Monthly Archives: January 2018

Goooooo Gators

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I had the exciting opportunity to study at University of Florida for Fall Semester 2017. I arrived in Gainesville, Florida late on 14th August after meeting (little did I know at the time) my soon-to-be best friend, Julia a post-graduate exchange student from Germany, at Gainesville Airport. I remember looking out of the window of the hotel I would spend the night in and repeating to myself in awe that I was in America and about to start a four month adventure.

The next couple of days after I moved into Weaver Hall, the accommodation block specifically for exchange students from around the world and American students interested in meeting non-Americans, were a complete blur of meeting new people, attending introductory meetings, and exploring the beautiful campus. I had arrived at Weaver a couple of days before the official check-in day, so had the opportunity to get acquainted with my surroundings before the influx of other internationals, and my room-mate, Hallie, moved in. Looking back, it is unbelievable how quickly I clicked with everyone, and got involved in my Florida experience; within my first week of arriving, I had gone to clubs and bars in Downtown and Midtown, gone to a house party, and attended a pep rally which involved the Gator Band and cheerleaders.

Classes started on the second week and I quickly got into the routine of two classes a day every day: one class of American History before the Civil War and another after the Civil War, a class on the History of Human Rights, and a class about Nuclear History. All of my professors were passionate about their specialities, and later proved themselves to be extremely accommodating to the new pressures I faced under a new education system and, ultimately, different way of learning.

I did not realise how many new situations I would be in while moving to America – it was like when I first moved to Reading, but with a different culture that I had not experienced first-hand before. There was a new bus system, a different currency, taxes added onto purchases, and accents that were completely new to me; all in a country where I was on my own and with a negative five hour time difference to my family. This could have scared me, and I definitely felt this sensation creep over me now and again at the beginning of my time in America, but ultimately I was excited and amazed that I was living and studying on my own in a different country.

After the first week of school, I attended my first Gator volleyball event, spent the day at Lake Wauburg, and went to the mall with Julia. On Labor Day, Julia, Sam, and I went tubing (using big, rented, inflatable rings) in Ichetucknee Springs. The springs were the most beautiful place I have been in my life, and I had my first glimpse at baby alligators. I also had three dragonflies land on me as I drifted lazily down the springs. I was overwhelmed at the beauty I had only seen in nature programmes on television, and could not believe I was experiencing such wonders myself. The first few weeks at University of Florida taught me how important it is to balance school and fun, as I attended events and met friends who would remain close to me throughout my stay in Gainesville. Although I am writing this in retrospect, I hoped this experience would remain as joyful as it had been so far – and do you know what, although there were difficulties at times, it did.

 

Winter is Cold

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Melbourne in winter is cold. But if you stand in the intense sunlight, it’s not too bad by my English standards. It hasn’t stopped me, and a group of other exchange students I met, from visiting the beach to enjoy bright vistas, or visiting the zoo to see the kangaroos and koalas first-hand. In fact, our first few weeks here have been very busy, with all of the orientation activities that Monash University planned for us. These included not only information sessions about the university, but also an array of social events.

The nights do feel like winter, with many establishments celebrating ‘Christmas in July’, and in fact the Queen Victoria markets, which we visited in orientation, were putting on an attempt at a Christmas market. It was very festive and cosy and even though it was winter and under a shelter, the Australians were not deterred from barbequing, so it did get a bit smoky! Monash is also in on this BBQ culture, and seems to have one every week on campus, if you are part of one of their many societies.

I have so far tried out the badminton society, which is extremely friendly and enjoyable, and will be joining the ultimate frisbee society next week. I have been told that the frisbee society is especially social, with regular BBQs, hikes and camping trips, so I am looking forward to it. There is also an outdoors society for this kind of thing, which I am hoping will help in my mission to see as much of Australia as I can before my exchange comes to an end. So far, it is going well, but I intend to make plans soon for wider travels. Australia is a big country!

So far I have been very lucky with my travels, as my family has been able to show me around and recommend some places. My cousin has even taken me to see some of Melbourne’s best street art, and Melbourne is a very artistic place. It is also very laid-back and friendly; everyone really is your ‘mate’. I think I will like it here.

MADA, or Monash Art, Design and Architecture, runs quite differently to the art department in Reading. You can choose elective units from anywhere in the department, if you’re an art student like I am, or from anywhere in the university, if you’re from a different Reading department, I believe. This allows us to be exposed to a range of different skills! I am learning about photography, illustration, coding, and film. So I will have no problem filling my time with assignments, as well as with all of the travelling I intend to do. Time is going by so quickly!

The Beautiful City of Uppsala

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Uppsala is a beautiful city, and Sweden a beautiful country, and almost three weeks after I arrived I still think about how lucky I am to be here. After picking up the keys to my room and going to the Nordic Languages Department to register for my Basic Intensive Swedish class, I was struck by how international this place was. Students were here from all over the world, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Taiwan, South Korea and many other European students, and it wasn’t until a couple of days later that I met another English person! I was immediately made to feel welcome in this city as everybody spoke great English, although I was looking forward to immersing myself more into the Swedish culture by learning the language – more o  n this later.

After leaving the hotel with all my luggage and arriving at my new flat, I was shocked at how dirty the place was – it had certainly not been cleaned as I had expected. The place seemed a long way out of the city and was very quiet – I did not get the same warm welcome that I felt in the city. I decided to head to the Housing Office to request to be moved. The housing guide stated that moves are not possible, but I thought ‘if you don’t ask you don’t get’, right? They allowed me to move into the city centre accommodation two weeks later, which was originally my first choice – success!

The next day I bought a bike to cycle from my accommodation to class and around the city – this really made me feel Swedish. There are bike racks everywhere and many people cycle here, although the feeling to me was more nostalgic than typical, given that I hadn’t ridden a bike since my early teens. Later that week it was my birthday and the first time I have ever had to go to ‘school’ – one blessing of being an August baby! After the Swedish class, I went to an elk farm and saw a moose for the first time. Upon our return, it was time to head to the Systembolaget, the only place where you can by alcohol with an ABV of more than 3.5%. I was surprised by the cashier with what I thought was a small bottle of wine, until I got home and realised it was de-alcoholised.

Later I headed to Flogsta, where most of the exchange students who arrived early for the Swedish course were living, for a great corridor party. One thing I wish I’d done before my move was to photograph some of my important documents, including my passport and EHIC card. It wasn’t until the next day when I fell off my bike riding through the woods that I realised this. I had to go to the medical centre in the city centre to get a large stone removed from the palm of my hand, but without my EHIC card I had to return the next day with it to avoid a hefty medical fee!

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Sweden so far and am sure even greater times will come. I have found the Swedish language course much harder than expected. I aim to really practice what I’ve learnt in class and try to avoid speaking English in the supermarket, cafes and shops, and hope to make a good improvement by the end of the first semester. Every day I find new places, see new things and meet new people, and I think this all adds to the excitement of an exchange. I am looking forward to starting my Law modules and explore more of what Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia has to offer!

My First Week

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Aarhus has recently been declared the cultural capital of Europe, and this is evident in the mass portrayal and acceptance of many different countries cuisine. This is apparent in the Aarhus “street food” market which contains all different types of food, ranging from ‘Jamaican Jerk Chicken’, ‘Mexican Burritos’, ‘Chinese Duck’, curries and French Crepes. This is a really wide variety of food that shows the wealth of culture present in Aarhus. But to top off this creativity the whole market is built inside an un-used bus station. The stalls themselves are built and set up inside old ship yard containers. This means the theme of the Aarhus “street food” market is to not only re-cycle but to re-use old things and provide back for the public. The food as well was really cheap about 30 krona which exchanges to roughly £3.00. This makes it an ideal place for a student to grab a quick and easy lunch and when you are done, you have to wipe your own table with the disinfectant and towels dotted around the seating area.

The houses here have a cottage feel as they are small and are packed with essentials from the university such as pans, plates, cutlery to chopping boards and cups. I did not need to buy anything apart from food as it was all provided by the University! It’s not as cold as you think it is here, all though many will disagree but if you come prepared like I did by bringing a thermal coat, hat and scarf you can easily survive the cold weather. There are many nationalities that come to Aarhus to study but in my house I have 2 Canadians one Australian and one American. So the university put me with fellow English speaker which made it easier to talk and joke with each other.

My lectures at the university were not what I was expecting. I thought I would be in a class of all international students, and this belief was further enforced by the fact my lecture was in English, so I assumed the class of 24 students in my literature course had different nationalities and they were learning in the common language of English. So when I got put in a group I asked them if they were German as I heard them speaking to each other. They looked at me shocked and one of them said “no, we are Danish”. I was, and still am, shocked to learn that I was in a Danish majority English Literature class, with only 4 other international students. The fact the students were all conversing with the lecturer in English for an English literature module shows the high level of language skills many of the Danish actually possess.

This is a short blog of my time so far in Denmark, I have only been here for one week but I have already learnt so much about the culture of Denmark and its history. I expect I will learn much more in my weeks to come.