COLD

How the heck is it this cold in August?!? On Tuesday when I biked to school people were wearing gloves, jackets, and scarves. That's just not right. It's still August! I wished I had gloves on then. Wednesday was a bit warmer, but still quite chilly. Today the high is supposed to be 11C and the low is 4C tonight. That's 52F and 40F. And it's still August! We're losing sunlight at a pretty fast rate too. The sun rose at 5.11am and will set at 8.02pm. By Monday the sun will be rising at 5.23am and setting at 7.48pm. That's quite a bit of time to lose in just 5 days. I'm starting to miss California weather already!

In other news, studying at the adult education center is slow and boring. I met with the counselor at CV yesterday and he came up with lots of ideas for things I can do. So I've contacted people at Umeå university about the option of starting something in the spring. Semester hasn't started there yet, but I'm sure that I need to have at least finished elementary school Swedish first. I'm trying to see about getting into a teaching program or something. Then at least I'll be educated to something and get nice long summer breaks. Teaching pays pretty well in Sweden too. Starting monthly pay (before taxes) is about 20,000 kr a month David says. Or about 2,800 USD a month. But taxes take a BIG bite out of that. On the other hand, you don't have to pay several hundred dollars a month towards health insurance.

I'm not completely sure I want to be a teacher yet, it's a LOT more time spent studying. And since this town isn't really a university town, I'd be commuting to Umeå. It's not a short trip. It looks like it takes about 2 hours one way. But the county (kommun) pays half the travel costs, so I'd just buy a month card and use that. It is possible, but it isn't exactly the best option in the world. I do want an education and it isn't something offered at the local campus.

Well, I've got lots to think about. Meanwhile I'm going to try and see what things I can study on my own. If I want to study for a grade in a subject that I'm not enrolled in, I can. Then I take a test and if I pass it is as though I took the course. It costs money to do it this way, it doesn't cost money to take classes. Odd, but true.