Summer learning

The summer break is a great opportunity to do things which you normally don’t have time to do. For example, this summer I have been utilising a number of free online courses provided by a company called Future Learn. The online courses are put together by members of university staff who specialise in the subject area of each course. The study material includes informative videos, articles and discussions and the great thing about these courses is that they are completely free and it’s up to you how much time and in how much detail you choose to study each topic. In addition, most of the courses are suitable for both beginners with little knowledge in the subject and people who might already have a solid foundation due to studying related topics at university.

There is a huge variety of courses including a course titled Developing Your Research Project which as the name suggests is all about learning how to develop a good research project and was put together by the University of Southampton. Other courses which I am following include a global food security course by Lancaster University, which I have found extremely interesting, especially since food security is one of my main interests. I’m also interested in a course about sustainability by the University of Nottingham and a course on obesity by the University of Reading. I have honestly found these courses to have been a great source of learning and as I mentioned they are totally free so anyone with an interest can take part.

Apart from participating in these online courses I have also been spending some time choreographing a few dance routines. As you may know by now, I’m a total lover of dance and while I still plan on cutting down on my involvement with the dance societies next year, I thought it would be fun to explore choreographing a couple of routines. I really admired the dance captains who choreographed our competition routines over the past two years so I’ve been wanting to see what I can come up with. So far I’ve really enjoyed it and my sister who is also a dancer has been giving me some tips along the way. I think being able to choreograph is a really great skill and one which is really valuable as a dancer, because it allows you to explore your individual creativity in a new way.

Lastly I have also been spending a fair amount of time outside enjoying the wonderfully warm weather we’ve been having here in Sweden. Where I live, you don’t have to walk far until you find yourself deep within an ample forest, so I’ve been exploring new corners of various nearby forests with my sister and our dog. I’ve also been spending time swimming in a nearby lake which is a popular summer activity in Sweden. Because it’s so popular my sister and I try our best to get up early and go swimming, before the crowds of people arrive. The only downside to this is that the water is usually (super) cold in the morning – but we’re getting used to it.

Here’s a photo of a typical lake where we often go swimming. I really love swimming in these open lakes, it gives you a total sense of freedom.

Kristin