On our third week of our study abroad adventure, we started the construction process of our park. During a typical work day we meet at the forest, Gardsas Mosse, at 8 AM.  Once we arrive, we change into our working clothes and shoes, and await the coordination team to start the morning meeting. The coordination team consists of the project manager, site manager, safety and efficiency officer, and communication representative, all in order of authority on the site. Each person who fulfills these roles changes day by day so no two days will have the same team. This way everyone student can experience and learn the leadership roles and obtain the confidence in organizing a group of people to complete multiple tasks.

Building the plant path has been a tumultuous time. There have been many times where my team felt like we hit a brick wall and felt defeated; however, we always found a way to fix the issue, or find a way around the problem at hand. My team has gotten much better at working together as the week progressed. The architects in the group worried about the dimensions of our tunnel, and the specific dimensions of each frame, while I focused more on the construction of the frame, since I have had more experience with wood working. By the end of the week we had a solid plan to finish our path in the next week. Our needed materials will be at the site for us on Monday, and we should be able to grind out the 10 frames, and attach them to our guide logs. I am extremely excited to see the completion of our path.

Below is our first completed tunnel for our path. The final version will also have ropes and sticks and twine tied around the edges to really create the “tunnel” vibe.

On Friday we were given the day off because of midsummer day. Friday was the summer solstice so all the Swedes go out to their summer cottages or stay in the city to chill and party. On midsummer, the Rice students went to the park and played some four square and basketball and just relaxed and enjoyed the day off.

On Saturday, we all woke up early in the morning, and took a Flixbus to Copenhagen, Denmark. This was a very fun outing. We walked the canals, eat at some nice restaurants, went to some local bars and explored the city. We stayed the night in Generator Copenhagen, a very nice hostel that really had a quirky vibe. There were many young people playing shuffleboard, pool, and darts; definitely an amazing vibe. I really felt like Copenhagen is much more of a young people city than Goteborg, which was a nice change. The next day I woke up, went on a short run, enjoyed some coffee at a local cafe, and then met up with everyone else to explore a nearby castle and botanical gardens. After, we made our way back to the bus station, and made the journey back to our hostel. Copenhagen was definitely a much more interesting city than Goteborg; there were more points of interest, more people to meet and talk to, and more beautiful buildings and plazas and stores. However, I am glad that we are doing the study abroad here in Goteborg. It is much better for a student life here. The groceries are inexpensive, and the streets are much quieter, allowing us to only complain about the sun when going to bed.

Below are some pictures I took while in Copenhagen.

Overall, this week was a very tiring, very hard pressed week. We worked about 8 hours of hard construction work a day and it was definitely nice to take the relaxing weekend trip to Copenhagen. I am excited to finish up the plant path, and the rest of the park, and make the trek back home on Saturday.

P.S. – Please tell me you got the Les Miserables reference for the title (one day more)