Dear readers,
I haven't posted anything in a while. I hope that Easter break was as good for you guys as it was for me. I hung out with friends and partied and of course also thought about my future. Soon I will be done with my Master's degree and will have to decide what to do for the next months and years to come. Such decisions take lots of time and thinking.
Finally the time has come for me to write my last blog on what it's like to study in Sweden from an American perspective. This time I will write about Swedish food.
Well, there are two ways of looking at Swedish food. If you're a food connoisseur and a real lover of Italian, Japanese, French and Spanish food, in other words really gourmet style food, then Swedish food is not very satisfying. If however, you prefer simple and filling foods, you've come to the right place.
Swedish food tends to be very basic in my opinion. Lots of meat and lots of potatoes, bread, crackers, cheese, milk, rather heavy things. There are many different types of breads and milk products you can find in a Swedish supermarket. Many Swedes eat bread and cheese for breakfast including a variety of cold cuts. A good food many people eat in Sweden is fish. Many Swedes eat dishes made with salmon and other types of fish such as cod, flounder and halibut. So there ARE some very good things to choose from.
An interesting Swedish dairy product is "Filmjölk". Basically it's a type of rotten milk. I know this sounds really weird, but it's actually quite good. Filmjölk is actually fermented with a type of Lactobacillus or bacteria naturally found in raw milk products. Give it a try when you're here with your breakfast cereal! It's very healthy and I promise you, you won't get sick! ;-)
Another thing very common here in Sweden is hamburgers and a deal of (pretty healthy) fast foods. So it's sort of like home! :-D
Despite my opinion on Swedish food not being the best in the world, Swedish pastries ARE among the best in the world! You will find a great variety of cakes, cookies, sweets and candies here in Sweden, and they're all very tasty and professionally made if bought from an up-scale pastry store.
I personally prefer to cook here and not go out very much. Going out is sort of expensive and I consider myself a pretty good cook. I certainly satisfy myself when I make my own dishes. Don't expect to cook with gas stoves here, as all stoves are electrical here.
My overall opinion: Swedish food is ok, meaning average. It's not the best in the world and other countries have much better track records when it comes to variety and tastiness of food (for example France or Spain), but I promise you, you will get by without any problems. And if you ever get too sick of Swedish food, there are always the world-class pastries or the occasional ethnic restaurant in Stockholm to lighten up your days!
That's all for now folks! Take care and look for my next blog on Sunday!
Julian
Friday, May 06, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Happy Easter Everyone and SLU Campus is Dead!!!!
Dear readers,
I wish you all a great Easter Vacation and lots of fun times with your friends and families or by yourselves, whatever you choose to do over the break.
SLU campus is totally dead. Almost all people have left. That IS another thing to mention about living on campus. Around holidays seemingly everyone leaves campus to go home or on vacation for this Easter weekend. People already started to leave at the beginning of this week and now after a week of people leaving, the place is more or less completely desolate. (Over the Easter weekend people have several days off, or they take several days off from work, so it's a real vacation for everyone!)
While everyone leaving campus can mean that SLU campus becomes incredibly boring, I sort of like the lack of people and most of all DOGS!!!! There are dogs everywhere here!!!! Besides this, the dogs have hairdos!!!! This is the first country I've ever been in where I've seen many dogs with different hairdos. I mean that's unique to say the least!!!! Anyway, back to the point, there's no one here. I like the emptiness. I can play loud music whenever I want and hang out in the yard without being distracted by some people walking by.
During the past few days I've been working on my Master's degree and calculating things in R and enjoying the nicer weather that's starting to appear here in Uppsala. The sun has been shining for many hours during the past few days.
I wish everyone a great and relaxing weekend!
Julian
I wish you all a great Easter Vacation and lots of fun times with your friends and families or by yourselves, whatever you choose to do over the break.
SLU campus is totally dead. Almost all people have left. That IS another thing to mention about living on campus. Around holidays seemingly everyone leaves campus to go home or on vacation for this Easter weekend. People already started to leave at the beginning of this week and now after a week of people leaving, the place is more or less completely desolate. (Over the Easter weekend people have several days off, or they take several days off from work, so it's a real vacation for everyone!)
While everyone leaving campus can mean that SLU campus becomes incredibly boring, I sort of like the lack of people and most of all DOGS!!!! There are dogs everywhere here!!!! Besides this, the dogs have hairdos!!!! This is the first country I've ever been in where I've seen many dogs with different hairdos. I mean that's unique to say the least!!!! Anyway, back to the point, there's no one here. I like the emptiness. I can play loud music whenever I want and hang out in the yard without being distracted by some people walking by.
During the past few days I've been working on my Master's degree and calculating things in R and enjoying the nicer weather that's starting to appear here in Uppsala. The sun has been shining for many hours during the past few days.
I wish everyone a great and relaxing weekend!
Julian
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Studying in Sweden From an American Perspective Part IV - Swedish Culture
Dear readers,
This blog is a continuation of my last blogs on what it's like to study in Sweden from an American perspective. In this blog I will discuss the Swedish culture and in my next blog (the last one of this series) I will write about Swedish food, as I've been requested to do. :-)
So what's Swedish culture like? Very interesting and unique indeed. There are many things in Swedish culture that revolve around the very extreme weather contrasts that occur on an annual basis here, namely a very cold, long and dark winter, and a short, light and warm summer. The winters generally last from end of October or November to end of March, with December being the darkest months where the sun rises around 8:30 and sets and 14:30. During the summer sunrise may be around 3:30 and sunset around 23:30.
During the winter many Swedes love to go to the saunas. As you probably already know from my previous blogs I also frequently attended sauna sessions during the winter. I think it's a great way to sweat and sit in a warm room where you can forget about the frigid outside winter temperatures.
In addition to going to saunas, many Swedes ski during the winter. There are IDEAL cross-country skiing conditions here during the winter (at least during this winter). There are many cross-country skiing courses close to Uppsala that run along some extremely picturesque winter countryside. Really a great way to get out during the day and get your exercise.
On Lake Mälaren, the lake south of SLU and Uppsala (which also leads all the way down to Stockholm) there are some great ice skating conditions during the winter. During the coldest months the city of Uppsala plows the snow on the ice from south of Uppsala all the way to Stockholm. So there's plenty of distance to go on ice skates. It's free to ice skate on the lake and a wonderful way to experience the sunny but cold Swedish winter days.
During the summer months Swedes are OUTSIDE all the time. As you will also experience, as soon as the warm sun re-emerges after a cold and long winter you will want to be outside and in the sun all the time. Swedes love to be outside and have barbecues. Now as the weather is warming up here more and more people are going out to eat, read, relax, party and barbecue. Lots of fun!
Finally, Swedes are always up for a beer or a nice Koskenkorva vodka with a pine branch in it in the saunas. This is one of the Swedish cultural facets that I love most. A great way to pre-game before a party: do some physical activity or play sports (for example soccer), head into the sauna after that and enjoy some beer and vodka. The night will surely be a fun one! :-)
The northern people- the Swedes' culture resembles our usual impression of the "western" culture, with a few quirks. Swedish people are very, very friendly and helpful. I've never had a problem with rude or unfriendly Swedish people. Finally, Swedish people have a very special sense of humour that I've not fully grasped either and I can't explain. It's strange, that's all I have to say. Strange in a positive way. Quirky is maybe the right word. You'll have to figure that one out for yourselves! :-D
As usual, take it easy my readers and stay tuned for my next blog on Swedish food!
Julian
This blog is a continuation of my last blogs on what it's like to study in Sweden from an American perspective. In this blog I will discuss the Swedish culture and in my next blog (the last one of this series) I will write about Swedish food, as I've been requested to do. :-)
So what's Swedish culture like? Very interesting and unique indeed. There are many things in Swedish culture that revolve around the very extreme weather contrasts that occur on an annual basis here, namely a very cold, long and dark winter, and a short, light and warm summer. The winters generally last from end of October or November to end of March, with December being the darkest months where the sun rises around 8:30 and sets and 14:30. During the summer sunrise may be around 3:30 and sunset around 23:30.
During the winter many Swedes love to go to the saunas. As you probably already know from my previous blogs I also frequently attended sauna sessions during the winter. I think it's a great way to sweat and sit in a warm room where you can forget about the frigid outside winter temperatures.
In addition to going to saunas, many Swedes ski during the winter. There are IDEAL cross-country skiing conditions here during the winter (at least during this winter). There are many cross-country skiing courses close to Uppsala that run along some extremely picturesque winter countryside. Really a great way to get out during the day and get your exercise.
On Lake Mälaren, the lake south of SLU and Uppsala (which also leads all the way down to Stockholm) there are some great ice skating conditions during the winter. During the coldest months the city of Uppsala plows the snow on the ice from south of Uppsala all the way to Stockholm. So there's plenty of distance to go on ice skates. It's free to ice skate on the lake and a wonderful way to experience the sunny but cold Swedish winter days.
During the summer months Swedes are OUTSIDE all the time. As you will also experience, as soon as the warm sun re-emerges after a cold and long winter you will want to be outside and in the sun all the time. Swedes love to be outside and have barbecues. Now as the weather is warming up here more and more people are going out to eat, read, relax, party and barbecue. Lots of fun!
Finally, Swedes are always up for a beer or a nice Koskenkorva vodka with a pine branch in it in the saunas. This is one of the Swedish cultural facets that I love most. A great way to pre-game before a party: do some physical activity or play sports (for example soccer), head into the sauna after that and enjoy some beer and vodka. The night will surely be a fun one! :-)
The northern people- the Swedes' culture resembles our usual impression of the "western" culture, with a few quirks. Swedish people are very, very friendly and helpful. I've never had a problem with rude or unfriendly Swedish people. Finally, Swedish people have a very special sense of humour that I've not fully grasped either and I can't explain. It's strange, that's all I have to say. Strange in a positive way. Quirky is maybe the right word. You'll have to figure that one out for yourselves! :-D
As usual, take it easy my readers and stay tuned for my next blog on Swedish food!
Julian
Monday, April 11, 2011
Studying in Sweden From an American Perspective Part IV
Dear Readers,
Welcome back to my blog! You haven't seen very much activity from me over the past week. I've been really busy with my Master's Thesis. Currently I'm doing a wide range of statistical tests in the statistics computer program "R". All is going well and my first draft is due this coming Friday! So lots going on!
I've also started working. I coach kids aged between 12 and 18 rowing at a private boarding school 30 kilometres from here. I love working with the kids and it's really alot of fun training and coaching them!
The time has come for my next blog on Sweden from an American perspective.
This time I will write about something that all of you are surely interested in: PARTYING!!! Uppsala's night life is uniquely Uppsala and I guess I could put it, Uniquely Swedish. I'll explain what I mean! :-)
To begin. It is obvious that in a city with around 30,000 students there will be some hardcore partying going on. That's the case! On almost every day of the week you can find parties. If they're not at the Student Nations, the parties are at private student residencies or in corridors (dorms). There are no shortages of parties here in Uppsala. At the parties you meet many new people and can (if you want) get plenty of phone numbers, depending on your ambitions and goals. :-)
I enjoy going to the Student Nations, but after a year of living in Uppsala I feel that the parties at the Nations become somewhat monotonous. Instead I prefer going to house parties. After living in Uppsala for more than six months I have made some good friends here and always enjoy having a beer with them and hanging out. I'm sure it will be the same for you once you're studying in Uppsala.
Despite all the positive points about Uppsala's night life, there are a few minor points that I personally criticise. First of all, alcohol is REALLY expensive here in Sweden. Drinks are affordable at the nations (around $3-5 for a beer, more for cocktails and other fancy drinks), but not at all at "normal" bars where you'll end up paying around $8-10 for a beer. I think that's a little pricey. Also, when you go to the liquor store called the "Systembolaget" (the Swedish version of a massive tax revenue source; alcohol is taxed around 300% here in Sweden), I recommend to buy beer and wine and drink that. If you would like to go a little fancier, say with vodka, be prepared to shell out around $40 for a 1 litre bottle of vodka!!!! Yeah, not cool! Furthermore, parties generally end excessively early. I have also mentioned this in my earlier blogs. Most Student Nations' parties end around 2 AM and bars close around 1 AM. Additionally, when all the bars and nations close, there are only two options: 1. find an after party or 2. go to bed.
I'm a city person and am used to going out late and having countless choices of affordable and ritzy places to go to. In my opinion you can enjoy a fun night life in Uppsala, but don't expect the parties of your lives. Uppsala night life is cool but not great in my opinion. Of course I've had my fun and great times here too. Partying in Uppsala bears the Swedish restrictions: very early start and finishes to parties, limited number of places to go and expensive alcohol.
Either way, it's a nice experience here in Uppsala and despite the few negative points with partying I always have a good time here!
Take care everyone and stay tuned for my next blog which I'll post towards the end of this week!
Julian
Welcome back to my blog! You haven't seen very much activity from me over the past week. I've been really busy with my Master's Thesis. Currently I'm doing a wide range of statistical tests in the statistics computer program "R". All is going well and my first draft is due this coming Friday! So lots going on!
I've also started working. I coach kids aged between 12 and 18 rowing at a private boarding school 30 kilometres from here. I love working with the kids and it's really alot of fun training and coaching them!
The time has come for my next blog on Sweden from an American perspective.
This time I will write about something that all of you are surely interested in: PARTYING!!! Uppsala's night life is uniquely Uppsala and I guess I could put it, Uniquely Swedish. I'll explain what I mean! :-)
To begin. It is obvious that in a city with around 30,000 students there will be some hardcore partying going on. That's the case! On almost every day of the week you can find parties. If they're not at the Student Nations, the parties are at private student residencies or in corridors (dorms). There are no shortages of parties here in Uppsala. At the parties you meet many new people and can (if you want) get plenty of phone numbers, depending on your ambitions and goals. :-)
I enjoy going to the Student Nations, but after a year of living in Uppsala I feel that the parties at the Nations become somewhat monotonous. Instead I prefer going to house parties. After living in Uppsala for more than six months I have made some good friends here and always enjoy having a beer with them and hanging out. I'm sure it will be the same for you once you're studying in Uppsala.
Despite all the positive points about Uppsala's night life, there are a few minor points that I personally criticise. First of all, alcohol is REALLY expensive here in Sweden. Drinks are affordable at the nations (around $3-5 for a beer, more for cocktails and other fancy drinks), but not at all at "normal" bars where you'll end up paying around $8-10 for a beer. I think that's a little pricey. Also, when you go to the liquor store called the "Systembolaget" (the Swedish version of a massive tax revenue source; alcohol is taxed around 300% here in Sweden), I recommend to buy beer and wine and drink that. If you would like to go a little fancier, say with vodka, be prepared to shell out around $40 for a 1 litre bottle of vodka!!!! Yeah, not cool! Furthermore, parties generally end excessively early. I have also mentioned this in my earlier blogs. Most Student Nations' parties end around 2 AM and bars close around 1 AM. Additionally, when all the bars and nations close, there are only two options: 1. find an after party or 2. go to bed.
I'm a city person and am used to going out late and having countless choices of affordable and ritzy places to go to. In my opinion you can enjoy a fun night life in Uppsala, but don't expect the parties of your lives. Uppsala night life is cool but not great in my opinion. Of course I've had my fun and great times here too. Partying in Uppsala bears the Swedish restrictions: very early start and finishes to parties, limited number of places to go and expensive alcohol.
Either way, it's a nice experience here in Uppsala and despite the few negative points with partying I always have a good time here!
Take care everyone and stay tuned for my next blog which I'll post towards the end of this week!
Julian
Monday, March 28, 2011
Studying in Sweden- An American Perspective III
Dear readers,
Welcome back to my blog and I hope that all of you had a relaxing weekend. This weekend I just relaxed, had a few beers and watched a few movies. It was really pleasant to just kick back. I also looked for jobs for after I finish my Master's and also spent some time working on my data analysis.
In my last two blogs I discussed (1) Weather, (2) Transportation and Surrounding Environment and (3) European and Swedish education, comparing all to experiences I had while studying at Ithaca College, in Ithaca, New York.
In this blog I will discuss student life in Uppsala as an SLU student and compare it to my student life in the US. Overall, student life in Uppsala is really a blast. I can't put it any other way.
There are two ways of looking at student life in Uppsala: from a "living on campus" and "living off campus" point of view. In general living on campus is more convenient than living off campus, however you're closer to the city while residing off campus. (See my previous blogs for more info on living off or on campus). On campus I live a pretty relaxed life, and classes are close and I can come home to have lunch. I live with 7 other people, 6 girls and one other guy. Overall, it's quite a bit of fun living in on-campus housing. I meet many people while in classes and during my free time. My criticisms with living on campus are (1) there are only a limited amount of people that you meet, as not very many people live here, (2) there are not very many international students living on campus and (3) Ultuna (campus) is pretty far from the city, aka it can get dull here at times. A good point about living on campus is that you will immediately have the opportunity to meet many Swedish people and really gain insight and immerse yourself into the Swedish culture.
If you want to meet many different people all the time, I would really recommend that you live off campus. In off campus residencies, you will live in close proximity to Swedes and many other international students. I find this slightly more appealing, after spending much of my stay here in SLU campus housing. Living off campus allows you to meet everyone from everywhere at any time! No end, lots of social interaction and great opportunities to make new friends and meet new people! Moreover, living off campus will allow you to enjoy the city of Uppsala more, as it's only a few minutes' walk away. Uppsala is a nice town to stroll around, meet other new people, relax and shop in. As I'm a city person, I would have chosen to live closer to the city as opposed to living on campus. Also, if you live close to the city the distances to and from the city are more bearable, especially after a night of partying.
SLU's on campus housing is similar to Ithaca College's in the way that it's a bit far from the town of Ithaca, just like Uppsala City is 5 kilometres away from Campus.
I think that here in Uppsala I meet and interact with a greater variety of people from different cultural backgrounds, as opposed to when I attended Ithaca. I really embrace meeting people from diffent cultures as I enjoy learning about their home countries, their backgrounds and memorising a word or two of their languages. Overall the amount of social interaction that I have here in Uppsala is far greater compared to that at Ithaca. I meet new people almost every day!
My final word. I think that participating in a student exchange program not only increases your academic capacity, but at the same level your social skills. During these past 1.5 years (last year in Denmark, this year in Sweden) I've really grown from a social point of view. I think it's really fun and a great life tool to learn and know how to interact with a variety of people with different backgrounds, languages, beliefs and values. If you're planning on working internationally (and I do) knowing how to communicate with all people I think is of great essence.
My advice: go on an academic exchange program!!!! It's sooooooo worth it!
That's it for this blog. Next time I'll discuss parties in Uppsala! :-D Until then and enjoy your week!
Julian
Welcome back to my blog and I hope that all of you had a relaxing weekend. This weekend I just relaxed, had a few beers and watched a few movies. It was really pleasant to just kick back. I also looked for jobs for after I finish my Master's and also spent some time working on my data analysis.
In my last two blogs I discussed (1) Weather, (2) Transportation and Surrounding Environment and (3) European and Swedish education, comparing all to experiences I had while studying at Ithaca College, in Ithaca, New York.
In this blog I will discuss student life in Uppsala as an SLU student and compare it to my student life in the US. Overall, student life in Uppsala is really a blast. I can't put it any other way.
There are two ways of looking at student life in Uppsala: from a "living on campus" and "living off campus" point of view. In general living on campus is more convenient than living off campus, however you're closer to the city while residing off campus. (See my previous blogs for more info on living off or on campus). On campus I live a pretty relaxed life, and classes are close and I can come home to have lunch. I live with 7 other people, 6 girls and one other guy. Overall, it's quite a bit of fun living in on-campus housing. I meet many people while in classes and during my free time. My criticisms with living on campus are (1) there are only a limited amount of people that you meet, as not very many people live here, (2) there are not very many international students living on campus and (3) Ultuna (campus) is pretty far from the city, aka it can get dull here at times. A good point about living on campus is that you will immediately have the opportunity to meet many Swedish people and really gain insight and immerse yourself into the Swedish culture.
If you want to meet many different people all the time, I would really recommend that you live off campus. In off campus residencies, you will live in close proximity to Swedes and many other international students. I find this slightly more appealing, after spending much of my stay here in SLU campus housing. Living off campus allows you to meet everyone from everywhere at any time! No end, lots of social interaction and great opportunities to make new friends and meet new people! Moreover, living off campus will allow you to enjoy the city of Uppsala more, as it's only a few minutes' walk away. Uppsala is a nice town to stroll around, meet other new people, relax and shop in. As I'm a city person, I would have chosen to live closer to the city as opposed to living on campus. Also, if you live close to the city the distances to and from the city are more bearable, especially after a night of partying.
SLU's on campus housing is similar to Ithaca College's in the way that it's a bit far from the town of Ithaca, just like Uppsala City is 5 kilometres away from Campus.
I think that here in Uppsala I meet and interact with a greater variety of people from different cultural backgrounds, as opposed to when I attended Ithaca. I really embrace meeting people from diffent cultures as I enjoy learning about their home countries, their backgrounds and memorising a word or two of their languages. Overall the amount of social interaction that I have here in Uppsala is far greater compared to that at Ithaca. I meet new people almost every day!
My final word. I think that participating in a student exchange program not only increases your academic capacity, but at the same level your social skills. During these past 1.5 years (last year in Denmark, this year in Sweden) I've really grown from a social point of view. I think it's really fun and a great life tool to learn and know how to interact with a variety of people with different backgrounds, languages, beliefs and values. If you're planning on working internationally (and I do) knowing how to communicate with all people I think is of great essence.
My advice: go on an academic exchange program!!!! It's sooooooo worth it!
That's it for this blog. Next time I'll discuss parties in Uppsala! :-D Until then and enjoy your week!
Julian
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Studying in Sweden- An American Perspective Part II
Dear readers,
GETTING CLOSE TO SPRING!!!! :-))) Finally the weather is beginning to shape up and warm up here a little. Winter doldrums seem to last forever. Over the weekend and these past days the sun has been shining and the temperatures are beginning to rise. Today it was around 47°F or about 8°C. So it's really starting to become nice around here. We still have snow, but it's melting quickly! Good thing and finally this is happening again.
This is the second blog of my series about studying in Sweden from an American perspective. Last time I discussed the weather and the environment and surroundings.
This time I will write about education, i.e. my experiences as a university student here in Sweden, my experiences and how this compares to my experiences I had at Ithaca College.
To begin with education, it's free here in Europe for Europeans. This has several impacts on the way I feel people view education here. Some students are much more relaxed about education and thus don't work as hard as in the U.S. where some (including I) worked their butts off to get every penny out of their education. By saying this, not everyone takes education lightly here. As everywhere there will be some slackers and some people that choose to put lots of effort into their school work. In general, my impression is that most students at SLU are very dedicated to their work and studies. So that's a good thing.
Second, the classes I've taken here have been pretty relaxed as opposed to some classes I've taken at Ithaca. I think there are two reasons as to why I view classes as easier here. First of all, while at Ithaca I was taking classes that I wasn't very interested in or they were really difficult (e.g. Organic Chemistry I and II, we all know about these classes). While attending Master's Level classes I feel that information comes to me easier and I have less trouble grasping it. I believe that's the case with everyone. If you're interested in a topic, I think it's more fun, easier and more gratifying to grasp as opposed to information that you're not interested in. Of course I'm not saying that all classes here are really simple. I have buddies here at SLU that are dying from all the material and homework they are assigned in their classes. So I guess it all depends on your selected courses.
Third, there is a really nice and relaxed teacher-student relationship here. There is no hierarchical structure or behaviour between professors and students. This makes the learning environment here at SLU really nice. Sometimes though I think some professors let students walk over them a little too much. I think that sometimes there needs to be a little bit more guidance or authority on the professor's side. Overall though, I've never had a problem and get along really well with my professors here at SLU. Whenever I have a question, concern or suggestion (for example ways to improve the class and teaching), most (more than 95% or professors) will listen to what you have to say. My experience is that professors here ALWAYS have time for students, provided they're not swamped with their own work. I think this is great! Lastly, I've never had a professor here that's been so obsessed with their egos that it interferes with their teaching, as opposed to some professors I've had at Ithaca.
I really feel that my professors, supervisors and PhD students that I've worked with and am currently working with now all really care about me, my work, well-being as a student and learning progress. I really love this aspect about SLU. At Ithaca I had the feeling that some professors really didn't care whether or not I understood class material or how things were going. As an explicit example, one of my professors at Ithaca almost failed me because my grandmother passed away and I had to go to Puerto Rico for the funeral. Of course I missed class and a test and a deadline for a research paper. This professor gave me so much grief and was not at all understanding; she just gave me a failing grade for everything and didn't allow me to make up the work. I honestly believe something like this would NOT happen at SLU. Professors here are extremely accommodating and fully understand if you need to miss a day for e.g. a job interview. Of course they expect you to make up missed information, but they are very understanding.
Finally, studying here is lots of fun. There are so many international students in Uppsala. There are more international students at Uppsala University than at SLU, but SLU also has its group of international students (including myself).
That's it for this blog, I know I was supposed to cover student life in this blog, but I don't want it too be overwhelmingly long. Next blog I will write about student life here in Uppsala.
So long readers and stay tuned to Julian's Blog! Look for my next blog towards the end of this week!
Julian
GETTING CLOSE TO SPRING!!!! :-))) Finally the weather is beginning to shape up and warm up here a little. Winter doldrums seem to last forever. Over the weekend and these past days the sun has been shining and the temperatures are beginning to rise. Today it was around 47°F or about 8°C. So it's really starting to become nice around here. We still have snow, but it's melting quickly! Good thing and finally this is happening again.
This is the second blog of my series about studying in Sweden from an American perspective. Last time I discussed the weather and the environment and surroundings.
This time I will write about education, i.e. my experiences as a university student here in Sweden, my experiences and how this compares to my experiences I had at Ithaca College.
To begin with education, it's free here in Europe for Europeans. This has several impacts on the way I feel people view education here. Some students are much more relaxed about education and thus don't work as hard as in the U.S. where some (including I) worked their butts off to get every penny out of their education. By saying this, not everyone takes education lightly here. As everywhere there will be some slackers and some people that choose to put lots of effort into their school work. In general, my impression is that most students at SLU are very dedicated to their work and studies. So that's a good thing.
Second, the classes I've taken here have been pretty relaxed as opposed to some classes I've taken at Ithaca. I think there are two reasons as to why I view classes as easier here. First of all, while at Ithaca I was taking classes that I wasn't very interested in or they were really difficult (e.g. Organic Chemistry I and II, we all know about these classes). While attending Master's Level classes I feel that information comes to me easier and I have less trouble grasping it. I believe that's the case with everyone. If you're interested in a topic, I think it's more fun, easier and more gratifying to grasp as opposed to information that you're not interested in. Of course I'm not saying that all classes here are really simple. I have buddies here at SLU that are dying from all the material and homework they are assigned in their classes. So I guess it all depends on your selected courses.
Third, there is a really nice and relaxed teacher-student relationship here. There is no hierarchical structure or behaviour between professors and students. This makes the learning environment here at SLU really nice. Sometimes though I think some professors let students walk over them a little too much. I think that sometimes there needs to be a little bit more guidance or authority on the professor's side. Overall though, I've never had a problem and get along really well with my professors here at SLU. Whenever I have a question, concern or suggestion (for example ways to improve the class and teaching), most (more than 95% or professors) will listen to what you have to say. My experience is that professors here ALWAYS have time for students, provided they're not swamped with their own work. I think this is great! Lastly, I've never had a professor here that's been so obsessed with their egos that it interferes with their teaching, as opposed to some professors I've had at Ithaca.
I really feel that my professors, supervisors and PhD students that I've worked with and am currently working with now all really care about me, my work, well-being as a student and learning progress. I really love this aspect about SLU. At Ithaca I had the feeling that some professors really didn't care whether or not I understood class material or how things were going. As an explicit example, one of my professors at Ithaca almost failed me because my grandmother passed away and I had to go to Puerto Rico for the funeral. Of course I missed class and a test and a deadline for a research paper. This professor gave me so much grief and was not at all understanding; she just gave me a failing grade for everything and didn't allow me to make up the work. I honestly believe something like this would NOT happen at SLU. Professors here are extremely accommodating and fully understand if you need to miss a day for e.g. a job interview. Of course they expect you to make up missed information, but they are very understanding.
Finally, studying here is lots of fun. There are so many international students in Uppsala. There are more international students at Uppsala University than at SLU, but SLU also has its group of international students (including myself).
That's it for this blog, I know I was supposed to cover student life in this blog, but I don't want it too be overwhelmingly long. Next blog I will write about student life here in Uppsala.
So long readers and stay tuned to Julian's Blog! Look for my next blog towards the end of this week!
Julian
Friday, March 18, 2011
Studying in Sweden as an American Part I
Dear readers,
As usual I hope that all is going very well. This is the first blog in my series comparing my experiences as a student in Sweden to being a college student at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, USA. Of course all my statements are my personal observations and opinions. Please note that my descriptions may not represent the observations that you will make or opinions you will represent while studying here in Sweden. At the same time I will try to stay as objective as possible. I will begin discussing Uppsala, Sweden's weather and transportation and surrounding environment.
Here we go!
1. Weather:
Well, Swedish winters seem to last forever. They begin end of October to end of November and last until April. The US Northeast (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Northern New York State) best represent the weather here in Uppsala. Long, cold winters, some Spring, some Fall and generally nice summers. The summers here are cooler and less humid than in the US Northeast (US NE). Generally temperatures peak around 80°F or 28°C and very seldomly climb above that mark. A difference between Uppsala and the US NE is that Uppsala's Winter days are painfully short. The sun rises around 8:30 am and sets at around 2:30 pm. So not very much light.
2. Transportation and Surrounding Environment
This is Europe. We don't use cars nearly as much as in the US, and I do recommend to (as much as this may undermine your belief in conveniently using a comfortable car for everything) buy a bicycle. A bike is a great, cheap and healthy way to get around campus and Uppsala. Practically everyone owns a bike here. A normal second hand bike will cost you around $100. Remember though, the Winter is long and it really sucks riding your bike in -4°F or -20°C weather. I did it and am still alive, but I don't really recommend it as a comfortable way to get around. Convenient yes, but not really pleasant. For everything else there are busses and taxis. On the weekends (Friday and Saturday night) busses generally run all night long. Not very frequently, but they still run. I very seldomly ride the bus here. I use my bike for everything. Taxis are really expensive here in Sweden and a ride from the city to SLU campus will cost you close to $20! So get ready to work those muscles and walk or use the bike. Great for getting exercise.
In terms of the surrounding environment, Uppsala is a typical 100 000 inhabitant relatively suburban college town. I compare Uppsala to Ithaca, New York. There are many student-related events and student parties in the city and countless students out and about. Uppsala has a large clean lake just south of the city, Lake Mälaren. During the summer and winter months the lake is especially beautiful and I definitely recommend hiking, camping, fishing, swimming, rowing, chilling and ice skating around and on the lake, depending on the seasonal and weather conditions. The city of Uppsala is much more historic than any other city I've been to in the USA, probably also just because it's Europe and cities have been around for a longer time here than in the US. Uppsala has its famous historic castle, cathedral and other houses throuhgout the city.
These are the first couple of things about Sweden. I don't want to make this blog too long, so I will continue to publish posts during the next days, comparing Sweden with the USA. Next time I will write about education and student life here in Uppsala, Sweden.
Take it easy readers and look for my next blog!
Julian
As usual I hope that all is going very well. This is the first blog in my series comparing my experiences as a student in Sweden to being a college student at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, USA. Of course all my statements are my personal observations and opinions. Please note that my descriptions may not represent the observations that you will make or opinions you will represent while studying here in Sweden. At the same time I will try to stay as objective as possible. I will begin discussing Uppsala, Sweden's weather and transportation and surrounding environment.
Here we go!
1. Weather:
Well, Swedish winters seem to last forever. They begin end of October to end of November and last until April. The US Northeast (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Northern New York State) best represent the weather here in Uppsala. Long, cold winters, some Spring, some Fall and generally nice summers. The summers here are cooler and less humid than in the US Northeast (US NE). Generally temperatures peak around 80°F or 28°C and very seldomly climb above that mark. A difference between Uppsala and the US NE is that Uppsala's Winter days are painfully short. The sun rises around 8:30 am and sets at around 2:30 pm. So not very much light.
2. Transportation and Surrounding Environment
This is Europe. We don't use cars nearly as much as in the US, and I do recommend to (as much as this may undermine your belief in conveniently using a comfortable car for everything) buy a bicycle. A bike is a great, cheap and healthy way to get around campus and Uppsala. Practically everyone owns a bike here. A normal second hand bike will cost you around $100. Remember though, the Winter is long and it really sucks riding your bike in -4°F or -20°C weather. I did it and am still alive, but I don't really recommend it as a comfortable way to get around. Convenient yes, but not really pleasant. For everything else there are busses and taxis. On the weekends (Friday and Saturday night) busses generally run all night long. Not very frequently, but they still run. I very seldomly ride the bus here. I use my bike for everything. Taxis are really expensive here in Sweden and a ride from the city to SLU campus will cost you close to $20! So get ready to work those muscles and walk or use the bike. Great for getting exercise.
In terms of the surrounding environment, Uppsala is a typical 100 000 inhabitant relatively suburban college town. I compare Uppsala to Ithaca, New York. There are many student-related events and student parties in the city and countless students out and about. Uppsala has a large clean lake just south of the city, Lake Mälaren. During the summer and winter months the lake is especially beautiful and I definitely recommend hiking, camping, fishing, swimming, rowing, chilling and ice skating around and on the lake, depending on the seasonal and weather conditions. The city of Uppsala is much more historic than any other city I've been to in the USA, probably also just because it's Europe and cities have been around for a longer time here than in the US. Uppsala has its famous historic castle, cathedral and other houses throuhgout the city.
These are the first couple of things about Sweden. I don't want to make this blog too long, so I will continue to publish posts during the next days, comparing Sweden with the USA. Next time I will write about education and student life here in Uppsala, Sweden.
Take it easy readers and look for my next blog!
Julian
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