Time: 6:46PM, January 3rd, 2024
Location: New Jersey
Weather: 37ºF and cloudy
New year’s was spent among family and friends, with lots of food, glitter, and grapes. As the tradition goes, eating 12 grapes under a table at midnight brings prosperity and good fortune to you for each month of the new year. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
The new year also means we are a little over a week away from departing for Stockholm, where I will be studying abroad for the next four (five?) months. I received my housing assignment (a Residential Community in the borough of Bromma) and my roommate, who I am looking forward to meeting. It looks like I’m a short twenty-five minute commute or so to classes, which is good, because though I’ve used public transportation my entire life, I have a track record for taking the train in the wrong direction.
As an environmental science student, I am particularly excited to be living in a city that is designed with people and sustainability in mind; though I don’t have much background in urban development, I’m taking Smart and Sustainable Cities this semester, and am looking forward to learning more about sustainable urban planning. More importantly, I’m excited to take in all the nature and landscapes of Sweden. While it will be cold and snowy when we arrive, I look forward to going hiking and exploring the outdoors.
On a final note, my semester in Sweden is somewhat of a full-circle moment. My mother actually studied in northern Sweden about thirty years ago (photos above), so I am excited to return to the place that she spent many years living and studying in. While Sweden has inevitably changed since then, I look forward to making new memories in this country I will soon call home.
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