In early March 2014 I had become sick to the teeth of
contemplating the daunting question “what to do with the rest of my life?”
Coming to the end of a four year degree course, it seemed as if every one of my
friends had secured funding for postgraduate studies, been given multiple job
offers or even taking the bold move of going travelling indefinitely. I felt
like a man without a plan – An engineer with no idea. Finally, after seemingly
endless hours perfecting application after application, I received an email on the
6th of the month from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm…
Acceptance!
Elated with the news I quickly phoned my family and closest
friends to exclaim. It felt like a great pressure had been lifted. No
longer would I have to respond to the queries regarding my existence with “I
don’t know” or “things are in the pipeline”, I had an answer – I was going to
study the cool things that I love and move to Sweden!...
So wrapped up in the excitement of the relieving pressure, I don’t
think I realised the life changing notion that I would be moving to a
completely alien country for such an extended amount of time.
As the term rolled by and dissertation deadlines loomed,
thoughts of Sweden, KTH and THRUST (my course) were pushed to the back of my
mind in place of the more pressing academic issues. Upon completion of my last
exam and handing in of the final coursework, thoughts turned to Summer Ball,
Graduation and the friends that I would be leaving.
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| Summer Ball at "Poison house" |
Only after the 6 hour drive back from uni – the unpacking of
my things to integrate back into the family home – and the catching up on all
of the television I had missed throughout the summers festivities – did my
thoughts finally turn towards the practical aspects of moving my life across
borders… I had better buy some flights!
Language
One of the first thoughts when contemplating external
relocation must be towards local language differences and the barriers that
could come along with it. To be honest it wasn't my primary concern as I had
completed my applications in English, the course is to be taught in English and
some rudimentary Google rummaging suggested that 86% of Sweden’s population
were able to hold a conversation in English! (Excluding native speaking
countries, this is the joint second largest demographic after the Netherlands –
You would also expect this to be boosted in a large multicultural city like
Stockholm).
Never the less – If I am going to meet Miss Sweden and make
her my wife – I imagine the basics of “Hej” and “Vad heter du?” might be a necessity.
I might also share with her some of my favourite Swedish words I have
encountered thus far in my training… “Fritidsintressen” – Hobbies; “Slutspurt” – Final Sale; “Gift” – Married/Poisonous!?
In return I might think she would mock the English language for words such as “Moist”,
“Badger” or “Bamboozled”, but that’s beside the point.
Winter is coming
I am only far too aware of how much higher Sweden is on the
globe to even the normally “northern” Leeds. Preparations have begun towards an
exceptionally cold few months, but apparently Swedes love talking about the weather
just as much as Brits! So perhaps a changeable weekend is less a curse for
planned activities than it is fuel for riveting conversation at the barbaque?!
The discovery of Fjallraven and every item of equipment and
clothing they provide seems somewhat of a god send. I can’t wait to visit a store.
Items of note are their Kanken backpacks and their Parka selection.
On the flip-side – The attractions of skiing and the
potential to see the northern lights excite me more than the thoughts of the
long dark nights depress me, but perhaps I’ll comment on this again come late December!
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| KTH Campus Emblem - Courtesy of Pradeep Kumar Srinivasan |
Social Networking
If I didn't admit to patrolling the internet to find any and
every person who might be of interest to my new life out there, I wouldn't be
telling the whole story.
Siging up to international student pages and following
the universities sports team's profiles is giving me a taste of all of the
activities and events that will be on offer to me once I get there. Traditional
Swedish parties, activity evenings and visits to local businesses and
attractions have already commenced for the students on the pre-sessional English
course and I am feeling decidedly left out!
I have already found several course mates through the
Erasmus Mundus Association, who seem very likeable chaps and I am excited to
meet them. Reports of my accommodation and who I might be living with have sent
my mind racing but I know truthfully that I won’t really know until I get
there. Yet – it does add to the excitement.
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| Square within Kungliga Tekniska Högsko - Courtesy of Pradeep Kumar Srinivasan |
Finally
I can tell that over the coming two years I am going to have
much to learn, much to experience and much to live! I am not yet concerned with
what will happen towards the end but I get the feeling that if I trust in my
abilities and enjoy the ride, it might just work out OK wherever in the world I
end up.
I’ll leave you with this fun video about the “10 good things
to know about Sweden” that I will be making good use of in the not too distant
future…
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