It is now three and a half months ago that I moved to Gothenburg, and I have only written once here since. Hmm, that’s quite unlike my previous time abroad, when I was on exchange to Borås. The reason is simple; I have so much more things to do know than when I lived in Borås. Anyway, now I really felt like writing a story so here it is.
Two weeks ago the second quarter at Chalmers started and the pace is as usual high. Last quarter we focused mainly on basic acoustics and airborne sound. This quarter we focus on structure borne sound. We’re currently looking at how waves or actually vibrations propagate within solid structures. And our tasks actually involve something I had believed (and hoped) not having to do anymore……..drawing free body diagrams. This time though they’re a little more complicated than the ones we had to draw during our basic mechanics course in my bachelor. Anyway, studying goes fine. I passed my previous course, and despite the free body diagrams the current subjects are really interesting.
Now I said I was quite occupied, and of course this isn’t just because of all the studying involved. About a month ago I started climbing at Klätterlabbet and I try to go climbing at least twice a week. And last Saturday I went hiking along the Bohusleden trail. Hopefully next weekend I can go hiking again since it was great! It is so nice and quiet in the forests here. During the entire day I think we met people only four times.
It’s been slightly more than a month ago I arrived in Gothenburg, but tomorrow it will actually really begin! Tomorrow will be enrollment day, and I shall meet my teachers and classmates. From that day on I shall be a true Chalmerist
This last week there have been some introductions activities though. Tuesday was the introduction day by CIRC where many presentations were given by different student organisations and such. I also met some new students there and I just happened to sit down next to an old colleague of mine from SP. It was really nice to catch up with him again. And in the morning I was actually interviewed. Wednesday and Thursday there were guided tours through the campus and the city of Gothenburg. And the past three evenings there were big introduction parties.
Thursday there was a party for all international students at a place called Parken. For many new students this was the first time they experienced the insane alcohol prices in Sweden, and their responses to it actually made me laugh a bit. It reminded me to my first encounter with these prices a year and a half ago
Friday there was a party at the bar of the student area I live in. In a certain Facebook group more than 250 people said they would be attending. That should be interesting, I thought back then, considering there can hardly fit a 100 people in that bar. And I was right, when we got there, there were around 300 people partying outside. It was a great evening where I met many people, including Harry Potter. Did you know he is actually from Czech Republic?!
Saturday evening was the biggest party of ‘m all, Nollkalaset. It’s the first party every year organized by FestU in the Chalmers Studentkår building. The entire building was converted to a big nightclub with seven bars, six dance floors and lounging areas. About a thousand people attended the party. It was crazy. Can’t wait for the next FestU party
But OK, tomorrow is enrollment day, and Tuesday the courses will begin.
Today I handed over the keys of my apartment in my home country and this evening I finished packing my stuff. Tomorrow my brother and I will travel by car to Copenhagen, and Thursday morning we continue again to Gothenburg.
Moving out of my room and packing stuff was a real challenge. Even though I travel by car and am able to take quite an amount of stuff with me, I still had to make decisions of what to take with me, and those weren't easy... I really am happy vacuum bags exist as they help me save lots of space!
Anyway, just a few more days till I arrive in Gothenburg!
Jokes about Belgians are not uncommon in The Netherlands. Neither are those about Germans, but that’s another story. A day or two ago I stumbled upon this great picture showing the Belgian police driving their van stuck into drying concrete. This should prove there is at least some truth in our jokes
Finding accomodation can be a horrible task. Especially finding accomodation at the start of the study year in a city with two universities like Gothenburg. For years now there is a shortage in student housing in Gothenburg. In Gothenburg the student housing companies simply can't provide enough rooms and so people are also required to search elsewhere. Popular places to look for accomodation are websites like Blocket.se but also more student housing related sites like Studentlya.nu. Unfortunately not everyone advertising on those websites are to be trusted...
When searching for a room back in April I stumbled upon a scam as well. Now I was lucky enough to identify it as a scam, but unfortunately other people were tricked by this same person. And there are probably a lot more persons around with scams like that.
So what should you be careful for when looking for accomodation? Well, as a starter, NEVER transfer money through Western Union. These are accounts that can be made on the web and that require no identification at all. A scammer can easily make one of these accounts and retrieve the transferred money anywhere on the world without the possibility of tracing who and where.
Actually, don't transfer money at all from abroad! Yes, you can trust the non-profit student housing companies like SGS and CSB, but you simply cannot trust people advertising on websites like Blocket.se and Studentlya.nu. If you can't manage to arrange a room through one of the student housing companies, it's a lot better to go to Gothenburg, stay in hostel for several days, and look from there. That way you can actually visit the room and meet the person interested in renting it to you.
Also, many scams can be identified easily. First, if Western Union is mentioned, it's a scam. Second, if they say things like they are in a hurry since many people are interested in the room, it's a scam. Third, lookup the location with Streetview on Google Maps for instance, and see if the asked rent is realistic. Fourth, sometimes they actually provide you with images of how the house would look like from the inside. Have a look at the windows, and then have a look at Streetview. Remember, they could have easily taken the pictures from any other advertisement. And finally, when you have contact with an advertiser, be careful with what you say, and what they say. If you ask whether a room has X, they will answer the room has X, and that you should hurry with paying since many more are interested in the room, and the first that pays will get it. Don't get yourself fooled!
Just over a year ago I was already on Erasmus exchange to Sweden. To be more precise, from Februari till June I lived in the small city of Borås. I didn't attend the university there, but I was working on my thesis at SP, the Technical Research Institute of Sweden.
During that period I did live with many students in a big studenthouse in Yxhammarsgatan, and it was great! It was such a great time that I really didn't want to leave (like most Erasmus students) however, I was finished with my assignment and so I had to go home. My mentor, working at SP, was also giving lectures at Chalmers University in Gothenburg and so he introduced me to the Sound & Vibration program. I immediately liked it and wanted to apply for it but unfortunately the application period had closed, even late applications weren't taken anymore.
So I went back to my home country to work there, and as soon as the application period opened for the autumn 2011 period I applied immediately. And, as I am sure you already thought, I am accepted! :-)
About a week or two ago a colleague told me I should really watch the series Game of Thrones as I would definitely like it. Of course I had to check it out and I immediately watched the first few episodes. At first the series was at times a bit difficult to follow with the vast amount of characters being introduced, but after several episodes I got to remember them making it a lot easier to follow.
Just over a week ago episode 8 was broad casted, and that episode was truly tremendous! Now normally I watch series after the season is finished so I won’t have to wait till the next episode in suspense. This episode 8 definitely confirmed for me I should watch series AFTER the season is finished since it was so good that it’s just horrible to wait for the next episode. Monday evening I could finally watch episode 9, and I don’t know what to say about it. Maybe I should put spoiler tags around it, but I won’t since apparently there is no option for that in WordPress. Anyway, earlier episodes showed the situation was getting out of control, but episode 9 must be the real flashpoint! If you haven’t watched it yet, then do so. NOW!!
As a final note I should say this is the first series that really amazes me. There have been many entertaining series, but I haven’t seen any series this good thus far. Not even Rome…
(But ofcourse the A-team and MacGyver are still on top. I mean seriously, who else manage to make a tank from scrap metal and some duct tape)
Time is passing by and Sweden is become closer and closer. Lately I am quite a lot in contact with (future) students at Chalmers. It’s really nice already getting to know some of the people you will probably be hanging out with in a couple of weeks. Some of them I got in contact with through Facebook, and several others through CIRC. CIRC is the Chalmers International Reception Committee and they’re a group of master students assisting foreign students in their quest to Chalmers
Now unfortunately I haven’t come in contact yet with a new student enrolling in the same program as I am. I have however spoke people who live in the student area I will be living at, that is Olofshöjd. Anyway, just a few more weeks and I am back in Sweden!
Today I was searching the web if there was anything about thermoacoustic speakers. You might ask yourself ‘Why, Freddy, whyare you searching the web for thermoacoustic speakers?’ The biggest reason is because thermoacoustics is simply cool. But also, because it could be a method to create sound waves without using mechanic vibrations, and thus no moving parts. And the biggest advantage actually has to do with impedance matching. Let me explain that a little further.
Air has a certain characteristic impedance (frequency dependent). The acoustic impedance of a loudspeaker however is different, especially at lower frequencies. At high frequencies it doesn’t really matter, simply because air is a gas and thus soft. But for low frequency vibrations air is more solid which hinders the transfer of vibrations as sound waves. Thermoacoustic speakers wouldn’t have this problem, since there would be no moving part and thus no impedance mismatching.
When searching the web this afternoon I came upon this article from 2008. Chinese researchers had managed to create sound thermoacoustically using carbon nanotubes. The principle is actually quite simple. The temperature of an electric carrier depends on the electric current flowing through it and a higher current means a higher temperature. If the carrier is really small and thin, like nanotubes, the change in temperature can be quite rapid. So if we put an AC current of say 100 Hz through the nanotube, the temperature will oscillate with 100 Hz as well.
These nanotubes are put in direct thermal contact with the air. Since the temperature of the tubes oscillate with 100 Hz, every period the temperature will be higher than that of air, and half a period later it will be lower than the surrounding air. When a temperature difference occurs, heat will be adiabatically transferred to the air causing a pressure oscillation as well. And this pressure oscillation is indeed a sound wave of 100 Hz.
Now if you don’t believe me, see and listen yourself.
Last Thursday it was finally made clear, I am admitted to the Sound & Vibration Master programme at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden! I thought this would be the ideal news to blog about so here it is and, since I lately haven’t really looked at this blog anymore, I decided that from now on I will maintain it again. Yay!
Anyway, the 23th of August is the Welcome day for all the new students, and the 29th of August will be my first day. I decided to take Swedish lessons this summer so I booked a full-time course for foreign students which takes place from the 8th till the 26th of August. According to the website it also includes trips making me even more eager to start with it! Since I of course have to move in first, I will be moving to Gothenburg the last week of July. That should give me enough time to prepare and arrange everything, like getting a Swedish ID number and card, bank account, mobile phone subscription, etcetera.
But besides arranging those things in Sweden there is plenty to arrange here as well. For instance, since I won’t be having a Dutch address anymore my Dutch ID number will be deactivated. This has a consequence for my social health insurance since normally an ID number is required. Now I know my insurer will only need to be informed about it, and for this kind of case, emigration, they make an exception, but still, I better not forget it! I must note that as soon as I am registered at the Gothenburg tax office, I won’t need a Dutch health insurance anymore, but that registration can take a while.
I will also need to apply for study support and loan again. But since I will study abroad, I need to apply for the support and loan at least 3 months ahead, so they can check whether the programme is accredited. And of course I will have to find an apartment in Gothenburg, and move out of my current one. Luckily I still have lots of my stuff packed from last time I moved
