Orientation and First Weeks
The first weeks were some of the best memories of my time in Uppsala. I arrived during the recommended Arrival Days where the university provided a shuttle bus to drive students from Arlanda Airport to the Uppsala University Welcome Centre and then to our dorms. Arriving on the Arrival Days along with so many other students helped me make friends much easier. I met some of the best friends I made at Uppsala at the airport while we waited for the shuttle bus.
Once I was settled into my dorm and ready to explore, I used the Nation’s guide to see what events were happening. The Nations are similar to student clubs that all have their own building and run their own restaurants and events - like karaoke, sports, and formal dinners. There were also welcome events hosted by different faculties throughout the week to help introduce students to one another and provide information on what classes and student life is like in Uppsala. One of the highlights of these events was a Sorting Hat Ceremony!
Accommodation and Living
I ended up living in the Flogsta dorms which are located around the outskirts of the city and are known for housing thousands of international students on exchange. I applied for the dorms through the Uppsala University Housing Office. Living in Flogsta was difficult at times (you share a kitchen and cleaning schedule with 11 other students), but well worth it! My corridor mates became very close and had dinners and games nights, and even went on some trips together! Flogsta also offers the famous Flogsta scream - a tradition where every night at 10 pm, students will literally open their windows and scream at each other (it’s supposed to be stress relief).
Learning and Adaptation
At SFU I study Computing Science, however, I decided to take elective courses that I found interesting while on exchange, with my favourite 2 being Nuclear Weapons and Disarmament and Human Struggle for a Better World. I found school and classes at Uppsala to be very different from SFU with much more participation and discussion expected in class and fewer assignments and exams. There are also retake exams and assignments if you don’t pass, so I was able to spend more time learning and understanding the content with less stress about failing. The class scheduling system is also unique in that the schedules change each week, so some weeks I would only have 1 class and some weeks I would have class every day. The semester is split into 4 periods so some of my classes ran for only 1 or 2 months, and some courses only started in November or December rather than at the beginning of the semester in August.
Accomplishments and Challenges
I found the first few weeks to be extremely rewarding but also difficult as I put a lot of pressure on myself to make friends and experience as much as I could. If you too experience this, don’t worry, it will be ok, everything will work out. Many other students I met also had a hard time adjusting initially since everything was foreign, new, and many people were feeling nervous. One of my biggest personal accomplishments was being able to make amazing friends and build my community from scratch. I began the exchange being extremely worried about making friends and being alone, but I ended it by making some of my best friends for life.
Social and Extracurricular Activities
My favourite activities were going to Nations’ events with friends, visiting some of the touristy spots in Uppsala or the surrounding towns, or grabbing an afternoon fika and chat. I met many of my friends initially through participating in Nations events like walking tours and dinners, we would then we’d spend more time together going on day trips to other Swedish cities/towns like Stockholm and Sigtuna. I fell in love with fika - a Swedish tradition of an afternoon coffee break with a treat, like kanelbullar- a Swedish cinnamon roll! I went on countless fikas during my exchange and will continue the tradition in Vancouver.
