Linnaeus University in Växjö, Sweden
It’s about time I take a study break to show you where I have been living and going to school. The Linnaeus University campus is beautiful. It’s located alongside the lake and full of students biking around. I'm able to enjoy the view of the lake every morning during my bike to campus, as it is about 10 minutes from my residence. The international residence building — fully furnished by IKEA, of course — is located between an elementary school and a high school, and it’s very close to the town square in Växjö.
While it can be a bit of a nuisance having to bike back and forth multiple times every day, it's a good way to workout without even trying, and many of the students who live on campus don't get the opportunity to spend as much time in the city square.
I love the way the sky reflects off the K Building. It almost looks like the building is part of the nature that surrounds it.
This is the emptiest I’ve ever seen these bike racks. Probably because it was 6:00 pm on a Friday night and everyone else is busy getting ready for a night out! Maestro Pizza is a hot spot for us students to snack at between classes and studying. The personal pizzas are HUGE!
One of my favourite spots on campus is the Teleborg Castle. I’ve never seen a castle on campus before, but the architecture of the building reminds me of the older buildings at the University of Guelph, a school near my hometown in Canada.
Surrounding the campus is a stunning view of the lake, trees and tons of grass to lounge on and soak up this early fall weather.
What I enjoy most about going to school in Växjö is the view I get every day, the benefits of biking to campus daily and constantly meeting new people, whether they’re international or local Swedish students.
I am so thankful the school offers a beginners' Swedish class so I can learn conversational Swedish to get by at cafés, grocery stores and travelling within the country. A couple of the Swedish words I picked up before the class even began were "hej, hej" (hello) and "tack" (thank you). It’s a start!
It’s been helpful learning the numbers so I know how much I need to pay at the store or when dining out. One thing that seemed so strange to me at first, but actually makes a lot of sense, is that you put your kronor change into a machine that counts it, and then you receive your change from the same machine. For bills, you give them directly to the cashier. Between the change machine, the fact that people put the barcode facing up on the skinny conveyor belt and people only typically shop for a few days’ worth of food at a time, the grocery store is an extremely efficient place, which is nice when you’re in a rush!
Have you lived in another country before? What are the habits you’ve noticed locals have?