Hey readers!
This is the first blog post of what I hope will be an exciting series that reflects on my experiences at Lund University in the beautiful college town of Lund, Sweden. To get started, I want to explain why I decided to leave Boston for a semester abroad and what my expectations are for both my education and personal growth.
One reason why I love Northeastern University is that a great deal of opportunities are provided to students where you can really step outside your comfort zone and push yourself into unfamiliar territory. Unfortunately, this sometimes means leaving campus and resettling in a new location where you won’t see the friends and professors that have made college special this far. But instead of dwelling upon what I’m going to miss at Northeastern this semester, let me share why I am so excited to be studying in Sweden for the next 4 months.
As a civil engineering student, I am interested in efforts to produce sustainable buildings and infrastructure that are more energy efficient while simultaneously increasing the comfort and “liveability” of occupants. This is a difficult challenge, but European countries have been working to solve these problems since much earlier than it was on the mind of American architects and engineers. In fact the term passive house, which means a house that is designed without active heating or cooling elements (such as an energy guzzling air conditioner) comes from the German word passivhaus. While I am here I will be taking courses in Solar Heating Technology and Building Acoustics, which I hope will serve as an introduction to Scandinavian design and construction. Lund University has a prominent department of Building and Environmental Technology, which is so advanced in research and design principles because there is now a surging market in Sweden for energy efficient buildings and construction.
This brings me to my next point: the focus on sustainability in Sweden is a direct result of the culture and lifestyle that has developed here, and I hope to absorb as much of that as possible! One example is the high popularity of biking as a mode of transportation; pretty much everyone here has a bike they use to get across town. With significantly fewer cars on the road, the town center is much more enjoyable (and safer!) for walking and biking, which makes the old brick building and cobblestone streets even more enchanting! By experiencing the local culture in Lund, and with the help of course I have in The Anthropology of Contemporary Swedish Society, I hope that I can understand the subtle differences in everyday Swedish life that make this country so successful in equality, economy, and sustainability.
I believe that my biggest challenge while I am in Sweden will be to continue pushing myself to try something that I wouldn’t normally do. In order to have a meaningful study abroad experience, I think it is better to have tried and failed at a new endeavor rather than just sticking with what I know and am comfortable with. Now that I am facing down a whole semester of new friends, strange food, and weird Swedish traditions, I believe that having an open mind and a positive attitude will be my best tools for making my time here memorable.
