Half a semester in Auckland

I have now been away from home for almost three months, and in New Zealand for two and a half. Oh how fast the time has gone, while at the same time it feels like I have been here for an eternity. Saying goodbye to Sweden feels way longer ago now than it actually is. And I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I didn’t say I was starting to miss her, especially as Sweden is now heading into summer while we have now very clearly entered autumn with winter approaching. But enough wallowing in that.

Albert Park, Auckland CBD

School wise, I am actually extremely happy with all of my course choices. Which is more than I have been able to say for most of my years in Uni, where there has almost always been that one course which is not as enjoyable as the rest.

Starting off with Marine Science, it has been such a different experience to really any other course I have taken during my almost 5 years in university. It is truly a knowledge absorption course where every lecture consists of the professor explaining the inner workings of the marine environment and us trying to keep up with the sheer flood of information. Which is made extra apparent as my background knowledge in the field is quite limited, and I haven’t really studied the classical science subjects since 2018. And I love it, so much understanding and widening perspectives on everything from the geological processes of the ocean floor, to the physical properties of the ocean waters and how they interact with wind and the geology to give rise to the terrestrial and marine climates. On to how life has adapted to the harsh and changing marine environment, especially regulation of salt and water, which I got a taste of when diving. But at the same time I can also more fully understand that for me the choice of engineering over science was correct, I don’t know how much more knowledge gorging I could muster, and I really do appreciate the skill building focus of in engineering, especially with programming.

Devonport North Head

And on the subject of skill building, that is maybe one of the areas where I have found my courses lacking. Most apparent in my Computer Graphics course, where the required programming is quite pitiful and very handholdy. Which compared to the lab courses I am used to back at KTH does feel like we are not really learning how to actually apply the knowledge, just demonstrating the most cursory understanding. But apart from the lab disappointment, Computer Graphics is a fascinating course. It covers how you can represent 3D objects inside a computer, and then efficiently squash that object onto a 2D screen while simulating how light would behave to create a realistic rendition of a 3D scene. Which can then be extended to gluing images on to those 3D objects both to add visual interest and to modify how light interacts with the object to efficiently achieve stunning results. And all of that is accomplished by just applying linear algebra onto points and vectors. (Sorry if that got a bit too technical).

One of the many different Kiwi Sculptures around Auckland

Probably the least fun course I am taking is Big Data Management, but that is somewhat redeemed by it being an area of Computer Science where my knowledge is lacking and which is critically important due to the surging amounts of data managed in almost every sector. The lectures in it are always interesting, but unfortunately we have a rather large presentation to do in groups and I have ended up in one which is not functioning the best. With a subject that was not on my list of preferences but one of the few left which I could join as no one wanted to work on the topics I found interesting. But it will work out in the end, it always does.

Steel map of Auckland and the Hauraki gulf, with a view of the same. I’m standing at the red dot

The final course I’m taking, which is also probably the most fun, is Entrepreneurial Opportunities. It is a course about identifying and capitalise on, well, entrepreneurial opportunities. The course is very hands-on and discussion focused, and it has been such a stimulating environment to think about and explore the possibilities of starting or working in a new business or startup. So far in the course we have had one assignment to present a one-page pitch for an entrepreneurial opportunity, and the next step will be to work in a group and flesh one of our pitches out for a final presentation. The course has just really tickled some part of my brain that I haven’t really used before, and just made me aware that I should keep my eyes open for these things in the future.

Ayr reserve, 23/3-25

So, what have I been up to except studying? Well, my larger adventures have already been detailed quite thoroughly on here, but I have got up to some smaller stuff. And then there is of course what has become my everyday life here. As previously stated, I have joined quite a few clubs, and done activities in some of them. Miniature painting and modelling is something I have been doing on and off for the last 15 years (god, has it been that long), and so I joined up with the Model makers club, and it has been a lot of fun the meeting I have gone to. I have also joined the Roleplaying Guild and am now playing a pen and paper RPG called Wildsea every Tuesday evening, which I’m also really enjoying.

Sunrise over Rangitoto, 25/3-25

Some of the highlights of my small exploration trips around Auckland has been walking Ayr reserve a small but very dense stretch of forest in the middle of Parnell where you really can forget that you are in the middle of a city. On my way back I walked small coastal paths which were also really magical, and I still haven’t got used to the idea of a tidal flat. Though the view was kinda interrupted by the big road and the industrial harbour.

Parnell coastal trail

Two days after that on the 25th I woke up at like 5 and couldn’t go back to sleep. As I knew we were also almost entering winter time which would make this much harder, I decided to get up and go down to the harbour front to watch the sunrise. It turned out to be a much longer walk than I intended, and I only got back at like 8, but it was a really nice walk and though I at first though the pictures were kinda bland they have actually turned out really fantastic.

The other club that I have really engaged with is the tramping club, which I was supposed to have gone on a trip with this Thursday to Friday if it wasn’t for the storm, but more on that later. What I did go on with them was a workshop at the BirdCare Aotearoa wild bird hospital and rehabilitation centre where we learned how wild birds are treated, and how to handle one if the need should arise. It was a fascinating one and a half hours of lecture and then a showcase around the hospital which unfortunately did not include actually seeing any bird which makes sense, especially as we were more than twice as many people as they had expected, but a bit disappointing nonetheless. As the workshop ended a bit earlier than expected we then visited the Waitakere visitor centre and went for a quick walk around there which was nice.

Waitakere visitor centre, 6/4-25

And now we are almost up to the present. I had my two mid-term exams on the first and tenth of April which both went well, and now I am in the middle of our midterm break. It has so far been mostly spent on catching up on my school work after the diving course (and recovering physically and mentally). Now that I’m all caught up my focus has shifted to figuring out what, and research where, I can write my thesis which I am planning to do here in the spring (autumn in the Northern Hemisphere). Hopefully at a company or research group on the South Island, as I’m already feeling done with not really being able to leave Auckland. It is going relatively well, I have somewhat narrowed down what I want to write about (either AI in education which I wrote my bachelor’s thesis on, or applying and comparing approximation or optimisation algorithms on a real world data set at for example Trimble). Next steps there is probably to start looking at other scientific papers in those topics, and prepare for an upcoming job expo here at the Uni where I am hoping to get into contact with some companies.

The storm, 17/4-25

Returning to that storm which cancelled my tramping trip, me and Olle (the friend from gymnasiet I visited in Sydney, who moved to Auckland from Australia about a month after I got here) headed down into the harbour to get a feel for it. It was pretty awesome, we probably had wind gusts of over 20 m/s and that was still in the relatively sheltered outer harbour inside Waiheke and Rangitoto.

Finally, yesterday I invited Olle and Simen over for a little Easter dinner which was a huge success. I made lamb steak with potato gratin and a red wine reduction which all turned out really well. And we had a very enjoyable evening chatting and playing games, with me and Olle (who slept on the couch) talking til after midnight.

And that’s that. Still feels insane that I have been away for almost three months, and it also feels insane that it has only been three months 🤯 It’s funny how the brain perceives time. But I still have the second half of the semester here in Auckland to look forward to, hopefully with more adventures, definitely more dinners with friends, and some more studies along the way. After that it’s back into the great unknown of uncertainties: my rental agreements end on the ninth of July and after that, who knows. Hopefully a few weeks of travel and intense experiences and then settling in to a new day to day in Dunedin or Christchurch. I guess we will find out 😃:LiTelescope:🌇