Hi Bloggg!!! A little update of my whereabouts, I am currently in Goteberg, Sweden as part of the iSEED program organized by the OEDK. It is a one-month-long summer program where we will be doing engineering design work alongside students at Chalmers University, as well as the members of the community here in Goteberg.
On June 1st, we all arrived at Slottsskogen Hostel, the hostel in which we will be staying for the entirety of this program. As we checked into our hostel and walked to our rooms for the first time, we were confronted with the super small rooms (~2.5x5m) which we will be staying in. Most of us shared a room with one more person. I roomed with Daniel, Ben with Yufei, Christian with Scott, and Megha has her own room as she is the only female on this trip. That evening, we had dinner together at an Italian restaurant nearby.
On Sunday, we did our first exploration of the city. Scott, Christian, and I walked to Skansen Kronan, a hillside fortress with great view of the city. Afterwards, we walked to Haga, a beautiful street filled with cafes and bars on either side.
On Monday, we started our first day of coursework. We left the hostel together at 8:30, taking the tram to Chalmers University. It didn’t take long after we arrived at the classroom before we got straight into learning about CAD and using it. We started off with Tinkercad in the morning, and moved on to Fusion 360, our main CAD software for the course in the afternoon. That was my first time using a CAD software, and I struggled to get to grips with the coursework for most of the day and the following day. On Wednesday, things got a bit better, especially in the second half of the day. I felt more comfortable with using Fusion 360, and I felt like I have finally caught up with my classmates who had previously used CAD software in one way or another.
On Thursday, we had a half day at Chalmers University because it was the National Day of Sweden. In the afternoon, we went to Skottsskogen park to join the nationwide celebration. In the park, there was a small zoo up on a hill. We went there to have a look at the animals. At the zoo, there was a café that sells massive ice creams. We each got one, and we somehow all managed to finish it. Overall, the weather was fantastic, and we had a great time at the park.
And then came Friday, the final day of class at Chalmers University. I knew it would be a long day for me since I was on the tram on the way there. I looked in my backpack and realize I left my headphones back in the hostel room. I had to work through the silence for most of the day, something I am not used to, and probably will never be used to ever again. Additionally, it was an intense day as we learned multiple additional skills, as well as being assigned a ton of work to do. I guess it is what happens when you put a semester long course into a week and some. To wrap up our first week here in Goteberg in the best way possible, we played pick up soccer at the park, which was extremely tiring but great fun, as it should be.
~Kung