Natalie's Exchange to Linnaeus University | Sweden
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| Photo from http://tempusleague.eu/linnaeus-university/ |
Having dreamt of studying abroad as part of an exchange program since I was fifteen I excitedly visited the exchange fair in my first few weeks at Murdoch in 2012. I was super excited and a little overwhelmed at the range of options available. I spent the next couple of years working out when would be the best time and university for my exchange. This was a daunting task and took a lot of research, discussion and soul searching. I settled on Linnaeus University in Kalmar, a small city in South Eastern Sweden and decided to go for my final semester of university.
Although I was a little nervous at living in such a small city, four hours from Denmark's capital, Copenhagen and five from the Swedish capital, Stockholm I was not to be disappointed. Kalmar is a beautiful little city on the Baltic Sea. It has a population of approximately 37,000 and has all the facilities and services you would expect of a regional capital. Historically important, the city centre is paved with cobblestones, quaint shops full of beautiful Scandinavian goods, an impressive cathedral and pretty coloured buildings. The jewel in Kalmar's crown is the 800 year old castle still standing guard over the city. The sea provides a lovely small harbour and several nice beaches. The city is surrounded by and sits within nature with many beautiful walks available.
On arrival in mid January Linnaeus Kalmar’s fantastic ESN students greeted me. ESN is the Erasmus Student Network, a European association that facilitates and sponsors thousands of students from the European Union to study at partner universities. It didn't matter that I was not European or officially part of the Erasmus program, I was included as one of the ESN'ers. With seventy exchange students arriving from around the world the ESN Kalmar board (group of students), together with the International Office had a weeklong orientation program organised for us. This was a hectic week, we learnt about Swedish cultural, tasted Swedish food, were shown around the city and the university, had city wide treasure hunts, sports evenings, movie nights, a pub crawl, theme dinners and other events. By lunchtime on the first day I had friends and was never lacking for people to do things with.
Being a mature age student I was nervous about being accepted by the other students, but I needed have been. I had a diverse group of friends from different backgrounds, all studying different subjects and ranging in age from 19 to early 30s. I co-founded a "fika club". Fika is a Swedish tradition; it is most easily translated as morning or afternoon tea and basically means having a drink and something sweet to eat with friends or colleagues. My fika club originally consisted of 10 women from 10 counties and slowly grew throughout the semester. We met every Wednesday or Thursday afternoon and talked about the university system, politics, culture, food, relationships and everything else about life in our countries. It was incredibly interesting and stimulating to learn about cultural values and norms across the globe. This group of women are dear to me and I will certainly meet many of them again in the future.
ESN organised three exchange student trips during the semester. I went on the "Russian Balalaika" trip. This was a week spent travelling on ferries in the Baltic Sea visiting Tallinn Estonia, St Petersburg Russia and Helsinki Finland. This was a wonderful week visiting beautiful cities, learning about major historical events and partying with 150 exchange students from Universities across Sweden. During the semester I made the most of weekends and public holidays to explore Sweden and squeeze in a trip to Berlin to visit a trade fair that I have wanted to attend for many years.
In addition to other exchange students the Swedish students in my classes welcomed me. The university system in Sweden is different to Australia's in many ways: there is a lot more group work, many presentations and different expectations in relation to written work and exams. The Swedish students helped me work through this: they linked me into their Facebook and study groups. They commented that they loved having me in their class, that they had learnt a lot from me and many of them now wish to travel to Australia. Equally, the teaching staff welcomed me, always checking that I understood the expectations, had the resources I needed and could access information. The teaching staff asked me to contribute examples from Australia and asked how the university systems differ.
Overall, I have loved every minute of my exchange at Linnaeus University and would highly recommend Linnaeus University, Kalmar and the exchange program in general. The highlights of my experience are certainly the people I have met, learning about other cultures and traditions (not just Swedish), the Swedish University environment, riding my bike everywhere instead of relying on a car as I do in Perth and all things Swedish. I have learnt many things during this semester abroad, most notably that everyone truly does have something to offer in a group situation, that a work life balance is achievable and the rewards immeasurable and most importantly, that the people you share your experiences with is the most important element. I am very grateful to everyone who has been involved in making my exchange possible and will cherish this experience forever.
My advice to anyone considering exchange is:
- Go for a year if you can, 1 semester goes so fast
- Go wherever you really want to go, the courses will quickly become secondary to the overall experience
- Immerse yourself in your new environment
Put yourself out there, get involved, be open to new experiences and just go for it, you will not regret it!
- Natalie studied at Linnaeus University in Sweden
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