photo: the lake on the mount of Billingen It has taken me two tries and a total of ten months to finally be able to call this tiny Swedish town - my home.
It first came to me around Christmas, I was away for a couple of weeks and caught myself thinking of our home and how I miss everything in it. I'm certainly not spoilt with too much space over here, nor the privacy, which would be a somewhat difficult thing to achieve in about 30 square meter room, shared. But somehow none of this matters. They say - 'Home is where the heart is', well, my heart is here. I suspect it has been here for some time now, I obviously left it in Skövde the last time around, simply lost it by accident.
Funny thing about Skövde, hundreds and hundreds of students from abroad come to the local University for a semester or two. They all party, complain, have fun, feel bored out of their minds... it all goes in regular cycles of ups and downs, but the thing is - they all end up loving it! It has always stunned me how people keep on coming back, because amazingly enaugh many of them do - either to visit or stay. Mind you, this place has 50 000 inhabitants, 3 night clubs to choose from (actually only one, if you ask me) and among other attractions - two dormitories stuffed with exchange students. People come back from all over - Spain, Belgium, Germany, Holland, USA, England, Greece, Italy, Austria, France etc. etc.
There's a phenomenon no one is willing to confirm but I know it's there, called - coming back for love. Yes, international students do that. They try to cover it up by pretending it's all about school, but the fact is, it's their heart they long to recover. I used to be one of those 'in the cycle'-people, my friends from my exchange semester of spring 2005, thought I was joking when I first mentioned going back. However, now I'm proudly contributing to the fast growing phenomenon and I've never felt happier.
It took me half a year home in Finland and nearly a year in hectic French speaking Brussels to realise Skövde is not at all a bad place to stay, for a while. Unlike in Brussels or Madrid (where I used to live), here I can actually hear my thoughts! What a shocking luxury. Skövde's mount of Billingen is breath taking beautiful, any time of the year. The cafés at the central square seduce with the fresh baked cake and the scent of coffee. There's always space in the bodypump session at the gym and in the grocery store. Skövde gives you a taste of simple life. Why not enjoy it, at least small bites at a time?
It first came to me around Christmas, I was away for a couple of weeks and caught myself thinking of our home and how I miss everything in it. I'm certainly not spoilt with too much space over here, nor the privacy, which would be a somewhat difficult thing to achieve in about 30 square meter room, shared. But somehow none of this matters. They say - 'Home is where the heart is', well, my heart is here. I suspect it has been here for some time now, I obviously left it in Skövde the last time around, simply lost it by accident.
Funny thing about Skövde, hundreds and hundreds of students from abroad come to the local University for a semester or two. They all party, complain, have fun, feel bored out of their minds... it all goes in regular cycles of ups and downs, but the thing is - they all end up loving it! It has always stunned me how people keep on coming back, because amazingly enaugh many of them do - either to visit or stay. Mind you, this place has 50 000 inhabitants, 3 night clubs to choose from (actually only one, if you ask me) and among other attractions - two dormitories stuffed with exchange students. People come back from all over - Spain, Belgium, Germany, Holland, USA, England, Greece, Italy, Austria, France etc. etc.
There's a phenomenon no one is willing to confirm but I know it's there, called - coming back for love. Yes, international students do that. They try to cover it up by pretending it's all about school, but the fact is, it's their heart they long to recover. I used to be one of those 'in the cycle'-people, my friends from my exchange semester of spring 2005, thought I was joking when I first mentioned going back. However, now I'm proudly contributing to the fast growing phenomenon and I've never felt happier.
It took me half a year home in Finland and nearly a year in hectic French speaking Brussels to realise Skövde is not at all a bad place to stay, for a while. Unlike in Brussels or Madrid (where I used to live), here I can actually hear my thoughts! What a shocking luxury. Skövde's mount of Billingen is breath taking beautiful, any time of the year. The cafés at the central square seduce with the fresh baked cake and the scent of coffee. There's always space in the bodypump session at the gym and in the grocery store. Skövde gives you a taste of simple life. Why not enjoy it, at least small bites at a time?
1 comment:
Hi Elina,
I have quite boring office days from time to time therefore I support your blog. Beginning is great! :)
M
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