New Zealand
First time in New Zealand for all of us and at least I was really excited, since I’ve heard so much about the little country. It all started out with a bit of drama since STA had missed to send Johan his paper ticket for the flight between Sydney and Auckland. That resulted in some struggle with Qantas on the airport and resulted in that Johan had to pay for the ticket again and we arrived to the gate in the last second. Luckily though it seems like STA is going to take responsibility for the missed ticket and compensate Johan.
Since we only had six days before we leave for the states we decided to only explore the north island this time and leave the rest for latter adventures. The first and second day we explored Auckland and planned a short two-day road trip. Auckland is a big city using New Zealand measurements, but since it’s kind of like Stockholm population-wise it’s not a metropole.
Sky Tower - Auckland
Scenic view over the harbor from the Sky Tower
Trying out Wagamama with some large beers
On our first road trip day we headed south towards the Waitomo Caves. The intention with the Waitomo Caves was to do their Black Water Rafting tour, which basically is cave tubing for 3 hours. Too bad though was that the climate didn’t really agree with us and the caves had become flooded with all rainwater. We then had to cancel the rafting and instead go for the not so thrilling but probably just as exciting cave tours, which included both limestone formations and a couple of thousand glowworms.
Limestone formations in the Waitomo Caves
On the second day of our road trip I think I can speak for both me and Fredrik when I say that we woke up with a little bit of extra excitement – It was bungy jump day! It was said to be the highest water touching bungy spot in New Zealand and even though it rained cats and dogs we didn’t care It was still bungy jump day and as the guy the selling us the tickets said: “You’re going to get wet anyway”. With one less task on my bucket list the next target was Matamata and Hobbiton. This is where many scenes from the Lord of the Rings trilogy were recorded, e.g. most scenes taking place in the shire.
1 - 2 - 3 - BUNGY!
Fredrik attacking the water
Hobbiton in Matamata
Silence of the Lambs in Hobbiton
After the short road trip it was back to Auckland to spend the last two nights before the flight to the states. Sara and me went for a little shopping tour during the forenoon on our last day; since the other guys had a rough night trying out the nightlife in Auckland they were in great need of some sleep. The last night we celebrated Sara’s birthday at a tapas place downtown. Nice way to round up Auckland and New Zealand.
Next stop Los Angeles!
We didn’t find Nemo, but apparently Elvis is alive
So we ruled the exams, finishing up at Midsommar. That might get you thinking it was ruined. It was surely not! Our Swedish friends in our small (?) colony organized a truly awesome traditional party; home made meatballs, pies, pickled herring, crispbread, snaps, snaps, beer, vodka... You know how it goes. But not how it ends. After hitting a few bars, I took Johan (Lennefalk) to introduce him to Revolver---a truly epic night club. I guess the clock was 3 am or something when we went there. After losing him around 9 am, I took a cab home at around 10 am, and the party was still going on. That's how finishing up exams and Swedish Midsommar is done, Melbourne style. Warm welcome back to the pack, Johan.
We were not leaving Aussie for yet a few weeks, so we took the opportunity joining some friends going up to Whitsunday, known for sweet sailing tours, turquoise water, white beaches and diving in the Coral Sea.
Beach?
We went to Airlie Beach. A bit paradoxical choice of name, since the beach is kind of useless due to the tides.
Evening sun by the lagoon
So instead they have an artificial lagoon. The fun thing is that they actually have rescue guards. No waves, no currents, no sharks, no blue bottles. Just why?
But tanning in the sun is not why we are here (the girls might disagree). We were heading to sea, doing some sailing, partying and diving.
Ohh-eeehh-ohhh-aahh!
Sara seemed confused, "what happened to the weather?", and went into some kind of primate mode.
The Atlantic Clipper
We went out to the Atlantic Clipper, the sailing ship that was going to take us around for the two upcoming days. The weather was perfect. Perfect for people suffering from sea sickness (irony). Sea sickness is least the perfect excuse for being sick after partying at sea...
Whitehaven
Whitehaven
After a rough night of waves, rain and rock star hard partying, let me be honest---we've looked better (some more than others...). However, Whitehaven was looking awesome. The sand is white and fine grained as potato starch, and the sea magically turquoise. The sand is drifting, so in a while the white sand banks won't be left anymore. Privileged having been there!
Footprints
"Take nothing than pictures, and leave nothing but footprints", a sign said. So I obeyed by doing both.
Daniel, Fredrik and David - going diving
It was time for diving! Johannes is not in the picture, because he got his sting suit (protecting against jelly fish rather than keeping you warm), backwards (just like David, as can be seen in the image). Smashing.
Colorful fish and thumbs up
The colors of the fish are absolutely amazing. It's easy to understand why the diving spot was called "The Aquarium"; there is varieties of fish everywhere! And someone obviously misunderstood that thumbs up is not the way to signalize "OK" under water. But hey, the fish is right in front of you, and you get a bit excited.
Fish
More fish
Someday I will look up the names of all the fish we saw. That day is not today. And we didn't find Nemo, or at least some other, unnamed, non-animated clownfish. They do exist in the area though.
And what about Elvis? He is alive! No, not The King of Rock. Don't be silly. The (in the area) well-known, semi-tame Humphead Maori Wrasse that likes being fed and petted, of course. We didn't get the chance to meet him though (some other diving groups did). But he is alive. And growing bigger. The resemblance to The King is taking shape...
m/
Johannes applied the important underwater signal of "rock on" or "fuck yeah" (or maybe the deaf sign for love?). Very useful.
Just amazing
"I promise you, it was this big. Between the eyes."
Daniel, Fredrik, David and Johannes
So we got the instructor to take my camera and take a picture of us. What happens? Johannes started to dance. Or maybe just not having control of himself.
Sunset
Awesome ending of an awesome dive, being the crown of an awesome day. Checked off an entry in my "things to do before I die" list, and I wasn't disappointed. So fulfilling. And I had become inspired to do it again. Magical.
Exams – Aussie rules
Apparently, we are not here on vacation. And the time had finally come. It was time for exams.
We're used to having an examination week, where we have one, two or rarely three exams. Here, it's an examination month. And we have four exams.
Two exams are down--Web technologies and Applications, and Distributed Systems. Things are done differently here, in up-side-down-world. Instead of the nice five hour exams we are used to, with time for a snack, some thought and philosophizing, the exams are only two or three hours. And before the exam starts, you have 15 minutes "reading time". Read through the exam, and if you have questions, you can ask the teacher. When the exam begins, the teacher will be gone, you'll be busy, and surrendered to yourself and your assumptions.
But it all starts with good preparations. We all know the equation (or rather flow?), "shit in, shit out".
Time for philosophizing
As you know, we spend some time in the law library. It allows for philosophizing.
Studying. Or preparing for studying. Kind of. Photo: Myad Tahajody
And great studying opportunities, of course. And maybe most importantly; the opportunity to prepare for studying. Damn it! I talked about doing this smoothly and not getting caught on camera.
The need for extra preparations might have something to do with the people already done with their exams, and leaving Melbourne. Don't follow? Exchange students leaving, implies "going away party". And between them, you have to fit in the ordinary--mandatory, of course--parties. More or less every, or every second, day. That temper the brilliant mind of the engineers. Or maybe break them down. Doesn't really matter. "King in the evening, king in the morning", as they say. Obviously, I wasn't the king in the evening. Or maybe I was. That could be the problem.
Melbourne Royal Exhibition building
When stuffed with knowledge, it was time to head to the examination building. Not like the ordinary lecture rooms at KTH, but in the Royal Exhibition building! Sweet. But why are all the students outside? Because you're not allowed to enter until the reading time starts. Think "marathon start", and you're pretty close.
Students pile into the hall
Let's go! All the students pile into the building. You'd better be ready, because now it's time to find your seat. Hmm...what was my number again?
Room for 2700 exam writing students
Right... somewhere in there. Eighthoundredsomething. It swallows up to 2700 students at a time! Crazy.
Spacious, to say the least
Spacious building. And cold. Now, at winter times, we only have a few degrees during the nights. And the isolation is non-existing. So how to solve the problem? You add a bunch of heaters (the small reddish things you see from the balcony). Help much? No. The best tip we got for the exams was to dress warm. When the examination was over, and the sun had started heating up the town, it was actually warmer when you came outside. Well done.
Now awaits another two exams the next week. Then school's out for winter. Summer. Ehm. Something. Vacation, at least.
Cleaning lady
So we've been busy lately, as you know. National day celebrations at IKEA and stuff. And of course studying for exams. That calls for revealing how we make it all work.
Cleaning lady
We have a cleaning lady! Once a month, we get the apartment cleaned. That's not enough, though. But...whatever... And today, Sara (David's girlfriend) is coming to join our journey. So some maid service is needed.
It's not like we're lazy or something...
Exam studying?
...we are studying! At least trying to...
I was home alone, the other guys were studying at the library.
Kalle "exam studying"
They were studying hard as well. So, who took that picture of me in the sofa? I did! I was so bored that I staged the photo and took a picture on timer. But it tells a true story--I was laying in the sofa all day. Studying, of course.
Clean carpet
The work needs to be inspected. Looks nice!
Not so clean (Johannes' fur balls)
Argh...WTF?! If you are cleaning for a living, shouldn't you be better than leaving large fur balls? Well--as they say--if you want something to be done well, do it yourself. So I had to leave the sofa and finish up the cleaning before Sara arrived.
Sara
Whoop whoop! Sara arrived.
Peace.
Swedish National Day
The flags were waving in the air. All the families and friends were out on the streets, singing the national anthem together. Having a good time. Feeling joy. Feeling pride. Feeling fellowship. Of course---I'm talking about the national day. Of Norway.
That was about a month ago. Today it was our turn.
IKEA
We went to IKEA.
20 meat balls. Sauce. Mash.
...where we had meat balls for lunch.
It was sure good. And IKEA had a national day special. On a small meal with an almond cake. WHO WANTS A SMALL MEAL?!
Where is the pride? Where is the joy? Where is the real fellowship? Where is the sweet, sweet 17th of May feeling?
The rest of the day went by with attempts to study.
We (well, me and Johannes) rounded of the day with lacrosse practice, where we had visitors from Fukuoka (Japan). Awesome players. Bearing pride, joy and fellowship.
Gone M.I.A.?
"The parrots on your site are cute. I go there and look at them sometimes." Thanks mom, I get the point. We haven't updated the blog in a month. As I've told you before---we're not natural born bloggers.
Yes, all three of us have gone M.I.A.---Missing In Academics, that is (in this context). Basically, it means that we have come to the point where we live everyday normal lives, going to uni every now and then, and finishing the assignments and preparing for the exams.
Let's start off by rewinding the tape a two weeks. It's Monday the 23rd. The plan for the week is set: On Thursday we have the presentation of our assignment in Distributed Systems. We only need to have the application done by then. Four days. We should need about six. The report is not due until May 30th, so that's cool. After awhile, Johannes says "Ehmm...guys? The deadline is not the next Monday. It is today. Including the report.". Great. Just great. You think you have four days, you'd need about six, and in reality you have 14 hours. The feeling of frustration, stress and resignation is great. Not. A month worth of work down the drain? Of course not! As the well oiled machinery we are, we managed to submit it time. With margin. A whole minute of it! Phew! Now, the rest of the week is free.
No. Of course not. We had that other assignment. But that seemed simple. Ahh... programming in C. Then you KNOW that something will screw you over. And for sure, we were---me and David sat until 6 A.M. on the Thursday morning to make it work. Johannes was already asleep---he already managed to make his program work perfectly. Maybe he was in better need for that beauty sleep, than me or David. 
Now it was time for the MUSEX Gala. The last party with the MUSEX crew. It's time to suit up! Will our tailored suits fit? Mine did, despite 6 kgs gained. Johannes' did, despite 5 kgs (?) gained. David's didn't. Well, if you gain 7 kgs, you have that coming. As always, we look awesome. And modest.
Heading to the MUSEX gala
The MUSEX party was a lot of fun, as always. The way to finish the semester. Too bad you have just become friends with everyone. Maybe that's how it's supposed to go down---leave the party on its peak.
We did not leave the party at its peak. Instead, we do as we always do, and close the place down (truth with several modifications...). Waking up Friday, around noon (quarter past 12, to be more exact). Looking out, seeing that David is barely awake as well. He grasps for his mobile and breaks out "What the f*** happened here?!". What? WHAT?! We had apparently forgot our presentation slot yesterday. But, the lecturer gave us another chance; we could still get the last slot on Friday. At 12:00. That's a great email to read at 12:15. Come on!!! What is wrong with us? We managed to get yet another chance, later that afternoon and we nailed it. Sweet. "This should be shown at presentation days, when we show potential students what we are actually doing here". Sweet. That's a great review.
After that, the assignments were done. For real. Four exams to go, between the 14th and the 24th of June. And you know what that means?
Johannes is studying (Photo: Myad Tahajody)
Exactly. You fall asleep even more than during lectures. How can that even be possible? Wait, we're not done...
Johannes is studying (Photo: Myad Tahajody)
Again! And from the different outfits, you see that it's not the same day.
I'm not saying I'm any better, because I'm not. However, it's about not getting caught on picture. Like making out on a dance floor...
View from the law library (Photo: Myad Tahajody)
We spend our days in the law library, situated on the 3rd-5th floor in the law building. Pretty neat.
You see, nothing interesting about this, at all. Right?
Thank you Myad for the pictures of Johannes sleeping. Many thanks for the gratulations on my birthday. And a special greeting to Jessica.
Valborg
I don't really feel homesick. But it's Valborg, so I should be in Uppsala (implicates shit-faced), soaked in sparkling wine, tired from the Kvalborg partying of yesterday. This is obviously not the case. And today we have a lacrosse after lunch (good idea to be sober, at least kind of), so we can't even reproduce it here. Yet.
Parrots playing "the angry game"
First home game at Albert Ground against Moreland. It's right of the golf course, and in the corner of the oval (ehhh...) two parrots were sitting in a tree, playing "the angry game". The dose of today's wildlife; check!
Moreland consists of younger players than last game (= more running). And we had no subs (damn those Easter break travelers). And the weather is pretty hot. Darn.
#13 Moose is on it
...but that doesn't stop Moose (Johannes) from running!
#9 is soon to lose the ball - #17 Fred is on!
The Moreland #9 youngster is about to feel a full swing slash from me, hence losing the ball. Boom!
"Get those ground balls!"
Moose is working those ground balls. Two hands. Proper pick up. Well done!
Close one!
My first really good position, getting a decent shoot between the goalie's legs. And just out of the post. Close one. Better luck next time.
Potential cross check coming up?
Moose is still going strong, despite us all being exhausted. Little kid #23 just managed to get off a pass. Are we seeing a sweet cross check coming up? That would be illegal, of course...
#17 Fred spends some penalty time
Instead, I get to spend some (well deserved) penalty time for slashing a guy in the head. Don't know who I got. I just hope it was #18 (in front of our goal). He was a real [insert sex of choice] genitalia.
Bruising from a dirty trick
So, when learning a new language, you learn the dirty words. The same thing applies when learning a new sport; learn the dirty tricks! "You can do like this. It's not allowed, but if you do it like this, the ref will hopefully not notice, and not calling it." You are allowed to push/hit someone with your fists holding the stick, as long as the hands are together. But if you just slide the hands apart, you can make a hidden cross check. Powerful! I got to feel the sweetness of the dirt, when being flattened by one myself. Next time is payback.
Now it's time for some serious "socialization", in the spirit of Valborg!
Melon, strawberries, grapes, bread, cheese, olives and Mumm
Valborg feeling?
The clock was already 6 pm, so we skipped the park part (at least we have panoramic windows facing the park) and invited some friends to our apartment for some (plenty of) drinks and snacks. It really reeks of student life, huh? We're not complaining. Life is good. And we got at least a few bucks for the car (that was a sickly bad investment...).
David's eyes are open!
Sure. David is happy. But the most remarkable thing about this picture; his eyes are open!
Rosé goon + fanta = St Tropez? More like St Adsparken!
The Champagne is finished. We're heavily abusing the 5 liter rosé goon box, mixing it with Fanta. Don't know what goon is? To cite Wikipedia, "Australian slang word for cheap boxed wine, particularly common amongst Australian students". Sounds decent? Hold it. Read the table of contents (or well, you rather don't); "...may contain fish and egg products". Nice! Good stuff. Well, you get what you pay for. That is, 14 bucks for 5 liters. Sweet.
Ehhh...let's agree to disagree
Yeah. About that goon. Johannes seems skeptical. But that didn't prevent us from finishing the box.
Nothing left to drink is the cue to leave the pre-party, and make the town insecure. So we went out. Somewhere. Not really sure how the agenda went, in hindsight.
Sound like the Valborg was successful, after all.
Creamfields.
Ever since we got to Melbourne we’ve seen the posters for Creamfields and known that it’d be awesome. It was.
We began our day with sick headaches from last night’s goon (the wine that is produced with help of egg and milk products and gives major headaches, at least it’s cheap). As that cleared out around 1 o’clock we took a cab to Melbourne Showgrounds where the festival was held. Yeah that’s true, the festival was from 13.00 to 22.00, weird time.
We began by drinking Smirnoff Ice in the sun. Around 20 degrees in the shade, not a cloud on the sky—that’s autumn/winter I can live with.
Empty floor, around 13.30
The Swedes Dada Life made a strong appearance, throwing bananas into the crowd and drinking champagne from the bottle.
The Swedes Dada Life
Me & David
As the day moved on, drugs were seen everywhere. Pills, small bottles you sniff from, coke, and joints were more common than normal cigarettes. This is laidback, drug liberal, tank top wearing Melbourne…
I haven’t listened to Skrillex that much before but he did the best performance in my opinion. He’s progressive-dubstep-hardstyle-whatever music was just massive!
Skrillex
Bad quality Scary Monsters and nice Spirits by Skrillex
Finally the big attraction, Deadmau5, always good.
Deadmau5
Moar Deadmau5
Nice dub by Deadmau5. Raise your weapons.
Oh one final thing, our feet did hurt as we were going back to our apartment.
Childish curiosity. And pain.
University studies. Double degrees. Exchange studies. In some way, adult. Kind off. Serious enough? To quote The Joker, "Why so serious?"
It's not always easy to embrace the child within. But sometimes the childish curiosity comes through. Don't believe me?
Froot Loops - A fun fuel for Adventurous kids
I rest my case.
But the actual story started a few months ago. Universities abroad are inspiring sports. At least that's what the Hollywood movies tell us. Johannes picked up that they were playing lacrosse in Australia (apparently, it's not a big sport at all), and what would be better than follow your childish curiosity of trying new things and start playing? We talked about this on the plane to Bangkok. Wow. We've been away three months already. However, the uni is crowded with student clubs and sport organizations (and why not the uni points accredited Wine tasting subject?). We signed up for lacrosse and started practicing with MULC; the Melbourne University Lacrosse Club. Damn we sucked. But it was so fun! The best day of the week when you get to play. And as a child you learn quickly, they say.
After a few weeks of practicing, and almost everyday visits to the gym, it was time for the first game. The 2nd team is playing division 3. Kind of like "Korpen".
April 16th. 14:30. Albert Ground 2. MCC-MULC. Game's on!
#13 Moose. #17 Fred.
First game ever. Nervous? No. Yeah. Terrifying. This might hurt. MCC are said to be tough. The team seamed to consist of young fast runners and old, massive fellas with thousands of years of lacrosse experience amongst them. You know those guys that can unscrew a rusty screw nut with their fingers. Those kind of guys. They're not fast, but they will flatten you out and make you taste dirt.
"Ball's mine!"
The goal where we never got our ball
It was so so awesome. Full body contact. Hit. Run. Slash with full power. And your hands are included "as a part of the stick", so you are allowed to hit them as hard as you want. Slash. Stab. Axe! Oh, so I hit your leg instead? Or your neck? Ohh, sorry mate. I'll take a one minute penalty for that.
Run. Catch. Pass. Pass. Run. Pass. Chill out. Dodge. Get flattened. Pick up the ground ball. Shoot. What's not to like?
We lost. Seven to nil.
But we had a great amount of fun and we now know what a game feels like.
And maybe best of all; the tradition is that you drink a few beers afterwards in the club house. When in Australia, do as the Australians do... (I ticked that mandatory box when applying for visa, so I am--by law--obligated to do it).
Next time, we're going to run them over.
Great Ocean Road
Finally! The blog is up-to-date (almost…). OK, so this weekend we all decided to pack our bags and head out of Melbourne for a couple of days. Despite the fact that the easter break is closing up way too fast and so is also the assignments and mid-terms we thought this weekend was perfect for the Great Ocean Road. So did also a couple of friends from school and our Swedish friends living on the floor above us.
The Great Ocean Road is 243 km long and starts just 100km southwest of Melbourne in Torquay, the place where we surfed a couple of weeks ago. We decided to head directly to the other end, a city called Warrnambool, of the Great Ocean Road via the highway during Friday night and start going back on Saturday.
Fredrik mastering the BBQ
Filled up with a super sweet barbeque, a McDonald’s breakfast and our own radio channel featuring DJ Johannes in the front seat we started driving our way east towards all scenic views along the road, for which only the images below can make justice, and later a small city called Lorne were we decided to stop for the night. After some struggle with finding a hotel/hostel we eventually ended up in a small hostel sharing a dorm room, which turned out to be a great supplement for some night club or bar that night.
Entering the Great Ocean Road
Pit Stop
The Grotto
Fredrik on top of the Grotto
The London Arch
The Thunder Cave
View from above the Thunder Cave
The Twelve Apostles
Koala in the wild, check!
During Sunday our first milestone were Torquay and the plan was to hire a surfboard and meet up with some guys from the uni to work on our wave skills. That didn’t happen though, instead we realized that the schedule was a bit tight (OK, it was really cold) so we just had some dinner with the other guys before we drove back to Melbourne.
With recharged batteries it’s back to school for the last two hectic weeks before the easter break.