EXPERIENCE REPORT
ANR: 671189
Name: Merel Lentjes
E-mail: m.e.b.lentjes@tilburguniversity.edu
Exchange semester: Fall semester 2015
Academic year: 2015-2016
Host University: Lund University
Country: Sweden
ADMISSION – ARRIVAL - HOUSING
My academic period abroad started in august 2015. On Tuesday 18th of august was the arrival day.
This day was organized to mobilize all the new international students to the university to register and
to get them to the student accommodations. There were international mentors at the airport and
train station to guide all the students. At the university we were provided with general information
according the introduction week, academic matters, Swedish phone, public transport etc. I received a
student guide with all the important information you will need during your exchange. In the first week
they organized an introduction with the faculty of law and all the students could meet the exchange
coordinator in Lund. She gave us all the information we needed for our studies at the faculty of law.
All together I can conclude that the introduction is very well organized.
When you arrive in Lund at the beginning of the semester it is so much fun! International mentors will
take care of you in the first two weeks. They will organize a lot of fun activities and it is a great way to
meet new people. In my first two weeks we did a lot of partying, had a barbecue, went to Lomma
beach and participated in a sports day and a treasure hunt. To make you feel at home in Lund the
international desk of Lund university will organize activities too. I went to a zoo filled with Swedish
animals, there is a welcome party, diner a la Sweden, guided tour in the cathedral and the Taste of
Sweden. These activities are a fun way to get to know Swedish culture and other new students. To
gain knowledge of the Swedish language the University offers the SUSA-course. This is a Swedish
introduction course and will take two weeks to finish. It’s fun!
Lund is a small city with a lot of students. This means that it is quite hard to get housing. The
accommodation is organized via the university, but the amount of housing is limited. I was put on a
waiting list. If that is the case you have two options: first sign up for the lottery of AF Bostader or
search for housing yourself. AF Bostader is a private organization who offers accommodation for
students. I decided to look for housing myself via the internet and this worked out for me. I had a nice
and clean apartment in the city center that I shared with two other girls. When you get housing via
the university (Lund accommodation) or AF Bostader it will be a corridor. You will get your own room
in a big student house. In some buildings you will share your kitchen, shower and bathroom with other
students who are living on your floor. Most of the time you will share this hallway with 15-20 other
students. Some of the buildings, like Delphi, Ullrikedal, Parantesen and Klostergarden are places where
they organize house-parties a lot of times during the semester.
It is very important to start searching for housing in advance. Make sure to sign up for accommodation
on the 1st of April when the list opens. In the meantime try to find alternatives! Most people I met
during my stay didn’t manage to get a room via Lund accommodation, so it is good to keep all your
options open.
LOCATION OF THE UNIVERSITY
Lund is an old city and you can see that in the buildings and the cute little streets. It is nice place to
wander around, especially when the weather is nice. Lund is not that big and with your bike it is easy
to get around. The main university library and the social-science faculties are located central. The law
faculty is located in the city center, which was very convenient for me. It look me only 3 minutes to
cycle from my home to class!
The best places to eat, drink and do sports are the student nations. The nations offer cheap lunches
and dinners and me and my friends went out to eat there quite often. Lund is well known for the
student life and it is no lie! The student life is organized with the nations. These are students who
organize club nights, lunches, brunches and diners. There are 11 nations in Lund and you choose one
to join, but you can go to all the activities organized by the other nations. The nation I joined was
Ostgöta. Every Thursday they have a pub night or club night and every Saturday there is a big party. In
general there is a lot going on in Lund from Wednesday to Saturday. There are multiple parties, diners
and lunches. From Sunday to Tuesday it is quiet.
The nations are not allowed to make profits and because of that the meals and drinks are cheap.
Sweden still is expensive, especially when it comes to down to drinking alcohol. Different from what
I’m used to in the Netherlands you cannot buy strong liquor in the supermarket. In the supermarket
you can only buy beers with a percentage of 3.5% alcohol. For wine and other strong alcoholic
beverage you must go to the Systembolaget, because selling alcohol is regulated by the government
in Sweden. The cheapest bottle of wine in Sweden will be around 7 euros. Lund itself is small and most
of the activities are for students and evolve around partying. For shopping or more culture Malmö is
only 15 minutes away and within 40 minutes you will be in Copenhagen. This is a really nice city!
During my exchange I went to Copenhagen for sightseeing, the ballet and the Christmas markets in
December.
ACADEMICS
The courses I took during my exchange were Environmental Law, Markets and Trade and Enforcement
of European Law. I really liked both courses, because they gave me more insight in the way the
European Union is organized and the difficulties that arise with the system that is created in Europe.
This became clear when I took the course about environmental law. It was about the relationship
between the internal market, competition law, procurement law and ways to improve the
environment. The other course was about the way European law works through the different member
states. For this course I needed to write a paper with other students and we had an open book exam
at the end. This way of examination I found difficult, since I’m used to learning things by hard. An open
book exam is focused more on general knowledge and your way of argumentation. Experiencing a
different way of examination and a study method was interesting. The semester in Lund is divided in
two periods and each period you will only take one course and for that course you will get 15 credits.
In Lund they will focus on discussion during seminars and participation of the students.
The workload is comparable, even though in Tilburg I will need to take two courses to get 15 credits
and the amount of work for one course in Tilburg is the same as the workload in Lund, where you will
get 15 credits. Overall my academic experience was good. I improved my English, especially during
legal discussions with professors and other international students. For me the best part about the
university in Lund is that it’s a small university and you will be able to get to know your teachers a little
better compared to Tilburg. All of them are very nice and willing to help you out whenever you have
questions or difficulties with your studies. The campus is not that big, there are only two buildings. In
the beginning of the semester the law student association will host a Fika with all the international
students and you will be able to get to know most of the international students that semester. Since
the faculty is so small you will always bumped in to someone you’ve met before and have a coffee
together.
SOCIAL LIFE
About social activities you don’t need to worry during your stay in Lund. There is a lot to do for
international students. In the first weeks of the semester there is the introduction period. Swedish
students will guide you through the city and organize activities. During this time I met my mentorgroup
and we became close friends. I ended up with a group of 15 people where I traveled with through
Europe. We went to Bergen in Norway, did a cruise from Copenhagen to Oslo and we organized our
own trip to Swedish Lapland.
In Lund there is also an organization called ESN (Erasmus Student Nation). They organize parties and
trips throughout the whole semester. With ESN I went on the seabattle. This is a cruise from Stockholm
to Tallinn (Estonia). On the cruise there are parties and with 1000 other students from Scandinavia
you will have the time of your life. The people I became friends with during my exchange where mostly
international students. This is because they have the most time for social activities, compared to
Swedish students. The Swedish students are not really keen on keeping up with international students,
so I didn’t meet a lot of Swedish students. In my courses most of the students were international as
well. Even though Lund is located in the southern part of Sweden it is still easy to travel to other big
cities in Sweden. During my exchange I traveled to Stockholm, which is only 5 hours by train or 1 hour
flight. Göteborg, another big city in Sweden, is only 3 hours away. The region Skane, where Lund is
located in, has nice nature and beautiful national parks. The Swedish coastline is nice as well and when
you rent a car you can easily travel around and see all the nice places in the region.
LIVING COSTS
To finance my stay abroad I received an Erasmus grant, saved a lot of money and loaned money from
the government. Living costs in Sweden are high. I paid around 500 euros for my rent, which is 200
more than what I’m used to in the Netherlands. The prices in the supermarket are around 10% higher
compared to the Netherlands. Most of the money I spent was on food, drinks and traveling. I saved a
lot of money and I never had to decide where I could spend my money on. This way of living was
something I choose for myself and can be different for someone else. In total I spend 4000 euros in 5
months. This is traveling and rent included. I think my monthly budget would be 900 euros, without
traveling costs.
CULTURE
During my stay in Sweden I didn’t experience a major culture shock. Of course the Swedish people
have different kind of habits and a way of living, but in general the life in Sweden is comparable to life
in the Netherlands. There were a few things I noticed about Swedish culture that are good to tell. The
Swedish people are so kind and patient and they literally queue for everything! Don’t be surprised
when you go out in a club or want to have a package delivered that you have to wait in line. When
they are waiting in line they are not impatient, like we can be in the Netherlands and no one is cutting
the line. The other thing I noticed is the kindness of people. One time one of my friends cut the line
and when that would happen to me, I would definitely say something about that! Swedish people they
don’t really speak their minds and stand out with their opinions. Compared to Dutch mentality it’s
something you need to get used to.
Another thing about Swedish culture/lifestyle is the awareness of eating good food and spending
quality time with other people. One important thing you need to know is the fika. This is a coffee break
and most of the time you will eat a kanelbullar with it. It’s a baked sweet bread with cinnamon. The
Swedish people love their candy, sweets and cake! Beside the fact that Swedish people are sweet
tooth’s they eat healthy as well. Most of the time during lunchbreak you will see salads and other
home-prepped meals.
The best thing about the Swedish culture is the fact that they love to sing and dance! If you go to Lund
you will definitely go to a sittning at some point. This is a three course dinner with other students.
Between the courses you will sing (Swedish) songs and drink snaps (shots). I never experienced this
way of eating with over 40 people, where everyone is singing and making as much noise as possible.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
The most important thing I learned during my exchange is that you have to live in the moment. This
might sounds cliché, but it is true. My exchange lasted only 5 months and time is flying by so fast! It is
so important to enjoy every minute of it. Not only during your exchange, but in your daily life as well.
Back home I was always busy with working and getting good grades and forgot to enjoy the little things
in life. Now I appreciate everything a little bit more, even my own country, because the Netherlands
is an amazing country to live in!
The thing I will remember the most from my stay abroad are the people I met and the friendships that
I build. There are so many great memories, that it is hard to capture these with words.
At the end of the semester I made a speech for my friends during our last sittning together. I found
this quote and it really captures my personal development and experiences abroad.
‘You will never be completely at home again, because part of your hart will always be elsewhere. That
is the price you pay for the richness of knowing and loving people in more than one place.’
TIPS FOR FUTURE STUDENTS
If you are looking for a small place to study, meet a lot of new people and party a lot? Go to Lund. The
destination will be perfect for you! Meeting people is so convenient, because the place is small and
everything is located central. There are many students from all over the world and Lund is a nice and
old town with history. Lund University is the highest ranked university in Sweden and the study
environment is pleasant. Beside the normal paper work for your Erasmus grant and your application,
no special things are needed. If you are thinking about going to Lund, consider going in the fall
semester. In august there are more students arriving in Lund and the city is more alive. The weather
in august is good and will give you the change to go to the beach and have barbecues in the first weeks.
When you arrive in January it usually is more cold, there can be snow and there is not that much
daylight. For your first weeks of meeting people and discovering the area it might be better in summer.
If you are looking for a big city and a large-scale university, Lund might not be the place for you. When
you are not into partying and living the student life, you might reconsider Lund as your destination,
since there is not much going on in the city if you do not join student life.
Overall for me Lund was perfect and my exchange was the best decision I ever made. There is nothing
I would have done differently. If you go on exchange, make sure to enjoy every single minute of it,
because it will be over before you know it. Make sure to safe enough money to do the things you
would like to do while you’re there!