When studying, many people recommend to go abroad for a term or more. The EU’s Erasmus initiative makes this very easy, especially if the home university has agreed to partnerships with other universities. This made it possible for me to travel to Blekinge Tekniska Högskola for a term in 2021/22. Was it worth it?

What are the goals of a semester abroad? Learning a language and getting to know the culture? Participating in courses that are not available at home? Or just having fun?

A goal of mine was definitely to learn Swedish. And I can say now that this has mostly failed. I took a Swedish course, which was very lackluster. Most social contacts were with other Erasmus students, so the communication language was English or the native language. This made it hard to practice. I did have one advantage, as I had a Swedish roommate. But then again, all courses and all activities were in English and Duolingo can only do so much.

The course selection was also not very different from what I had at home. There were some interesting courses, and I especially liked the study period system, were each course is only taught for half a term. But it was bitter to have only online courses when I traveled to another country and rented an apartment right next to the university. In the end I was watching videos in that apartment. This was due to COVID-related measures, which did not affect anything else in Sweden (cinemas, supermarkets, bars, public transport were all opened and largely used without masks).

But I do not regret doing it. I did have a lot of fun aside from these two aspects, especially at the trips that were organized by the local ESN (Erasmus Student Network) section to Stockholm and, in December, to Swedish Lapland. Even though we did not see northern lights this was a really good experience with many memorable moments, like cross country skiing in the sunrise or swimming in a Norwegian fjord. But apart fromt the trips, I also enjoyed the mundane, like taking walks along the the sea or through the city. It was something different and I liked it. If it is possible for me, I will go abroad again soon.