sweden | Exploring Scandinavia

Scandinavia-ready

Posted on June 23, 2016 by brianniebuhr

I am a Sophomore, Biochemistry major and am so excited to explore a bit of Europe with some of my favorite people!

Growing up in Indiana, not many of us make it much farther than Canada (maybe Mexico for the more adventurous). Having experienced the Americanized Mexican resorts, the also very American Canada, and a fair amount of states, I was quite the cultured Hoosier. Moving down to Texas, I was surprised to hear where all my new Horned Frog friends had been in their childhood. Hiking in the Alps, exploring South America, medical brigades in Africa. At home, my beach was the sparkling water of Lake Michigan (more of a greenish-brown), my exploring was riding in Amish buggies, and my medical trips was volunteering at the hospital. I always thought it would be cool to go abroad, but never thought it was something that I would necessarily do or have the opportunity to do.

But then I chose TCU.

Having made my decision within the last week of May, I was immediately bombarded with all the sign ups for orientation, housing payments, and Frog Camp. And, of course, with my adventurous spirit, my first pick was Mystery. I thought it would be so cool to be flown off to some random city in the country. It was full. My second pick was Costa Rica. I imagined hiking the volcanoes and beaches would be even cooler than the Riviera Maya in Mexico. It was full. So then I checked my third choice, Paris. For some reason I was scared to call and sign up for this one, so I put it on the back burner to look at the others. I considered the Colorado one, it was full. The only open ones were Quest, one of the Casa Nuevas, and Paris. I had never been abroad, I was reluctant to sign up and it felt weird to even think I would be going to this exotic place I only knew from Ratatouille. I finally signed up so I didn’t miss out on the coveted Frog Camp.

It turned out to be the coolest opportunity I had ever experienced. The biggest realization was that it wasn’t at all like my preconceptions. It felt different yet normal. And I came back with a self-perspective I had never experienced before. Experiencing that “exotic” piece of the world I only knew from history classes, TV, and movies with my own eyes helped start to see how connected we are. And now that I have had my first global experience, I found what travel means to me. It helps me understand how I am connected with the global community-one experience at a time.

So, for this trip, I hope to just experience another piece of the globe. Sure, I am always one to be excited for a good food dish, an insightful museum, or explorations. But what I am most excited for, is to absorb how connected life is in Scandinavia and make the exotic foreign countries of Scandinavia a bit more familiar.

Bringing the Sunshine to Scandinavia

Posted on June 7, 2016 by MikaelaMiller

Hello! My name is Mikaela Miller, and I am a pretty lucky gal to be both a Chancellor’s Scholar and a student going on the CSI trip! I am originally from Arizona, and I plan on packing as much sunshine as I possibly can to bring to the rainy and cool Scandinavia. I am a senior at TCU, majoring in Biology with minors in Mathematics and Chemistry. My summer is absolutely perfect as it is packed with applications to medical school and travel. My journeys not only include Scandinavia but also a month of backpacking around most of Europe with another CSI traveler (who happens to bear the same fantastic last name as I, and no, we are not related).

I believe it was my sophomore year of college when I attended a sort of “town hall” meeting with the Chancellor’s Scholars to discuss our likes, dislikes, and ideas. TCU has been moving towards making the Chancellor’s Scholarship about more than just the money. They want it to be a whole program with many other benefits, and they hoped to reach out to us to hear what we wanted out of being a part of this prestigious cohort. Out of this town hall meeting arose the idea of a study abroad trip exclusively for us. Thus, CSI: Scandinavia was born. It is pretty darn cool that I go to a school that wanted to hear my ideas, made those ideas come to life, and now I get to benefit from this wonderful opportunity. It makes this trip so special and exciting for me, and it is one of the many reasons why I am so honored and thankful to be a horned frog.

My expectations are very high, as I know multiple people who were on the trip last year, and they all loved it! I was also very lucky to be able to go on one of the honor’s study abroad trips (Cultural Pilgrimages) after my freshman year, and I had the time of my life. The best part of that trip was traveling with other like-minded, highly intellectual, and passionate students, which will be similar to the dynamic on CSI! Everyone on the trip was committed to engaging with the cities, broadening their perspective, and participating in the culture. It made the experience so fruitful for me, so I have high expectations that I will get to explore Scandinavia with the same high level of engagement that I experienced before.

My specific interests for this trip are as follows:

Healthcare:

One of the great things about travel is getting to come into contact with the unfamiliar. It reminds me that there is not one simple way of doing life and what I may believe to be “right” is only one miniscule piece of the puzzle. Currently, a very controversial topic in American politics is healthcare and whether it should be privatized or socialized or a mixture of both.

Scandinavia uses socialized healthcare systems, which is much different than what we are familiar with in the U.S.. Due to my interests in health and medicine, I am curious to see how the system works for individuals in the countries that we are visiting. What are the pros and cons? What does a socialized healthcare system mean for their countries as a whole?

“How most Scandinavians feel about the American healthcare system.”

Nature

I am a big fan of the outdoors! This summer alone I have already had the privilege of backpacking the trans-Catalina trail on Catalina Island and the Narrows in Zion. I love being active, and I love taking advantage of my health and allowing my own two legs to take me to places that are not seen by everyone. It is so fascinating to me how much the outdoors is a way of life to people in Scandinavia, especially in Norway. I am excited to “trek the trails” and experience their culture in this way.

Trolltunga: one of the most spectacular scenic cliffs in Norway

Food

I fully believe that one of the best activities you can do in another country is to eat! It is such a cultural experience from learning what the norms are to tasting the local favorites to sitting around a table with good company and simply learning from their perspective. I cannot wait for good food with insightful friends in delightful countries.

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Reindeer meat is a staple of Norwegian cuisine.

Scandinavia, Here We Come!

Posted on June 7, 2016 by annaliesemiller7

Hi everyone!

My name is Annaliese Miller, and I am one of the lucky Chancellor’s Scholars who has been given the opportunity to explore Scandinavia on the CSI trip! I am a senior at TCU, majoring in environmental science with minors in business and sustainability and a certificate in geographic information systems. I absolutely love traveling and jump at any chance I get to adventure to somewhere new and experience all that our world has to offer. In fact, another Chancellor’s Scholar and I will be traveling on a whirlwind trip throughout continental Europe in the month leading up to CSI, visiting ten countries and 17 cities before meeting up with the rest of the group in Oslo!

This trip to Scandinavia is one I have longed to take for years. One of my good friends in high school visited family in Norway every summer, and I always heard amazing stories of what it was like. Visiting Scandinavia has been high on my bucket list ever since. During this trip, I hope to see for myself the wonder and beauty of Scandinavia and to experience the rich culture of its people. Also, if I’m being entirely honest, one of the main reasons I’m really excited is because Norway has this fantastic sweet & sour candy called Vepsebols (translation: wasp nests), and I plan to bring back at least 10 packs of it for my brothers and roommates to try!

I anticipate some incredible adventures happening over these two weeks abroad, and along the way, I am hoping to delve deeper into three areas – environmentalism, socialism, and Norse studies!

Environmentalism

This one should come as no surprise to you if you read the first paragraph of this post. As a student of environmental science, I am always interested in exploring how other countries deal with environmental issues. Scandinavian countries are leaders of the environmental movement, which I find fascinating, and I am hoping to see some evidences of this leadership on our trip. For example, Norway produces 56% of its total energy use from renewable energy sources, and 99% of its electricity from renewables, mainly hydropower. It is a major European exporter of fossil fuels, yet the country recognizes the decline of the oil market and is adjusting proactively with the expansion of wind energy. Denmark is “one of the most energy-efficient countries in the EU”, according to one source, and has the goal of being fossil fuel-free by 2050. In fact, to discourage gasoline-powered cars, the government has levied a 180% tax on such vehicles. Lastly, Sweden is a pioneer in sustainable living with innovations in urban communities (see Hammarby Sjostad), agriculture (see the vertical greenhouse Planatagons), and building design. One of my main questions is whether this emphasis on environmentalism is readily visible among the day-to-day culture of Scandinavians. I know that Dr. Whitworth will be able to satiate some of my curiosity since he taught one of my courses last semester on sustainability in which we studied both the biking culture of Denmark and the Hammarby Sjostad community of Sweden!

Visualization of the pilot Plantagon for Linkoping, Sweden.

Socialism

In light of the current presidential race, the concept of socialism in the United States has risen to the forefront of political conversations due to the campaign of Bernie Sanders. Whether you believe Sanders is a socialist or not, his platform has certain leanings that have led some conservative Americans to label him as the ever-feared “socialist.” For years, history classes in our country have inevitably proclaimed the glory of capitalism and declared the dangers of socialism. Yet, all three Scandinavian countries we will be visiting are arguably successful socialist countries. I am eager to experience life in these countries for that very reason. How have these countries managed to overcome the “evils” of socialism and become some of the happiest countries in the world? What are the daily trade-offs of this system? Does the sacrifice of some economic freedoms truly impact the average person that much? I do not mean to say that I believe America should become socialist; I think every country should choose the system that works best for their politics, their culture, and their people. Nonetheless, I am interested to see how Scandinavia makes it work for them. For these three countries, socialism appears to be the right system, and I would love to hear Scandinavians’ experiences of living in a socialist society.

Norse Studies

Vikings are just really cool, and we don’t often focus on them in our American education system. My current knowledge of Vikings consists of images of burly, bearded men with horned helmets and huge shields sailing the icy waters of the North Sea, a few Norse tales mingled with Greek and Roman mythology, Leif Eriksson’s voyage to North America, and the movie How to Train Your Dragon. There are some obvious gaps in there, and I’m looking forward to filling them in at the various museums we visit!

Fram Museum in Oslo, Norway

To end this inaugural post, I am, of course, very excited to travel with my fellow Chancellor’s Scholars and experience all that Scandinavia has to offer by their side. What a wonderful journey upon which we are all soon to embark!