I think when people ask me how I made it to Sweden they expect some amazing and inspiring story: I have roots in Sweden, I have dreamt about the land of moose and northern lights my whole life (come on, I am from Canada), I have always wanted to study in the land of innovation and equality, I have an abounding love for meatballs and lingon berries, or I have always wanted to date a tall and handsome, blond man.
While some of these might describe how others made it to Sweden, my story is not quite as exciting.
I had always dreamt of going on exchange somewhere while I was in university. When I was younger I had a babysitter who did a semester abroad in France and I think that is where the thought came from. Since then I had been thinking about where I wanted to study abroad.
Me and My German roommate from my exchange in Växjö. Photo By: Kristin Follis
When I was in my third year of university I knew it was the perfect time to finally do it. Because I had studied the previous summer, I only had one semester of courses left in my fourth year, and the only classes I had to complete were electives. So, all that was left was to pick a destination then fill out the application.
I loved Italy, but I lived there before as an au pair, and I would have loved France, but that seemed a little too cliché. So I decided to go to an information meeting about exchanges and see what was available.
While the presenter was discussing some of countries the university had linkages with, he stopped on Sweden and started talking about Växjö University (now Linnaeus University) and how they had a great development program (what I was studying at the time). I did some research on the university when I got home and found out that not only did the courses sound perfect, but so did the university.
And that was it! Only a few sentences from a presentation on exchange programs and I had made up my mind. Sweden it was. Before this presentation I really didn’t know a lot about the country; little did I know then I would come to spend not only an exchange semester there, but also two years of a Master program.
So… that’s how it happened. Not the most exciting story, but that is how I got here. Now sitting in Sweden and looking back it seems crazy that such a little thing has changed the course of my life. All I know now is, it was the best decision I have made yet!
Who wouldn't want to come back to Sweden after experiencing this! Photo By: Kristin Follis
