Of all the different Universities in Sweden, Lund is one of the most sought after by international students from all around the world; thus far, this appears to lead to plenty of benefits.
The school requires that all the new international students show up on ‘ARRIVAL DAY’ to commence the Orientation Week and check in with the school. At least 300 international students arrived to move into their new homes in the same 12 hours, which was a beautiful type of chaos. The school was incredibly organized, patient and helpful so rather than feeling frustrated and lost you actually got to talk to and meet all the amazing people around you.
Arriving at the school there were immediately many Lund Mentors there to guide us every step of the way. Feeling guided and cared for was really helpful, especially when the first couple of days were so busy and long with many little things to do to get settled in. Starting my Swedish class on my second day was also really helpful. Everyone speaks English very fluently; however, I always like to try to put an effort in to speak the local language. The Swedish class will be very helpful in understanding small talk and local sayings, I just hope that I can pick up the pronunciation and intonation sooner rather than later.
Buying a bike on my second day in Lund was definitely a memorable experience that I had. A truck full of used bikes arrived and people got ruthless about finding a bike. The bikes were expensive for the quality that they were in so everyone was looking for the best quality with the lowest price. It got crazy! Buying a bike was the best thing because now I can get around quite quickly and put heavy bags in the basket to save me from a sore back.
Lund is a lovely little town, a total University City. One night I decided to go to the neighboring city, Malmo with some friends. There was a music festival going on for the weekend and the streets were all shut down as there were about 4 big main stages, rides, tons of food trucks and little shop vendors. It was awesome to see free events like this in the middle of the city that everyone gets involved in. Everyone was so friendly and inviting that there was such a welcoming vibe everywhere you went. I am excited to see what adventures will come during the rest of the semester and I look forward to sharing them with you.
Melissa is in her final years of studying Human Resources Management at the Beedie School of Business. She is currently on exchange at Lund University’s School of Economics and Management in Sweden. Melissa tries to embrace all that Beedie has to offer by going on exchange, participating in co-op and joining clubs such as YWiB. She looks forward to her travels abroad and sharing her experiences with future students interested in going to Lund. Connect with Melissa on LinkedIn.