Jian Lee from Malaysia
Posted @ 2008-01-04 by Jian Lee
That pretty much will be a warm up to what life as a student here is ought to expect.
The first instance when Sweden came to my mind, it was merely IKEA, Ericsson, and The Cardigans. Not much to shout about, yet! Until I received an email from the course coordinator, and I can still recall the first responding with Miss Brita – “is there any Malaysian in the course as well?” Well, when I think back it sounded pretty childish but what are the odds of seeing a Malaysian riding a bike with Swedish snow hitting his spectacles on an Uppsala biking lane? 4 months in, haven’t been lucky in finding someone else that speaks the Malaysian language.
As many already know, accommodation is an issue here. I read about this, heard about this, but was still pretty cool about it. Got an arrangement with 1 of the student nations and took it for granted, without any backups. Please take note of this and make sure you have a room before coming here, else you would be just like me - It turned out I was almost going to sleep in the streets on the first day, till I met a good Swedish man, probably in his 60’s. He offered me a room for the next couple of weeks and was very courteous and friendly, showing me places to get around, to do groceries, and fed me some good Swedish food. Consider myself lucky to come across him but then I realize, most of the Swedes are that courteous! When you open up and approach them you will see how friendly and warm they are, probably the cold weather makes it pretty cold at first, but eventually it warms up, and melts a little..
Uppsala is a lovely peaceful and calm city – perfect for education, and just nice for a decent social life. People go around with lots of “hej” and “hej hej”s (which is the Swedish version of Hi!), and you can do that with almost everyone on street and get a “hej!” back, just for the fun of it, but it comes to the point that it’s a warm and friendly place to be. English is very widely spoken, and many international students like us can get going without much problem, but as always, when staying in a foreign country, it would not be complete without getting some grasp on the local language – Get signed up with SFI as soon as there is a chance to be in a queue to learn the language, as the university Swedish course is offered to the exchange students. The cost of living could be higher here, food could be almost 3 or 4 times the equivalent back in Malaysia, and it’s wise to fix your own food most of the time. Grocery is a joy sometimes even though the variety of green vegetable is not as diversified as in tropical places, you’ll learn to make the most and play around with your recipes, take a few hints from the Swedes as well!
The way classes are conducted is so different from the one I had a few years back. There are just so much interaction going on and professors and lecturers could easily hook up a conversation. It’s not always about lectures and classes, there’s for certain a solid quality with the education but you could feel more of an all-rounded development rather than just pumping in information. I found communication among classmates and lecturer an integral and interesting way of conducting classes, seminars and workshops, where there’s always room for questions and interactions. It’s a globalized feeling when students from every continent give their thoughts and sharing to everyone else in the class. Personally, I liked the seminar where we read and criticise constructively a classmate’s essay paper. It makes us feel involved and be critical towards other’s work, while appreciating it and learning how to give, accept, stand by and listen to other’s opinion. As this programme is being offered the first time round, it is amazing that the coordinators could work out something that suits students from such diversified backgrounds in terms of education and nationality. With some feedback and suggestions on the evaluation, I truly believe that this course will be a well sought-after course, well-equipping students for further challenges.
The number of bikes is massive! I’ll put it under the must-have list of every student here. Best method to move around to places and classes and get some share of your exercising. If you are lucky you could get a second-hand bike which costs much less than the brand new ones, and also “reduces” (not eliminates) the risk of it being stolen. It would be good to invest in a reliable and solid lock, just to have more peace of mind – and this is basically the only worry to have! And it would be great convenience to have a basket along with the bike, helps a lot in carrying groceries especially when you don’t want to spill your milk in your back pack. And biking on snow gives a crunchy feeling that reminds you to be aware of the slipperiness. A couple of times caught myself really slipping on the surface, yet the experience to bike on snow itself conquers the thought of falling off. But seriously, it could get pretty tricky especially the first few rides, take it slow or you might end up as a snowman rolling on the slopes, or a snowwoman.
Not being much a party person, it is only natural to feel pretty uncertain on parties. The student nations have parties going on throughout the weeks, and as not many especially from the East side have this in their blood, it could require some getting used to. But it’s always in this kind of functions, where you see stuffs that you will never see in the classroom. Serious, strict classmate turns all funny and happy. Singing, laughing, and hanging out to chat and dancing, getting rid of some stress. Sometimes when lucky, you could even see them peeing by the road side! Another Swede thing is that when you are invited to a party, bring your own drink! It’s the Swedes’ style of doing it and very practical, as drinks could be pretty costly, and you know the best yourself what you would want to drink. And if you are into some movements on the floor, enrol on a dance class; the instructors in my Salsa class are pure professionals. Not only learning, but learning in a fun way where you always end up looking forward for the next class right after the previous one ends.
The first semester is coming to an end, and Christmas is just around the corner. Snow flakes are huge so I am looking forward to making my first snowwoman.