Sarah Lee
"As an Asian-American woman, I knew that Sweden would be very different than the environment I was used to, but I grew fond of Sweden quickly because of how kind and inclusive the people are there."
Having studied the Swedish language in my free time and for a semester at UC Berkeley, I wanted to experience Sweden real time, and studying abroad helped me do just that. I also chose Sweden because I had been wanting to visit Europe, especially Scandinavia, for a while.
As an Asian-American woman, I knew that Sweden would be very different than the environment I was used to, but I grew fond of Sweden quickly because of how kind and inclusive the people are there.
Attending class, grabbing fika with friends, and taking a short train ride away from Lund to Sweden's third biggest city, Malmö. Also, Malmö has a wide variety of delicious cafes to choose from, so I was never bored!
I mostly took linguistics courses, but others were Scandinavian studies, communications, and philosophy. In comparison to my coursework at Berkeley, I felt that my coursework at Lund was not as demanding. However, that doesn't necessarily mean it was easier. At Lund, most, if not all, final grades are based on only the final. So, although there is often no homework given, one would still have to study and perform relatively well on their final to achieve a decent grade overall.
I became more independent and comfortable with doing activities alone. As such, in Sweden, I learned to undertake a lagom lifestyle. Though I was often with others, I sometimes went to cafes alone. Previously, I had never done that before, but it soon became my new form of self-care. And it was, to say the least, some of the most refreshing experiences I've had.
I absolutely loved the student nations Lund has to offer, alongside any student corridor parties that came after! Getting to meet both international and Swedish students helped me better understand more cultures.
I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get around easily because I hadn't used public transportation often before studying abroad. But I quickly found out Sweden has a swift public transportation system - unlike here, buses there are on time more than 90% of the time. The Skånetrafiken app, primarily used for public transit in Southern Sweden, helped tremendously with this. For one, I was able to travel to and within cities, such as Malmö, Gothenburg, and Helsingborg, at ease.
As many have said, studying abroad honestly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. At least for me, I was still given a different perspective even having previously traveled before studying abroad. While abroad, I didn't only feel like a tourist but also a local. Staying there for a year, I eventually immersed myself into the Swedish culture. Doing so provided me many new experiences and made my time there more enjoyable!