Things are back into full swing here in Lund as most of the students are back in town. I’ve been told it’s like a ghost town from June to August! I had my first real classes this week, starting off the semester with Swedish Social Policy. It is obviously different from what I’m used to – lots of reading and gray areas as opposed to facts and concrete answers! I think it will be interesting if I can manage to wrap my head around all the content that is taught in the month long course. Next up is Education, Culture, and Lifestyle in Sweden during the month of October.

I also went to the first lecture of a math class I thought I could take…but it turns out I was wrong. I lost the professor about ten minutes in and never caught up. Oh well. My coordinator picked out another course called “Economic History: Growth, Stagnation and Inequality in Africa” instead – sounds like it could be interesting!

I went to Malmö today to the Migration Office (Migrationsverket) to have my picture and fingerprints recorded for my residence permit. Was in and out in not much time at all and got to explore a different bus system too. The actual office was kind of sad to see. I was most definitely a minority amongst the people I was waiting with. Many were likely seeking asylum or protection; I saw at least one family from Ukraine and countless others from the Middle East and Africa. I knew Sweden was very open country to immigrants, but seeing that today put things in perspective for me.

On Sunday I’m going on a “field trip” of sorts to the Söderåsen National Park – they apparently have lots of Nordic animals and cool things to look at! Should be a nice break from reading about social policy.