It’s raining today. Again. This probably the most frustrating June I’ve ever experienced in Seattle: despite it being almost the Fourth of July, the weather is still gray, the skies open just for the rain, and the temperature remains close to fifty. It’s not June—it’s like, June-uary.
Actually, if I have to be honest, I’ve never really minded the rather monotone set of seasons that characterize the weather here. The cold mist that hovers over the Puget Sound for most of the year drives a lot of the culture that Seattle is famous for. You’d love a warm coffeeshop too if the backs of your jeans were wet up to your knees all the time; and you’d probably read more books if outside maintained that perfect white reading light for most of the year; and I bet you’d also find flannel a lot more appealing if your weather wasn’t always so…decisive.
Of course I miss the snow and the colors of New England in the fall, but it just makes sense.
Oddly enough, from the research I’ve been doing about Sweden, it appears that Gothenburg might be very similar to the Pacific Northwest. Like Seattle, Gothenburg is a major port city on the western side of the country, close to the Gulf Stream, and thus has more temperate weather than other cities in Sweden. It’s a wired city, quite literally: in addition to having free WiFi in nearly everywhere, there’s apparently a pretty big coffee culture in Gothenburg. And paired with Sweden’s famous pro-environmentalist attitude and Europe’s practically unanimous love for bicycles, it’s easy to see how the whole place could seem eerily familiar to any Seattleite.
Hmmm. So much for culture shock.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
The First Post: The 411
My name is Nina. I am twenty-two years old. For all those who have stumbled on this site by way of family gossip, I welcome you. You’re half the reason it exists. The other half is for my marvelous friends, of whom I hope to keep in great contact with while adventuring. This is my travel blog, and my first entry in what will probably become a lengthy and periodically-hilarious record of my life while abroad. All forms of e-stalking are not only expected, but highly encouraged.
This past May, I was accepted to the University of Gothenburg’s International Museum Studies Program, a graduate program that’ll put me living in Gothenburg, Sweden for little more than two years. This program, while not the most conventional thing to study after finishing a bachelors of science in biology, is a course that prepares its students for a serious career in the museum industry. In many ways, it is a degree in sociology, business, and education that supports the human right to free and readily accessible information and one’s choice to learn. Sweden is well-known for its philosophy on education, transportation, and healthcare—and though there are plenty of programs in the United States in this field, I feel the Swedes’ particular expertise in way of public resources would add to my museology education in ways no other school could.
My classmates are a mix of fifty people from all around the world. As an international program, exactly half the students are Swedish and the other half is composed of people from Canada, Poland, Germany, Italy, Australia, China, Colombia, Mexico, the U.S., and others. More than 80% will be art enthusiasts, history buffs, anthropologists, and sociologists—less than 20% will be from a science background that includes either the natural sciences and biotechnology. With all this diversity, naturally classes are all taught in English, mostly at the World Culture Museum in Gothenburg. However, I have heard that much emphasis in this program is put on field study, either at different local museums around the city, or as far as the hills of Scotland, and the second year of the degree involves long-term international internships.
As someone passionate about science education, I am going to Gothenburg to see what I can learn about science museums and their role in combating scientific illiteracy. It is my opinion that, even though science and technology is the crutch of most modern-day societies, most Americans are woefully undereducated in the fields of math and science. The answers behind how an iPhone really works, or what a GMO really is, or why it’s hard to find a cure for malaria, or why ocean acidification is truly terrifying, are things that I feel too many people either disregard as too difficult to understand or merely uninteresting. Of course, this may not be true, but I envision a world where science education is neither unapproachable nor inaccessible for anyone who cares to ask these questions—and hopefully attending University of Gothenburg’s IMS program will help me work towards that.
As of now, I have done as much for the program as to apply for my Swedish residence visa. Classes begin September 1st, and I have an immense amount of things to do and get done before I leave. My room is just covered in lists—so many lists that I should probably starting making lists for them!—but I will try and update as much as possible. Actually, even getting this first post out is something I can cross off one of those pieces of paper…
Next priority: buying a ticket.
This past May, I was accepted to the University of Gothenburg’s International Museum Studies Program, a graduate program that’ll put me living in Gothenburg, Sweden for little more than two years. This program, while not the most conventional thing to study after finishing a bachelors of science in biology, is a course that prepares its students for a serious career in the museum industry. In many ways, it is a degree in sociology, business, and education that supports the human right to free and readily accessible information and one’s choice to learn. Sweden is well-known for its philosophy on education, transportation, and healthcare—and though there are plenty of programs in the United States in this field, I feel the Swedes’ particular expertise in way of public resources would add to my museology education in ways no other school could.
My classmates are a mix of fifty people from all around the world. As an international program, exactly half the students are Swedish and the other half is composed of people from Canada, Poland, Germany, Italy, Australia, China, Colombia, Mexico, the U.S., and others. More than 80% will be art enthusiasts, history buffs, anthropologists, and sociologists—less than 20% will be from a science background that includes either the natural sciences and biotechnology. With all this diversity, naturally classes are all taught in English, mostly at the World Culture Museum in Gothenburg. However, I have heard that much emphasis in this program is put on field study, either at different local museums around the city, or as far as the hills of Scotland, and the second year of the degree involves long-term international internships.
As someone passionate about science education, I am going to Gothenburg to see what I can learn about science museums and their role in combating scientific illiteracy. It is my opinion that, even though science and technology is the crutch of most modern-day societies, most Americans are woefully undereducated in the fields of math and science. The answers behind how an iPhone really works, or what a GMO really is, or why it’s hard to find a cure for malaria, or why ocean acidification is truly terrifying, are things that I feel too many people either disregard as too difficult to understand or merely uninteresting. Of course, this may not be true, but I envision a world where science education is neither unapproachable nor inaccessible for anyone who cares to ask these questions—and hopefully attending University of Gothenburg’s IMS program will help me work towards that.
As of now, I have done as much for the program as to apply for my Swedish residence visa. Classes begin September 1st, and I have an immense amount of things to do and get done before I leave. My room is just covered in lists—so many lists that I should probably starting making lists for them!—but I will try and update as much as possible. Actually, even getting this first post out is something I can cross off one of those pieces of paper…
Next priority: buying a ticket.
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