Trevligt att träffas!

So I've never done a blog before so I guess I will start off with who I am. 

I'm Andrew, I'm a 24 year old student at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia studying Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations and I am just over a week away from heading off to Sweden to do a Semester Abroad at the University of Gothenburg.

It's a bit of a goofy picture but it's the only one I have of myself at Uni. ECU is a pretty modern and beautiful campus, plenty of trees and grass everywhere and we even have our own little lake. My course  is pretty cool too, I've really enjoyed it and because of it I've never felt like I've had to work too hard at it to get good marks. The Marketing units at ECU are awesome, we have a few really strong lecturers there who really challenge and change the way you think about how business, marketing and customers relationships should work. I'm pretty lucky in a way to know that I'm studying what I want to do in the real world, I've never really thought that I should have chosen another course or have doubts wether I wanna be in Marketing/Advertising/PR. I could see myself doing any of the three careers, it will really come down to what is the best opportunity after I graduate.

Why am I going to Sweden? Well I have learned a lot from my course at ECU, and I feel now it's time to go out and live in another country to get a wider world view, especially a non-English speaking country...even though I understand pretty much everyone can speak at least some level of English...but close enough. Scandinavians also seems like one of those regions where they are quite advanced in terms of environmental issues and have a high standard of living despite earning less than Australians and paying significantly more tax so it's going to be interesting to see how it all works over there.

I fly out of Perth on the 16th (August) to Stockholm Arlanda, stopping off in Doha, Qatar. I'll be spending 3 nights in Stockholm first, purely by accident, as I arrive Friday afternoon and won't be able to get to Gothenburg to pick my key up for my accommodation on time. Works out well though, a little holiday before I settle into what will be my new home for the next 5 months.

I'm not really too sure what I expect over there, apart from some serious cold that I will have never experienced in Australia. I have tried to learn a little bit of Swedish from a little pocket guide book but I'm still very much at level 0, but it should be fine, I'll learn as I go. 

Alright then, I guess that's it for now until I leave. This blog is just to keep track of my trip for memories but if anyone else out there is reading or following, take care and I hope you enjoy what I have to share!