Moving to another foreign country, there'll always be some last minute doubts, expecting the worst, even in Stockholm. These fears were laid to rest almost instantly with multiple, smiley "hej hej"s when I arrived. You can't help but be taken in by it.
A Swedish KI student met me at City Terminalen arranged via the "pick-up service". She handled everything. I just followed, dumbstruck. The culture shock was setting, but I didn't care, I was too busy already falling in love with the city.
When it comes to first impressions and to the introduction day, two things are distinct. This new, weird but cooling looking building we're in; and the fika. Swedes are meant to be humble, but there was a sense of pride in the air as we were welcomed. For their iconic and landmark Aula Medica; and possibly their strongest tradition.
Between all the entertainment of lectures and coffee with kanelbullar, there was also some of more mundane to deal with. Registering for the library and doing the health check. We were local now, orderly queuing was the norm. We broke the social convention and maintained conversation throughout. Maybe that's because we were being bribed with more freebies by the coordinators, a KI bag, for the ambassadors we now are. Proudly worn.
We were being spoilt and we loved it. For two whole days. Global Friends and Medicinska Föreningen were on hand to keep us reeled in. Games, afternoon drinks, bbq. They really do know how to keep their students happy.