Vita sene libertate nihil
The fact, that I added post about June at the 8 of July and was busy with my 5th moving (kind of anniversary! :D) in Stockholm, at the beginning of the month gives me nice excuse to start writing approximately from the middle of the month. For the first time in my life, I was travelling to absolutely new for me environment – Amman, the capital of Jordan. For the first time in my life, I was in Arabic country. And my feelings after this trip are very controversial. I didn’t like when people try to fool one another but making it for money is the poorest thing. That’s happened directly when we were taking taxi to a hotel – driver assured at the beginning that he would give a receipt but when we arrived he said that it is impossible. And such situations happen everywhere – in cafés personnel uses to put additional food and drinks on your table, which you did not offered. When you ask is it for free, they say “Yes” but when you would pay be ready to see extra money in your receipt for “free food”. Another interesting thing I have noticed – there are shops with summer clothes and souvenirs everywhere. And in 99% cases prices are not mentioned, so you need to bargain with seller. Be ready to do it everywhere, in another case you would waste lots of money. Prices are increased and even after bargain you would overpay. So, its would really useful to go shopping with some locals. And don’t hesitate to bargain even in food shops. But shopping is really memorable – you can find lots of unique stuff and bring part of Jordan back home. Minimum temperature in the afternoon is +35 but you don’t notice it when walking through Amman – you are paying attention on rare authentic buildings where people live. And sometimes you can find something great just in the centre of the city, like Roman Theatre – 6000 seat theatre built in the 2nd century. The first association which you would find is Colosseum. But this place was not used to be a fighting place, even now, after many centuries it hosts big concerts. You can make thousands of photos but they want pass the great feeling of being part of the history when you enter this place. Just come to Amman and enjoy – it really worth. Additionally, I have visited Amman Citadel – ruins of ancient castle, located on the hills what gives you possibility to enjoy great city view. Finally, I want to tell about the most memorable place in this trip – Dead Sea. The place where you can see Palestine on the other side, where due to high percent of salt in the water it is very hard to swim the place where temperature is more than 40 degrees, where people take medical mud to home, where producers take salt and sell it all over the world. And yes, it is true that u can just lie on the water and it would handle you. Even with tied arms and legs you would not be drowned. The last point that makes my July great - is the fact, that I am going to Armenia in the August. So, expect new interesting posts and photos.
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Summer in Sweden does not look like summer in common European country. Instead of hiding from +30 degrees, you enjoy your everyday +22, sometimes with cold wind and rain. The first important event in this month was great barbecue at my villa at 12th of June. AUE members as well as our Framtidstaget colleagues and our friends met together outside the city to spent great time together. We had lots of fun and delicious food in this sunny day. After such great Sunday I had lots of energy and did not even noticed how the next working week passed, and how I finished my Swedish course. Moreover I was waiting for my first trip outside Stockholm to Vanern - the biggest lake in Europe. After 4 hours in very comfortable train with Wi-Fi (hidden ad for Swedish railway) I arrived there. I visited my 3 friends Ocean, Manuela and Bachana, who are also EVS volunteers in Sweden. They are living in small calm town called Åmål. It’s a kind of small really Swedish town where nothing serious happens (for more info about Swedish culture, traditions and way of life watch Fucking Åmål – one of the most famous Swedish films). So, I arrived to Åmål for a weekend to relax and calm down after every day rush in Stockholm. And my residence there was really awesome and memorable! During first day we were just sitting near lake and drinking coffee – and after busy weeks in Stockholm, I was confused how you can just speak about common stuff and don’t think about time, don’t be in a hurry… Additionally even common walking in the city was kind of relaxation for me - calm, empty even during the day streets, fresh air from lake and birds singing. Add everyday walking, biking and meditations At the next day we were invited to Swedish couple for a dinner and all together coked traditional Georgian meal – khinkali. But the third day was the best one for sure! I was randomly walking somewhere in forest (forest area can also be recognized like a part of the town) and saw lots of kids playing football. It was kind of regional competition, because there were more than 6 teams playing on 2 fields in one time. Children were spending most of their energy to run after the ball or pushing one another. That’s why it was too hard for them to kick the ball in right direction even from small distance, what made me laugh hard all the time. I was not surprised when the final score was 0:0 :D. After such funny morning, we went to great bicycle trip to the near town Saffle. More than 20km in one side plus random cycling in forests and steppes made this trip more than exciting. In one day we have overcome more than 55km! After such great days I felt quite upset returning back to Stockholm, but it was necessary to prepare to my 3d Erasmus+ training in Stockholm. magic of vanern lake Training course “Peace Way for Youth” which consisted from 3 parts was dedicated to peace building. As a part of organizers team I spent more time neither participating in workshops and nor in seminars. My main responsibilities were connected with food preparation, but I don’t regret at all – I had lots of free time which I dedicated to boating on beautiful lake, extreme jogging in the forest (with lots of rocks, broken trees and small swamps) or just random walking and exploring natural environment. unforgettable BOATING TO FORBIDDEN ISLAND |
AuthorMyhailo Skrypchuk's blog. EVS volunteer in AUE (2016-2017). Stockholm, Sweden Archives
Декабрь 2016
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