UQ Program: Master of Arts
I am doing a Master of Arts at UQ. I went on exchange to Uppsala in first semester 2011. It was a simply amazing experience. When I got there it was winter. It was really nice to experience the winter and the coming of spring as the snow thawed and than the long summer days. It is really very dramatic, so dark in winter and so light in summer. The university itself is the oldest in Scandinavia and it is steeped in history and tradition. But one of the best things about Uppsala is the university town atmosphere and the student life. I would always be bumping into friends around town. There is 13 student clubs known as nations that are representative of the areas of Sweden where students come from. They are student bars with cheap drinks and food, club nights, gasques (fun formal dinners involving singing on your chairs) and so many activities. After a while you start to know the day of the week because of which nation everyone is going to. I also learnt basic Swedish and loved fika (coffee and cake). I made so many good friends from all across Europe and I really didn’t want to leave.
Tips: Get involved at a nation. Go to all of them in the first week they put on lots of activities. In a way it doesn’t matter so much which you choose to be a member of because you can go to them all but if you choose one you like and get involved it is pretty fun. Look out for cheap cruises across the Baltic on tallink and vikingline. You can have weekends away and a day exploring Riga, Tallin, or Helsinki. Buy a bike!!! And a strong lock! A friend of mine had 3 bikes stolen and still didn’t learn his lesson. It is a student town so bikes often get stolen and thrown in the river. Uppsala is wonderful for getting around by bike. You will ride to class, to the shops, to parties and pretty much everywhere. It is such fun to ride with a group of friends to the lake in spring for a swim.