Host University: Stockholm University – Spring semester Programme: Swedish Language
First of all I went on exchange to Stockholm because I wanted to experience what it is to live in another country for a while and I wanted to meet new people, get out of my comfort zone.
I could have gone on exchange to other (warmer) countries, but I was learning the Swedish language at that moment in Groningen, so I thought living for a while in Sweden would improve my language skills. The last reason I went to Stockholm is because my family lives in Finland and I wanted to experience Sweden, so I would know if I could live in Finland as well.
Besides was it nice for me that I could visit my parents and sister in Finland more often now.
At the University of Stockholm I didn’t really want to take specific courses in Swedish language. To be fair, I am much more interested in history subjects and not so much in language subjects. My own university left me freely in choosing which subjects I wanted to take in Stockholm, but unfortunately was it not that easy with the exchange coordinator in Stockholm. Because of the exchange agreement the ‘Rijksuniversiteit Groningen ‘specifically has with the department of Swedish Language at the Stockholm university, I had to choose at least 50 percent of my courses at their department. Well, 50 percent doesn’t sound too harsh, but I went to Stockholm in the second semester and found out that the course catalogue was much scarcer in the second semester than in the first semester. That made it really difficult for me to find myself two Swedish language courses at this department that interested me for just a bit. To be fair, none of the few Swedish language courses (all being taught in Swedish) they offered in the spring semester seemed interested to me, and that’s why I just chose those which I thought we’re the easiest to accomplish. The first one was an internet course about the role of Swedish language in job recruitment and the second one was about Swedish academic writing. The other two subjects I chose were with the
department of linguistics and archeology. The linguistics course was called ‘Language, Culture and Mind’ (anthropology) and the other course was about ‘The Viking Age’. I really enjoyed the Viking Age course. It was taught in English and you didn’t necessarily have to have any history or archeological knowledge for this course. The lessons were more informal and we did some sociable things with the group. We also went on excursions to Viking Age sites and had dinner. In the end I earned all the credits for three courses, but one course I dropped.
This was the course about Swedish Academic writing. I was so bored about this course that I couldn’t proceed it. It is as real pity, because if I was left more freely and could have chosen something that I actually was interested in, I would have passed all the four courses and could have finished my studies by the end of summer. Besides is it not a good thing if you look forward to your exchange abroad except for some courses you just have to follow because there was limited option for you to choose from.
The quality of the courses I took part in was fine. The method of teaching was just like I’m used to in Groningen. Again I want to especially praise ‘The Viking Age’ course. It was a lovely course which was given in a more informal way which made it possible to form more of a band with fellow students.
Also the information given by Stockholm University is good. The first week existed out of an introduction week. The first evening all international students gathered in the largest aula of the university and you got to know the most important things. The flow of
information alternated with the distribution of food and other activities so that it also
remained an enjoyable evening. Other activities in the introduction week existed out of other social activities like a pub crawl in which it was easily to get to know fellow exchange
students. Even a free two hour guided bus tour through Stockholm was organized. The introduction week was except from the first evening not mandatory, although I really recommend people to join as much activities, because it is the best option to get to know other people and to let go of the nerves. The campus is quite big and easily to get lost on. In the introduction week several campus tours are organized and there even is a mobile app with an extensive map of the campus. Besides did I get an extra introduction within the department of Swedish Language from the exchange coordinator there. Although I did complain a bit about her regarding the courses I had to follow, she was friendly and always helpful. On top of that she organized a nice Swedish ‘fika’ with fellow exchange students within the Department of Swedish Language during the introduction day.
It is known that getting accommodation as a student is really hard in Stockholm. The university offers accommodation to a limited amount of students and therefore it is better to sign yourself in early for this accommodation through the university. Actually I did really easy get accommodation from the university. I even got the housing of my first choice. It is the easiest and maybe the cheapest option to get accommodation through the university, but if you have the time and money, I recommend searching for yourself. The accommodation I got from university was so old-fashioned but moreover extremely dirty. I had my own bedroom (with furniture and mattress which was quite clean) and bathroom (which was full of mold).
The public areas were extremely dirty and never being cleaned. It was supposed to be cleaned by the previous students who lived there before I arrived, but it was certainly not done. My part of the fridge was even still filled with molded food from the previous owner. I think it is not acceptable that you have to pay quite an amount of rent to something so old- fashioned and in particularly dirty. I chose student housing through university because I was hoping to meet ‘new friends’ in the corridor I lived in (I lived with 12 people in a corridor), but the result was actually disappointing. I didn’t see the people in my corridor that much and most of them were not really interested in doing some activities together. I was just living in the wrong corridor, because I did see people from other corridors eating and having fun together.
Living in Stockholm is expensive and only an Erasmus scholarship is by far not enough to support your stay. I worked and saved some money half a year before I went to Stockholm.
The rent I had to pay for those 5 months was around 1720 euro. Also food costs a lot, and it is really profitable to go to the Lidl instead of the Swedish supermarkets. Alcohol is in comparison with the Netherlands really expensive. I have rarely been going out in the city but always went to the bars on the campus. These bars offer alcohol that is a lot and a lot more cheaper. And if you want to have some alcohol for a party you have to go to the
‘systembolaget’ (the alcohol store because you can’t buy it in the supermarket). If you are planning to party a lot, it is advisable to take the boat to Tallin, Riga or Helsinki for a time and buy these packets of alcohol onboard or in Tallin or Riga. Besides are these boat trips really enjoyable party ships. Public transport is something that is actually cheaper than in the Netherlands. Unfortunately you can’t travel for free, but if you join the Student Union for a small amount, you can get a 40 percent student discount on public transport in Stockholm.
You can travel with a one-way public transport ticket through the whole province of
Stockholm and therefore it is for example also possible to travel to Uppsala in an hour or visit the old Viking town Sigtuna (Which you both should do!) Public transport is great in
Stockholm. It is possible to reach almost everything by subway and bus. A subway station is even in front of the university campus. The Student Union offers a lot more discounts for students. You can get great discounts on museum entrance fees for example.
That was everything about the practical stuff, now I’m just going to say a few things about my further experiences. At first I really recommend to do a trip to Lapland. It is a bit touristy to do, but worth it. I went with an organized trip from the Student Union. If you travel with them you get everything with discount and you travel with mostly fellow exchange students. We went to Lapland and one day to Norway by bus, which was more comfortable than I had imagined. The trip lasted six days and was planned in a week without lections. Some activities we did are dog sledge riding, snowmobile driving, ice climbing, cross-country skiing, going in a sauna and ice swimming and we went a day to Norway. The tour guidance was excellent.
Stockholm is a beautiful city with a lot of nice hidden spots and it takes a while before you know where to go besides the touristic spots. I know now that Södermalm at the
waterside is beautiful and has a lot of good eating spots and bars. More in the center of Södermalm are the vintage clothing shops and more good bars and restaurants. I even haven’t discovered the most of it yet. Also you should definitely visit ‘Trädgården’. This is a bar/club located under a viaduct. It consists of different buildings and gardens with different themes and is a really cool place. In the harbor of Södermalm it is possible to climb a rock wall and walk along the rock wall for a while. Here you have the most beautiful view over Stockholm and the many passenger ships.
Djurgården is also recommended. Djurgården has a lot of old, beautiful houses and an old ship wharf which is fun to walk around. Besides are Gröna Lund (Stockholms old theme park), Skansen (open-air museum) and the ABBA museum on Djurgården. Don’t go to Skansen on Sundays or Mondays, because you pay the full entrance price while almost everything is closed in the park. Do go to the ABBA museum. The entrance fee is pretty high but worth every penny. By my opinion this is the best museum in Stockholm. Talking about museums, I have to mention that a lot of museums have free entrance and some museums have free entrance on Tuesdays.
In Gamla Stan you should visit the ‘Aifur’ restaurant and bar. This place is special, completely in Viking style and their homemade beer is tasty.
For people who want to go to Stockholm, in both semester one and two you
experience the Swedish winter as well as the summer. In semester one, more international students go to Stockholm and therefore it is more difficult to get accommodation.
Accommodation is easier to get in the second semester, but in the second semester significantly fewer courses are offered. In the end I am glad to go back to the Netherlands again. I know by now that I never want to live in Sweden. It was a great experience of which I’m glad I had it. I learned a lot of things, I got out of my comfort zone and I am less shy and more independent now and my Swedish language improved a lot (my competence of understanding it especially, because eventually I didn’t speak that much of Swedish myself).
By now I know that I most of all miss the Dutch mentality and spontaneity. In comparison with Groningen Stockholm is cold (in the sense of ambiance) and not as cozy. Stockholm is a beautiful city, but it is just not as the Dutch say it ‘gezellig’. The nightlife is not that great; bars close early (a lot of restaurants and bars are even closed for the whole day on Sundays and Mondays). The night clubs I myself don’t like; there is often a dress code and the ambiance is more like I always call it, ‘a meat market’. So if you want to go to a real student city like Groningen, I recommend you to go to Uppsala (which I myself liked more than Stockholm). In overall are the Swedish people (not all of them, I have met nice people as well) introvert and because of that it is easy to feel alone. What I missed about the Netherlands for example is that it is more common to meet someone you don’t know in public and have a conversation with this person. What I first didn’t like about Dutch people, that they always have to
interfere and say something about it, I do miss now in some way. Besides are social and public rules really important in Sweden. This also includes that children are really important in the Swedish society. This is the same in Finland and something I have always been quite irritated about. If you break one of these invisible rules, people act like you committed a crime. Swedish people and moreover Finnish people are introvert, but if you break a rule they will point you to it, although it is something small. This is something I appreciate in the Dutch society now, that people don’t always commit to the rules and sometimes have a sense of not caring (which is good in some situations). Getting back on the thing about children, children carriages are everywhere and in all sizes. They are parked by eight pieces in a row in every park you take a walk. In public transport it is desired that you make place for the many child carriages and these child carriages don’t mind driving you over when they’re rolling down the street. I myself am not really into children and irritate myself about the way these children are the most important in Swedish society and everyone has to adjust to it. As last (I won’t complain more ;P) was I not really fond of typical Swedish food. I do like the Ikea meatballs and the cream sauce and also the Swedish sweet buns, but all the other typical Swedish food was not really my thing. I already knew what they eat in Finland which is a lot of ‘grilli’ sausage (which is nice to grill in a nature park) and in Sweden it is just more
meatballs and less but still a lot of sausage. I can’t really say that I walked into a special, distinguished Swedish dish which was really tasty. I haven’t tasted the canned herring though (surströmming) because I don’t dare to taste it, but maybe that one is tasty.
That was all my complaining and recommendations. In all it was a great experience and people who want to go to Sweden should go there. If you like to meet a lot of people and party a lot I recommend going to a place like Uppsala or Göteborg instead of Stockholm, but Stockholm is a beautiful city to discover and experience and the things and guidance Stockholm University offers are good. Sweden’s nature is beautiful and it is also nice to have the opportunity to travel to other countries by boat from Stockholm (these boat trips are also great). And besides, if you are really into the hipster thing then you should definitely go to Stockholm! I had a great time in Stockholm but I am also looking forward going back to Groningen and continue my social life there.
