Student Testimonials

Student diary - A Swedish experience

Two students, Claire and Stephanie, from La Trobe University, went to Sweden in August 2005 for a semester of study at Malmö University. They have been keeping a journal of their experiences in Sweden which gives an excellent insight into life as an exchange student. Exerpts from their journal are recorded here.

Journal 1 - Week 3 in Malmö

Hej,

Our names are Claire and Stephanie, and we are students from LaTrobe University . We are currently overseas studying at Malmö University, Sweden, and have decided to write a journal of our travels and experiences while on exchange.

We have been in Malmö for 3 weeks now, and are enjoying ourselves immensely. Our accommodation is fantastic; we are staying at Rönnen International Housing. We have our own room and bathroom, and shared kitchen, living room and laundry with approximately 25 students on each floor, from all over the world. The city is very beautiful with interesting olden style buildings and many parks. Malmö is a flat city, and riding bikes is the easiest way to get around town. Therefore we have both bought our own bikes, and are really enjoying a new way of traveling around. The university is only 15 minutes bike ride from our accommodation.

We have just finished our introduction program, which was run by Malmö University and included a 2-week Swedish language course. It was an exciting beginning to our exchange, with lots of organised trips around the area and social events. One of these social events was the opening of the Malmö Festival in August, the biggest crayfish party in the world. It started with some great Swedish entertainment, and continued with dancing and drinking long into the night!

There have also been many fun social events organised by the exchange students to get to know each other. Our mentors have also organised outings, such as the student pub, barbeques and picnics in the park.

As you can see we have had a busy few weeks, and time has flown! So we will continue this in a few weeks time with some more updates of life in Malmö?

Hej då,

Claire & Steph J

Journal 2 - Week 6 in Malmö

Hej hej,

So we are now into our 6 th week of living in Malmö and life is going fantastic. We have made many fabulous friends and contacts from around the world. We have started our course now and are really enjoying learning in a different environment. We are both studying P.E in a Swedish perspective and are in an exchange class with 13 other students.

Last week we began our course with a summer hike in Norway with 60 other P.E Swedish students. Although it was demanding and tough at times, it was extremely enjoyable. The scenery was absolutely spectacular!! The Norwegian mountains are a fantastic sight to see, and we stayed for a few nights in beautiful log cabins.

From our perspective, Malmö is a great city to live in. We find that the supermarket prices are relatively the same as in Australia, but eating out is overly expensive, along with alcohol prices. So if you are planning to come to Malmö, be prepared to cook most of your meals to save money, or alternatively you can eat Falafels and Kebab's as they are everywhere. Having said this, you do eat a lot of meals with other friends in your accommodation and it is interesting to experience the different food cultures.

Until next time?

Hej då,

Claire & Steph J

Journal 3 - Two months in Malmö

Hej all,

We are now well into our trip in Sweden , and feeling very much at home. The weather is getting colder, and school is getting harder, but we are still having a fantastic time with plenty of exciting activities occurring daily?

A couple of weeks ago, just after our last journal, we went on a canoeing trip for our course, to Lake Råslangen, about 2 hours from Malmö. It was fantastic; the weather was beautiful, and so quiet! Sweden really values their outdoor lifestyle, and you could really tell when visiting a place like this. The lake was completely closed in by trees, making the water still, and each night we stayed in shelters that had been built especially by the communities surrounding the lake. So each place that we stopped at for the night had wood set-aside for the campers, well-built shelters, and a toilet, making it a very comfortable trip!!

Then, the weekend we returned from the canoeing trip a few of us went to Copenhagen for the weekend. It was a great experience.

Our course has continued to keep us busy since then, with orienteering, dance, ball games and much more. Look out for the next instalment?

Hey då,

Steph & Claire J

Journal 4 - Three months in Malmö

Hej again,

It's been almost three months in Sweden now, and our first course is almost over. Since our last journal we haven't done much traveling, just enjoying our time around Malmö.

Just a couple of weeks ago our course teacher took us out sailing for a day on his private yacht. We sailed out from the habour under the famous Malmö to Copenhagen bridge. It was an exciting experience, with the boat almost capsizing in the wind underneath the bridge?

Recently our Swedish mentors organised a Bring-a-Dish Party at the Student Pub. We all bought a dish from our home country, ours being sausage rolls and chicken pie. It was nice to try so many different foods from different countries, including Swedish sausage, Norwegian brown cheese, Pavlova from New Zealand and Spanish omelet. The dinner was well set up, with candle-lit tables, good music and many drinks. Afterwards a big group of us hit the town, and tried a new club in the center of Malmö, which took us into the early hours of the morning.

Just this last week we have really noticed a change in the weather. Up until now it has been quite mild, with only a few cold days, but have found this week that we are not game to leave the house without our beanies and scarf's. The season has definitely changed, and winter is coming quickly. The mornings are icy, and it doesn't get much warmer throughout the day. We're getting a little worried about how cold it's going to get, with us aussie's not quite used to the freezing weather that Sweden gets. Therefore we have been busy lately shopping for warmer clothes.

The next weeks will be hectic with completing assignments that are due for the end of the course. We then start a new course in early November, Sports Psychology.

So, vi ses?

Hej då,

Claire & Steph J

Photogallery

Images of Claire and Stephanie's student exchange to Sweden can be viewed at Life in Malmo and A White Christmas.