Experience report of a semester abroad in Sweden

I spent the spring semester 2022 abroad at the university of Borås in Sweden. I arrived in the beginning of January a couple of days before the introduction days took place. Because of covid the first introduction day was in the university and the second day took place via zoom. We were provided with a lot of informations about Borås, the Swedish culture and the university. During these two days I also got to know the first people. The university seemed very organized and also technically well developed. At the beginning it was a bit confusing, because they had several websites and apps which show the exam results, the timetable or the course content. Also the timetable changed each week, which I was not used to, since at my home university the timetable is set for the whole semester. The semester in Sweden is split into two periods. The first period you have the courses from January until March and have the exams right afterwards and the second semester is from March until end of May, with the exams right afterwards. The exams are also very different to the exams at my home university. In Sweden they are very focused on group work, which I really liked. So the grade at the end is consisting out of, e.g. a group work, an essay exam and a presentation.

Before I arrived I was informed about everything by email from the university abroad. The communication worked very well and so I was able to organize my stay in Sweden from home. I got emails about the covid situation, the university life and the accommodation. In Borås you have multiple choices to get an accommodation. There are two, very new buildings directly at the university. One building in Norby and multiple accommodations in Hässleholmen, which is located a little bit out of the city. I stayed in Distansgatan, Hässleholmen in a shared flat with one roommate. My roommate lived in our flat for already two years and was from Sweden. The only issue we had was, that he only could speak Spanish and Swedish, and I only speak German and English. So we couldn’t really hang out together or communicate, which was really sad. The main reason why I moved into Distansgatan into a shared flat was, that I would immediately get to know people, which would make my life abroad easier. Even tough the shared living experience wasn’t as imagined before, we got along very well but we kind of lived our separate lives.
From the beginning of the semester there were a lot events planned to get all the exchange students together. For example on the first Friday all the exchange students went into a bar, there were game nights every Monday or a movie night at the cinema. Everyone was really open minded and attending the events, so you could make friends very easily. So after a while we were growing into a big group of international students, who got along very well. Especially the trip to the Swedish Lapland in February got us close together. We were so thankful to experience such a special adventure together and that it took place in the beginning of the semester brought us even closer together as a group. Besides the Swedish Lapland trip, where we experienced the northern lights, took a sled dog ride and did a excursion to Norway, there was another trip that was organized by the ESN. ESN stands for Erasmus Student Network and they organized a lot of events and trips to connect the international students with each other. The second trip I did was the ESN Seabattle from Stockholm to Tallinn. It took place in March and together with international students from all over Sweden we took the ferry from Stockholm to Tallinn. It was nice to meet other international students, but it was also very exhausting, since it was only a two nights trip and there was a lot of program on board.

Besides these planned trips and events, my friends and I did a lot of traveling. Whenever I had a few days without lectures I planned on going somewhere. So in the six months in Sweden I got the chance to visit not only Sweden, but also Denmark, Norway, Estonia and Latvia.
Therefore I experienced a lot in the six months abroad and especially after covid it was nice to be that free again and to travel a lot around without any restrictions. It was also a special time for me, because in my studies at my home university I never experienced the real student life. Covid started at the end of my first semester and since then I had online lectures and barely face-to-face events in the university. It was therefore hard to stay in contact with the friends you made in the first semester, since everyone moved away due to the online lectures. So the semester abroad gave me the opportunity and made me experience all the advantages of a wholesome student life.

In the time that I lived in Borås I got to know a lot of cultural differences that I wasn’t aware of before. Since Sweden is not so far away from Germany, I thought that the lifestyle of the two cultures wouldn’t differ that much. The first two weeks where therefore a bit confusing, because I not only had to build my life there and make new friends, I also had to get to know the culture and the every day life of the Swedes. For example, for me the Sunday is the last day of the weekend, which I enjoy to spend outside with my friends, going out for a drink or dinner. But in Sweden they spend their Sunday with the family at home. That means that restaurants don’t open on Sundays or close very early at around 6 pm. In general everything is closing very early compared to Germany. Also the Swedes have a traditional coffee break everyday, which is called fika. They do a fika everyday and it is often done around 1-5 pm. You meet with friends or the family and are having a coffee and a little snack. The most common snacks for a fika are cinnamon buns or chokladbollar, which are little chocolate balls with are covered in grated coconuts. Furthermore the Swedish people also drink a lot of alcohol. If you want to buy drinks above 5% alcohol content, you need to go to a special store which is called ‘System Bolaget’. These are only a few examples of the differences between the every day life of the Swedes and the Germans, during the time abroad I learned a lot more and got a good insight into the Swedish culture.

In the semester abroad I learned a lot about myself. It was my first experience to live alone which taught me to take more responsibility and to be more independent. Also moving alone into a new city and a whole new country, without knowing anyone and to find new friends on my own, brought me more self-confidence. I got to know people from all over the world and made friends for a lifetime. I’m very thankful that I was able to make such an incredible experience which had so much impact on my life and gave me memories I won’t forget. All in all I can recommend to everyone to do a semester abroad and especially to go to Sweden. It’s an underrated country with amazing nature and a lot to discover.