Sweden, a country to fall in love with

A lot of students do not think of Scandinavia for their exchange destination. Most students prefer warm and sunny destinations over the cold and dark ones. However, I am really happy with my decision for Sweden. The reason I chose Sweden is because of the beautiful nature and the Swedish culture. I thought that the culture and the mentality of the Swedish people would fit me very well. I am currently studying in Jönköping, the tenth largest city of Sweden. It is quite a small, but very nice city. It is located on the edge of the second biggest lake of Sweden, called Vättern. The lake is so big that it actually looks like an ocean. There is even a beach in Jönköping! My guest university is Jönköping University, and the faculty I go to is Jönköping International Business School, also called JIBS. JIBS has a really international mindset. This was one of the reasons I chose to study here. I study with people from all over the world, the amount of exchange students in Jönköping is very high.

My exchange had a great start on the 13^th of August. The weather had been bad all summer in Sweden, until the week that I arrived. Two weeks of really nice weather and lots of sun followed! Who would have thought that?! After my first weekend here, while I explored the city a bit, the Kick-off Week started. This is the introduction week for all Swedish and international students. The tradition here in Jönköping is that all students receive a not so charming overall during the second day of Kick-off. We had to put on our overalls while swearing that we would never wash them and that we would always stay faithful to them. When students participate in events or go to parties, they receive patches that are meant to be glued on the overall. The more patches you have, the cooler you are! The Kick-Off week was the most amazing start of my exchange. Ten days full of partying, nice events and meeting lots of new people!

After Kick-Off week the lectures started. I only have to take four subjects, since all subjects here are worth 7.5 ECTS. I am taking two subjects in this quarter and the other two in the next quarter. My subjects are quite easy but still interesting. I do not have a lot of lectures. However, we do have a lot of group work and projects which are compulsory. Swedish people love creativity, so the assignments that we have to do are quite fun! But luckily, I still have enough time left to do other, perhaps more important, stuff! Wednesday night is the party night in Jönköping. Everyone goes to a club called Akademien, better known as ‘Aka’. All students go there in their overall, so we never have to think about what to wear. The prices at Aka are really nice, water and soda are even for free! This in contrast to other clubs in Sweden, where you pay around €5 for a beer, unfortunately. Despite the crazy alcohol prices, the nightlife is really good in Jönköping.

One of my main reasons to go on exchange was because I would like to travel a lot. This goal can easily be achieved here, since so many trips are organized for students. I am going to do trips to Norway, Russia, Estonia, Finland and last but definitely not least; Lapland! I am so excited for all the trips and looking forward to lots of new experiences. So with all these trips coming up, a lot of partying, and sometimes the necessary studying, I have enough things to do for sure! Time flies here in Sweden!

As for the country itself, I have already fallen in love with Sweden. The people are really nice, friendly, and everyone can speak English! Swedish people are also really motivated in everything they do. I have experienced this during group work together with Swedish students, they are really ambitious and put a lot of effort into what they do to make the best out of it. I like their motivation a lot. Another thing that I really like are the Swedish ‘fika’s’. Fika is a typical Swedish tradition in which friends, family or colleagues meet for a coffee with something sweet on the side. A typical Swedish sweet for the fika is the cinnamon bun, kanelbullar in Swedish. This is a bread with a filling made of cinnamon and butter. I have already had a lot of fika’s with friends! Furthermore, the nature is Sweden is so amazing. There are lakes everywhere! You do not have to search long for a place where you can have a nice hike or a beautiful view. Sweden would definitely be a country I can see myself live in in the future!

I can recommend an exchange to everyone, I believe it is an essential part of your development to go and live by yourself in a completely different country. Meeting people from all over the world will definitely broaden your view of the world. I promise you will have the time of your life when you’re on exchange!