LydiaStranathan

Hej!
If you did not know already, I am studying abroad this semester in Gothenburg, Sweden (or Göteborg, Sverige) at the University of Gothenburg. I wanted to start this blog as a personal diary and to share pictures with friends and family.

First Week in Sweden

• Flying and First Day
• Housing
• First Class
• This Past Week

Flying and First Day

I flew from Charlotte to Detroit, then Detroit to Amsterdam, and finally Amsterdam to Gothenburg departing from CLT around 1pm and arriving in Gothenburg at about 10am the next day (about a 14 hour travel day). My flights went well with only a few complications. My layovers were really short between 1-2 hours each, and my flight to Amsterdam was delayed by at least an hour and a half which meant my final connection to get to Gothenburg was super rushed, and I made it to my gate just before they closed it. My layovers were so short that I never waited to board which also meant I was not able to get food or anything in between flights, but luckily I got served food on board. The most interesting meal served was a breakfast, egg and cheese calzone on my flight to Amsterdam, and then on my last flight I was given an egg salad sandwich which I could not tell if I liked or not.
The second complication was that my checked back did not make it to my final flight so it caught the next plane to Gothenburg. I had to go back to the airport to retrieve it which created some back and forth, but it was not that big of a deal since I had some time to kill before I could check into my hotel. I checked into the beautiful hotel that my mom kindly booked for me which was located in the center of the city in a historical looking building. It was so nice to be able to relax, shower, and sleep after not sleeping on my flights. The next day, Monday, I woke up around 8am to get ready and pick up my keys for my student housing. This is something that baffled me is that we were not able to get our keys and move into housing until the semester started (I later learned that the reason for this is that the previous term ended a week or so prior, and so previous tenants’ leases ended a day or so before ours began for the next term). While picking up my keys, I met a girl who was also from Charlotte, NC. Kind of funny that the first student I met was from my same hometown after coming all the way across the ocean. I went back to my hotel just in time before they closed their complimentary breakfast in 15 minutes. It was probably one of the best hotel breakfasts I have ever had. They had so many options that were so delicious even when I came so late. My favorite touch was that they had ginger shots.

Housing

I moved into my student housing which is located about 10-15 minutes by tram from the city center. I have my own room with a bathroom and small kitchen. The room came with a bed, desk, two shelves, a small table, two wardrobe cabinets, four chairs, a small drawer, and a lot of cabinet space for the kitchen. The room also came extremely dirty. Every single surface from the desk to light sockets needed to be wiped. I learned that the student housing does not clean between tenants, and it’s up to the previous tenant to clean before moving out. I could have emailed housing to let them know to get it cleaned, but by the time I realized how dirty it was I had already started cleaning and unpacking. From talking with other students, I think most everyone has had a bad experience with their living situations with it being dirty, heater not working, etc. Regardless of the dirt, I am very happy with my room. My building is conveniently located very close to a tram stop and a grocery store called Willy’s, and at least 50% of the tenants are also international students which makes it more social. It is so nice to have my own space, but it does make meeting people a little harder.

First Class

After I moved in, I went back into the city and went to my class which lasted from 3-5pm. The way the course schedules are set up is very different from the US, and I believe very different for other international students too. The semester is split into quarters and most students are generally only taking 1-2 classes at a time, and the classes could last 1-4 quarters depending on the pace of them which makes planning difficult. Right now, I am only taking one course called “Teaching Sustainable Development from a Global Perspective”, and it will last until mid-March. It is from the education department so most of the other students are education majors. There were 13 students on the first day, all of which were international students from England, Austria, Germany, and Japan. I could not believe it until I went to class for the first time, but it only meets once a week for two hours which means I have a very light schedule till next class starts in mid-February.

The Past Week

So what have I been doing since I have such a light load? I have spent a lot of time this week shopping and getting stuff for my room. Since it didn’t come with anything besides the basics, I’ve gotten pots, pans, cleaning supplies, a rug, a bathroom mat, and a bunch of other miscellaneous things. A fun thing about living here is that I’ve learned they do not really have any big department stores that I can get everything like in the US. No Target, Walmart, or similar type store where I can get a pan in the same place as toilet paper. I did go to Ikea, and yes it was basically the exact same as one in the US. The only differences I noticed was that the restaurant had a lot more options than just their classic meatballs and that the descriptions on all the items were in Swedish as well as the item name. Other than shopping and setting up my room, I have gone to welcome mingles and events with Erasmus Student Network (ESN), a non-profit organization that organizes trips and events for international students. I have also been planning trips around Europe especially during the first month since I have time off during the week. I will be going to Croatia and London soon! In short, a couple of my favorite things about being here so far is 1. Talking to other international students 2. Using the amazing public transit and 3. Grocery shopping. I want to share more about meals I have made here, future trips, and more about differences between here and the US. I hope you enjoyed reading this first post!