Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet Uppsala, Sverige

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Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet Uppsala, Sverige
Paul Kirbach Fall 2006
Introduction I lived and studied in Uppsala,
Sweden at the Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences for four months and was able to gain a
global perspective and affirm why we do things
the way we do in our agricultural methods.
Cultural activities In addition to my
coursework, and studying at a university with
many international students, I was able to
capitalize on my time abroad by traveling to as
many places in Europe and Sweden as my budget
would allow. In September I was a part of the
Swedish national team participating in the Nordic
Games in Helsinki, Finland. In October I
traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark and toured some
of the many castle and churches of the city. In
November I was able to travel from Barcelona to
Paris and Lourdes, Marseille, Monte Carlo and
Rome. After sharing our somewhat improvised
thanksgiving tradition with our international
friends (Having Swedish meatballs instead of a
turkey), a friend from Purdue and I traveled to
Copenhagen, Hamburg, Brussels, and Amsterdam. I
had the opportunity to travel to the Ice Hotel in
Jukkasjärvi, north of the arctic circle and
summed up my travels with a day trip to Oslo. I
was also able to participate in many of the food
holidays as we lovingly called them, from
Kanelbullensdag (Cinnamon Roll Day), to the
raucous Gåsmiddagen (Goose Dinner), and Sankta
Lucia Dagen (St. Luicas day) I was always
welcomed and educated about the many traditions
and stories behind each of the days.

Paul, I want to come to America and drive big
tractors Patrik Andersson
Objectives To see, touch, taste, smell, listen
and learn as much as possible about Swedish and
European culture in my few months in Europe
Courses -Global Crop Production -Viticulture and
Enology -Food in Europe
Pets were a big part of student life The
largest cathedral in Scandinavia is in Uppsala.
Uppsala City Center My Corridor Gälbo
Living and studying in Sweden Uppsala is a
college town quite similar to Champaign-Urbana
and a quick and cheap train ride away from
Stockholm, Sweden's largest city. It is home to
Uppsala University as well as SLU. Uppsala has
old world charm, and a youthful exciting pulse.
I lived with 5 Swedish girls, 1 Romanian and 1
Thai girl in an apartment style corridor. Our
courses were taken 1 at a time and there was no
set schedule for the week, we would meet at
different times during the week for different
lengths of time. Students were highly encouraged
to join one of the 13 nations that were around
Uppsala. Nations are large clubs where students
could gather to socialize, eat, fika (a light
meal involving strong coffee and conversation
with friends), and party at the many club nights.
Reflections The opportunity to study abroad is
something that should not be passed up. The
wealth of knowledge I gained, not only about
other cultures but about myself is something that
can never be taken away from me, and has impacted
my life and changed my views and actions for the
better. By going abroad you learn that the world
is so small, yet so large and diverse. I learned
that my friends from other countries enjoyed all
the same things as I did. I also learned that I
am capable of things that I never would have
expected. While abroad I had to visit an
emergency room, and learned the importance of non
verbal communication and utilizing the foreign
language I had learned. I also gained lifelong
friends, and am looking forward to visits from my
international buddies, and going back to Europe
to visit them as well! I bonded with a country
and had a very hard time saying my final Hej då!
Things I miss Taking trains everywhere,
Kanelbullen, Snerikes, Saft, Lingonberries and
potatoes with everything, fika, Stina-Lena,
Absolut, Glögg and pepparkakor, the Ice Hotel and
eating reindeer.