Uppsala from an exchange student's perspective

Why Sweden? It's been a sunny August afternoon that I said goodbye to my family and friends and finally left for Uppsala, the place that would be my home for the next couple of months.

I was terribly excited, knowing I would be a complete foreigner in a country I had never been to before. But luckily enough cultural differences between Swedes and Germans are not so huge. It's been merely minor differences that were funny to find out. Did you know that Swedish people always put off their shoes in front of their doors and that they work because they love the coffee breaks so much? These are called fikas, by the way, and belong to the things I miss most ;-)! Apparently Swedes always take it easy and usually have time to drink coffee and talk with you about almost everything. They love their country and this attitude is contagious. After a while you become proud of Sweden as well and have every reason to be that. There is very little crime, much environmental awareness and all administrative things you need to do seem to make sense.

Also in University-life everything is well organized and straightforward. A huge amount of courses are offered in English and international students are taken care of very well, especially by the international student counsellor Eva Damm.

Also the courses are usually excellent. Students come to evaluate them in the end and their evaluation will determine the changes in the next-years course. The knowledge that you gain will stay in your brains for a very long time, since the studies are done in a practical way. Only a few hours of lectures are followed by a huge amount of lab-work, presentations and one or two exams. The study groups are small – so you will be in close contact with your fellow students and also with your teachers. It will appear strange especially to German students that you will be taught by a genius called "Kalle" instead of "Prof. Dr. Carl-Eric Cantell" Also excursions and reading papers is not uncommon, depending on the course.

Accomodation is a problem at the moment. Erasmus students will be given an accommodation by the international office, though. Usually they live in Rackarbergsgatan, Flogsta or Kantorsgatan – places, all administrated by Studentstaden. Rackarbergsgatan is my favourite – probably because I lived there and it is very close to almost everything. Living in a corridor is also a good way of getting in touch with Swedish people and maybe improve your Swedish if you have the motivation to learn it. It is a cute language and very easy, especially for German people. However you get along very well even without a word of Swedish since Scandinavian people have a very good command of the English language.

Every student area has its own sauna, which is much fun to use! I didn't fall ill during my time in Sweden, which is either due to regular sauning or to being happy all the time. Probably it was both ;-)

People say that Swedish winters can be quite depressing. This is true to some extent, but the good thing is that you wouldn't notice this in the winter. But when spring comes you feel so wonderful that you suddenly notice something was wrong with you in the past months...

What helps against becoming depressed? Be busy all the time – and as an exchange-student in Uppsala it is hard not to be busy all the time! You will be offered a great number of activities of all different kinds – trips, dinners, meetings, dance nights and whatever you can think of. These are organized either by the nations or by private persons.

Since Uppsala is in the middle of Scandinavia it is a good starting point for trips all over Norway, Finland and Sweden. If you are in Uppsala in winter you shouldn't miss a trip to Lapland, where you can visit the Ice-Hotel, go on dog-sledge tours or – if you're lucky – experience Northern lights. Studying abroad might also shape your personality a little bit – but only in a good way ;-)

If you plan to study in Uppsala, do it – you will not regret that. How you perceive the city and everyday-life will very much depend on yourself but the city has the potential to give you the best time in your life. It is a wonderful experience – don't miss the chance of extended holidays, with very little sleep but high learning-effect – in every possible way!

Anika Pelikan, student in Uppsala 2003-2004