hej då Sverige!

Posted on by crm13

This past month is something I will never forget. Experiencing a different culture, language, and learning style resonated within me. Going into the trip, I did not expect to do the things I did, meet the people I met, nor build something so meaningful to a community…and I am so happy for it.

I have worked my hardest this past month than I ever have before. It has been in an intensive, non stop manner. The course load was intense, with 9-10 hour workdays everyday. The work was demanding. It consisted of on the spot design and problem solving, construction work (moving gravel, cutting logs, digging holes, screwing and drilling) , plus extra night classes and final presentation preparations for the last week. Even though I would go back to the hostel exhausted from a hard days work, I knew that what I was doing was important. I knew that this outdoor classroom would be bigger than myself or my team, but that it would be used by children of the local school, children of the local housing, and maybe even children from all over Goteborg who want to check out this infamous park. Even more than this, I thought the work I was doing was fun. Taking a design problem, analyzing it, and finding a solution is so enjoyable to me, and I did that multiple times a day!

Culturally, I think I got a full experience of the summer life of Sweden. It entails A LOT of time outdoors soaking up the sun, swimming in almost freezing water, and taking FIKA. Let me explain just how much the Swedish…and I love fika breaks. For our project, the time to arrive was 8 AM. Almost all of the Swedish students did not show up on time, in fact for the first week they would show up 30 minutes late. Although they were tardy to begin the day, the second it was time for our scheduled fika break, they would stop work immediately, and go get some coffee. I thought this was comical, but honestly, if I spent a year or two here I would end up doing the same exact thing. I completely fell in love with fika breaks. Taking 15 minutes to get some coffee and talk with friends? Sounds like a dream come true. Fika was my favorite part of Swedish culture and I plan to bring them back to Rice with me. I really want to incorporate these 15 minute breaks into a study session, or who knows, maybe even class.

Overall, I would rate my study abroad experience a 8.5/10. The only downside I think of the whole experience was the fact that we did not have as much free time to explore the city during the week, and were sometimes too tired from the week to go out Saturday so we only had Sunday to experience Goteborg. But other than that, the courses, the people, the food, the drinks, everything was amazing. (actually except they do not have ice in Sweden for some reason). I would definitely do this journey again, and I thought having it for a month was a perfect time period. I can not wait to come back to Goteborg in a couple of years to see the park that I helped build and play on it myself.

I think there is one quote that really defines my experiences visiting Goteborg and traveling to the amusement park, the archipelago, Copenhagen, the forest site, and Chalmer’s University.

 

“Traveling-It Leaves You Speechless, Then Turns You Into A Story Teller” – Ibn Battuta

 

Thank you so much for following my journey through Sweden, this is my last blog post.

Christian Out.

It’s the Final Countdown (pew pew pew pew)

Posted on by crm13

Heading into the final week of our Sweden trip, we all knew that it would be intense…and it was.

On Monday and Tuesday, we did the usual work of constructing our path from 8 to 5:30, but after, we had night classes where we learned the rest of our CAD course material. It was hard working for 8 hours, coming back to the hostel, showering and eating, and then doing class for 2 hours after, but we all survived.

On Thursday we had our final presentation for the Engi 200 class. Because I did not have time to work on the presentation on Monday or Tuesday,  I spent about 4 hours preparing and practicing it on Wednesday. I got about 4 hours of sleep that night…waking up the next morning was not fun. We had to wake up extra early in order to get to the site on time to set up the projector and then gave our presentations to the group. I did good and believe I accurately portrayed the design process of my path and fully explained its characteristics.

After work on Thursday, a group of our project team went to a nearby lake for swimming, food, and relaxation! The lake was a decent sized body of water with rock formations surrounding all sides. We layed our bags and Daniel, Scott, and I decided to go for a swim. The water was cold, not as cold as the archipelago water,  but still chilly. In the center of the lake was a floating platform which had a diving board and multiple platforms to jump off of. The highest platform was about 12 feet high and was sorta scary jumping from for the first time. After we finished swimming, the pizzas arrived. Once the pizzas had been devoured, we decided to play a traditional Swedish game where each team has 4 blocks that the other team has to knock over by throwing cylindrical wood pieces. Once all the blocks are knocked over, the game is over and the team who knocked them down wins!

Friday was the Rice students’ last day to work on our paths. Everybody was working as hard as they could trying to make as much progress as possible to make it easier for the Chalmers’ students to put the finishing touches during the final week. Drills were drilling, saws were sawing, and everybody was moving 3x speed. The plant path made considerable progress, and I believe that my team will be able to really make it beautiful for opening day. It is unfortunate that the Rice students could not stay for the last week, but I think we all felt comfortable leaving our paths in the capable hands of the Chalmers’ students.

On Saturday, it was time to go home. I woke up at 5:45 AM to leave for the airport to catch my 10:30 AM flight to Frankfurt, Germany. There, I had a 2 1/2 hour layover until my flight to Houston. My flight home was 11 1/2 hours long, but it felt like forever. Getting off the stuffed flight, I went through passport security, got my bag and drove home. I threw my clothes in the wash, and immediately went to bed…what a trip.

“One More Blog – One More Week – One Week More”

Posted on by crm13

On our third week of our study abroad adventure, we started the construction process of our park. During a typical work day we meet at the forest, Gardsas Mosse, at 8 AM.  Once we arrive, we change into our working clothes and shoes, and await the coordination team to start the morning meeting. The coordination team consists of the project manager, site manager, safety and efficiency officer, and communication representative, all in order of authority on the site. Each person who fulfills these roles changes day by day so no two days will have the same team. This way everyone student can experience and learn the leadership roles and obtain the confidence in organizing a group of people to complete multiple tasks.

Building the plant path has been a tumultuous time. There have been many times where my team felt like we hit a brick wall and felt defeated; however, we always found a way to fix the issue, or find a way around the problem at hand. My team has gotten much better at working together as the week progressed. The architects in the group worried about the dimensions of our tunnel, and the specific dimensions of each frame, while I focused more on the construction of the frame, since I have had more experience with wood working. By the end of the week we had a solid plan to finish our path in the next week. Our needed materials will be at the site for us on Monday, and we should be able to grind out the 10 frames, and attach them to our guide logs. I am extremely excited to see the completion of our path.

Below is our first completed tunnel for our path. The final version will also have ropes and sticks and twine tied around the edges to really create the “tunnel” vibe.

 

On Friday we were given the day off because of midsummer day. Friday was the summer solstice so all the Swedes go out to their summer cottages or stay in the city to chill and party. On midsummer, the Rice students went to the park and played some four square and basketball and just relaxed and enjoyed the day off.

 

On Saturday, we all woke up early in the morning, and took a Flixbus to Copenhagen, Denmark. This was a very fun outing. We walked the canals, eat at some nice restaurants, went to some local bars and explored the city. We stayed the night in Generator Copenhagen, a very nice hostel that really had a quirky vibe. There were many young people playing shuffleboard, pool, and darts; definitely an amazing vibe. I really felt like Copenhagen is much more of a young people city than Goteborg, which was a nice change. The next day I woke up, went on a short run, enjoyed some coffee at a local cafe, and then met up with everyone else to explore a nearby castle and botanical gardens. After, we made our way back to the bus station, and made the journey back to our hostel. Copenhagen was definitely a much more interesting city than Goteborg; there were more points of interest, more people to meet and talk to, and more beautiful buildings and plazas and stores. However, I am glad that we are doing the study abroad here in Goteborg. It is much better for a student life here. The groceries are inexpensive, and the streets are much quieter, allowing us to only complain about the sun when going to bed.

Below are some pictures I took while in Copenhagen.

Overall, this week was a very tiring, very hard pressed week. We worked about 8 hours of hard construction work a day and it was definitely nice to take the relaxing weekend trip to Copenhagen. I am excited to finish up the plant path, and the rest of the park, and make the trek back home on Saturday.

 

P.S. – Please tell me you got the Les Miserables reference for the title (one day more)

Sweden Week 2!

Posted on by crm13

My second week of Sweden began early. I woke up at 6:30 AM to make the 40 minute tram ride to our new home base in Hammerkullen, Goteborg. Chalmer’s University has a floor in one of the buildings in the area. I had no idea what to expect going up the elevator…

Rice University is teaming up with Chalmer’s University to build an outside classroom in a nearby forest. We started with an introduction and a background on the project. After this, we were told our groups for the project. The outside classroom is split into 5 parts. There is a plant, woodpecker, mushroom, and frog path, and also a central circle built by the wilderness team. I was placed into the plant group. I was originally disappointed not being placed on the woodpecker team, but after our first brainstorming session I grew to like the plant path. We then traveled to the site to look at the forest where we would be working. It was so peaceful and beautiful. The birds were chirping, the sunlight was filtering in through the trees, and the soil was soft underfoot.

The rest of the week we met at the Hammerkullen site at 8 AM, and usually left at 5 PM. This week was very long as we were up and at it for about 12 hours each day and then had to come back to the hostel and make dinner and then start on homework for our other Engi 355 class. We had a homework due Wednesday, and then our midterm project due Sunday. Within our busy schedule, Scott and I found some relaxation time by watching “Avatar the Last Airbender,” a beautifully crafted show about transcending boundaries to defeat a larger threat.

Image result for avatar the last airbender

The week was also packed with different lectures learning about new and different topics. For example,  we sat through lessons on post-humanism, child-friendly design, and a lecture on collaborating across boundaries. I did not expect to be learning about topics like these while taking an engineering course, but i found them to be quite interesting and thought they provided a more liberal arts take to engineering design.

One of my highlights of the week was sitting in the patio of a coffee shop doing homework. The weather was beautiful, and I just felt a strong tranquil feeling sitting outside, sipping coffee, and drawing 3D designs.

My favorite moment from this week was when the 7 students visited the archipelago by Goteborg. It was a 20 minute tram ride out to the coast, and then we took a ferry out to the different islands. While we were out I enjoyed a very delicious seafood pizza.

We then went to a second island where we explored around and found a swimming area. There was a raised platform to jump off of into the water. Although we were all hesitant, eventually we took turns jumping in to the freezing cold water. It was indeed very cold, but luckily we were able to dry off and find a place to get some hot coffee. All in all it was a fun day outing.

Sweden Week One!

Posted on by crm13

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.