Getting up this morning was surprisingly easy considering the jet lag, I’m guessing the excitement for the first day was a big help. Navigating the train for the first time was entertaining considering our instructions were to follow the big rainbow (pictured above)! Navigation for the train is not terrible, just have to make sure while in the city that you go north or south. My roommate and I then finished the walk to our building in Stockholm after exiting the metro station. We had to be at school for orientation and fika (coffee and tea) at 8:15. After fika, we went around to the back of the building for a decades cultural quiz of Sweden and music that was sung by the Sweden DIS director. We were then released to go to class, or free time depending on when class was. My roommate Lesa went to class, but I found some people in my class (which doesn’t start till 2:40) to go explore with.
We decided to go visit the Noble Peace Prize center. The Noble prize for stem is awarded in Stockholm while the award for literature is awarded in Oslo, Norway. I added some pictures of things I liked for had learned about in school. The first is an x-ray tube; which I don’t understand how it works, the award was given in 1901 to Wilhem Conrad. The second picture is in honor of the discovery of the ribosome structure which is very important in understanding the way in which proteins are made. This was awarded to Ada Yonath in 2009. The next case recognized the person responsible for finding the difference in genetics that cause different corn to be different colors. He is recognized as one of the leading factors in the genetic field. I’m the bottom of the case is the tamalacoque nut, it is the last one of its kind and was originally picked by the dodo bird which is now extinct. The next picture is to recognize the discovery of the DNA double helix with opposing nucleotide bonds. This was found by Watson and Crick, they were awarded in 1962. The next picture is of the original Petri dish with the mould that was used by Alexander Fleming in the discovery of penicillin during World War 2. He was awarded the prize in 1945. The final picture is of shoe strings, where the scientist Elizabeth Blackburn compared telomeres having the same function as the plastic endpiece that is used to stop fraying of the strand. All in all I loved the museum and saw lots of discovery’s that I have learned about!
After visiting the Noble museum, we ventured further into Gamla Stan (Old Town). There we saw the Parliament building. It was super cool! They were lining up and then welcoming the EU agricultural ministers for a discussion they had (Thanks Dad for figuring out who it was)! We then left the building and walked next door to the royal palace where we watched the changing of the guards. I have videos which I can share later. They had a person explaining the process and then they played ancient ceremonial drum and buggal cadences. We then left the palace and stopped for lunch. I had a ham and cheese sandwich, as well as an iced tea ( best tea I’ve ever had)! We then got back on the train and made our way to class. At school, we hung around at the main lounge until entering the classroom. We started class with introductions and then moved into what precision medicine is, examples, and it’s challenges. We get got directions for the next morning before leaving. I took the train with someone from my class who lived in the same area as me. We arrived by in Sollentuna (where I’m living). I walked to my apartment and grabbed our reusable bags before heading to the grocery store with Lesa. We went grocery shopping which took a while because of the language barrier. We went home and then I proceeded to make mini pizzas on the stove since we don’t have an oven. We both then cleaned up and did homework before going to bed to be ready for the next day.
Fun Facts I learned today:
1. Swedens do not like trump and aren’t afraid to tell you
2. Each parent get 480 days of work for each child they have (for maternal/paternal leave)
3. Each parent is guaranteed 90 off after the 480 is up
4. All days above are paid
5. Companies are required to give five weeks of paid vacation per year
6. Swedes eat really large meal
7. Swedes eat 17-25kg of loose candy per person per year, this is the most in the world
8. Swedes go to there country home for midsommar
9. Midsommar celebrations include dancing, drinking, placing 7 flowers under the pillow, and skinny dipping.
10. “Hej” pronounce hey, means hi