Hej, Jönköping!

Hej! (pronounced hey!)

3 weeks ago I landed in Europe for the first time! Despite spending over 20 hours on 3 different flights, I made it to Sweden and eventually, Jönköping, which is a small town 3 hours from Stockholm.

Upon arriving, we were taken care of and picked up by the uni and dropped off at our accommodation. I lived at Råslätt, a little village with nice views of nearby forests! Råslätt had around 20 buildings that were occupied by international students from Jönköping University, surrounding a common area called Sockertoppen. It was heaps of fun meeting students from all over the globe (lots of Germans) and we would always gather in Sockertoppen for a chill night of drinks and pool/foosball/table tennis!

Since it was my first time living alone and away from family, it’s been a lot of fun learning how to survive and also putting my cooking skills to use. The kitchen at my apartment had lovely large windows and a breezy balcony as well! I would usually pop out to the supermarket at Råslätt called Willy’s (sounds like Woolies!) which is right next to the bus stop and a short 5 minute walk away. There were also plenty of parks and courts to play sport in.

After a lot of partying and teaching people Aussie slang, our classes started and I had my first Swedish class! Little did I know how difficult Swedish was and how quickly Swedes speak. Nevertheless, I enjoyed exploring the campus and learning how different universities work.

The campus was a lot smaller than UTS but definitely very comfortable and it sported beautiful interiors with lots of windows! Like UTS, JU was very close to the CBD (Juneporten) so it was really easy to go to class and also pop out for food or a coffee between classes.

In between all the drinking and studying, I also spent a lot of time at IKEA (of course). We were able to decorate our rooms however we wanted so it’s been a lot of fun making a 2nd home here in Sweden.

It’s been a busy and exciting 3 weeks and I’m very excited for the rest of my exchange! I already have trips planned around Italy, Norway and Lapland (which the JU student union is very good at organising) and am definitely planning to see more of Europe before I go home!

If you are reading this and thinking of going on exchange in Sweden (or anywhere really), I’d say go for it! Sweden is amazing for travelling Europe, taking a break from the busy and hectic Sydney and is a great city to live in. When it gets colder, I imagine it’ll get even more beautiful and I can’t wait to see Jönköping covered in snow! Feel free to follow my Instagram (@furomatcha) for more photos of the beautiful Europe 🙂

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