Enskilda enkäter för Utbytesrapport/Exchange report
Person 115
Basic Information
1. Name Adrian Hagström
2. E-mail address: Adrian.hagstrom@hotmail.com
3. Exchange university York University
4. City Uppsala
5. Country Sweden
6. First semester of your exchange Swedish autumn semester (HT)
7. Academic year 2012/2013
8. What did you study during your exchange? Mathematics
9. Level of studies at the exchange university Undergraduate
10. What are you studying at Uppsala University? Lärarprogrammet
11. How many years of study had you completed before going on exchange? 3
Studies
12. Write one or more paragraphs describing the following: The differences between Uppsala University and the exchange. What were the teachers like? What courses would you recommend
(or not) for future exchange students? The relationship between teachers and students. The
academic level and quality of your courses. Access to computers. Examinations. There where
quite a difference between the two universities. In Uppsala the university is spread out all
over the city with different houses handling different courses. At York University everything
where collected at one spot. A very big spot however. It made things a bit easier but also a
bit harder.
I must say I find the quality on many of the courses and the school overall to be higher
at Uppsala University. Sometimes it could be hard to find an internet connection at York
University which could be annoying now and then. Finding computers where also hard because
most of them where used by other students. If I forgot my laptop I often had to wait some
30 minutes to just get a computer.
Some of the teachers where horrible at York, more horrible then any teacher I have had
at Uppsala. This made an impact on my feelings about a certain course. Sometimes good
courses felt really boring because of a certain teacher. Though, I had some truly memorable
moments also with very good teachers.
I learned that York University is not a school in which you should study math. The school is
connected to a good Business school and also has a lot of art courses that are good. Especially
drama and film courses.
The Examinations where half good. The Canadian educational system is different from the
Swedish one (of course) so these changes is not due to the school itself. I’m quite used to have
a few assignments that build up the knowledge before the Exams. At York I sometimes had
a few Assignments (that covered about 5 - 10% of my total score each) that didn’t relate to
what I was supposed to write about when the exam arrived. I sometimes felt that the teachers
Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet
Sida 317 av 957
Enskilda enkäter för Utbytesrapport/Exchange report
could not motivate why I would do a certain assignment or examination. Fear not though!
Many of the teachers are great listeners so it’s easy to make some changes. There where often
easier to talk straight to the professors then trying to talk with some school administration.
Orientation and reception
13. Write one or more paragraphs describing the following: How you were welcomed as an exchange student. Orientation, information, activities. I was very well welcomed when I arrived.
At the airport they did welcome me warmly and asked if I had accommodation and if I had
arranged all my courses and such (which I had). They gave me a ”Pay-As-You-Go” phone
card from Rogers which made things easy because I didn’t need to start researching phones
straight away. The Exchange orientation where a very long procedure which kind of tapped
me on my head almost ridiculing me. One example, they gave us a paper, and then, read it
out in front of us. As if we would not be able to do this ourselves. Most people got very tired
but all stayed during those 6 hours or what it was. We got to learn how to behave, how to
dress, how to eat and how to handle ones money. I don’t think they understood how much
paperwork all of us exchange people had to go through to even end up in Toronto, Canada.
The good part with this was however that I met a lot of wonderful human beings during
that day. Most of them turned into very good friends that I had for the rest of my time in
Toronto. So not going to the exchange orientation would be to miss out a lot. There is also
”the Frosh”. This is an orientation for students that are new to the University. The event
is alcohol free and continuous for about 2 weeks. I did participate but felt very old when I
did. Most of the participants where like 19 or 18 years old (in some cases 17). I just did not
really blend in, mostly because the University as an institution is not that thrilling for me
anymore. I did have fun however.
If you want to occupy your time with activities, clubs and such then you’ll have no problem
doing so. There exist almost one club per student! No, this is a lie, but I think it did exist
about 300 different clubs at the campus. Art clubs, music clubs, political clubs, cooking clubs,
yes, almost everything.
Accommodation
14. Write one or more paragraphs describing your accommodation. What type of accommodation
did you have, where you satisfied? Do you have any tips for future students? This is quite
a story. I started to search for an accommodation without the help from York university. I
did not want to live on campus because I felt that it may be a little to immature for me.
I found this random websites where people did post different accommodations. I found one
that seemed to be perfect. I went to Toronto, to my house, and just realized that my room
that where described as very bright and good actually where a room without windows. It felt
a bit bad, I felt cheated. There where no internet in the house either so I just accepted that
I cannot live here. Two weeks later I move again. This time I found an apartment at the
intersection of Yonge street and Gerrard street. This is very central! I really enjoyed the
location, I did perhaps not love the people I was living with (I was sharing the apartment).
Though it was overall very good so I stayed there for the rest of my time in Toronto.
The University lies about one hour away from downtown. This was a bummer because I
needed to commute a lot. I had courses every day. I solved this by finding some friends that
lived at campus and stayed over at theirs places during the weeks and let them stay at my
place during the weekends. Fair trade. Most people my age that where staying at campus said
that they rather would have stayed downtown because there is more to see. People younger
then me often liked the life at the campus because they had lots of neighbors that are similar
Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet
Sida 318 av 957
Enskilda enkäter för Utbytesrapport/Exchange report
in age. Living downtown can be a bit lonely if you have a hard time to meet new people
depending on if you share an apartment or not. At the campus you have no choice, you’ll
meet new people wherever you live. There is very hard to recommend where one should live
while studying at York University. I do though prefer the areas close to downtown or the
downtown area. This is because I just want to be able to walk outside my door and find
myself surrounded by shops, restaurants and people. It was really fun. Being one that likes
to spent some hours at bars and pubs I also figured that it’s really bothersome to commute in
the middle of the night back to campus. The last train did depart at 01:00am. When I was
living downtown I never needed to worry about this (this is also a reason to why I had people
staying over very often, they could not get back home).
Your finances
15. Write one or more paragraphs describing the cost of living. Did you find CSN adequate?
How was the rent in comparison to your rent in Uppsala? Did you undertake part-time work
in addition to your studies? The CSN did support me with all the money necessary to live
a good life in Toronto. I did however live a truly good life so I did use some of my savings
also. My rent in Toronto was sky high in comparison to what I payed in Uppsala. That made
things a bit trickier but nothing that really bothered me. I lived at such a good spot so how
could I complain!
If you do most of your cooking at home then everything will turn out just fine. If you love
food, like me, and also love to eat out at good restaurants (fast food restaurants are not good
restaurants) then it can get a bit pricey. They do have a great range of restaurants in Toronto
so you’ll never get bored. I totally recommend you to try some of the many restaurants. Use
Urbanspoon.com to find some good ones.
I saved my money by eating home all week so that I could go to restaurants and bars with my
friends in the weekend. It summed up quite well. Then on top of that I did a lot of traveling
in Canada which also did cost some money. That was not necessary of course but I figured I
needed to see a lot of the country before heading home to Sweden. The money you get from
CSN does not cover the restaurants and the traveling. The money covers accommodation,
food, a few restaurants and perhaps a weekend trip. I did not do any shopping in Toronto
what so ever. Well, some few things at a thrift store but nothing expensive. You can easily
spend all your money the same day if you want to. Toronto can be extremely expensive if
you walk in those districts. Depending on what one want and how one wants to live, Toronto
won’t be more expensive than Uppsala.
Free time
16. What did you do in your free time? Did the university arrange any special activities? Where
there any activities specifically for exchange students? Were you happy with what was on
offer? My free time I spent outside of the university together with friends. I explored the
city of Toronto which is not an easy task. During my first months in Toronto I felt that the
city where quite boring. It was easy to find things but then I just felt that the bars, clubs,
restaurants and cafes where quite boring. Then I started to do some research and I also got
to know more people that knew about the city. This way I managed to find some really good
spots and quarters. After that Toronto turned into a very exciting city with tons of things to
offer! If one want to see gigs there is plenty of artists playing every weekend. I did see some
nice acts during my time there. Other then music there are museums and theaters to visit.
Events like markets and parades do occur frequently so keep your eyes up for posters. There
is some webpages to use also where you can find information about what’s happening in the
city. http://www.blogto.com/ is one of them and that one is very good.
Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet
Sida 319 av 957
Enskilda enkäter för Utbytesrapport/Exchange report
There are some activities available for exchange students through the university as well.
Often day trips and also some weekend activities (like traveling to neighbor cities). I did not
participate in any of these activities just because I was so busy with everything else. There
will be things to do if you want to. Don’t worry.
Your exchange on a whole
17. Please sum up your exchange experience. If you have any other tips for future exchange
students, or any other comments feel free to include them here. My experience was a blast. I
had a killer time and would to it again if I could. All the cultures I was able to take part of,
all the people I met, all the friends that I made and everything I got to see and experience.
All that is just so good. I’m know a more confident and open person. I did grow a lot during
my stay in Toronto. When you go to this city just remember to open your eyes for new things
and embrace everything that is new. this way you’ll get to experience things you would never
be able to experience in Sweden. Also take your time to meet friends at campus and at cafes
and bars in the city. People like to talk and they are often interested in different cultures.
You’ll be very interesting if you only dare to open yourself to other people. When you study,
get together with other people in your courses. They’ll help you with everything you need to
have a calm and easy semester. Remember to study every day, the study load can feel very
easy in the beginning of the semester but it really adds up. If this happens the last month will
be horrible.
Some really nice quarters to visit is Kensington market, Ossington and Queen st intersection,
Koreatown (Bloor street), Chinatown (Spadina ave.), Little Italy (College street) and many
more! I don’t want to say too much because the small things are often the best so you need to
find these gems on your own. I do have an blog that I started while I was in Toronto. There
you could find some of the places I liked the most and also some ideas and thoughts I had
during my time in Toronto.
Blog address: http://notentirelysatisfied.blogspot.com/ If you have any questions just contact
me and I’ll help you with everything I can.
Approval
18. Your report will be available for future exchange students in printed form at the International
Office and will be sent by email to individual students requesting it. Do you also approve
the publishing of your exchange report on Uppsala University’s website? Yes
Thank you for replying to this survey - your input is greatly appreciated.
Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet
Sida 320 av 957