Exam is over!

Finally, two looong days of hard thinking, analyzing and struggeling against time, but yes the exam is over and it´s been handed in :). This was hopefully one of the very last ones (one more scheduled while in the Seychelles). After exam comes exercise, wieeee, just got back from the gym. Today was also the first day I kinda showed myself without a beanie or scarf on my head since the last failure of trying to bleach my roots at home. People, I am telling you this was the last f*ing time...doesn't matter how poor I am, I wont do it at home again. I´ll skip it! stupid chemical substances. Hopefully I´m blond soon again LOL. I will not post a photo of it either, just laugh inside please.. we all learn from our mistakes right?

This weekend will be filled with family time. Me and my sis are heading a bit furher up in this region to do some skiikng and snowboarding with papi. Jag ska prova telemark för första gången! önska mig lycka till. That was all for now, enjoy your weekend folks :) X

Remember Cape Town

Today, 1 month ago I left  beautiful Cape Town. To be honest I didn´t know how much I would love it when I got there and definitely not how much I would miss it today. The pictures are from my very first weekend, environment slightly much greener than in january, a bit colder but oh sooo stunning...and the people! just adorable. puss och kram

26 days left!

Am I dreaming? Paradise on earth...In the Seychelles things are running a bit like in SA, mañana mañana. The creols call it demen, like the french word demain, which means tomorrow...all you need is flip flop and a bikini...well. I can´t wait to go there! Right now I´m tired, a bit unfocused, lacking of energy to study. I am struggeling, some say it´s the darkness, the winter, I don´t know. Sure thing the climate has a lot of impact on me. Skärp dig nu Elin, du skulle ju sitta och läsa ju. Hasta luego chicos. A demain. Puss och kram.

This is the organization that we will be working/studying with, while there: http://www.seychelles.travel/sstl/

well hello there

´To travel is to discover that human beings in other lands and culture are

 also people with whom we can share our laughter and our tears and that

 what we have in common is a great deal more than the sum of all our

 differences' (Margaret Silf, 2006)

 

I haven´t really been updating my life as a student have I? LOL well, I blame it on the most precious thing we have, the time...Going from the media, journalism and tourism last week, we headed for Härnösand, a bit further up north in Sweden, to participate in a course with SIDA (as we received a scholarship from Sida for our study in the Seychelles). The course was a preparation for studies abroad and the aim was to learn more about national/international development work and dimensions. Topics was sustainable development, gender development, politics, human rights based approach etc. We had both swedish and african professors holding the seminars, we met doctors, travellers, previous minor field students and a bunch of other inspiring students, from all over Sweden who is also on their way to proceed a minor field study. Loooong interesting and challenging 3 days.

 

I am slowly adjusting my brain to understand the phenomena tourism in the field of studies and we are currently reading about critical turns in the studies, different ideologies that have impacted the tourism researches and authors through the years.  

It´s soon to be four weeks left to the Seychelles. The Visa is taking care of, we got our insurance from our university, the last vaccination is dealed with. As far as we know the accommodation part is ready. We do need to sort out litterature before we go as we don´t know how much that will be available over there, neither if we will have access to internet at all stages. Anyway, time flies! puss och kram

 

Tourism as a study

So yes, the last semester has started at the tourism program. Our first lecture was about tourism as a subject/study and what it takes to actually be counted as a subject. It was an interesting approach and also for us hard to remember the names of the most important scientists and authors. We´ve been reading quite a few books these years. My memory is soo bad, and I suck on names.. much better with faces and places :). Will now dig into a research about medias impact on tourist destinations and mass media's production processes. Marketing, images, journalism and social media all play a big role in all this, also what is behind the eyes of the tourist when looking at a picture. One thing- I think that we all se images in different ways, it´s about the knowledge and the experience we have that give us the perception. 

Anyways a seminar is coming up next week. On sunday me and Cathrin leave for Härnösand (as far up north in Sweden I´ve ever been, please don´t laugh!) we're gonna participate in a "preparation course" for our upcoming field study in the Seychelles, organized by SIDA. As we received the scholarship from Sida we are obligated to join this event. Wish us luck that SJ (train) will take us there on time, if they succed to take us there at all. Sorry. But problems with infrastructure is not only associated with poor countries. And yes I would like to be more of a tourist in my own country, I really wanna go to Umeå this year. Other than that it´s all about the weather here. It´s cold, over and out. face the fact. We like it but not really.

Summan av praktiken

Tänkte för min egen skull och för andra som vill åka att summera min praktikresa till Kapstaden ur ett ekonomiskt perspektiv. Så här är det att vara student och det här spenderade jag när jag valde att åka med en förmedling på en termins praktik. Jag tvekade inte en sekund om det skulle vara värt att be om hjälp med tanke på att det är Sydafrika. Jag vet nu och det har ni säkert också förstått som läst min blogg, att det är ett minne för livet och värt varenda peng! Jag som umgåtts med Southern Ambition vet också att de inte driver sin organisation med vinstsyfte, som andra organisationer gör.

Till visumet behövdes: 

480kr   Visumansökan

625       Lungröntgen

800       Läkarintyg

192       Polisutdrag (från samtliga länder du bott i mer än 1 år)

180       Passfoton för diverse dokument

300       Porto rek brev till ambassaden (ett par stycken)

2577kr + deposition på 8500kr till Ambassaden

320       Recept + Vaccin (endast tyfoid för min del)

270       Internationellt körkort

110       ISIC card

6200     Ansökan och avgift Southern Ambition (ingår massa saker)

6900kr

+ flygresan kostar mellan 6000-9000kr (min snäppet dyrare eftersom jag bokade så sent: 14 000kr, lånberättigat via CSN).

Mitt pass var inte giltigt 3 månader efter vistelsen så fick även fixa ett nytt, 350kr.

Total Summa: ca 24 000kr

+ hyran och el (mycket billigare än en studentlägenhet i Karlstad).

Det var väl tur att jag jobbade i somras :).

Köpte även med mig ett överfallslarm (som jag aldrig bar på mig), för NEJ det är inte så farligt i Kapstaden som alla säger! en poncho som jag aldrig använde (de dagar det regnade- typ två gick jag inte ut haha), en vattentät väsk-påse är ett smart drag. Det behövs en mängd vaccin såsom Hep A, B, Gula Febern, Polio, Stelkramp, difteri, malariatabletter och i vissa fall även mot tuberkulos och rabies. Som tur var hade jag mycket innan. Läkarintyget för 800spänn var ju ett skämt.. ursäkta om jag säger så men kolla verkligen upp vem ni pröjsar för en underskrift..tyvärr är det så att sjukvården inte prioriterar friska personer för sådana ärenden, därför fick jag vända mig till privat läkare. Hade önskat att jag känt någon. Där läkaren skulle skriva "avvikelser" från det normala skriver han "she is in excellent fit", jag skrattar fortfarande åt det och hela situationen som inte innebar någon undersökning överhuvudtaget! Fråga mig inte..

Jo förresten det internationella studentkortet användes knappt heller, en del museer var okej med det men en del som hade studentrabatt godkände bara sydafrikanska studentkort. Min uppfattning är ändå att det är generellt schyssta priser, jag tyckte MÅNGA saker var billiga jämfört med Sverige. Vilken resa, vilken upplevelse alltså! Saknar allt och alla otroligt mycket. det finns så många bilder jag vill lägga upp men det blir 3 nu.

True Teppers

 I´m saving up some good quotes from a restaurant in Camps Bay, this is for wednesday!

If you believe in nothing you will fall for anything

Some changes coming up

Beautiful and cold winter in Karlstad

I know this page doesn´t look perfect but I will adjust the profile picture the more preferable way...later. Anyhow this blog will focus on my life as a tourism student and of course on tourism. Me me me ! (Like Peter Sserwanga would say) just the way I like it. XXX