Jessica's Exchange to Uppsala University | Sweden
In 2015 I spent a semester abroad in Uppsala University, Sweden. I was desperate to go on exchange and during my time at Murdoch University, I made some wonderful Swedish friends who were on exchange from Uppsala and boasted about how much of a fantastic university city it was. Naturally I was intrigued. I chose Uppsala University as my first preference for this reason, as well as the opportunity to learn a new language and really push myself outside of my cultural comfort zone. In January I headed over from the beautiful sunshine of Perth to the freezing, white landscape that was Sweden. Despite losing my suntan very fast, it was the best decision I could have made.
Uppsala is the fourth largest city in Sweden but hands down the first for student life. The city (I would perhaps call it more of town) is practically run by students. Scattered throughout Uppsala are the Student Nations. These fantastic establishments could be compared to a type of club exclusively for students. They were founded back when the University was born and are all named after a region of Sweden (e.g. Stockholm Nation, Norrland Nation, Kalmar Nation etc,). Each boasts its own restaurant, nightclub, ballroom and much more. On arrival as a student at Uppsala University you are required to join a student nation.
This is where the fun begins. I joined Södermanlands-Nerikes (affectionately known to both internationals and Swedes alike as Snerikes) upon recommendation by a good Swedish friend. Each nation has its own headquarters in the form of some grand, old building or, in Snerikes case, a pink castle, which is almost as old as the city itself filled with grand, winding stair cases, chandeliers and paintings of important Uppsala figures. Each nation in Uppsala also has a specific club night, for example, Tuesday is Snerikes, and whichever nation you join you get free entry into so it is imperative you choose wisely (just kidding, you can go to all of the club nights If you please, but If you don’t like the idea of hitting the town every night of the week you will most likely frequent your own nation).
Every nation also holds its own events such as a Reece reception (a kind of welcome to the newbies and a crash course on gasque etiquette) and a gasque (essentially a formal ball with lots eating, drinking and singing). These events can’t be missed as they are quintessentially Swedish! Think ballrooms with chandeliers, long tables, fine china and lots of fancy Swedish traditions. No Uppsala experience is complete without immersing yourself in the student nation life.
A highlight of my exchange experience was living in a country that spoke a language I did not understand. As daunting as this may sound, it is an awesome learning adventure. During my first trip to the supermarket google translate was my best friend and my phone did not leave my hand the entire time. The idea that I could be left reference-less with no communication/interpretation skills was terrifying. But after a while, Swedish stopped looking so foreign and I rarely felt intimidated by my limited vocabulary. That’s the funny thing about living abroad; the abnormal sooner or later becomes so normal you don’t even notice it. It was not until I returned to Australia and visited Coles that I remembered how much I appreciate being able to read that back of a food packet. Nonetheless, during my time in Uppsala, Swedes were constantly happy to help me interpret a menu or an ingredients list. This is why I will always remember them as some of the nicest people in the world. Swedes speak impeccable English and you would be hard pressed to find one that doesn’t speak even a little so it’s not hard to ask for a little help when you need it. Despite coming home with a less than impressive Swedish vocabulary (though ‘tack’ and ‘nej’ are still constant characters in my daily dialogues), the language will always hold a special place in my heart and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to immerse myself in it.
Another important part of student life in Uppsala is biking. You are nobody until you own a bike (or just somebody who wastes a lot of money catching the bus). I myself was quite lazy/ scared of riding a bike in the snow so it was a couple of months before I owned my first bike, but I can tell you I never looked back. Nobody under 30 drives a car in Uppsala and given how economical, quick and convenient biking is I don’t blame them. However be warned, bike thieves run rampant in Uppsala so never forget to lock your bike. Given that it is probably the city’s only crime problem and the thieves are often just drunk individuals who have forgotten where they parked their own bike, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Despite all the bruises, flat tyres, and that one blood nose, I still miss my bike. If only Perth was flatter and less spread out.
Although I could go on for hours about the student life in Uppsala, I must take some time to credit the University for how fantastically I think their approach to study is. Unlike Australia, where we study 3 or more units concurrently, at Uppsala University students only study one unit at a time. So, for example, I studied only Swedish History for 6 weeks and then only Swedish Art and Music for 4 weeks. I think this approach is fantastic as students are never overwhelmed by lots of different subject matters that can often contradict each other and instead get to focus properly on just one area of learning. It seems like such an obvious and logical approach, and the Swedes have got it down to an art form. Yet another thing to add my list of things Sweden does ridiculously well …
Now I’m sure you are already sold on Uppsala University and are packing your bags as we speak, but I must warn you of something … Sweden is cold. I now realise how spoilt we are in Perth with our 15-20 degree winters with a couple of 25 degree days randomly thrown in there. Oh and the sunshine, consistent and glorious winter sunshine. You will not get that in Uppsala, in fact, you will be lucky to get sunshine in spring most days. The sun is so sparse in winter that you may not see it for weeks and even then only for a few minutes at most. Not to mention the inconvenient sunset time of 2pm and the constant bruises from slipping on ice. I was particularly unlucky and suffered from vitamin D deficiency pretty early on (nothing supplementation can’t fix). But after a while you will start to enjoy all the pretty fairy lights that come with the early nights and how much more efficient you are during your limited and precious daylight hours. You will start to love putting on your big, warm winter coat that you never get to wear back home. The cold means plenty of opportunities to fika (a Swedish word for the act of having coffee and cake with a friend in a cosy setting) a popular Swedish tradition that can be practiced multiple times a day. Little moments of sunshine become so much more special as all of Uppsala flocks to the riverside or an open space of grass to take it all in. And slowly, as winter draws to an end and summer grows closer, the days get longer and the nights get shorter which is just as exciting. I can tell you from personal experience that walking out of a student nation at 2am and seeing the sun completely risen feels pretty magical/hard-core.
There is so much more I could say about my time at Uppsala University but I worry it would take far too long and I may start rambling. Instead I suggest you find out for yourself and experience the outrageousness that is a semester abroad in Uppsala!
- Jessica studied abroad at Uppsala University in Sweden
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