Sista Natten 2007

My last night in Lund 2007. The room is empty now, only a backpack and this computer. It's as empty as when I first arrived. Strange. I feel strange.

Dont know why I got so carried away with this. I know I'll be back next year, but still it's strange to leave my room. Am so attached to it now. So sad to leave the corridor too. The corridor that I didnt like when I got here at the first time, but turned out to be the nicest-cozyest place I've lived. Friends who are like brothers and sisters, who at the same time made me think I might stay here again next year (but it sounds boring, doesnt it?). Oh well, I can always see them next year.

O yeah, I can see them again next year! Why should I be this sad? Let's just focus for tomorrow. Passport, tickets, key, handphones, bags, hmm.. okay. I just need to clean up this room and my fridge in the kitchen. And then I can go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a loooooooonggggg day..

I'm gonna miss Sweden. I know, I said that many times. It's true.

LUMID Farewell

Now it's official. My class is over this year and we will meet again (maybe) next year. We had our last class for the year yesterday and the teachers made a farewell for us to say 'good bye' and 'good luck'. Good bye because we're not gonna see each other next semester (yep, we will be doing our field work), and good luck for the field work itself, and thesis later on. We had a chat, drink and snacks at the top floor. Was nice...

We headed to the botanical garden with some group of the people after the farewell at school. Surrounded by flowers and sunny-great weather, we just sat, drank, chat on the grass, and make funny Swedish comments that we could never say when we're sober ;) It was such a perfect time after all exams and assignments were finished, weather was good, people were flocking and we were just so relaxed, so relief (from all the papers!), happy, but sad. It's true! We had a common feeling, this mixed feeling of happy but sad, is killing us. Happy for being over from school and will go home soon, but sad because we have to separate from each other and do'nt know when and where can we do the same thing as a group again. So.. we just did not want to end the day, really.

The day was so friendly to us even until 2230 the sun was still up there, showed how happy it was to witness our time together. Felt like it understood how we refused to be apart from each other. Next year people might not come back to Sweden after their fieldwork, some of us will just write their thesis from home. So it would never be the same.. We could never sit together in the same class again, argued, get bored or excited about the lectures. We wil never got stressed out with papers, up all night and chat after midnight to just express how tired we are with those assignments...
Oh I will miss my student life...

***
Oh well, there is no such thing as a perfect farewell, no matter how well we celebrated it. We always want to reunite. But I will treasure yesterday as the sweetest good bye I've ever had. Thanks to the weather yesterday, the sun, the flowers and the grass, for being there and letting us to stick together for our last moment as a group....

Tack sa mycket for allt. Jag ska sakna ni.

Pertandingan Sepak Bola Swedia-Denmark

Aneh banget.. malam ini ada pertandingan sepak bola Grup F Piala Eropa antara Swedia dan Denmark. Bukan berarti gue ngerti bola, tapi.. cuma ikut2an aja karena penduduk di sini dengan gegap gempita nonton bareng pertandingan itu. Apalagi buat penduduk Lund yang cuma 40 menit dari Copenhagen, ibukota Denmark. Rasanya adalah satu keharusan buat membela Swedia dan menunjukkan identitasnya kalo mereka lebih 'Swedish' than 'Danish'. Mungkin hampir seluruh penduduk Skane (Swedia Selatan) merasakan hal yang sama.

Temen2 di koridor masing2 sudah pada siap2 nonton bola dengan gank masing2. Gue cuma bisa gigit jari karena gak terlalu aware. Tapi akhirnya karena demamnya lumayan besar, dan gak kepengen sendirian di rumah, jadilah gue nonton di salah satu apartemen temen gue. Was quite fun.

Babak pertama Swedia memimpin 3-1. Good enough. Babak ke-2 Denmark berhasil menyamai kedudukan 3-3 di menit ke 87. Denmark mulai menyerang dan permainan jadi asik buat ditonton. Tapi ternyata ada satu insiden di mana salah satu pemain Denmark memukul perut salah satu pemain Swedia (berdasarkan obervasi pribadi gue yang super awam..). Jadilah sang pemain Denmark tadi dijatah kartu merah. Seperti biasa, penonton ribut, sesama pemain Denmark mencoba bicara dengan wasit, dan membela diri. Di tengah2 pembicaraan di lapangan antara wasit dan pemain, tiba-tiba ada satu penonton Denmark masuk ke lapangan dan menyerang wasit tadi. What a SHOCKING move!!! Para pemain Denmark yang tadinya berdebat dengan wasit langsung mengamankan sang anak muda. Marah karena hal itu, sesaat kemudian sang wasit menginstruksikan semua wasit untuk keluar lapangan. WHAT??? That was so UNBELIEVABLE!! Tiba2 aja penonton kayak gak percaya wasit bisa pundung meninggalkan lapangan (at least buat gue yang gak ngerti dan jarang nonton bola. Emang bisa yah?!). Buat beberapa menit semua pemain keluar dari lapangan. Jadilah lapangan hijau di Copenhagen itu bersih dari kostum biru kuning-nya Swedia dan merah putih-nya Denmark. Penonton gak sempet berbuat apa2 cuma bengong dan shocked! Wajah-wajah kecewa dari suporter Denmark dan Swedia kelihatan di layar TV. Yeah, they expected a good game but it ended up so badly because of an outsider. What a shame!

Di monitor raksasa terpampang tulisan "Permainan dihentikan bla..bla..bla" (gak ngerti lagi soalnya). Layar TV menyorot Pangeran dan Permaisuri Denmark yang juga menonton langsung pertandingan itu di stadion. Kekecewaan juga kelihatan menggantung di sana. Gak lebih dari 2 menit kemudian mereka pergi dari stadion..

It was not over, kayaknya terjadi negosiasi di dalam antara wasit dan manajer masing2 tim. Selang beberapa menit, mungkin 20 menit, semua pemain Swedia keluar dan bertepuk tangan. Semua penonton Swedia ikut bersorak. Ada apakah? Ternyata monitor raksasa menuliskan bahwa pertandingan Denmark-Swedia telah berakhir dengan skor 0-3 untuk Swedia. OH MY GOD! Itulah harga yang harus dibayar oleh Denmark akibat kelakuan sang suporter. Poor Denmark, Good for Sweden. But it was not a victory. It was too easy. Sweden could probably lose the game, or Denmark could probably make it. It was on minute 87 already and they played very well during the second quarter...

Mungkinkah tim wasit disuap? Atau mungkinkah sang anak muda adalah lelaki Swedia yang menyamar di balik kaos tim Denmark? Itu cuma spekulasi kami aja yang gak ngerti bahasa Swedia...

With all my sympathy to the Danish team, I feel sorry for them. Obviously they have presented the best for their supporters, and for the Prince and Princess too (despite peristiwa pukulan terhadap pemain Swedia itu). Dengan legawa, tim Denmark pun masuk ke lapangan dengan seluruh official members-nya. Wajah kecewa, sedih dan lelah jelas terpancar di sana. Tapi mereka tetap mengakui kekalahannya dan bertepuk tangan dengan (mungkin) kepedihan dan pertanyaan di kepala masing-masing: "how come?? why??"

***
Pelajaran terpenting dari pertandingan ini adalah, bad things happen in unexpected way. We may have tried our best but sometimes it could turn out in different way, out of our control. We just have to face it and admit the bad result...
It's the process that counts. We have tried our best.

Viva football. Viva fair play.

I Feel Like (not) Going Home

It's a week to go from going home. Feels like a hundred years. I've been dreaming about home and the people there late this whole month..

Well, actually no, it's just under my unconsciousness. The truth is I have so many reasons to stay longer here: exam - still on the way (it keeps holding me back from thinking of going home), packing - not done yet, weather in Sweden - just too nice to skip, thesis - getting on track (and will be distracted when I'm home), svenska - improving though slowly, friends - they are just gorgeous, food - i'll miss them: yoghurt, bread, seeds, plums, cherries, pears, oh.. everything seem to have reasons not to let go!

I guess it was true what people were saying: once you have passed all depressing phases of cultural adjustment, then you'll be in the departure paste. What a pity. It's so sad to leave coz I'm enjoying my time here now and am getting used to my present life. I feel like the hard time is over and I want to have more fun to pay back. Hehehe..
Oh well, here I am anyway... heading to my departure day.

***
But I'm also happy to go home too.. It's always good to be home and relax for awhile. Can't imagine being in the field next semester without going home beforehand. I will soon be able to have a sip of local tea that I've been missing a lot (teh botollll!!!!!).

I'll be back to Sweden for sure next year. Like all promises I've made to those flowers on the way school. I'll be back and see them again next summer. Vi ses!