EXCHANGE REPORT: UPPSALA UNIVERSITY SWEDEN Kyle Shiu SPRING 2015 1
Table of Contents Part I Activity Log 3 Part II General Exchange Information 4 Part II Checklist 5 2
Part I: Activity Log January 2015: It was my first time experiencing such cold weather in North Europe. Although the weather was unbearable, I am still very excited about what was waiting ahead. The university is not a campus as usual, instead, various university departmental buildings and facilities are scattered over the Uppsala town. It is extremely important for every student to have a bike and carefully check the location of the different lectures, so I got a cheap second hand bike too. In addition to that, there were lots of orientation activities provide arrival information and chances for me to get to know other international students. February 2015: The weather was getting worse and worse in February, so most of the time I stayed in my corridor and got myself familiar with my corridor mates. I am very surprised to find out one of them can speak Cantonese as her Chinese parents have lived in Hong Kong for a while. It feels very cordial to speak my native language in foreign places. Aurora is relatively active in February, so I went to a Northern city called Abisko to capture the beauty of this natural splendor with a tour only eligible to students. March 2015: The first to second week of this month marks the end of Period I, which lots of essays and finals are to be done within these two weeks. For most of the courses here, the required reading load is high compared to UST so I spend most of time in schools studying. For relaxation after the exam, I often visited the student clubs with friends. Sometimes they organized various activities such as board game nights or food parties for all the students. It is a great chance to meet and hang out with other students. April 2015: The major change in Uppsala is the weather, in which the daytime was expended to almost nineteen hours per day, which the sun rises at 5 and rest at 23. It seems I have much more time than before. Since the Easter holiday is about two weeks long, so I travelled to a small island in Sweden in which transportation on the island was provided during summer time. May 2015: It is again a month that full with homework and exams, also lots of preparation work to be done before leaving the beautiful town. Near the end of May, there was a huge celebration called Valborg. Everyone in Sweden will flock to Uppsala celebrating the arrival of summer! 3
Part II: General Exchange Information Visa Procedure: You can simply follow the instructions on the website of the Sweden Consulate Hong Kong (http://www.swedenabroad.com/en- GB/Embassies/Hong- Kong/Contact/The- Consulate- General/). Please aware that sometime the Consulate would only provide you the notification of successful application but not the real visa, however, some airline does not recognize it as legitimate document, so please consult the airline company in advance. Orientation Activities: There are plenty of orientation activities organized by different nations. Upon arrival the welcoming desk will provide you the necessary information. You may also ask your assigned exchange buddy. Accommodation: As I have mentioned, the university is not a campus but the school indeed will provide you several options with different allocations and prices for you. I have chosen Flogsta, which is famous for student parties. Courses Registration: Uppsala University pre- registers students in their courses before arrival. Since it is a departmental exchange agreement, they usually would not provide you courses held by departments except business department. Cost/Expense: Category Amount (HKD) Air ticket 9000 Accommodation 20000 Living Expense 25000 Travelling 15000 Transportation: As I have mentioned, it would be nice if you manage to get a bike, as you may need to attend lectures in different locations within the day. You may also purchase a bus card which function similarly as octopus card. Social Clubs/Networking Opportunities: The university adopts a special Nation system, in which student must join one out twelve nations in order to obtain a nation card (student card). Students were not limited to join their nation activities or going to the nation club, but member of activity host nation did enjoy a small discount. 4
Part III: Items to bring Check List Blanket Pillows Bed Sheets Warm Clothes Notebook Router and Ethan Cable Camera Small Amount of Money Snow Boots (Optional) Adaptors Charger Travelling Document (A Few) Food 5