could possibly be identified as experiencing greater problems of bullying”. In case of Finland, “Occasional or continuous bullying has been observed by 42% of all employees, while the corresponding figure in 1997 was 39%. A greater increase is seen among women (44% to 49%), while little change is observed for men (33% to 34%). In 2003, the breakdown by perpetrator was as follows: co-workers 12%, superiors 9%, customers 4%”. Just as in Denmark, in Finland the area of employment does not serioulsy affect the risk of being bullied. However, “some occupations are somewhat more vulnerable than others, and these differences are quite common among all the countries where bullying has been studied”. Statistics provided by the report on bullying show that, “in Fin-land, bullying is personally experienced most often in health care (7%), social care (6%), and commercial (5%) and service work (5%). Previous experiences are most common in more or less the same occupational groups: health care (17%), social care (15%) and teaching (14%). Some improvement has taken place, particularly in teaching work, where bullying ‘at the moment’ has decreased to 3% in 2003 from 7% in 1997” (Violence, bullying and harassment in the workplace 2007: 11, 12).

Analyzing the data obtained through surveys in different countries, it is possible to trace the trend: the most vulnerable to bullying is service sector (health and social work, education, public administration, restaurant sectors and so on). But there is also a location, cultural, gender and age aspects. According to gender perspective put forward by the fourth EWCS, “female workers are more exposed to workplace violence – particularly bullying and sexual harassment – than their male counterparts. Younger women appear to be at the greatest risk of all. Around 6% of young women under the age of 30 report that they have been exposed to sexual harassment in the previous 12-month period, compared to only 1% of men in the same age group” (Foundation Findings: Physical and psychological violence at the workplace 2010: 11,12).

Examining the concept of bullying as a social phenomenon, it is necessary to turn to theoretical views of pro-fessor of sociology Jack Barbalet. In his book, “Emotion, Social Theory and Social Structure: A Macrosociological Approach” author focuses on emotions. He argues that to explain the social structure, social action and social processes we should consider emotions because they are as important driving force of individual and collective behavior as cognitive status and rational calculation (Barbalet 1999: 7). According to the opinion of the author of the book, emotions can not be considered as elements of culture, they are not only cultural, but also biological and (more importantly) the socio-structural base. “First of all, emotions must be understood in the framework of the structural relations of power and status that they generate” (Barbalet 1999: 26). In each group there is a leader who has the greater power to manipulate the masses. Mobbing as a concept of collective and recurrent attacks on the person, in my opinion, to some extent, based on fear. In other words, a member of the group is afraid of the same attitude from the members of the team, if he ceases to participate in acts of aggression (this process is clear-ly evident in schools, but also in the offices of companies). Group of bullies usually consist of leaders, followers and there is always several persons who do not join process actively, but participate passively watching.

In essay the author relied on three major studies to consider the concept of bullying in the workplace, such as: Stephen Fineman „Understanding Emotion at Work”, „Emotionalizing Organizations and Organizing Emotions” by Barbara Sieben and Åsa Wettergren, and Jack M. Barbalet „Emotion, Social Theory and Social Structure: A Macrosociological Approach”. Within their research the authors focused attention on the causes of bullying in the workplace, which include the difference in power and status, gender, and other elements which require special examination. Authors also emphasized the role of emotions and feelings as these two elements are central in our everyday life. Human is not emotionless being and deserves a proper treatment to avoid any stressful situations bringing terrible consequences. Employers must provide a friendly, safe working environment, and bullying must not be promoted neither by managers nor by co-workers. In addition to the aforementioned, establishment of policies and procedures, providing training to prevent cases of workplace bullying and hiring of extra staff for consultation would be useful as well.