Julbord - My Swedish Christmas Dinner

on friday, i had a company Christmas julbord at a restaurant along surbrunnsgatan. i can't really remember the name the place but it had very tasty traditional swedish food! as per all smörgåsbord, we started with the cold dishes like herring, ham, salmon, moose sausages and smoked reindeer's heart! yes i ate rudolf's heart! :P i thought it would be soft and taste like the "spare parts" (pig's intestines, liver.. etc) we would eat in singapore, but apparently not. it was tough like meat and tasted really good, like smoked ham. and my colleague was telling me it is hard because the heart is a muscle. so desu ne... there were raw herrings in different flavours and i tried about 5 different kinds. this wasn't my 1st time eating herring in sweden but it still takes a while to get used to it. i find it ok but it's really an acquired taste, especially if you're not swedish. ;) after that, we moved on to the hot dishes like meatballs, omelette, sausages, ribs and some other fancy traditional swedish stuffs which i can't really remember. and then finally we finished off with deserts!

there was a wide spread of really good swedish food, but more than that, the atmosphere was AMAZING! every once in a while when we were eating, 1 of my colleagues would call for everyone's attention by making the triangle-like sound using the fork and the wine glass. and then he would start singing a swedish song and every one will continue along with him. and this happened like about 7 times throughout, initiated by different people, but mainly by the more rah-rah ones. ;) there were moments of singing, talking, sharing, laughing and of course appreciation. it was a rowdy but yet heart-warming and joyful night. everyone was so spontaneous and high-spirited and it really felt like a nice family gathering. but in every sense of the word, these people really form my swedish family. although i started out as an intern in the company, but i ended up being part of a swedish family. never once did it felt like work when i enter my office everyday. there is always so much fun, joy and laughter being around all my colleagues. i was really touched by all the gifts, love and kind words from all my colleagues and bosses that night. i'm really really really going to miss them alot! this has really been one of the best years of my life.

3S & Comaea, God Jul och Gott Nytt År!










Here's my NCST graduation video which i did for our batch to thank everyone in stockholm for their love and making our stay here a wonderful and memorable one!! (facebook photos and videos link)


NCST Batch 6 Graduation Video


NCST Batch 6 Graduation Flickr

Do the Christmas dance!

I'll be in Amsterdam over the weekend. This will be my last short trip before i embark on my final Europe Winter Tour to end my NOC program. sigh... this is just so saddening... i can't believe that it's all coming to an end... ok i'll leave that sob story for another time.

Christmas is round the corner and it's time to do the christmas dance!

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Down United Road

though this post is overdue, i still need to post it. because Manchester United rocks! it couldn't have been more amazing to travel all the way to Old Trafford to see Man U trash Stoke City 5 nil! although it would have been sweeter if the opponent were Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea, i guess i'll have to leave that for my next trip there, which won't be anytime soon.

it was almost surreal when you walk past the gantry, that you're ACTUALLY at Old Trafford! there was something really funny, they didn't allow us to bring bottles with caps on it. so i had to throw the caps away and bring just the bottles in. the one thing that really struck you when you walk out into the stands is the sheer size of the crowd, it was AMAZING! people all over the place were singing, cheering and waving their scarfs and flags. english people really love their football. but it was really funny that i was actually watching an EPL match without the commentary. i always loved watching football with a good commentator (witty, sarcastic and enthusiastic). and having used to watching all my EPL matches with a commentator, this time was really unusual to me which i noticed immediately.

the next thing i realized was that an EPL match was like any other local football match. it looked so glorified on TV with all the slow motion replays, exciting commentating, news... etc. but when you're there, it seemed like any other football game. and then it occurred to me that me traveling all the way to Manchester to watch United play football is like an english guy traveling all the way to Singapore to watch Balestier Khalsa FC play in the S-League. but i'm actually paying 300 times more than what he would pay! if only it was the other way round... nonetheless, it somehow felt worth it be part of  the 76,000 crowd to watch United trash their opponents live!

i was easily one of the most excited fans in the whole east section as i was standing up from my seat every moment there was a scoring opportunity and i picked up all their songs/chants and starting singing along with them. football unites people i tell you. i really should have made my trip there earlier, then i would have been going for at least 1 match every month. every football fan MUST go and watch their team play live in their home ground at least once. it's really an experience of a lifetime!

here's one of the songs we were singing: Take Me Home, United Road.

here's the video of how it was like at old trafford:

and here's the video of the actual game on TV:

Manchester United v Stoke City