Social Events Overload in Uppsala: International Gasque, Birthday, Kanelbulledag and a Stolen Bike (posted by Indira in Sweden)

October 19, 2012

Last week was so overloaded with social events. Every single day there was something going on and so many times I would just come to my room to drop off my bag and in 5 minutes I would be on the move again. I am not complaining though – I enjoy this rhythm that allows me to experience as much of Sweden as possible (especially taking into consideration that half of the time I’m supposed to study abroad in Uppsala has already passed).

One of my friends, Marine, had her birthday a few days ago so we organized a birthday dinner for her (it was a pot luck style dinner where everyone brought something). I made a traditional Bosnian dish called “sataraš” and I was happy to see that people liked it. We had a really great time talking over the dinner, and then we had our own private concert: two guys played guitars and sang for about an hour before the clock struck 12. It was a really nice bonding experience!

My friend's Birthday Dinner, celebrated with a potluck

My friend’s Birthday Dinner

On Thursday last week it was the official Kanelbulledag (cinnamon bun day – Swedes really love their Kanelbulle and I know why: they are super delicious and go really well with fika!). It is a tradition that on the Kanelbulledag Swedes make homemade Kanelbulle, so my Swedish corridor-mates organized the event. We all got together and enjoyed some quality time together while making some delicious cinnamon buns. 🙂

Kanelbulle, a swedish cinnamon bun

Kanelbulle

On Friday we had the long awaited International Gasque. As I wrote earlier, gasque is a formal 3 or 5 course dinner where all the students dress up and have a nice meal, drink snaps and sing songs, as well as enjoy the entertainment. The International Gasque was very long, lasting 6 hours (6pm-midnight). There was some stand up comedy, a choir performance and skits to make it all incredibly enjoyable. After all the delicious food was eaten, all songs sung, and the entertainment program finished, there was an after party with Karaoke and a live band. I really enjoyed karaoke since so many people came on stage and everyone was having fun, not really caring about how well (or bad) they could sing. The live band was also very good. They were singing mainly popular mainstream songs that brought everyone to dance. All in all, it was a great night! I was really happy to be part of it all!

International Gasque: a picture of the seating arrangement for the dinner

International Gasque: Seating arrangement for the dinner

The twist came later on. The night, unfortunately, ended not so well for me. On our way back home when I wanted to get my bike, it was not there. I couln’t believe that someone had stolen my bike! We were all warned that this might happen, but I was always optimistic about it. It took 2.5 months for my bike to get stolen. At first I was really sad because I went through so many adventures on that bike (including me falling off it multiple times, and over-inflating the tire so it exploded). By now I have accepted what happened and got a new bike (I was really lucky that a friend of mine had 2 bikes, so he let me borrow one for the rest of the time I’m in Sweden). Life goes on!

The week ended with me trying to cook (and actually succeeding)! I cooked Bosnian for 7 of my friends. I made three traditional dishes and they all turned out amazing! I am happy I got a chance to learn how to cook. Those are the skills one will always need and find useful. 🙂

Of course, apart from many events in Uppsala, our classes went on. My only class for this month, Critical Perspective on Sustainable Development in Sweden, started integrating more study group work in the course. We divided into a few groups and now we will work within those groups on the case studies of interest. My study group (which is, by the way, very international. We are 5 people: Swede, Japanese, Korean, German and I) is working on urbanization and we will be looking at two districts in Stockholm in oder to see how sustainable they are. In the end we plan to come up with a list of recommendations for other districts in Stockholm, as well as other cities that are looking into urban resilience.

It was truly a good week with a lot of things going on and very little free time, but it all made my week much better! I guess that is the point of study abroad – do as much as possible and enjoy whatever country you’re in. 🙂

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Fall in Uppsala: Seminars, Skansen und Richmond Re-union (posted by Indira in Sweden)

October 5, 2012

I started understanding how busy it can get here at Uppsala University over the past couple of weeks. Papers, reading, assignments, seminars, and exams have all come with the first days of Fall.

On the bright side – I don’t think Uppsala could look any more beautiful than it does right now. Leaves are changing colors and the whole city looks very majestic in different shades of yellow, orange, and red. I don’t need to do anything more than just look out of my window to enjoy this beauty. When the weather allows and it is not raining (unfortunately , it doesn’t happen all too often here) taking a walk in the forest close to the accommodation area Flogsta (where I live) is very calming and true food for all senses.

Fall in Uppsala, a gorgeous scene of the changing leaves on the trees

Fall in Uppsala

With all the school work, it is not always easy to enjoy Uppsala. Just last week I experienced the Uppsala University education system to its fullest. As I wrote earlier, there are lectures and seminars, and in seminars you are in a group of about 15 students where you discuss specific questions and have tasks to complete. My seminars so far have involved writing papers, preparing a debate and preparing a presentation. This way the students do more work on their own (but professors and lecturers are always available in case one needs help) and get to work on the questions and issues they take interest in. All lecturers encourage group and pair work. I worked on all of my seminar assignments with Izabelle who is a freshman from Stockholm. I really like that I got to work with a Swede since it provided an opportunity to meet someone new, to understand more about Sweden and Swedish culture, possibly learn new Swedish words, and also create a stronger link with someone who can be seen as an insider. I enjoyed working with Izabelle and I feel like we learned a lot from each other. Actually, all of the members of my seminar group are amazing and I got to know them pretty well. Unfortunately, as soon as we became friends (and not just classmates), our course ended (this class was basically an intensive 5 week class where I had classes every day. I wrote about this “one class at the time” system earlier). Not having a class together makes it harder to see people. On Monday I had my exam and it went really well. Uppsala University has a specific building where all the exams are held so it all feels very official. It felt somewhat weird to walk out of that exam and realize that my first Government class is over.

A view of Stockholm from Skansen, a park/zoo that I recently visited in Sweden

A view of Stockholm from Skansen, a zoo/open air museum I recently visited

Classes here are not all about having loads of reading and being stuck in the classroom. My other class, Critical Perspectives on Sustainable Development in Sweden, tries to incorporate the fieldwork in the course as well. A week ago we took a class trip to Skansen, which is a mixture of a zoo and an open air museum in Stockholm. We got to see brown bears, lynx, and many other animals, but we also learned more about sustainability in Sweden throughout its history by visiting small settlements and houses built as examples of how people used to live in different parts of Sweden at different points in history (my group, for instance, had to learn more about Sami). My personal highlight was a visit to a bakery where there was a cook who makes the Knäckebrot the way it was made traditionally. One can watch and then enjoy the delicious Knäckebrot with some salted butter. Yummy!

A brown bear at Skansen, a park/zoo in Sweden

A brown bear at Skansen

Another exciting thing happened recently: I finally managed to meet with Carl-Johan (or CJ as he was known in Richmond), who was an exchange student at UR last year and who was a great support and source of information about Uppsala (in essence, he is the one who made me think about applying to Uppsala Uni in the first place and I am so glad he did since coming here was the best decision ever). We had a nice fika and it was great to talk about Richmond with someone in person (I am the only student from UR here this semester). I really enjoyed meeting him!

Now I’m eager to see what October brings and I am looking forward to my trip to Tallinn at the end of the month! 🙂

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Majestätisk Värmlands Reccegasque (posted by Indira in Sweden)

September 24, 2012

Last week was amazing! I don’t think I have ever had more fun and bonding time with my corridor-mates, as well as people from my nation.

I live on a corridor with 11 other people and we share a kitchen together. There are 4 other international students, and the rest are Swedish. Last week we decided to have a corridor dinner so that we could get to know each other and to discuss some corridor rules. This was truly an amazing idea! We all got together, cooked, and then had a nice meal. The best thing about the corridor dinner is that you get to know people in a way you can’t in class or at fika. Everyone is so much more relaxed and there is a sort of  positive vibe around them. It was fascinating to see how none of us study the same thing or have classes together (we even have few Master students), but we all get along really well. Student life in a residence here is very different than at UR, since the residence halls are not specific to any grade, group, major, or area of interest.  It would seem like all of the residents would be more disconnected as a result, however that is not the case. Sharing a kitchen and a corridor makes us more likely to hang out and to spend time together. I really enjoy this part of being an Uppsala student. And all of my corridor-mates are really great, which makes it all so much better!

Dinner with the 11 other students living on my hall

Dinner with my corridor-mates

The big part of my week was the Reccegasque I was so excited about. On Friday, we all got ready, dressed in cocktail dresses and suits and all gathered at our respective nations (each of the 13 nations had a Reccegasque at the same time). Uppsala never looked so fancy! We were very lucky to have clear skies and no rain (it rained in the morning). First we gathered at Värmlands Nation (my nation) and then we walked over to the University Main Building. There was a senior member of the nation who carried the nation’s flag and we followed him in a line. This entire ritual made me feel like a part of something bigger. The sense of community is on a really high level here. When we got to the University Main Building (which is conveniently 2 minutes away from our Nation’s house) other nations’ members were also gathering on a patio in front of the building. After about 10 minutes of waiting and chatting  with people standing around me, new nation members, lead by the flag bearer, started entering the building. We were seated in the Great Hall where we had the reception for international students. The program was amazing. We had representatives from the University and Student Union speak, and there was also an entertainment program. It all looked very majestic, especially with the classical music playing while the flag bearers entered the Hall. The weird thing was that most of the speeches were held in Swedish and I, along with all other international students, didn’t understand much. Luckily we had some Swedes around willing to help us. It was funny that there was an a capella group singing, and they performed “Levels” by Avicii. Does it get any more Swedish than this? 😀

Speeches and entertainment in the Great Hall of the University Main Building with all the nations

Speeches and entertainment, in the Great Hall of the University Main Building, as part of my first Reccegasque

After the program in the University Main Building we headed back to our Nations. There we had a looooooong dinner (5.30-10.30pm). The food was amazing (we had typical Swedish food like salmon and potatoes). Of course we sang a lot and heard a lot of speeches. There were also a few short performances by the Värmlands’ drama club and choir. The funniest thing for me was when we had to make a hat out of napkins, put them on our heads, sing a song, and then wave with the napkin after the song. For the last song of the night we had to get up on our chairs and sing. If, after the song, you sit down on your chair you will fail your exams. So we all stood a bit until the dinner was officially over. After the dinner we had an after-party in Värmlands’ own club “State of Mind” that was open to every student (not only the students who attended the Reccegasque). I really enjoyed the Gasque and I can’t wait for the next one (which is in October!). This is a great way to learn more about traditions, have a very formal dinner, and meet new people (the nation arranges the seating so you are almost never sitting next to your friends. I was lucky and had amazing table neighbors).

Waving the "hats" that we made out of napkins at the Gasque, our nations dinner

Waving our “napkin hats” at the Gasque

Uppsala is a place where you can experience so much and I am more and more sure of this every week. 🙂

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First Week of Classes, Culture Night and the Reccereception (posted by Indira in Sweden)

September 14, 2012

It seems like the semester (which ironically in Swedish actually means vacation) has officially started.

The first week of classes is over and I have to admit that it was a long week. At first I was really surprised by how the teaching system here operates in a completely different way than back at UR. Here, everyone usually takes one class at the time – basically you take one class for 5 weeks and you have that class every day – which means that you focus on only one field/area at a time. I think this is rather good approach. Right now I am taking two classes simultaneously (which is also one of the options), one in the Department of Government and the other in the Department of Sustainable Development. The way these classes run is very different. My Government class is very informal, and classes (lectures and seminars) are not mandatory, while the final exam is mandatory (of course!). There are lectures where we have about 50 students (mainly Swedish freshmen and exchange students) and seminars where there are about 15 students. During the seminars we discuss the class material, while during the lectures we simply listen to what the professor/lecturer has to say on a topic. My Sustainable Development class, on the other hand, is mandatory, but it is organized in essentially the same way as my other class (lectures and seminars). We also get a new lecturer for each class, so it’s rather dynamic and you learn from the experts in specific fields. In the beginning I was truly confused by this system, but now I understand it better. 🙂

After my last class on Friday I had a Reccereception. As a member of the Värmlands Nation I signed up for the Reccereception and Reccegaque which are basically a semi-formal and a formal dinner that help the new members (recce) get acquainted with the Nation.

Värmlands Nation's Big House in Uppsala

Värmlands Nation’s Big House

 

During the Reccereception we had a guided tour of the Nation houses and then we had a dinner. Dinner was more of a lesson for all of us newbies on how to act during the real formal Reccegasque. We learned about drinking snaps and singing songs (we even got special Songbooks so we can sing along with the Songmaster). I would say that the Reccereception was a real success and I had a lot of fun.

Crowded streets of Uppsala during the Culture Night in Sweden

Crowded streets of Uppsala during the Culture Night

Last week there was also the Culture Night here in Uppsala. All museums had free entrance and were open during the night. There were also a lot of various cultural events across town. It is very interesting to see how so many different cultures come together in such a small city like Uppsala. The streets were very crowded and everyone attended at least one event. My favorite part was the fire display. There were fire dancers who showed us their most mystical moves and kept us warm during the cold night. If you are ever in Uppsala during the Culture Night – make sure you take part in it, it is definitely worth it!

Fire Display at the Botaniska trädgården, at a cultural fair in Uppsala, Sweden

Fire Display at the Botaniska trädgården

Right now I am looking forward to the Reccegasque! I am sure it will be a blast 🙂

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Lively Uppsala: Orientation Week, Nollning, Värmlands and Aurora Borealis (posted by Indira in Sweden)

September 7, 2012

Just as I was walking to my class yesterday I noticed that the streets of Uppsala have never looked so lively. Beautiful sunny day (a rarity here nowadays), a lot of people (mainly students) on the streets, and all the different languages spoken in every corner – summarize the 5 minute walk I took from the Cathedral to the Department of Government. I was used to a calm and peaceful Uppsala and familiar faces everywhere. Well, I guess this makes it official – summer break is over and school just started!

Orientation Week was so much fun! The International Office, Student Nations and the Student Union put so much effort into making the past week as amusing as possible. Club nights, games in the park, barbecues and a crash course in “the Swedish” helped us all learn more about Sweden, but also bond with other exchange and international students. The official welcome reception held in the University Main Building was possibly the most breathtaking part of the Orientation. In the most amazing hall I’ve been to, the University’s vice chancellor, the City of Uppsala Mayor and other representatives welcomed 740 exchange and 400 international master students. One was truly able to see how majestic Sweden is!

Unfortunately, there is always something that can (slightly) ruin things, and in Sweden it’s usually the weather. Constant rain and relatively cold weather (55F) did their part and many of the exchange students got sick (including myself); but that is also a reason for more socializing. Forget about being in bed all sick, in Sweden we do ‘sick fika’ (usually coffee or tea with a cinnamon bun). I can’t help but notice that Sweden is a country where so much energy is focused on creating a cozy and warm atmosphere. I guess that is the best way to fight off the winter and darkness. 🙂

Last week was not only Orientation Week for the international students, Swedish freshmen also had a lot of fun. As far as I understood it, there is some sort of a ritual called ‘nollning’ (roughly translated it means zeroing) where each department at the University has a theme and all the people who participate in nollning wear costumes, sing and make music around the town. It is actually quite stunning to see how good their dance moves and chanting are. The funniest thing, of course, was their costumes. I had a chance to see the Middle Ages, Dalmatians, Super Mario, Prison Break and Lightning groups.

Nollning, essentially Freshman orientation

Nollning

I also completed another important ritual or task of becoming an Uppsala University student: I finally joined a student nation. My choice was Värmlands Nation because they have an amazing restaurant, cozy library, great Friday club and all the members I met are amazing and so helpful. This week we will have Reccereception (reception for all the new members) and next week we will have formal dinner – Reccegasque. I am looking forward to both of those!

Official School Welcome Reception as part of orientation

Official Welcome Reception

And that is not the end of the past week’s adventures in Uppsala – the most amazing thing happened last night! We were very lucky to see the Northern Lights here in Uppsala. Clear skies and time spent outdoors around midnight were more than helpful in seeing this beautiful phenomenon. After about 30 minutes we could no longer see the light. Hopefully we will have more clear skies at night soon (September is a perfect month for spotting Aurora Borealis).

Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights)

Aurora Borealis

I am excited to see what new adventures await in Uppsala!

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Bike (mis)adventures and the Nations (posted by Indira in Sweden)

August 29, 2012

Last week was one of the funniest, most sleep deprived and adventurous weeks of my life.

First of all, I was busy studying and doing my Swedish homework since I had an exam this week. I can’t believe that four weeks of intensive Swedish classes are over. It just hit me today when I was walking out of the classroom saying “tack så mycket” and “hej då” that this class ends here. It is crazy how time flies when you’re enjoying something. Signing up for this course was definitely the best possible decision I could have made when it comes to my semester in Sweden. I got a chance to meet people in a smaller community and to find my way around. It is actually funny to see new exchange students who just got here walking around with maps not sure where building 7 or 3 is. Also, the smaller group of people (well, if you consider 120 people a small group) gave me an opportunity to get to know all of them better and to interact with them in a way that allowed me to learn more about their cultures, languages and personalities.

Picture of books used to study for Swedish exam

Studying for the Swedish exam

Most of the other exchange students have arrived in the last few days. It is insane how Flogsta (area where I live) became so lively in only a few days. Now I see so many people walking around and I meet new people in the corridors all the time. I also got a few new corridormates so we are now 8 (out of 12) in my corridor. It is much more fun to be around people when cooking or walking or cycling somewhere.

The arrival of the exchange students and the lively Uppsala also mean that international orientation week is starting. We already had a few events mainly related to administration, but we are also having many fun events (beer tasting, lindy hop class, live-music quiz, international fika and club nights are just some of many). I am really looking forward to meeting new exchange students and learning more about Sweden (even though I learned a lot during the past month I spent here).

A train ride with a group of exchange students

A train ride with some other exchange students

Apart from the last Swedish class and a lot of new incoming students, this week we also explored the nations. So, what are these nations everyone in Uppsala seems to be talking about? Even though I cannot come up with my own definition of them, I can summarize them in one word – AMAZING! Basically, a nation is “a place where you can feel at home with hundreds of other students – you may work there, you may have parties there, and you will definitely make friends there!”  There are 13 nations in Uppsala named after a region or city in the country and they are student unions of a kind (very similar to coed fraternities, but much more open since you can be member of one (or more) nation(s) and attend the events and activities of other nations too). Basically the entire social life of Uppsala University students in focused on the nations: There are clubs, pubs, restaurants, sport teams etc. in each nation. The whole idea behind the quest of exploring the nations was finding the one that best fits my interests. So far I have found a couple of nations I really like and I will definitely join one by the end of the week.

This has been an exhausting, yet amazing week that finished with an unfortunate, but extremely funny event.  If you are following my blog you should know that Sweden is big on bikes and that bikes and I don’t work well together. Well, I just proved that again today. I thought I was making true progress since it’s been a while since I last fell off the bike or hit someone, but no. There are more technical things about bikes that beat me. Today after the class I wanted to inflate the bike tire, but of course I overdid it. Two minutes into biking and I hear this strange noise, so I get off the bike and then a very loud “BAM!!!” happens. I was confused, amused, terrified and sad when I saw that my front tire simply exploded because I overinflated it. As I was on my way to the bike shop, I received an amazing piece of advice from my friend: “Go find someone from the Netherlands. They were born on bikes and they can definitely fix this.” And I did it! Short 2 hours later I got my bike fixed and delivered to my dorm. The Dutch are amazing! Sometimes stereotypes can be good.

Now I sail into a new adventure – orientation week and the start of real classes – with a new tire and another lesson learned. Hälsningar until the next week 🙂

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Exploring Sweden (posted by Indira in Sweden)

August 22, 2012

The past week was all about learning more about Sweden firsthand; through food, music, people and traveling.

Sweden is a beautiful country and when blessed with nice and sunny weather (which we were very lucky to have over the past week) it definitely reveals its vibrant and vivid side. This country is like the pieces of kaleidoscope glass – they shine and surprise you with a new image in no time.

This week I was lucky to experience so many new sides to Sweden through the cultural part of the IBS program. First of all we had a lecture (and a practical part) about the Swedish food where we learned more about the holidays in this country and how food makes them special. We also talked a lot about the differences in the diet in the north and the south of the country. Since, of course, words don’t really have a taste, especially when you use them to describe food you never had in your life, we had samples of the most typical Swedish dishes such as köttbullar (meatballs) with lingonberry jam, reindeer (yes, real Swedish reindeer), herring, salmon, and typical Swedish cookies one usually has with fika. At the end of the day I was able to say: Swedish food is amazing!

Swedish food: Köttbullar and reindeer

A few days after the Swedish food, we had a 3-hour long presentation on Swedish music by four musicians from the Uppsala region. They presented traditional, classical, as well as modern Swedish music.  The most interesting part was the performance on the nyckelharpa (traditional Swedish instrument that sounds so nice) and the ABBA impression (we had the performers dress up as the ABBA members and sing their songs). It was really fun being a part of this presentation since I learned so much about the way Swedish music evolved and developed.

Swedish music: both musicians are dressed in the traditional costume from the Uppsala region and the women is holding the nyckelharpa.

We ended the week by going to two Swedish cities on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday we went to Stockholm (it’s really close, about 40 minutes by train) so we could attend the Stockholm’s Kulturfestival (you can read more about it here: http://kulturfestivalen.stockholm.se/EN/index.php). It was amazing! We saw performances by Catalan, Swedish and Finnish artists. I am really happy we made it there on Saturday since it was the last day of the festival – definitely a well spent day!

On Sunday we went to a city named Gävle. Since it is a small city and not really a popular tourist destination we had a choice of doing an individual walking tour which turned out to be quite a success! We saw an amazing park, river, old bridge, prison museum, sunning town hall and much more. I’ve noticed that Gävle and Uppsala are very alike, but they have different vibes: Uppsala is more exuberant (but not as much as Stockholm!) and yet tamed in a way, while Gävle seems to be more of a nice small town (almost a suburb) that reminds me of a mystery box that hides all the beautiful spots that have to be discovered. Either way, I really loved visiting both of the cities. 🙂

Gävle

People are also a big part of the exchange program. Not only am I meeting a lot of international students (there are not a lot of Americans, which makes Uppsala University a perfect place to make friends with people of other nationalities and backgrounds), I am also making a lot of Swedish friends. Don’t let the stereotype about Swedish coldness scare you – they are amazing people with interesting stories. And they are very funny too! There are a few Swedes who live on my corridor and I really like them; they are all so helpful and they do their best to make me feel at home. Swedes you meet at the social events are also very nice and talkative (I haven’t really experienced that famous coldness yet). After all, talking to people is the best way to learn about the country and its traditions, but also to find out more about the wonders this country hides.

Every day I am more and more happy that I have chosen Uppsala University as my study abroad destination since I am getting the best of both worlds – high quality education and amazing cultural exchange that will mark my college experience in a great way.

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Uppsala, we love you! (posted by Indira in Sweden)

August 14, 2012

I can’t believe that another week of classes, fun and sightseeing is over. We are all always very busy and have barely any free time, so it feels unbelievable to me when I have to sit down and reflect on the past week.

First of all, my Swedish is getting better. I was so proud of myself when I went grocery shopping and managed to talk to the cashier in Swedish! I really feel that the past two weeks of intensive Swedish classes are starting to pay off: I can watch Swedish TV programs or listen to people talk and I’m able to understand a bit (hey, it’s a progress!). It really is a great feeling! After only two weeks of classes, I’m able to say that there are some fundamental differences in the teaching systems here and at UR. Here everything (by everything I mean the final grade) depends solely on your final exam and attendance (you can’t miss more than 15% of classes), while homework and class participation contribute only in a way that you don’t really have to review the class material per se. Otherwise, I feel that we are all a bit more independent here in Uppsala. This applies not only to the classes, but to the other activities as well.

It is us, the students, who organize events, picnics, parties and trips. The school as an institution is far less present, which is probably a result of the fact that Uppsala University does not have a campus that is similar to the UR one – it is spread all across the city and there is less isolation. The entire city is the campus (Uppsala is traditionally known as a university city) and yet the city is a place you don’t necessarily have to relate to the University.

It might sound like an almost dysfunctional system where students are not connected at all, but I feel that this level of independence makes us bond more both among our exchange group and with local students. Meeting every morning to ride bikes to school together, picnics that gather both international and Swedish students, and fika (drinking coffee/tee/hot chocolate with some pastry or cake) in the multiple cafes around Uppsala allow us to make friends on few different levels.

rooftop BBQ

Rooftop BBQ with friends

I find it also interesting that I meet new exchange students every day! Today, for example, we went on a tour to Stockholm and I met few new people. We always get a chance to experience Sweden from a highly international perspective due to our diversity.

And Stockholm is an amazing city! The royal palace, architecture, difference between the north and the south part of the city, museums, as well as the countless cozy cafes are all welcoming and make one fall in love with the Swedish capital instantly. Stockholm is definitely a place I plan to go back to (that won’t be hard since it’s only a 45 minute drive away from Uppsala).

Stockholm

Stockholm

So far my time here has been better than I could have ever dreamed of. I did have my fears about the new environment, people and system, but it is all working out exceptionally well. Every new day is a new adventure that makes me feel more at home and more attached to Uppsala.

I’m off to do my Swedish homework and tomorrow is the Swedish food festival. Definitely looking forward to tasting some typical Swedish dishes.

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Amazing beginning of my adventure: Bikes, Rain, Swedish and Uppland (posted by Indira in Sweden)

August 6, 2012

It is funny how time passes: Sometimes it is just too slow, and other times way too fast. I’ve been in Uppsala for a bit over a week now and I don’t even know where to start explaining how I spent these few days in the north of Europe.

A short summary: I met many different people from all over the world, I got a bike and cycled over 80 km (about 50 miles) so far, I can hold a basic conversation in Swedish, I can go many places without checking the map every few blocks, and most importantly – I didn’t starve.

Uppsala is a neat medium-sized city (fourth by size in Sweden) that offers the best of both worlds: European architecture and system with a mixture of the US-like features. The very center of the city is the Cathedral (Domkyrkan) and all streets lead there. One can easily walk, bike or use public transportation to get anywhere. Shopping areas (mainly ICA and Ikea type of stores) are located outside the city, which reminds me of the US in a great manner. Uppsala really depicts what Swedes and my exchange program are like: relaxed and laid back.

Cathedral in Uppsala

The Cathedral

The group of the exchange students who are here for the one month language course are all great and each of them adds a special little something to the mix. It is very hard to find oneself in a group that has more than two people from the same country and the internationalism is on a rather high level. Funny thing is that even though we are all so different, we all get along extremely well. No matter if we are biking downtown, going on a city tour, to the lake, spontaneously decide to have a BBQ on the rooftop of our residence houses or just going grocery shopping, everyone keeps close and it’s all done in a socialist way (I guess we are learning fast). Even our Swedish language lessons are a group effort since we all help each other with the pronunciation, translation or homework. The use of the simple small Swedish words such as tack (thanks) or hej (hi) is also becoming a part of what is starting to define our semester- or year-long stay in Sweden.

playing Kubb

Playing the game of Kubb at the lake

For me this experience abroad is a challenge in so many ways. First of all, I left my comfort zone one more time and I surely don’t regret it. Also the biking is a big part of the challenge. This was something I had to get used to on a daily basis, but after falling of the bike, hitting few people, and learning how to safely stop on the traffic light and mastering the turning on the street, I am proud to say that I am no longer a danger to the Uppsala biking society. Since there is no D-Hall, I have to cook on my own and it is a true success that a person with such poor cooking skills like me survives a week without actually being hungry. Little things like this will stay forever with me and remind me of a rather fun and a bit painful start of my Swedish adventure.

Sweden as a country is a great place to visit! Last Saturday I was on a tour of Uppland where we visited the Hammerby estate – summer residence of Carl von Linné, Skokloster and the small town of Sigtuna. This was a chance for bonding with other exchange students, as well as an opportunity to see places that one otherwise would never visit.

Even though everyone here is so relaxed, every day is well planned and thoroughly used mainly because of the rain. Sun and no rain are synonyms for the lake picnic or barbecue. We were very lucky this past weekend that we had a great weather, so it was a very active weekend that included a lot of biking and going places.

hanging out

Hanging out with other exchange students

It’s been only one week since I got to Uppsala but I already love it and always keep my mind open for the new experiences!

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Alter Schwede: Sweden in 6 Days (posted by Indira in Sweden)

July 26, 2012

As I’m spending the last days at home I anxiously await the adventure that is about to start in only 6 days; I’m moving to Sweden to start my fall semester abroad.

I am Indira and I’m from Bosnia and Herzegovina. I am a rising junior double majoring in International Studies and German Studies. My main interests revolve around internationalism, traveling and culture – all of which are a major component of the University of Richmond study abroad program.

My fall semester I will be spending at the Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden. Together with other international, exchange and Swedish students I will be taking a wide range of classes with main focuses in government and sustainable development. Uppsala University is well-known for both of these fields, as well as for its natural and computer sciences departments. It is one of Europe’s oldest and best universities located in a city that it brings together tradition, education and youth. It’s a unique example of the ‘old meets new’ kind of place. These were the main reasons I chose Uppsala University over other exchange programs.

Before I start my classes in September I will participate in the IBS (Intensive Course in Swedish) program with other exchange students from around the world. This will be a perfect opportunity to settle  into a new place and learn my way around before the semester truly starts. Apart from that, I will learn some of the language so I’ll be able to make basic conversation in one of the most interesting languages I’ve encountered – Swedish. Language is a rather interesting thing in Sweden. This Scandinavian country is almost bilingual because everyone speaks English and children start having English classes from early on.

In Uppsala I will be living in the accommodation area called Flogsta, which is a complex of multiple buildings typical of the communist architecture. I am really excited to start my adventure and move to a place that is completely different from Richmond in so many ways.

Right now I’m trying to think of all the things I need to pack before Sunday and then I am ready for my Swedish adventure!

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