Spring is nothing if not unpredictable and varied in terms of weather. We have recently had rain and grey skies but as I write this it definitely feels as though spring is here to stay. It is a season full of expectations and the crocuses and snowdrops are in bloom and the daffodils and tulips are well on their way up. I can´t wait to get my hands dirty in the garden and boat owners will soon be putting their boats in the water and summer cottage owners will be opening up their cottages. I spent Easter in a lovely part of Sweden — Österlen. Every Easter they have an Open Studio week there. This is when local artists open their homes and studios to the public. More than 120 artists are involved and they are spread all over the area. It all starts on Good Friday when you can see one work of art from each participant and then decide who you would like to visit. For more information see http://www.oskg.nu/ . The information is available in English.
This part of Sweden doesn´t feel all that Swedish. It is a combination of Denmark and Sweden with a bit of England and Germany thrown in. There is a lot to see and some lovely villages to visit and the quality of the food available there is very high. I can really recommend Österlen as a great place to visit, particularly in the spring before all the tourists arrive. See http://osterlen.com/ or www.osterlen.se for more information (Swedish only) . There was a great article in The Local recently about Österlen. See: http://www.thelocal.se/10538/20080317/
NEW FRENCH CLUB
Here is some information about the newly formed club for all French speakers, written by the chairperson, Dominique Blanchette:
The idea of a French speaking association had been running in my head for quite some time. However, to set up such an organisation requires a lot of time and energy and it cannot be done by just one person. Everyone I had talked to showed enthusiasm but finding a “working" partner was not so easy. But all that changed. Having been laid-off, thanks to the recession, I had suddenly a bit of time on my hands — finding work is a fulltime job but being at home all day makes it easier to organise ones agenda! And it all started after I decided to build a web site for the French community here in Göteborg. I sent out the link to the web site to my friends who in turn forwarded it to others and it snowballed. I realised that there far more French speaking in Gothenburg than I thought. And the idea of the association came back. It was just at that time that I met Murielle, also unemployed, who was immediately sold by the idea. And thus started the process of setting up our association, and there are a lot of doors to knock on, people to meet and a number of procedures to follow. But it is so satisfying and fulfilling especially when we met such a positive response. Many applaud the initiative and new people are joining us every week. For me, every positive response is a new source of energy. Looking for work depletes my batteries while working with the association simply recharges them!
The name of our association is “Club Francophone de Göteborg". The word “Francophone" means French speaking and our association has thus been created for all French speaking members of the community whether they come from France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada and from countries in Africa like Senegal, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and more.
I am certain that such diverse cultures linked by a common language will contribute greatly to the success of the association. Our primary goal is to help all the new French speaking expats moving to the region of Västra Götaland. We will be there to give them all the advice they need to settle down in both their daily life and their working life here in Sweden. We have already a number of activities planned first and foremost for the children. It is very important that they have the possibility to retain their French language and this will be achieved by taking part in activities with other French speaking children.
