Three flights and one bus later...

View of the sunset from my window

...I made it to Uppsala!  This is the fourth largest city in Sweden (with a population of 145,000 – oh, how China must be laughing) and home to the Swedish Agricultural University (SLU), which is where I will be studying agricultural sciences for eight months.  

 I am finishing up my undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, where I am studying in the Global Resource Systems program within the Faculty of Land and Food Systems.  I am focusing my studies on human nutrition and sustainable agriculture. 

I decided to create this blog for myself, family, friends, and of course, for anyone else who might be curious about what it’s like living in a Nordic country! 

I arrived in the afternoon at the Uppsala Central Station on Saturday, August 21^st, jetlagged and hungry.  I had gone through three flights and no meals and tight connections where I almost missed one of my flights!  

My bedroom.  Everything is furnished by Ikea!

My buddy from SLU, Ida, was kind enough to pick me up at the station, load my bags into her car, stop by the local supermarket for some groceries (aka peanut butter, bananas, and bread), and bring me to my room on campus.  I am living in the residence called Galbo, and the residence units here are known as corridors, which are similar to the units in Fairivew.  There are eight of us living in a corridor, and we share a kitchen and living room.  Laundry is in a separate building outside, which is luckily just a few steps away from my corridor.  Unlike Fairivew, we each get our own bathroom within our bedrooms, and the rooms are larger than those in Fairview or any residence at UBC!

I was SO hungry when I arrived, but then I realized that this wasn’t like the conferences I’ve been pampered with these past two summers, where everything is paid for and you are well-fed the minute you step off the plane.  Nope, I’m still a student living on my own, and I had NO FOOD IN THE PANTRY, unless you count the peanut butter and bread that I bought.  And some crusts from my leftover pb  and j sandwiches, and a squished granola bar. 

Galbovagen

 I love the view from my room, which overlooks a bit of farmland and a gorgeous community garden, and I often see hard-working families and couples harvesting the veggies.  

Little lamb

A pond?

Feeling slightly carbed-out on Sunday, I went for a short run around campus.  The campus is very cute, and many of the buildings (including Galbo) are built resembling barns, and painted red.  It’s a relatively small campus (coming from UBC) but I like it!  It’s in the countryside, and I even found some sheep in a pasture close to Galbo.  This is my kind of campus!

That's it for now; orientation starts today so I'm looking forward to the next few days.  Will update soon.  Hej da!


PS, I'm in Sweden (not Switzerland) ;)