Free Mover

I don’t really understand it, but the technical term for my student status here, is ‘Free Mover’. This morning I met with Mike (pronounced mee-ka), my advisor and a good friend of Anders, to get everything cleared up with my registration. The meeting was really informative, he explained everything to me and introduced me to many other important administrators, including the Dean. We talked about what I would like to do while I’m here. He said that I am allowed to take any courses that I want to. I’m going to try to play in some large ensembles and jazz bands, but I’m not taking any classroom setting courses, because I already paid my dues for the past six years! In the meeting, I learned that the only difference between my status and an exchange student’s is that they are affiliated with a university in their home country and there are about 8 other international students here. There is one more ‘Free Mover’ here from Canada who plays the organ.

I’m also going to try and take the Swedish language class that they will offer, but it hasn’t been organized yet because the professor is moose hunting for the week. Seriously. :)

After the meeting, I ventured up into the offices in the Acusticum to try and find a woman named Anna, so I could book the concert hall for a recital. On the way I ran into the Dean again, and he accused me of following him. It’s always good to get a little face time with the head honchos! I finally found Anna’s office, and Sebastian was there. It’s so excited to run into people I know! I booked a recital for October 7 at 7pm. For this recital, Kyle is coming up from Germany and we’re going to play some duos and trios. I’m going to try to finish my marimba solo in time as well.

After spending the rest of the day at school practicing and such, I came home to conquer my laundry fears. I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss my time! Skipping your signed out laundry time is a big no-no in Sweden.

I gathered all my clothes, towels and such, put them in the large plastic IKEA bag they gave me with my apartment supplies, and headed down across the way to the laundry building. I checked in with my keycard and it said that I was assigned to room 1 (out of 2), machines no. 4. There were about 12 washers, labeled 1-6 in pairs. I was the only one in the room so I investigated a bit. There were only about 5 normal size dryers and a couple of oversized for blankets, etc. The room looked pretty normal, with a few contraptions that I didn’t recognize…like a huge roller that looked like it’s used to press your cloths. I probably won’t be testing it out anytime in the near future!

Once I loaded my washers, I stared at the instructions trying to decipher the pictures the best I could (remember, everything is in Swedish, and the machines were not familiar). There were a lot of options! Then, luckily another student entered the room. He looked nice enough, so I played the damsel in distress card. (and…no. I know what you’re thinking…he looked very young and goofy…no potential…hehe…earmuffs, dad). He showed me what all the buttons meant, and where to put my detergent, etc. Then, we realized that I had actually bought fabric softener and not soap from the store. Whoopsie! Fortunately, he was nice enough to let me have some of his. It was embarrassing, but pretty hysterical.

The washer only took 40 minutes, so I set and alarm and went back in time to transfer my things. I’ve heard horror stories about dryers in Europe taking forever, so I was simply hoping to: 1) actually have dry clothes at the end of the day, and 2) not shrink anything. The dryers were huge, so I combined the two loads (there were small, don’t worry. Plus, I figured that since there were far less dryers, it would be nice.) I set the machine for 45 minutes, what looked like the normal time, and crossed my fingers!

After a nice little nap, I went to get my clothes, expecting the worst. But, to my surprise and satisfaction: everything was perfectly clean and dry! Woohoo! I felt very accomplished for some reason. The best part of the whole experience is that they don’t charge a dime...or a kronar, for anything. I could get used to this!

All in all, it was a very successful day! I’m getting excited for lunch with Linda tomorrow and my trip to Stockholm on Wednesday. Here’s map of Sweden, just so you can see where I am. Piteå is just south of Luleå (where the airport is located). Time for bed!