Sweden is a beautiful country Past Review
By gabriela.valle.7 (Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering., University of California - Merced) - abroad from 01/10/2012 to 06/08/2012 with
Lund University: Lund - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I was able to meet students with different cultures and see their perspective views in different subjects. I was able to experience daily life in another country. I think it was really worth it to go an explore another country, I had such a great time.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
It was such a great opportunity I had to experience how other universities work. The professors were very helpful, they were very caring of the students. They came up to me, ask how I was doing and asked if I had trouble in any of the material. What caught my attention more is that if only one student doesn't speak the native language they would change the course to English. The courses were pretty difficult since it covered programs that I hadn't used before but with the help of other students and the professor made it easier to go through. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I didn't have any trouble on the program on-site administration since my academic advisor was very helpful. She was very polite and answered all the questions about how the system works. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Everything was well organized, when I arrived in Lund, the international housing picked their students on the train station, took all their students to the international housing, gave us all the information we needed, and took their students to their dorms. |
| * Food: |
The food was great, it was very healthy too. I loved the desserts they sold. They also had these organizations called nations, they sold delicious healthy food cheap and while enjoying it with other native and international students. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Well, I had a little trouble with communicating with others since I am a bit shy and Swedes don't approach you (part of their culture), but I when I had the courage and talk to them, they are very nice and polite. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
Lund is a very safe city, I would take strolls with my friends at night time and it was very peaceful. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
|
Finances
|
* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
Well at first it was very hard to tell what was cheap or expensive since I was no use to the currency conversion, but later on I was able to find places that had cheap stuff, and I had easy access to my bank account, I didn't have to open an account abroad. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I spent around probably $60 per week |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
|
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
Well, the courses were offered in English, then most of the people spoke English, so it made it hard to learn their language. But I remember they did make many announcements of spaces available to learn Swedish. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | I just took their two week language intensive program |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 0 |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | If you are very interested to learn the language, I would recommend to take the language classes and have many native speakers friends, they could help you learn the language. |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | N/A |
