So it has been 8 days since my arrival in Sweden. My flight in was fairly unremarkable so we’ll just fast forward to Saturday, once I arrived. That first afternoon I spent getting settled into our (fairly small) hostel room. I figured out if I set out the clothes rack over my suitcase I could basically double my storage space so it all worked out. Then that evening we went out for dinner right by the hostel. The food was pretty good so that was a definite plus. We spent this evening getting to know one another, I was already friends with Megha and Daniel because we were on the same ENGI 120 team and share a home college, respectively. I knew Kung from our LPAP and this was my first time meeting Christian, Yufei and Scott. I know Christian and Scott knew one another but I think that’s everyone that knew one another beforehand.

Then we had a free day Sunday right up until the evening. I spent that day and afternoon getting oriented and getting food for my room and to make my packed lunches. Then in the evening, the University paid for us to have a really nice dinner at this rooftop restaurant. The food then put the food from the night before to shame. It was simply incredible.

Then Monday we started ENGI 355. I was not especially nervous because the class assumed we had no CAD/Fusion 360 experience and I had some from ENGI 210.  We spent much of the day learning the basics on TinkerCad. Then I learned about my new favorite thing, fikas. Basically, in the middle of the day, it’s Swedish custom to take a quick break to increase productivity. I think if it’s done correctly it can be super helpful but I don’t think we really got the hang of it until Friday.

The next few days all followed the same recipe. Wake up around 8, make myself lunch, stop by the store on the way to the tram to grab a yogurt drink and possibly a pastry for dessert after lunch. Hop on the 8:39 6 tram and head on over to Chalmers. Then be at Chalmers until around 6, at which point we would either tram or scooter back to the hostel.

But Thursday was a national holiday so we had a 3 hour day. We spent the afternoon wandering the city. First, we went to the park and watched a concert and went up to the zoo which was nice, they had lots of hooved animals but not much else. Then we all hopped on scooters and zoomed down to Haga, a neighborhood that has lots of cafes. After we had a snack at Haga cafe we went to the mall. All 7 of us split up to find scooters and then by some miracle we all made it to the mall. All of us found a different entrance but it worked out. We had dinner at some sushi place by it and then headed back to the hostel.

Friday was a standard weekday, although we played soccer in the evening. Then I spent most of Saturday working on my homework assignments and just generally resting.

Sunday we went to the largest amusement park in Scandinavia, Liseberg. It’s really cheap (485 SEK) and it was a lot of fun. Scott and I decided to scooter back from there once we left, and after a 20-minute scooter ride the cost was like 40 SEK (so cheap!). I spent the evening working some more and resting.

Despite my mother’s instruction I have failed to take pictures. But I will start to take some now — both for her and for you, my dear readers.

Catch ya next week,

Ben

 

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 1^st, 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

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.

On the morning of June 1s^st, I stepped on the land of Sweden and also Europe for the first time ever. As the city of Volvo, Gothenburg’s first impression to me was the Volvo truck exhibited at the airport. I drive the same truck in the game Euro Truck Simulator 2 so I was really excited to see the truck in real world. I arrived at the hostel that afternoon. The room is even smaller than I thought that it is literally a “bedroom” – two beds take over more than half of the space. After settling down, I explored the area around the hostel and found some nice grocery stores. On that night I watched the exciting UCL final with my roommate Ben and also Daniel and Kung. I have been a fan of Tottenham Hotspur for years and it was the first time for us to play in the UCL final. Although we lost the game against Liverpool, I still enjoyed such an amazing season.

On Sunday we had a welcome dinner in a restaurant near the river which flows through the city. We sit at the balcony of the building and got a view of both sides of the river. We had a lively conversation with Dr. Wettergreen, Amy, and also teachers from Chalmers and received a general introduction to the Dare2Build Program. On the way back we went to a park near the hotel and played foursquare for an hour, and the day ended with each of us going down a slide that is about 5 meters high in the park.

We began the ENGI 355 class on Monday. We took the tram to Chalmers. I only took tram twice before in Shanghai so it was still a new experience for me. Unlike the crowded metro where people were packed in like sardines in Shanghai during rush hours, the tram here was much sparser that almost everyone got a seat. The first day class built the foundation of CAD modeling for me that I learned solid modeling- using basic shapes like boxes and cylinders to build some more complicated geometries.

On Tuesday, we learned a more advanced CAD function- 2D sketch, which was the most common way to build complex shapes. We practiced a lot and drew many shapes from 9 to 18, and also had homework to do after class. The day was busy and productive, and at this time I understood why Rice sets a 18 credit hours limit- there would be very limited free time if you take 24 hours (like we taking 6 hours in one month). For dinner, I tried a ramen place called Ramen-Ya near the hostel. It was very authentic and the only pity was that they didn’t offer Karaage.

In Wednesday, we learned another representation of shapes called orthogonal projection that the shape is represented mainly by three views- top, front and right. Although this projection makes sketching shapes much easier on paper, I’m not a fan of it as when dealing with complicated geometries, the orthogonal views can be confused sometimes. I also got a look at the architecture building where we took class at a balcony on the fourth floor. The building has a common space on the first floor, and the higher floors surround the common space so that people can look down at the space from above. There is a pyramid made of glass on the top to provide light to the entire building. This would be a perfect design of residential college in my mind- a commons in the middle surrounded by rooms of several floors and a roof which lets sunlight in, as long as there is no room facing inside.

Thursday was the national day of Sweden and we only had a half day class. In the afternoon we went to Haga, a district with shops and restaurants not far from the hostel. All seven of us rode scooters to there and it was an amazing experience. The district looked like a typical European city block with roads paved with bricks and three-floor buildings of all kinds of colors. I tried a cute lemon mousse in a café and it tasted awesome. This afternoon was really a relaxation from the busy school days.

Finally, it came to the end of week. In Friday’s class, we learned more advanced functions in Fusion 360 such as revolve, sweep, loft, and rib. These functions provided us with abilities to create more complicated with simpler steps. We also learned the assembly of different components which enabled some movements of specific components. After class, we played soccer together to celebrate the end of the first week.

 

Our trip to Gothenburg, Sweden started over the weekend we arrived in Europe. We had Sunday free to explore the city – I walked around during the day with some of my group, exploring neighborhoods and parks in the pretty city.  I got a monster cinnamon bun in the neighborhood of Haga, climbed some old ramparts to reach a scenic viewpoint of the city, and ended the day with a picnic on the roof of our new Swedish friend’s student apartment.  We’re lucky that we had a chance to partner with the Swedes on our project, because it certainly helped to know some locals while visiting!

 

 

 

 

On Monday, we traveled to Hammarkullen and started the Dare2Build workshop with Swedish architecture students. The workshop centered around beautifying an existing repair shop built for the residents of Hammarkullen and installing a new recycling center, both of which are made out of large shipping containers. The first day brought lots of planning and design and even a little bit of demolition. We checked out the job sight, had a tool container delivered, and broke into teams to develop a vision for the project.

 

 

 

 

 

On Tuesday, we started work on the site. While the team leads finalized the plan for the project, I helped to organize the tool container and prepare the landscaping area. In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to peek inside of Fixoteket, the workshop in the connected red containers half of the project is centered around.  It serves as a valuable purpose in the community, to help them repair and repurpose belongings to help the underreasourced community save money and collect tax benefits. Inside the containers, we found lots of hand tools and materials necessary to rebuild everything from broken bicycles to pieces of furniture.

Wednesday was Sweden’s national holiday (think July 4th), so we had the day off! We spent it with our Swedish friends, going to Gothenburg’s nearest natural splendors – the archipelago.  After taking the ferry past many of the islands, we arrived at the beach house of one of our new friends. We spent the day braving the cold Scandinavian water and relaxing – the latter was very easy to do on the island.

Thursday starting in Hammarkullen again, where Nick, Juan, and I worked on getting the Fixoteket ready for a fresh coat of paint.  After wrapping up work on the job site, we headed over to the Living Lab for the awards ceremony that night. It was really interesting to finally get to see the Living Lab after hearing so much about it throughout the year, and we were thrilled to deliver our prototype to its new home.

Finally, on Friday we were back at the work site in Hammarkullen. After finishing up the prep work from Thursday of scraping away the chipped paint, we got started on applying a coat of primer to the shipping container. Below you can see our progress behind the wonderful invention that is kebab pizza. It felt good to leave the project in Hammarkullen looking much better than we found it, and I look forward to hearing from our friends in Sweden about how it turns out at the end of the summer.

~ we interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to present a series of photos of the buildings around Gothenburg and out-of-context quotes that have been overheard during this visit ~

   

Jackson introduced us to Marina, who introduced us to Eva, who invited Erik (and Caroline and I), who invited Tobias & Hannah to come climb with them. It’s amazing (1) how fast networks of climbing friends come together, and (2) how fast you can get to climbing areas from the city–just a 20 minute bus ride and a 10 minute hike.

This is the view of the nearby town from the top of one of the giant ridges that we hiked up, rappelled down, crack-climbed back up, and rappelled down again!

 

We missed our tram… and two more came within 6 minutes! Public transportation here is incredibly thorough and helpful.

From a sustainability perspective, the public transportation and vegetarian options are excellent. For some reason, however, the recycling collection is scarce and compost collection is virtually nonexistent.

This is the entrance to Hammarkullen (which other posts have described in some detail). Hammarkullen has an interesting history–it was developed with a ton of high-quality, high-density housing in response to a population boom. The rapid growth of central Gothenburg was expected to reach Hammarkullen but it never did, leaving miles of near empty land between them. When refugee populations and other immigrants from Chile, Somalia, etc. arrived in need of housing, they moved in to the nice, inexpensive, but rather isolated housing there. Fixoteket is, in part, a way to reinvigorate the community and help make it a more vibrant place to live.

Anna & Caroline took a break to enjoy some of the playground for the kids of Hammarkullen.