Vecka Ett (Week One)

Hej!

I absolutely cannot believe that I have nearly been in Uppsala for a whole week! It feels like much, much longer than that. I've accomplished a lot in that week; classes, meeting people, and figuring out a lot of different interesting things.

Uppsala University operates on a block schedule, so I'm only taking one or two courses at a time. Right now that course is Neurology. I'm taking it in a class with about twenty-four other students; it's split just about half Swedish students and half exchange students. It's an incredibly demanding course; this week I will have spent eighteen hours in the classroom. Each morning is a two to three hour lecture with the main professor, Dan Larhammer. In the afternoons we have a variety of different things, including lectures from other professors and PhD students, labs, and literature seminars. So far we've covered the history of neurobiology, neuroanatomy, classification of the specialized cells in the nervous system, mechanisms of the chemical synapses, and the function and mechanisms associated with the classical neurotransmitter molecules. (This is chapters 1-6 of the textbook.) We've also had our first lab, which was a demonstration of four dissected human brains to complete the neuroanatomy section of the course.

This could be part of why I feel like I've been here for a month; this is the most information on one subject I've ever tried to cram into my head in this time frame! Unsurprisingly, there is a large part of me that really loves it. It's incredible to see all of the biology courses I've ever taken coming together the way they are; we're discussing the anatomy, physiology, organic chemistry, genetics, molecular and cell biology of the nervous system, and there are even references to immunology thrown in. Later we'll get more into the biology behind modern psychology to tie in yet another field. If I ever needed any confirmation that I'm an interdisciplinary person, I have it now.

When I haven't been pouring over my neuro text, I've been wandering around the town of Uppsala, figuring out how to go grocery shopping in Swedish, and (surprise surprise!) socializing. There have been a lot of orientation activities this week, all hosted by the thirteen different Nations of Uppsala University.

And here, of course, I should explain a little about the Nations. When the school was founded in 1477 (old has a completely different meaning here!) the Nations were founded as clubs for some of the more homesick students. The Nations are based on the geographic provinces of Sweden. Until the 1960s students were required to join the Nation that represented the province they grew up in, and until 2006 it was required that every student in Uppsala University join a nation. While neither of these requirements still exist, it is very popular to join a Nation. Nations are intended to be your second living room while a student here; they all have libraries upstairs, pubs downstairs, and lots of activities for their members. Most of the student clubs are run through the various Nations instead of through a main student union.

The orientation activities are designed to give you a chance to meet other international students as well as a chance to scope out the different Nations. Norrlands Nation is the biggest, with over 5000 members, and Gotelands Nation is the smallest, with just about 500 members. Some Nations have dance clubs every week, and some have movie nights and board games. I'm in the process of choosing a Nation right now, but I'm leaning towards one of the smaller, more mellow Nations. I'll let you know next time which one I've joined!

I've also had a chance to meet my corridor mates. For the most part, they are very polite and kind, but more distant and private than I'm used to. Mia is by far the most outgoing; she's offered to take me to the grocery store next time she goes and show me how to shop properly! Last time we were in the kitchen she saw my jar of jelly, which I've been delighted with, and just about died laughing at me. I was puzzled until she stopped long enough to explain to me that what I was using wasn't jelly you put on toast, but a relish they use for cooking roasts. Most Swedes think it's much too bitter to be used on bread! I still think it's delicious, but next time I think I'll try marmelad, which is what I'm supposed to be putting on toast. She also offered to teach me the colors and some other food words in Swedish, which will be a big help.
My current project (besides memorizing the first third of my neuro book) is finding a bike. Everyone in Uppsala bikes, regardless of the fact that most of the sidewalks and streets are sheet ice at the moment. I have yet to see anyone crash, or even slide. It would also be a big time saver; it's just about five kilometers (3 miles) from my apartment in Kantorsgatan to the Biomedical Center, where I have my course. It's a beautiful walk; I took pictures this morning on the way to class. Note the position of the sun; this was about a half hour after sunrise this morning, and it was 9:15 or so!

This is one of the many bridges that spans the river running through Uppsala, and the path running along it I walk everyday. It's an incredibly beautiful walk along the river and then through town. In the background you can just see the spires of the cathedral above the trees. Between the river, the cathedral, and the castle sitting up on the hill, it's actually very difficult to get yourself lost in the downtown area (although finding anything is quite another story!)

This another shot looking downriver just as I walk into downtown. The cathedral is easy to see in this picture. It's easily the most dominating building in town, and it is absolutely beautiful. I love walking past it each day. It's the biggest cathedral in Scandinavia, and it is as tall as it is long. There is actually a law in Uppsala that no building be built taller than it. To the right of the cathedral (in this picture) is the hill above town, at the top of which sits the castle of Uppsala and the main university building.

This is the main university building. As you can see, they're doing some reconstruction of the outer facade, but then again, the building was constructed in 1876. (The same year CU was founded!) The street I'm looking up is St. Olafsgatan, off of which you can find the international office and six of the thirteen Nations, as well as the student bookstore.

This is the backside of the castle that sits on top of the hill. The Governor of Uppsala lives in the castle, which also holds a museum. It's a bit hard to tell in this picture because of the sun rising, but the castle is decidedly pink, which I find rather amusing.

This picture, taken from the same spot, is of another important university building; the main academic library: the Carolina Rediviva. It's the largest academic library in northern Europe, and it's home to a wide variety of incredible artifacts, including the Vasa Bible, the first to be written in Swedish. (The Vasas were the monarchy in power at the time.) I haven't yet been brave enough to venture inside yet, but I won't be able to resist the lure for much longer!

And this wonderful, official-looking building marks the end of my trek every morning. This is the Biomedical Center, one of the premier scientific research and learning institutions in Europe. It's an incredibly large building (I've heard rumors of ten kilometers of corridors, and a basement worthy of the MCDB/Porter/Muenzinger complex back home) but one that I really enjoy being in. There are lots of study nooks scattered around, a medical library, a dining hall-style cafeteria, and it's actually very well organized from what I've seen so far.

I think one main reason I like this building so much is that despite the Swedish I hear all around me and the various things that are incredibly different, it's still clearly a university building with classrooms and lecture halls and students; it's an environment I'm familiar with operating in. It's very relaxing to be somewhat closer to my comfort zone when everything else is so incredibly different.

My favorite illustration of this: All of the more modern doors require you to push a button on the wall to unlock them so you can open them. The first time I encountered this I thought I was locked out of the international office, and someone had to show me how to open the door. Talk about feeling like an idiot. The secomd time I encountered this style of door was even better; confident in my new knowledge of the magic button, I went up to the door and proceeded to turn off all of the lights in the lobby of the biology department office instead of opening the door. (The light switches and the magic buttons are the same shape.) Needless to say, I now stop and consider all of the magic buttons before I try to open a door, and I've figured out the Swedish word for "magic button" (which my dictionary says literally translates to "open"). When one must learn how to open doors, one takes comfort in anything that is familiar.

Overall, my experience thus far has been exhilerating, exhausting, frustrating, heartwarming, confidence-building, incredibly busy and good for all of the muscles in my feet and ankles. (There are muscles in the feet, and they can get SORE when you walk six miles a day on sheet ice!)

On the list for next week: choosing a Nation, finding a bike, catching up on my neuro reading, and exploring the Carolina Rediviva. There might even be some window shoe shopping over the weekend; while it sounds completely girly I've had major boot envy ever since I stepped off the plane. Swedish girls wear the most incredibly beautiful boots, but every pair I've seen have not only been highly stylish but also completely functional, unlike most of the fashionable things I've come across at home. And of course, whatever other adventures I get caught up in will certainly be included!

Until then,
hej då!