The applications for the last-minute exchange are open! Do you still have doubts about the destination? One of the last-minute destinations is Lund in Sweden. Michelle Douven has been to Lund on exchange and shares her experiences!
The kick-off for this new adventure started with 1,5 week of orientation activities and Swedish classes. During these introduction days you meet many new people, make new friends, learn things about your new home country and you will have a lot fun. It is nice to have this orientation/introduction week so you already know a lot before the courses start.
There are 2 periods of 15 ECTS during the fall-semester. There are not so many contacting hours, but the lectures are interesting, informative and good. The classes are small and the professors are nice and friendly. Preparation of the classes is mandatory, but it does not take that much time. The workload is less than in Tilburg, so there is plenty of time to visit new places or do other nice things with your new friends. Everyone is new, so everyone wants to hang out with together. You are never bored.
An important and nice tradition in Sweden is ‘fika’. This tradition means; drinking coffee with something sweet (for example a cinnamon bun; ‘kanelbullar). After University, or between classes, everyone is going to a coffee-place to meet and have fika. You will be surprised how many coffee places there are in Lund (and everywhere in Sweden).
Another typical thing in Lund are the student nations. You have to join one of the nations in town, because they organize all the activities and parties. Another benefit of being part of nation is the fact that the beer prices are cheaper in these nation-clubs. The nations also organize ‘sittnings’, this is a singing-dinner with a lot of drinking. This is also a nice Swedish experience that you cannot miss!
It is easy to visit other places in Sweden or Scandinavia. The train- and bus-network is good in-town and out-town. Within 45 minutes you are in Copenhagen and the train (5 hours) or plain (2 hours) brings you for an affordable price to Stockholm!
In short; exchange is a very nice experience, no matter where you go. I can definitely recommend an exchange in Lund. Sweden is a nice and safe country and Lund is a small and cozy student-town. It is easy to reach from the Netherlands, so it is also a really good location if you are a bit afraid for going abroad or having a culture shock!
Did Michelle convince you to go on exchange to Lund? Click here to apply or to check the other last-minute destinations.
