Boras and the conference
After a few days in Stockholm, we took the train to Boras for the conference. This is an event for educators of library and information science. There were about 70 folks there from around the world, and it was interesting to learn about some of the differences in library education around the world - Africa, Europe, Australia, India.
Boras is a small city of about 100,000 in the region. We didn't have time to take in the highlight of the Textile Museum. I noted in the tour book we picked up that one of the other things to see is the Starch Mill, which we also missed.
I was frustrated with some of the talks. Some of the speakers read powerpoint slides to us and others read their paper to us, word-for-word (which was also given to us). On the other hand, I;m sure that some of them were turned off by my performance style of presentation.
I did also have an on-camera interview for This Week in Libraries, a show done by the librarians from Delft.
One evening, I went over to Gothenberg (about an hour by bus) and met a boardgame group there. It was a nice day, getting to see that city, checking out the local shops, having modern food that Swedes eat (Gyro-meat Pizza), and playing some games. I met a games scholar there and we had some great discussions that are going to certainly help me in my growth as I develop my games research.
The next day was spent heading back to Stockholm, where we stayed the night at a hotel near the airport and just had a big meal, then in the morning, it was off on a 19-hour journey back home. The two days of traveling was tiring, to be sure, and we are glad to be home.
So, what were my thoughts about Sweden?
The food was expensive, as were things in the shops. I bought very little, other than an interesting role-playing game that was locally made. It is in the nature of the people not to talk to people they don't know, so when you don't know anyone, it can be pretty unfriendly. That said, the people who did have a chance to talk to me were very friendly once you got past that exterior. In fact, this came up in conversation a few times with locals - that's it's not the Swedish way to be outgoing like that.
I found eating out to be tiring, as the waitstaff weren't very attentive; since this is not a place where you typically tip much, the waitstaff don't have as much to work for as we see in the US where tipping is a part of the process. I've noted this in the UK as well.
So, Sweden is on my "I'd go back for a conference" list. It's not on my "Don't want to visit there again" list nor on my "desire to go back and spend time there" list.
There are pictures of Boras and the Game night at http://www.flickr.com/photos/snicholson/sets/72157624709353840/
Boras is a small city of about 100,000 in the region. We didn't have time to take in the highlight of the Textile Museum. I noted in the tour book we picked up that one of the other things to see is the Starch Mill, which we also missed.
I was frustrated with some of the talks. Some of the speakers read powerpoint slides to us and others read their paper to us, word-for-word (which was also given to us). On the other hand, I;m sure that some of them were turned off by my performance style of presentation.
I did also have an on-camera interview for This Week in Libraries, a show done by the librarians from Delft.
One evening, I went over to Gothenberg (about an hour by bus) and met a boardgame group there. It was a nice day, getting to see that city, checking out the local shops, having modern food that Swedes eat (Gyro-meat Pizza), and playing some games. I met a games scholar there and we had some great discussions that are going to certainly help me in my growth as I develop my games research.
The next day was spent heading back to Stockholm, where we stayed the night at a hotel near the airport and just had a big meal, then in the morning, it was off on a 19-hour journey back home. The two days of traveling was tiring, to be sure, and we are glad to be home.
So, what were my thoughts about Sweden?
The food was expensive, as were things in the shops. I bought very little, other than an interesting role-playing game that was locally made. It is in the nature of the people not to talk to people they don't know, so when you don't know anyone, it can be pretty unfriendly. That said, the people who did have a chance to talk to me were very friendly once you got past that exterior. In fact, this came up in conversation a few times with locals - that's it's not the Swedish way to be outgoing like that.
I found eating out to be tiring, as the waitstaff weren't very attentive; since this is not a place where you typically tip much, the waitstaff don't have as much to work for as we see in the US where tipping is a part of the process. I've noted this in the UK as well.
So, Sweden is on my "I'd go back for a conference" list. It's not on my "Don't want to visit there again" list nor on my "desire to go back and spend time there" list.
There are pictures of Boras and the Game night at http://www.flickr.com/photos/snicholson/sets/72157624709353840/