Category Archives: English

The chosen one

Thursday, September 22, 2011 – 23:36
The chosen oneIn a Swedish field near Lake Hjälmaren
By Jonathan Fors | Also posted in Photos | Comments (0)

Seagull walking lessons

Monday, August 1, 2011 – 11:42
Seagull walking lessons

While walking to my friend’s place some time ago I found a seagull trying to protect her kids in the middle of the sidewalk. The birds were very stressed out since there was a bit of traffic on the road, and none of the bikers could see the young birds walking around. The seagull was aggressive of anyone getting too close, but luckily I was able to sneak close enough to get this shot. I’m really not a bird photographer, but I find the “walking lesson” pose to be kind of cute.

By Jonathan Fors | Also posted in Photos | Comments (2)

Photo: Österlinds, Linköping

Saturday, July 30, 2011 – 23:59
Österlinds, LinköpingAnalog photography, Olympus OM-2, Zuiko 50mm f/1.8, Kodak Tri-X 400. Scanned in Minolta DiMAGE Dual IV.

The last months I’ve been doing a bit of analog photography in addition to the usual digital stuff. This frame is from my first truly home-made roll, which I developed and scanned myself. The camera is my dad’s old Olympus OM-2 and was shot on black&white Kodak Tri-X 400 film developed with HC-110. Lots of fun!

By Jonathan Fors | Also posted in Photos | Comments (0)

Holgerspexet – En komplex historia

Sunday, December 12, 2010 – 16:24

One of many student-related traditions in Sweden is the Spex. Best described as an “interactive musical-theater”, a Spex is often based on a (very) loose interpretation of an historical event. This year’s version of Holgerspexet (one of two Spex groups here in Linköping) had targeted the greek tragedy of Oidipus and turned it into a, well, comedy. The title was “Oidipus – en komplex historia” (Oidipus, a complex story)

Here, Kreon shows the result of a poll on different strategies to depose of Oidipus.

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The best part of the Spex is the interaction with the audience. At any moment in the play, the audience may request a replay (for instance, of a funny punchline), or something to be performed in a certain fashion (like “Backwards!”). Every performance becomes unique, and the success depends as much on the mood of the audience as the skill of the actors.

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A Spex is also very much like a musical, and a large part of the play is spent on songs. Again, a common theme is to steal…hrm…borrow famous songs and sticking one’s own lyrics to it.

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The Wednesday performance that I went to see with my smallgroup was very successful, with lots of strange (and funny!) audience requests. It’s not often that I laugh so hard that I have trouble breathing, but this was one of those times. If you ever get the chance to see a student-spex (and know Swedish), take it!

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By Jonathan Fors | Also posted in Fun, Life, Photos | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Recap

Tuesday, November 30, 2010 – 12:12

Well, I’m home and alive and all is well. One year in Switzerland is now in the past, and it’s time to summarize these exchange studies.

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It all begun in September 2009 at Arlanda Airport.

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The two-hour flight to Zürich-Kloten landed me in a warm and familiar city, the city where i was born. I took the tram to the student house in Altstetten where I got to the small room that was to be my home for the next 12 months.

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I was not alone in the house, there were in total 170 students from all over the world…sharing one kitchen. Imagine the mess!

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The ETH Zürich is an impressive university, with a magnificent main building.

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We used to live in that yellow house up that road in Siggenthal.

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I found a second home in the ICF church.

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Having bought a generous train ticket I was able to cheaply travel around the beautiful country and see many sights of the country. I took several trips, on my own and with my Swedish friend Martin.

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I was able to capture some nice shots of the Zürich police intervening in a demonstration.

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Switzerland equals skiing and snow!

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After winter comes the spring. The warm temperatures came back quickly, and around Easter it was possible to go swimming for the first time.

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Zürich is especially beautiful in the spring.

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One of the crazier events during the year was the International Pillow Fight Day that took place at Bellevue.

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The Swiss train system is legendary and I spent many hours commuting and traveling on rails. This was my home station, Zürich-Altstetten

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The main station in the city is the Zürich Hauptbahnhof, around which the entire city is built.

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Almost every station in Switzerland is built to the same functional style. This is the station of Spiez.

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Summer means city festivals and warm evenings.

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The mountains can be breathtaking, to say the least.

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Stein am Rhein.

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I eventually joined the music team in the church, and got baptized!

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It would be impossible to give an exhaustive list of friends, so I’ll just show a few photos of a small portion of the people who have meant a lot to me for this year.

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Sam (photo just above) was kind enough to take the initiative for a goodbye party for me. A nice way to say farewell!

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On August 24th 2010, the airplane left for Stockholm and Sweden.

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12 months of intensive studies in Zürich are over.

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By Jonathan Fors | Also posted in Fun, Life, Photos | Tagged , , | Comments (3)

A knock on the door…

Thursday, September 2, 2010 – 21:53

…but nobody’s there. Instead I find this:

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Either someone genuinely wants to welcome me back to Linköping, or these cookies have some “special” ingredients ;)

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Just a few days more

Saturday, August 21, 2010 – 23:27

It is a strange feeling sitting in my room and realizing that this year is almost over. In just a few days Scandinavian Airlines will take me home to the country in the north. But what is “Home”, really? I’ve been pondering this question during these twelve months. Sweden or Switzerland? Both? I’m not sure, but in any case Zürich will remain in my heart for a very long time.

Everything I do right now is focused on passing the exam on Monday, planning and packing will have to be done the night before I leave. Exams are interesting. I always come into a sort of high when working so focused during extended periods. All other things just fade away and my productivity doubles. The theme of the week is probability theory, I am in the process of memorizing proofs and definitions from a 130-page script. Two days until H-hour.

I have come to like oral exams, as they test more understanding than mechanical calculations. I find it easier to communicate complicated concept in, say, maths and physics, when you are talking to the professor. What I don’t like about the ETH examination session is that it is located at the end of the summer, nullifying your summer vacation. I’m going to be the palest person in my class when I come back home…

Seems like the new Yi students have got their blogs set up. It will be interesting to follow their adventures in the big world of Yi! I also really like the new front page design of our blog system. I guess that I will remain syndicated there until my return home. Follow the blogs here.

Things look bright for this upcoming semester in Linköping. I have very interesting courses in physics planned, and will also be mentoring new students (“nollan”) :P in the wonders of linear algebra together with Christopher. Time to meet many an old friend and live in an apartment with your own kitchen! I’m quite sick and tired of the dorm here at Meierwiesenstrasse.

Alright, enough writing for this time. Back to the probability theory…probably…

By Jonathan Fors | Also posted in Life | Tagged , , , , | Comments (1)

A New Person

Wednesday, August 18, 2010 – 16:17

I have finally taken a step that has taken far too many years: I got baptized!  It has been tugging at my heart for the last months, and what better place to do it than in the company of good friends in Zürich, the city I love?

On a Monday afternoon at the Arboretum at Renti, a short promenade from Bürkliplatz we gathered for the ceremony. A lot of people from ICF had come to welcome me “home”, I felt honored that so many friends showed up.  Down with me in the water were Richard and Daniel.

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The baptism itself was swift, physically it’s just down in the water and up again. 57297

So this marks the beginning of the new life, down goes the old person, up comes the new me. :)

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Some people had to go home for the evening, but the rest of us stayed behind for some chillin’ in the grass and barefoot football. The evening was wonderful, with a golden sunset over the lake and city. After the football match we lined up for a group photo to remember this time.

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Thanks for all of you who came to this special event of mine. It meant a great deal to have you all there.

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Mural

Sunday, August 15, 2010 – 20:37

Stein am Rhein. A beautiful medieval city in the canton of Schaffhausen.

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Canton of Schaffhausen – Check!

Swiss challenge
Zürich, Bern, Luzern, Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Glarus, Zug, Fribourg, Solothurn, Basel Stadt, Basel Land, Schaffhausen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Sankt Gallen, Graubünden, Aargau, Thurgau, Ticino, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel, Genève, Jura

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Fields of Gold

Saturday, August 14, 2010 – 00:45

I’ve been quite busy studying, and am thus lagging behind in my postings. I have so much to share, but I will do as usual and just publish a few photos at a time. Stay tuned.

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The Fields of Gold. Tried some new tricks with this one. There are more things in this world than sharpness and acuity ;)

By Jonathan Fors | Also posted in Meta, Photos | Comments (0)