Group 3
Hello students at Khabarovsk University!
We are group 3 in the cross-culture rhetoric course at Örebro University. Örebro is situated in the middle of Sweden and it has almost 125 000 inhabitants which makes it to Sweden’s seventh largest city. The city is just a five minute bicycle ride from the university so you can easily go in to town for lunch or just to take a nice cup of coffee. Örebro is a beautiful city that offers shopping, nice restaurants and a lot of cozy cafe´s.
Örebro University was formed in 1977 and is now going through its most expansive phase. It strives to create a campus that gives the students, staff and guests an excellent, intellectual, social and physical enviorment. The university is taking an active part in the development of the region with strong contacts with industry and the community. It’s also a national and international center for knowledge.
Örebro university is for the moment the most expanding university in Sweden. It has over 14500 students. The university got more than 80 study programmes and offers 800 single subject courses, that cover 50 different subject areas.
The majority in our small group is a part of the Rhetoric programme, and this is our second term. The programme is brand new, and we are the first students on it. Rhetoric has been a forgotten art in Sweden for almost hundred years, but the interest has raised within the last 20 years. The programme focuses on leadership and cross cultural communication, but it’s based on the classic rhetoric. Since the programme is new, our future is not really certain. By that we mean that our three years is not going to give us an exact role or title. It might sound a bit odd and strange but as we see it, it opens up a sea of possibilities and we’ll be able to create our own market. In the modern information and globalized society, we believe that communication is the key to everything!
Heres a short presentation of us in group 3;
Sebastian Mårtensson:
My name is Sebastian Mårtensson and my age is soon 23. I'm from a small place in Sweden called Varberg. Two years ago i were in a place there i didn´t know what to do with my life. My job was boring and there were no meaning with anything. But after a big search in the database of different schools and programs. I found a perfect program for me, the rethoric program. I'm looking forward to our cooperation, and how a normal day could be in Khabarovsk?
Karin Myring:
My name is Karin Myring, I'm 23 and I come from the countryside of Örebro. A few years ago I was out traveling in Europe and this started my curiosity for other countries cultures and the ability to communicate over broad as well as in Sweden. I also have a big interest in how it comes that people believe in certain information and not in another, as in buisness and politics. I really looking forward to overwhelm you with questions though I know nothing about Russia.
Camilla Fällman:
My name is Camilla Fällman and I’m a 21 year old woman from Stockholm. I just moved to Örebro to study this course, cross-cultural rhetoric at Örebro University. When I don’t study I like to travel around the world. Since I’ve been travelling in a lot in South East Asia, Southern Africa and Central America, I’ve seen many different cultures. It’s really interesting to learn more about the differences and how to behave when you meet someone from another culture, which basically is what we learn in this course. I’m planning to take a masters degree in Rhetoric since I think rhetoric is really interesting and I believe that it is a subject that will grow a lot in the future since businesses realize the importance of communication more each day.
Anna Quist:
Hi! My name is Anna and I guess it’s a very typical girl name in Sweden, or at least it was when my parents baptized me. I’m a 22 year old girl that originally comes from a town called Norrköping which is situated 1½ hours south of Stockholm, but since august 2008 I’ve been living in Örebro. This is my second semester here at the university and as many others- I study the Rhetoric program. I’ve been travelling quite a lot and I think that’s one of the biggest reasons why my interest for cultural- and intercultural communication is as big as it is. I love to meet new people and I find it especially exciting to meet people from other countries and cultures. The reason why I’m taking this course is because I see myself working abroad in the future and I find this knowledge uncommonly relevant.
Tarik Basic:
I was born in Bosnia and I moved to Sweden with my family when I was seven years old. I believe this course really gives me an opportunity to develop as a person and also give me a better understanding for intercultural communication.
Sebastian Sjöström:
My Name is Sebastian Sjöström, I am a 21 year old bloke from Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. This is my first studies at a University. I graduated high school 2 years ago, at the time I didn’t have a single thought on taking a higher education. I started working as a carpenter, made a lot of money but felt pretty bad about going to work. So, after one and a half year I got bored, quit work and started looking for educations that would fit me. A big coincidence got me in to the new Rhetoric programme, and over night I moved from my hometown Fruängen (a southern suburb to Stockholm) to the small town Örebro. I´m having big expectations on this programme, and no worries about getting a good job in the future. I am convinced that communication is everything. The cross cultural rhetorics course has so far been a big eye opener for me. The fact that each and everyone of us is shaped and constantly formed by the culture we live in, has done a great effect on me. I hope that the exchange with you guys at Khabarovsk will widen my horizon even more.
Comments
Hello,Sebastian Tarik,Anna, Camilla, Karin and Sebastian, I sincerely enjoyed reading your blog, and learned something new about Sweden, the country which I like a lot! I visited Stokholm long ago but still vividly remember its powerful beauty. Sounds very interesting, the way you see intercultural communication as a major resource in the modern world, which I share and consider it very critical to develop intercultural competence in order to make this world a happier place to live.
Look forward to our exchange,
Olga
Posted by: Olga Kovbasyuk | February 12, 2009 02:23 AM
Hi, everybody! Very glad to hear from all of you!Wonderfull, very informative blog!
I so agree that communication is a key to everything!the most wonderful thing i found out in all my travellings were people!!!
Please, overwhelm us with questions about Russia, we'll be glad to respond!!!:))))
Talk to you soon!:)
Posted by: Elvira | February 12, 2009 05:33 AM
Hi Camilla! I am from Khabarovsk! You've said that you are very interested in differences that exist between representatives of different cultures. I also find this topic very interesting and updating. We may know some peculiarities about this or that culture, but to be honest we will be confused communicating with a representative of another culture. even if we speak the same language. Well, my major is Translation. So, i am studying English as the first lang. and Japaneese as the second one. But we are not given enough information about cultural differences! Looking forward hearing from you!
Posted by: Galina Trotskaya | February 13, 2009 12:48 AM
Oh, sorry! i did not sign... My name is Galina:)
Posted by: Galina Trotskaya | February 13, 2009 12:50 AM
Hello Sebastian, Karin, Camilla, Anna, Tarik and Sebastian!
It is very nice to meet you.
My name is Alisa Yushchenko. I`m now doing my 4th year of international accounting at Khabarovsk State Academy of Economics and Law (KSAEL).
A native of Russia I grew up in a sunny and snowy city of Khabarovsk from which Japan is twice closer than Moscow. I have been doing MUN since my first year of studies. I am the president of KSAEL Model United Nations club.
I love traveling, enjoy walking, skiing, cycling and watching movies.
I study French and love this language. I have a cat, he is very cute and charming.
A couple of year ago I did photography. You may see some of my works at
http://alisa-londo.photosight.ru
I am very very glad to have an opportunity to meet you. And I am very interested to know Sweden better.
For me Sweden is famous for ABBA. I love its music and believe that it is one of the best bands ever )
Could you please give the names of some modern Swedish musicians?
I have also heard that Sweden is the best country in Europe to start business because it has the lowest corruption level.
Could you please tell your opinion how Sweden has reached and ensures its low corruption rate?
I saw that some of you didn`t plan to continue your education after graduating from school.
Is it common in Sweden that school graduates prefer to start to work than to continue their education?
Alisa Yushchenko.
Posted by: Anonymous | February 14, 2009 04:44 AM
Hey guys!
So nice to get respons, so fast and with so many questions! =)
I will meet the others tomorrow (monday) or on tuesday and we'll discuss the questions then and try to give as good answers possible.
I notice that you (Galina) wanted to know some bands from sweden, and just to mention some: Takida, Mando Diao, Sugarplum fairy, Johnossi, Timo Räisänen, Anna Ternheim, A camp, The Hives, Sahara Hotnights, Amanda Jenssen, The Hellacopters, Laakso. It's both singers and band names. This is just some of the most typical swedish bands, I'm sure that my group can come up with even more if you want to.
I really enjoyed your pictures Alisa. They're great!
We came up with some questions last lesson but we didn't have the time to post them then so we'll try to put them on the blog on tuesday, latest!
Talk to you soon again.
/Anna Q
Posted by: Anna Quist | February 15, 2009 08:42 AM
Hi, Sebastian Tarik,Anna, Camilla, Karin and Sebastian!
It is really nice to meet you, because your blogs are very intresting. I don't know a lot about traditions of Swedes and i really want to know about it. So if you want to know something about our traditions you can ask me and i'll try to answer you. =)I'm looking forward hearing from you!
Posted by: Nadia | February 16, 2009 06:48 PM
Hello everyone! I am glad to see you and I am looking forward to communicating with you in the conference!
My name is Katya. I am a freshman at our Khabarovsk State Academy of economics and law. I major in international accounting. My native town is Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. It is much smaller than Khabarovsk. Its population is about 17000 people. It is located on the small island Sakhalin not far from Khabarovsk. It is also known as the biggest city of the biggest island of the biggest country :)
As Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is very snowy in winter the most popular sports here are skating, skiing and snowboarding! I personally like snowboarding most of all. Also I like swimming and jogging.
I am into classical music very much! I have finished the music school in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and this really made me love and respect classical music very much. And now playing the piano has become one of my favorite hobbies. Also I am fond of R&B, techno, house music and Russian rock.
On my days off I usually meet with my friend and go to the cinemas as I am a great cinema-goer) Also I like theatre very much, especially new productions and interpretations. And as every teenager I like spending hours in cafes with my friends. And sometimes I invite my friends to my place and having fun at home
As I major in international accounting I’d like to connect my future with this field. This sphere is very interesting for me and I am absolutely convinced that it will give me great opportunities for the career prospect and possibility to move ahead in today’s world. I really would like to become a professional accountant. Some people find accounting and bookkeeping boring but I think it depends on us. If you are a real specialist and a professional who knows everything about your work you can make it different and you will always be able to find an interesting job. Also I’d like to get second higher education. Probably it will be jurisprudence.
Unfortunately I know too little about Sweden and its people. And that is why it is especially interesting for me to participate in our conference and to learn more about this enigmatic country from you.
Posted by: Vlasenko Katya | March 8, 2009 03:06 AM
Hey Sebastian, Karin, Camilla, Anna, Tarik and Sebastian!
I'm Zoe a second year undergraduate at Stanford University in California, USA.
Wow! How exciting that you all are participating in a brand new program. I think it's great that you are all pioneering in this rhetoric program in Sweden-- you are amazing entrepreneurs! I was particularly struck by your comment that while rhetoric is an ancient art its importance was only just re-discovered.. why do you think that is?
Nice to meet you all and good luck with your program!
:)
Zoe
Posted by: Zoe Richards | March 9, 2009 10:20 AM
Zoe! First off, i really appreciate your enthusiasm over our programme. :)
I will try to give you an answer on your question. Please note that this is my personal opinion, and its probably in lack of correct historical facts. But i´ll give it a shot.
The fact that rhetoric has been a forgotten art in Sweden is something I also found very interesting.
We´ve been discussin the matter a bit in our group, and its two major events that in our opinion explains this.
The first thing is the founding and building of the Swedish elementary school 150 years ago. (Folkskolan in Swedish, the "peoples school" in a bad english translation). To cut a long story short; Swedens been a peasant society for a long time. With the industrialization came the uprising middleclass and the demands on a school for everyone. Before this Rhetorics had always been a subject for the upperclass. And with these thoughts of a school for all the people, rhetorics seemed abit to classy, and remained in that field.
The second big event that placed rhetoric in the dark shed was the second world war. I believe that there was a shame all over Scandinavia that the dreadful Hitler did get the power to destroy so much. Hitlers thoughts and ideas were in every way awful, but he was very good in rhetorics. If it weren´t for his energetic speeches he would not have come very far.
After the war, with the results of Hitlers terrors in hand, there was a understanding and a fright of the powers of propaganda and manipulation. Rhetoric as a knowledge or as a tool got a bad stamp. It was in some ways forbidden for politicians, and so on. Manipulation and rhetorics were in many eyes the same thing (Which is a totally wrong and disoriented picture.). So the last approx 20 years has been a reinvent and rediscovery of the ancient fantastic artform.
Hope you could get something out of my words, sorry for the bad language, it was a long time since I last wrote in english.
Best regards Sebastian Sjöström (the one standing on the far right in the picture.), Group 3, Örebro University.
Posted by: Sebastian S | March 10, 2009 03:43 AM
hi,
Very nice blog,it' highly informative. I bookmarked it,thanks
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