Image
Your testimonial, the quote version
The highlight of my erasmus was my trip to Sápmi.
Your testimonial, the full version
During my Erasmus semester in Gothenburg, I found the university atmosphere very relaxed and supportive, even though the psychology course options were extremely limited. I took one engaging class with many group activities and a normal workload, and another course outside of psychology that I found rather disappointing because it was much more philosophical than I expected. Fortunately, I met nice people in that course, so it was still fun.
I first lived in a student residence, which offered many social activities, but I never felt at home there because one of my roommates was very difficult to live with. After moving to a private shared flat on the outskirts of the city, I finally felt comfortable in my home again, despite the long commute.
Living costs were higher than in Germany, and rent usually ranged from €400 to €600, so the Erasmus grant wasn’t enough on its own. By continuing my student jobs online and receiving a one-time university scholarship, I managed financially.
Gothenburg surprised me with how beautiful, relaxed and green it is and how many nice places it has to discover. For example, the southern archipelago, and the cafés in Haga. More highlights were my trips Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Oslo. My favourite trip was to Sápmi, where I learned about Sámi culture, saw northern lights, and explored the Arctic landscape. I also loved to be part of the international drama group in Gothenburg and even present a very short play with them.
Looking back, the semester was absolutely worth it. Even though my studies were extended and I gained little academically, the experiences and memories were invaluable and I met so many inspiring people. I would recommend doing Erasmus to anyone—especially in Sweden, unless you’re mainly looking for a party scene, which is limited due to expensive alcohol and more introverted locals.
I first lived in a student residence, which offered many social activities, but I never felt at home there because one of my roommates was very difficult to live with. After moving to a private shared flat on the outskirts of the city, I finally felt comfortable in my home again, despite the long commute.
Living costs were higher than in Germany, and rent usually ranged from €400 to €600, so the Erasmus grant wasn’t enough on its own. By continuing my student jobs online and receiving a one-time university scholarship, I managed financially.
Gothenburg surprised me with how beautiful, relaxed and green it is and how many nice places it has to discover. For example, the southern archipelago, and the cafés in Haga. More highlights were my trips Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Oslo. My favourite trip was to Sápmi, where I learned about Sámi culture, saw northern lights, and explored the Arctic landscape. I also loved to be part of the international drama group in Gothenburg and even present a very short play with them.
Looking back, the semester was absolutely worth it. Even though my studies were extended and I gained little academically, the experiences and memories were invaluable and I met so many inspiring people. I would recommend doing Erasmus to anyone—especially in Sweden, unless you’re mainly looking for a party scene, which is limited due to expensive alcohol and more introverted locals.
Topic
about
Sustainable travel
Your topic-specific testimonial
My most memorable trip was to Sápmi with Timetravels. Timetravels offers trips to various Nordic destinations, and I appreciated how they organised everything from transportation to activities, accommodations, and information about the locations (I am not receiving any compensation from Timetravels for promoting them here, I assure you!). We travelled by coach for almost twenty hours to just beyond the Arctic Circle, a little further than Kiruna. This area, which stretches across northern Sweden, northern Norway, parts of Finland, and Russia, is usually referred to as Lapland, but I prefer to call it Sápmi, as this land belongs to the indigenous Sámi people and they refer to it as Sápmi, while Lappe was a derogatory term for this population group. The snow-covered, barren landscape felt almost magical, and I was able to fulfil my big dream of finally seeing the Northern Lights (even though I was disappointed to find that they shine much less brightly in real life than in photos). We went snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, swimming in the Norwegian fjord in the freezing cold, petting reindeer, and much more. In the evenings, we sat together in our little wooden cabins in the sauna and talked. I would highly recommend a trip to Sápmi and, in this context, I also find it interesting and important to learn about the indigenous population, who have a special connection to nature and the colonisation they had to endure.