Student testimonial

Exchange 2, 2009 - KTH, Stockholm Sweden

Any expectations and goals I had for my exchange to Sweden were well exceeded. I loved every day I spent on exchange and I loved living in Stockholm, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I was lucky enough to arrive in Stockholm towards the end of the Swedish summer, I was able to see how beautiful the city is when the sun is shining and also when it is covered in snow. It was quite contrasting to relax at the beaches around Stockholm and to also ice skate when the weather changed.

KTH was a great choice of university for my exchange semester. I received accommodation from the KTH accommodation office and was lucky enough to live in the city. In addition to the Swedish language courses I attended in the first few weeks, KTH also provided many activities and excursions for us to get to know other international students and explore Stockholm. I thoroughly enjoyed learning Swedish and would recommend anyone on exchange in Sweden to take advantage of the Swedish language courses offered. The classes I attended at KTH were also quite good, although not quite in line with what I study at RMIT however it was good to study subjects that weren’t offered at RMIT.

I loved being able to have the freedom of living in a foreign country meeting new people from countries all over the world. There was never a dull moment living in student accommodation and I was able to experience a typical student lifestyle, something that I never experienced while at RMIT and living in Melbourne. I was also lucky enough to travel through Sweden with the friends I lived with. I encourage anyone who is going on exchange to Sweden to take the time to visit the north of Sweden to places such as Kiruna, particularly in the winter. We did things such as snow mobiling and dog sledding in temperatures of well below zero. This was an experience I will never forget and enjoyed every moment.

The cultural experience of living in a different country has changed my outlook on life and it will continue to influence my life and way of living even in Australia. I experienced typically Scandinavian traditions, food and the very cold temperatures in Sweden. Living through the Swedish autumn and winter, although it can be quite cold, it was a very different experience from living in Melbourne.

After spending an extra month after my exchange travelling around Europe with my friends who I met while on exchange, it was sad to leave however I was so lucky to have met them and with the internet it has been easy to regularly speak with them.

Without the financial support of the RMIT Equity Mobility scholarship I may not have had the chance to experience some of the amazing opportunities that I had. Thank you to RMIT for all their support in assisting to arrange my semester exchange and to the Scholarships office for helping make my exchange semester one of the best and most memorable times of my life.

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