I wasn’t sure what to expect stepping off the plane in Gothenburg. I never did any deep research into the city because I wanted my first impression to be placed from my own experiences. My first thoughts walking out of the airplane were “dang its cold here.” I found a taxi and stared at the beautiful rock sculptures as I rode into the city. Once I got to the hostel, I picked up my key and walked into my room. I knew the rooms would be small, but I didn’t think they would be this small. Not having space to unpack and quite literally living out of your suitcase for a month is definitely an experience. This makes my dorm room back at Rice feel like luxury.

The next day I went with Kung and Scott and explored just a small part of the city. We walked to a small coffee shop and enjoyed a very strong coffee.

We then climbed a hill and visited the Skansen Kronan fort. The area was very beautiful, and the site had a view of the entire city. There were a great amount of people sitting on the grass enjoying a picnic.

After, we walked through the touristy neighborhood called Haga where we had some refreshments to quench our thirsts from our long walk.

That night all the participants in the study abroad program including the professors who would be helping us had a dinner where we had a beautiful view of the river that runs through the city.

Before we went to bed, the students all walked to the nearby park and we played 4-square with a deflated ball we found for an hour.

Then we all went back to the hostel and went to bed. Classes started the next day. So at 8 AM the group got on the 6 tram and traveled to Chalmer’s University. The campus is just as beautiful as Rice but does not seem as big.

For the first week we go to class from 9 AM to 6 PM, with a Fika break at 10 AM. Let me tell you, fika are one of my favorite things about Sweden. Pretty much at 10 AM and 3 PM workers and students say “Let’s take a coffee break”, and engage in discussion for 20 minutes, and then get back to work after. I will say that the scheduled breaks increase my productivity before and after the fika.

On Thursday it was Sweden national day so we only had a half day of classes. The other students and I walked to the park and listened to a symphony concert while enjoying the beautiful weather.

We then walked to the Haga neighborhood and ate dinner at a cozy restaurant. On Friday we stayed in and Scott and I made 8 burgers and had 4 each. They were delicious. On Saturday, we all mostly worked on our homework during the day and then went to a huge street party being thrown in one of the neighborhoods. It was the first time I really saw a diverse people here in Gothenburg and I enjoyed it. Today, Sunday, we went to Liseberg, a huge amusement park, and after I went to the mall to get a rain jacket for the rest of my time here.