Week eighteen - Vecka arton (Personal Development) 12-05-12 - 16-05-12

The final week of my Erasmus experience has arrived and considering this will be my last blog post about my time in Sweden it will be difficult to say everything that needs said. 

Entering Norway!

As well as myself many other Erasmus students are leaving this week to go back home for the summer, which actually led to a very random road trip to Oslo, Norway for Jakub, Hilal, Pierce, Melanie and I. We set of in a very multi-cultural car which included Slovakian, Turkish, American, French and British nationalities, a true indicator of how Erasmus is an experience that you cannot have anywhere else. Whilst in Oslo we were able to see some of the sights and attractions such as the place where the tribunal of Anders Behring Breivik, the opera house, the famous Olympic ski jump, one of the fjords, the royal palace as well as many other things that interested us. 

A group photo of us overlooking the harbour in Olso.

Travelling to Norway was a great way to end the chapter of the Erasmus experience as I got to spend extra time with a few of the friends I had made and see another beautiful city in Scandinavia. 

As I reflect on the past four months I have spent in Trollhättan, Sweden I have begun to realise that it will feel really strange not to be with the same people every day and possibly will not see some of them again although in the wise words of an American, ‘it is not goodbye, it is see you later’. I feel extremely lucky to have spent a semester studying in Sweden and have met so many wonderful people from different countries all over the world that could not have happened if I stayed at Stranmillis for the semester therefore I feel that I have definitely broadened my horizons and changed as a person overall even though before I went on Erasmus I was quite independent.

I knew how to do laundry, cooking, cleaning, shopping, manage money etc therefore living in Sweden without my parents to help me wasn’t a big issue. Naturally, I think that it took some time for me to adapt to the Swedish way of life and grow accustomed to the prices of things and the transport systems in and around Sweden as I was used to a very different way of life in Northern Ireland. The Erasmus experience has probably improved my confidence as I have given so many different presentations in each module I undertook whilst at University West. Since I don’t really like speaking in front of groups of people I have come a long way and actually enjoyed some of the presentations that I was giving. This may be due to the laid back, relaxed attitude that the Swedes have which has taught me not to worry about such things. 

Thinking about the people I have met , become good friends with  and the experience I have just had I would certainly recommend Erasmus to anyone who is thinking of doing it as it definitely creates friendships you cannot make any other way. And not only that – it is an opportunity that you will never get again so you might as well take it while you can! 

Week Seventeen - Vecka sjutton (Cultural Development) 5-05-12 - 11-05-12

During my time at Fridaskolan I spoke a lot about the coast of Northern Ireland with Anna (the grade five teacher). I asked if there was anywhere along the coast close to Trollhättan that I could visit before I go home. Anna then decided that she would take me on a road trip to the West coast of Sweden along with Megan and Megan’s teacher, Barbro. I was really excited about this as she had been telling me all about the coast and how beautiful it was as it had a lot of old fishermen’s’ cottages and small boat houses along the water front. On the day that we planned to visit the West coast we were lucky enough to have the warmest weather that I have experienced in Sweden so far which added to the fact that it was a great day!  

Throughout the day we travelled to many seaside towns and villages looking at the beautiful landscapes and views and generally soaking up the rays and relaxing. We visited towns known as Smögen, Bovallstrand, Hunnebostrand and Hamburgsund which are all relatively close to each other. The views that I able to see were great and often some places reminded me of home, such as the quietness of each town as it was not peak season for the busy summer holiday makers – a little bit like Portrush. The old houses and streets that we walked through were really nice and well kept and it was interesting to see that each one was different from the one before not like the way we build houses that are all the same. 

To end the day we sat down to have pizza at a restaurant beside the water where we relaxed and ate our pizza whilst looking over the sea. It felt like I was on holiday as I was beside the sea and touring around with good weather and good company. To top it all off we decided to travel up a mountain walk which offered amazing views of a harbour and fishing boats bringing in the catch of the day. It was definitely an experience I won’t forget.

This week also involved a visit to Liseberg, an amusement park in Gothenburg that is quite popular among the Swedish and well-known in Scandinavia. The International Office at University West organised the trip especially for Erasmus students therefore transport and admission to the theme park was free which was a good thing as the prices to go on the rides were expensive. Upon arrival most of us quickly had a look around and soon decided what we would and would not go on. Once we had decided we queued up to buy our tickets/tokens for one of the most popular wooden roller coasters known as Balder, it had a huge climb that felt so slow at the beginning and a sudden drop afterwards. But once this part was over it went so fast but I think it was possibly the best ride that I went on even if I had a sore head afterwards.

It was good to hear a friendly voice and an accent from home this week as Gail Eason came to visit us and talk about our experience in Sweden. It was a real shame that she missed the good weather as it has recently started to rain a lot in Trollhättan making me think that it is preparation for the next few months of being at home. Gail was able to see us giving our presentations on our experience at Fridaskolan which is part of our assessment for our ‘Education and School Practice’ module at University West. Throughout the presentation I spoke of the English lessons that I taught to the grade five class and some of the similarities and differences between the school system and teaching. 

It is weird to think that this week I have handed in almost all of my work for my last module and I will soon be going home.