Well here I am, my first week in Sweden. It feels like I've been here months already, which I guess is a good thing to help with the home-sickness I have been feeling. The trip seemed to just creep up on me all of a sudden, and before I knew it, here I was, all alone in an unfamiliar country and unfamiliar town. By day two I actually wanted to come home... And now I feel a little stupid for that! But obviously it was the shock and a huge change for me, so emotions were bound to run high. Two days with no contact with anyone seemed like an eternity, but I met two of the girls from the Textile Design course on my third day, which was really great. They changed the way I felt completely, and made me remember what a fantastic experience I was about to have.
One of the girls would be going to my university in London in a month, for the same exchange programme, so it was great to have that connection with somebody, and also to get to know more of the students that I would be studying with until December. We went for "Fika" which is a very common thing amongst the Swedes, in English it basically translates to having coffee and some cake perhaps, but mainly to take time to chat to each other, which for me was such a lovely thing. I think in London we are all rushing around like busy bodies - and even I as a student rarely prioritise taking time out to talk and relax with my friends. Over the next few days I met a few more people and they too were so caring and helpful and had such a wonderful cheeriness to everything they said. All of the Swedish people I have encountered have been so polite and friendly, they are fantastic entertainers, they have an unlimited amount of love and attention for anyone.
So, by this point I was back to feeling full of positivity and loving my time in Borås - great preparation for starting school.
On my tour around the school I was absolutely blown away by the amount of facilities they had here. The town Borås itself features greatly in the Textile history of the country. It was founded by King Gustav II in 1620 who decided that the Textile pedlars should have a town of their own. Some of the textile factories still remain along side the Viskan river that runs throughout the town, and an old 19th century spinning shed became the 'Textilmuseet' - A living museum to all of the towns history in Textiles, and where many exhibitions are held.
Maybe that is enough history for now..
I have chosen to study;
Fine Arts II
Experimental Knitting
Student Design Project I
Student Design Project II
Swedish Course
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