Sorry for the delay and lack of continuous post, peeps! This pasts weeks have been all about deadlines/final projects/home exams/party… oh no, no parties (kidding). Well, I’m back and I have an interesting topic, recycling!
What about recycling in Sweden? Stockholmers, have you seen the little square saying “PANT 1 or 2 kr” next to the bar code on the PET bottle? Or have you seen it printed on the beer can you were drinking on your way to the club? (btw is not allowed to drink in the streets here). Well, this “PANT” is the deposit you are paying (EXTRA) from the normal price of your beverage to encourage you to return the bottle back (for it to be recycled). Some people may find it like kinda non-sense when you just drink a bottle of Loka and have to go back to these special machines to get your one or two krona(s) back… but what about when you collect 10, 20 or 50 bottle; then, you have enough reason to get some money back and help the environment.
So far in OECD’s 2015 Environment at a Glance report Sweden appeared in 6th place, why? well… the reason is that Swedes burn around 50% of their household waste to power “cleaner” energy production and generate heat for the houses; still, it’s quite awesome their efficiency when it comes to recycling taking into consideration less than 1% ending buried in landfills.
No Ryan Gosling but close enough me recycling here in Sweden haha 😀
How’s recycling in your countries? Be conscious with OUR environment and try to always recycle! 😀
This weekend has to be very busy for most students at KTH as we prepare for examinations before Christmas. Due to this, I have spent the major part of this week studying. So, today is not any different as I woke up this morning to meet up with other students from my programme and what a reading marathon did we have!
In my opinion, one of the advantages of reading with groups is motivation. You might think, “but the examinations are enough motivation”; there is a twist in this: when reading with people, there is a tendency to focus and read longer. For example, when reading in the library, there’s this sense of “we are many trying to achieve similar goals in this space” This gets better when the group of people you are with are trying to achieve the same goal. In this case, the same examination.The icing on the cake is that you can easily ask for help if you get stuck. Remember my post on asking questions?
One thing I love about my method of preparation today is the amalgamation of different study techniques. So, we all started reading individually with no one interception from anyone. Then, after the lunch break, we decided to work together for a bit and solve questions. (Good way to exchange knowledge and share ideas). After doing this for a while, we all went back to reading separately but this time, with the mindset that we are all free to answer questions from anyone who needs help. Then, we continued at this tempo till we called it a day!
You would not be wrong if you conclude that this is the same routine for tomorrow. We would study hard and get ready to smile when the results are out with the saying “WE DID IT”
To everyone preparing for exams, this post is a reassurance that there are other students studying as hard as you right now. With this, I wish everyone, GOODLUCK!
Some pictures from today;)
Getting ready to solve questions togetherCan you guess what we are calculating?Different people; different style of writing. Can you guess mine?All work and no play makes Jack a … ( Do not joke with break times when studying for a very long time; greatest energy booster of all time!)
So this week ended lectures for everyone at KTH for the year. As we welcome the festive period, it is very common for people to host Christmas parties at work or as small groups as most people would be away from school once lectures are over (for those that do not have December examinations)
As a member of the sustainable energy engineering student council, we had one of these Christmas mingle in which we played some games with some snacks available and I had my first taste of the Swedish glögg.
Glögg is the term for mulled wine in Nordic countries. It is served hot or warm with raisins or nuts. It can either be alcoholic or non-alcoholic. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially for Christmas. In Sweden, gingerbread and lussebullar (a type of sweet bun with saffron and raisins) are typically served. I don’t think it is possible to have a Christmas party in Sweden and you won’t have glögg.
Also, the student ambassadors and the bloggers were treated to a KTH Christmas mingle. Similar to the council’s end of the year mingle, we went through the achievements of the year, played some games and also, the Swedish glögg was very present! What a good way to get into the Christmas spirit with everyone wishing each other the season’s greetings and sharing their various plans for Christmas at the end:)
Unfortunately, I do not have pictures from the Student Council mingle but thanks to Nayanika Bhalla, I have pictures from my second Christmas mingle:)
During the games (haha!)Spot the lussebullar;) Photo credit: Nayanika BhallaPhoto credit: Nayanika Bhalla
We are into December, the holiday mood has already kicked in. The snow is here, decorated Christmas trees and fairy lights around the city make the atmosphere so cozy. It is such a beautiful experience to walk around the city to experience the Christmas spirit.
An Instagram boomerang is perhaps something that shouldn’t be missed 😉
Every house in the neighborhood is lit with beautifully decorated trees. So cozy to look at!
Last week was both so deadly, so successful and extremely fascinating. The most terrible deadlines were met and I have certainly emerged as a better person. Too many reflections, realizations, and not to forget the learning I have got out of the past week. Immense! I think its only during such times, we learn about ourselves. And, now having dealt with crazy things, I feel super liberated. 🙂
Well, it has already started to snow in Stockholm. It was my first snow experience and trust me, it was magical! I truly felt like living in the world of Narnia! The white snow can instantly lift up the spirits and the cheerfulness has no bounds. Everyone becomes a kid when it snows. White snow in the dark winters with a cup of hot chocolate and a warm cinnamon bun is what is called ecstasy!
Here is my first snow experience!
Few of my snowman versions 😝 ☃️
Snowfall and KTH ♥️
View from my room 😇
But, there is more to this Holiday season than the white snow and the fairy lights…yup! Shopping! There is a sale in almost every shop. Brands like H&M have offers that force you to shop. It’s inevitable! Haha! There are Christmas bazaars cropping up here and there. No matter if you’re looking around to buy a Christmas present or to renovate your wardrobe, the season has a sale in every shop. I started my holiday shopping with a mission to make my room cozy and ended up spending a little over the budget. 😀
Shopping spirit at city central
Sale! Sale! Sale!
This lovely setup to welcome the winter 🙂
My Kinda shop!
Christmas Godis! 🙂
Finally, that’s how cozy I made my room. a little Christmas tree, a beautiful star and some warm lights for the cozy winter 🙂
Wish you a cozy winter! God Jul ! ☃️ ❄️ 🎄
Did you see the Nobel prize ceremony? Stay tuned to hear about my experience at the Student’s Nobel NightCap party 🙂
December is here an deadlines too. As Christmas Eve is heading towards us you might or not have already bought a Christmas tree, but have you ever thought about the environmental footprint of a real vs a fake one? Which one is better for the environment…
As some people may think that buying a fake one will save world, the truth is that fake Christmas trees need to reach a minimum amount of years to become “environmental efficient”. Dr John Kazer from the Carbon Trust stated in an article for BBC News (2016), that…
If you have an artificial tree at home you would need to reuse it for at least 10 Christmases to keep its environmental impact lower than that of a real tree
As written in the article, Dr. Kazer said that a 2m artificial tree has a carbon footprint equivalent to 40kg of greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than twice that of a real tree that ends its life in landfill – and more than 10 times that of real trees that are burnt.
What do you think? Have you already decorated yours? At my place, my roomies and I already have! 😀 Don’t forget to subscribe and to comment!
So, these past weeks has been knee deep busy! I had this major project that made all students in my programme meet endlessly! Apart from these, we had other deadlines to keep up with in other courses. At some point, it was not clear if I was the one chasing the deadlines or they were the ones chasing me (Haha!)
So, this week, we finally defended this major project and also, had my last presentation for one of my seminar courses!
Ever had that feeling of relief when you finally accomplish a given task well? That’s exactly how we all felt. So, I am finally done with all major deadlines for the year!
In the end, I realised that the joy is not just that we met all deadlines but that we used the process to learn; learning not only technical skills or the topics presented by the courses but also, soft skills such as time management, project management, teamwork, team building to mention a few. Also, looking back I can tell you I enjoyed the fun moments working with my different team members.
Finally, as I start preparing for upcoming quizzes and exams, I can smile and like the first picture in this post – raise my hands together with all the students in my programme having a sense of achievement of deadlines done and dusted!
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My Kinda shop! 
