Franzi in Uppsala

Getting passionate about new hobbies in Sweden

The student nations are very specific to Uppsala and are the biggest factor shaping the student life there. The nations are student-led institutions offering all kinds of activities for students, such as food and meals, sports, music, cafes, pubs, parties, spaces to study and socialize, creating many opportunities to pursue your hobbies and interests, experience Swedish traditions and, most importantly, meet many fun and interesting people and make friends. Understanding and experiencing the nations and the student life works best by becoming involved.

The social experiences I have made during my stay in Uppsala and how I was able to develop has been amazing. Putting oneself in unfamiliar and possibly uncomfortable situations, which you inevitably do during an exchange is so rewarding and makes one so much more confident. I have gotten a lot better at handling these kinds of situations and feeling self-assured when talking to new people from different backgrounds. I became really passionate about my hobbies, singing in a choir and doing sports, and am now proficient in a language I only had a basic understanding of before. Most importantly, I met so many great, interesting, people, Internationals as well as Swedes, who have made my stay so enjoyable, many of them having become dear friends by now. And, finally, although, yes, it was quite cold and quite dark during the winter, I grew very fond of living in Sweden, being able to experience its nature in the warmer and colder seasons, as well as to participate in the culture of fika, gasques and julmys, and I would really like to live in Sweden for a longer amount of time in the future.