Alex's Exchange to Lund University | Sweden
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| Photo from https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/about-lund-university |
The beginning of January came by, and I was getting very excited. After five weeks or so travelling in Germany and the UK, I was on my way to Lund University to start my exchange semester. I arrived in Copenhagen Airport and was met by older Lund students who were giving all the new students directions for how to get to the university campus. The idea that it was going to take only 30 minutes to get from Denmark to Sweden by train was a very new idea to me; it took me a while to get my head around!
The first week or so was spent settling into my apartment and meeting heaps of new people. Lund University also ran an Introduction to Swedish course, which was pretty good fun. The words aren’t too difficult to remember (Swedish and English both being Germanic languages), but the pronunciation is another story. The word for ‘seven’ (‘sjö’ – pronounced a bit like ‘hyoo’) sounds more like a noise than a real word! As much fun as these were, the language classes were only the beginning of learning some of the biggest difference between the Australian and Swedish cultures.
At the same time as the Swedish course was a whole bunch of parties to welcome the new students. Most nights were spent at a corridor party or at a bar in town, meeting and drinking with people who were going to become great friends over the semester. I noticed that, for the students, Lund is definitely a city of late nights and late mornings! The Swedish course then came to an end with our first exam, which reminded us all that we’re actually here to do a bit of study.
The units I chose to do in Lund were each pretty interesting; all contributing to my History studies back at Murdoch. I studied units on Nordic culture, health and diet, philosophy, and ancient civilisations. Even though you might think that classes are just a ‘necessary evil’ while on exchange, I found them a really great way to meet people and a great excuse for class excursions.
The most important thing to note about Lund is that the student life is truly amazing. Once in Lund, all the new students are encouraged to join one of the 13 student ‘Nations’. Each run their own events, like brunches, lunches, pubs, and nightclubs, and each nation is different. I chose to join Kalmar Nation, which is very proud of its Tuesday and Friday night beer and whisky pub. I worked in the kitchen and bar regularly over the semester, and actually became a manager of the Friday night pub. This was an awesome way to mix with Swedes, and those studying in Sweden long-term.
Several of the Nations also have a ‘spex’ section, which is their comedic musical theatre show (Sweden’s answer to the pantomime). Kalmar has the only English-speaking spex performance in Lund, which I was excited to get involved in. So between my volunteering as a pub worker, and rehearsing for a theatre performance, I certainly wasn’t bored in my spare time.
I also volunteered some time at a local school in Lund to help the high school level students with their English studies. Not only were the students already very well-spoken in English, but they were also quite interested in learning about Australia, which made for great cultural exchange.
Over the five months I spent in Sweden, I learnt a huge amount about Europe, about different cultures, and about myself. Most importantly, though, I left Sweden having formed some of the best friendships I have ever been lucky enough to have. As sad as I am that I had to say goodbye, I am so very grateful that I had the chance to meet all these people and make all these friends, because now I have so many individual reasons to head back over to that side of the world.
My most sincere thanks go to Jeannette Geesmann and Murdoch University. Before I left Australia, everyone told me that going on exchange was going to be life-changing experience. Now that I’m back, I can definitely say that it was.
- Alex studied at Lund University in Sweden
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