Lund University, Sweden

Hej hej from Lunds Universitet! After 7 weeks of travelling the European summer I have settled comfortably at my exchange university in Lund, Sweden.

Lund is a small town with a vibrant personality to say the least, located in the south of Sweden just 40 minutes from Copenhagen. The location makes it extremely convenient and cheap to travel the rest of Europe and Scandinavia. Students make up almost half the population here, giving it a youthful and lively atmosphere revolving around bikes, fika and the nations. It’s been a big change coming from Sydney’s bustling city life to a small student town and learning the Swedish way of living.

Despite constantly being on the go prior to my exchange, the well-structured orientation program at Lund University for international students did not provide many opportunities to relax. These first 2 weeks have been overwhelming yet exciting and like most new students I had to buy a bike (an essential) and a good raincoat, settle into my student corridor and google translate almost everything whilst grocery shopping. I cannot vouch more for the orientation program here in Lund as the university eases you into the culture here step by step, organises a tremendous amount of O-week events for international students and provides such a warm welcome.

If you’ve read anything about Swedish student life, you may have heard about the ‘Nations’. In Lund there are 13 different student run societies (‘Nations’) that host various activities through the week including, lunches and dinners, pubs, sports, formal balls and best of all a night out in their club. Each nation has their own ‘house’ where they host their events for all students. Just last week I signed up for Västgöta Nation, best known for its Wednesday Metro Club.

You’ll see almost every night of the week students all over town riding their bicycles to the nations to party and packed out falafel shops at the end of a night (I recommend Lunda Falafel). Be ready to swap your comfortable Uber rides in Australia for some interesting bike rides.

Fika is a word you will hear often when in Sweden, meaning, to take a break from an activity and to drink coffee/tea, eat dessert or anything else of your preference. I’ve had many fika’s since settling in Sweden and have found it’s an awesome way to catch up with friends and a good excuse to eat more desserts/pastries!

Honestly exchange has been an insane experience so far and I cannot recommend it more to get you out of your comfort zone! I hope you’ve found this blog useful in deciding whether Lund is the place for your exchange semester. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any other questions!

Christine Chen
12545808
Bachelor of Accounting
Lund University
Sweden