This blog intends to present the experiences and impressions of a student in such a modern and high-quality standard country such as Sweden.
A little about me and the American experience…
I am a Portuguese student who just finished his major in Biology, two months ago, at University of Porto. I have then undertook a summer course at the University of Berkeley, California. This has been, for sure, the best experience of my life so far. I have met people from every country in the world and gained personal and professional perspectives that had never crossed my mind before. I have been in Berkeley, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hollywood, etc. The best way to describe America is just saying “It’s like a movie, all the time”. Everything is big, both the country and the thoughts and ideas of the people who live there. The campus of the University of Berkeley and Stanford couldn’t be more beautiful and organized. The weather is great most of the times, since I do not like very high temperatures. Many photos of these amazing places can be checked out at my Facebook account.
But enough about America for now… because now I am in Sweden.
I arrived at Uppsala on 23rd of August to undertake a master in Molecular Medicine. Sweden is very well-known by its organization, modern facilities, efficiency and cold weather. Already I the airplane I could sight through the small windows enormous extensions of landscapes, rivers and lakes.
After landing in the Arlanda airport I caught a bus to Uppsala. The first thing I noticed is that there are bicycle tracks everywhere, following each street and cutting through the woods. One could go from the airport to Uppsala by bicycle if feeling like it (I advice you not to do that though because it’s very far). 40 minutes after I finally arrived to Uppsala. I was greeted and helped by my International Buddy, Sanna, who helped me getting to the hotel. She was also the first to show me the city and to introduce me to the Nations concept.
The truth is the students in Uppsala Universitet almost compulsory have to become part of student nation. Although this concept exists in other University cities throughout Sweden, it has even more emphasis in Uppsala. There are 13 student nations in the city. By being a member of one you can get inside the parties and use all the wide range of facilities (library, culture groups, trips, etc) with a discount or for free. These buildings are scattered around the left side of the river that splits Uppsala in two.
I can honestly say I have never seen so many bikes as in Uppsala. There are parking sites for bikes in every place and most of the people go everywhere that way. I have bought my bicycle already and I can say it couldn’t be more useful. Every morning I pick up my bicycle and go to classes, crossing several beautiful landscapes, classical bridges over the river decorated with flowers, apple trees with bunches of red apples in its branches, etc. I see people picking apples or mushrooms in this time of the year in many places; I’ve picked some myself. Sometimes a student is passing by and just throws his bag towards the top branches, in an attempt to make the best apples fall.
From my point a view, what makes a great country are the small details. These, when considered together, form a whole amazing picture in the case of Sweden. At Uppsala Universitet every student gets a card and a code, as part of your student identification. When I asked what was this card for I got the simple answer:
“Oh, you can use it to open doors.”
Although I did not fully understand at the time I then realized every student can enter the University buildings at any time, even when the University is closed. You just need the card and PIN code. At weekends or during the night, if you feel like going to the University to study, use the computers there or even enter the library and use all the books you may need, you can do that, and do not need anybody’s permission. So, I should say:
“If you want to study, there is anything that prevents you from doing it, you have all the facilities at your disposal at any time.”
This was detail number 1.
Others will follow when I have time. There are a lot of things I want to say but no time to describe them all. Now, I will turn off my computer and live a bit more of the Swedish dream 
