Deppert.se

This post is also in swedish, because it refers to a concert the chorus I am in will have. If however you happen to be in Helsingborg the 15th of may you are warmly welcome!

En kort notis bara: fredagen den 15:e maj, kl 19.00, kommer Helsingborgs studentkör ha en konsert på Rådhuset. Liknande som förra året, kommer det vara i rådhusets stora sal, med sittplatser och servering av vin och småplock för den som vill.

Kören har den senaste tiden haft en ny körledare, Ilze, och detta blir den första egna konserten med henne. Upplägget blir liknande förra året, men med många nya låtar så klart.

Det kostar 50 kr för vanliga, och 20 kr för studenter. Är man intresserad är det bara att höra av sig.

The following post is in swedish, because it is about a local restaurant. Not much use of the information for anybody not living in Helsingborg :)

Både denna och förra helg hade jag nöjet att vara äta på Pålsjö krog, som ligger endast någon 100 meter från min nuvarande lägenhet (så länge som jag nu kommer vara kvar där).

Vill egentligen bara säga att det rekommenderas. Första gången var det med föräldrarna på sena eftermiddagen, och det blev en enklare rätt från menyn. Inte särskild imponerande.
Den andra gången blev det dock brunch. Och det är stans bästa brunch enligt mig. Inställningen var att det skulle vara dyrt och lite för fina saker för att vara roligt, men resultatet var ett hyfsat pris (149 kr, vilket är marginellt dyrare än de flesta andra), och ett riktigt bra utbud. Många varma rätter, lite lyxigt som crepes eller panpizza, och mycket kallskuret. Mozzarella med tomat var min favorit.
Och sen rabarberpaj med vaniljgrädde som dessert. Äntligen ett ställe som inte bara har våfflor (för ikke-våffel fantaster som mig).

Så vill bara rekommendera det, nästa gång man tar en promenad i pålsjö skog eller längst landsborgspromenaden.

This post is in english, because it feels bad for all the german and foreign readers, to only be able to follow my sisters journeys.
And I thought I could try to sharpen up my english as well.

I have now, since mid-January, had the café at SHIP, here in Helsingborg. It is a very charming café, some tell me the coolest in town, and I do like it very much. Thats what makes it all fun so far.

Looking back at my first 3 month, or almost 4 now, I can tell that it has been a quite different experience compared to what I expected. My assumption had been that it would not bring me very much new experience, since I had:
1) run a café before
2) had my own business before
3) worked with students as costumers before

I had however not run a conferens center before (the café is also host and reception to the 7 conferens rooms at SHIP). But I figured that wouldn’t be hard to learn.
That proved to be true.

However, what I did learn was alot of personal boundaries. I am still not “ready” with finding my own daily routines, and I still feel that a lot of time is “wasted”. I can’t say on what exactly, but I come to SHIP early every day, leave late, and seem not to have accomplished much in between. Which always feels bad, because there are tons of things that I want / need to do. More marketing is needed, better selection of products, better routines for the staff. Everything can be improved, and some are quite urging.
But I have learned to live with that feeling, and not let it bother me in my daily life.

If I would summarise the experience with the café so far it would be:
+ Learnt to better understand my own boundries
+ Practical experience with delegation
+ Better sense for business (at least a little)
+ Learnt that daily routines are essential for getting things done

- Spent alot of time
- Spent alot of energy. I have never felt so socially tired as I do now.
- Not really earned any money.

As my old boss, and also café owner told me: Experience is always good, and always cost money, time and energy. The key is to get the experience as cheaply as possible.

With that in mind I will see what happens after this summer. Nothing is decided yet, but I have signaled my interest to continue – until the end of the year at least.

Just as I settled down here, found a good job and spring arrived, it is time to leave. My last day at work is Tuesday next week, the last day in the apartment Wednesday next week. So it all kind of fitted all together. Except for the fact that I am not willing to go back to Sweden. Not quite yet. The compromise is a small vacation. It will definitely eat up all the money I made here, but it will be worth it. Few of you would think that I would choose a sunny location and just relax on the beach for three weeks, that is just not me. Instead I will grasp the once in a lifetime chance and go north to southeast Alaska (yeah, that is a weird sentence, but if you look at a map, it is correct in terms of directions). Technically, I will not go further north than Oslo (Norway) is located, but I still look forward to this experience!

Anyhow, leaving Vancouver also had me realize that I have not seen that much touristically speaking and not seen my friends nearly as much as I should have. Pressing everything into a week and timing it with their schedule has made me as busy as usual, but it all seems to work out. Yesterday I even took a chance and visited the Quayside Village, a co house in North Vancouver. It is really a nice place, different from my house in Lund, but the spirit of integration was the same.

Every time I move on to a different place, I mentally go through pros and cons with the place I am leaving. With Vancouver, this is not easily done. But there are some highlights:

Transit – it is great that these buses are so accessible for everyone; but I am still surprised every time a bus driver stops the vehicle and says “Just going to grab a coffee” in the middle of a tour.

My apartment – nice and cosy and very open for interaction with my housemates and the international setting; but otherwise nothing is functional. All the taps are dripping, no one but the Japanese guy and me takes out the trash, and people take showers at 2am even though they have just been home the whole day and had plenty of time.

Canadians – friendly and nice; until you cant answer their question in the deli and have to look for help. I have never been yelled at so much just because I did not know the answer and admitted this. Also, Canadians seem to have little understanding for us who do not love ice hockey.

Canada could be any country in Africa due to homelessness, the lack of hot water in the showers, the extreme weather conditions and the fact that bus never ever arrives on time. On the other hand, it is also obvious why Canada is a part of the industrialized world: there are buses, there is the possibility of a hot shower and it can snow in the most unexpected times.

With this said I am sure that I will one day come back here. But for now I will enjoy my last days and my well deserved vacation as well.

Cheers,
Ulrike