Before coming here, I spend too much of my time worrying about things that now I realize I didn’t needed to. When you start doing your application, the pressure is enough and you already have too much to worry about. There’s always that simple but disturbing thoughts before applying or coming to a different country, like the fear of not making friends or don’t communicate very well for example.
So, to stop you from worring for nothing, I will tell you a few small things you don’t need to stress about before thinking about coming to a University in Sweden.
- “What if I make lots of english mistakes?”
This is a question that (almost) everyone that does not have english as first language ask themselves. But don’t worry about making mistakes or forgeting some words! Honestly, this happens to everyone and here, when people know you’re from another country they totally understand some mistakes. And there’s the fact that here in Sweden english is also the second language, so they totally understand small mistakes and forgeting some words.
- “What if I have a strong cultural shock?”
This is why Sweden is an awesome choice! The culture is rich, full of interesting foods and habits. But at the same time is an open culture that people want to show to the foreigns, giving them a really good experience with their country. The Swedes are always inviting people for fikas and talking about cultural differences, integrating people and respecting the differences. So no need to worry about this!
- “What if I don’t understand the classes?”
This is something that I asked myself before coming here and….. total waste of time. The Professors here try their best to make everything clear, asking all the time if there are any questions or if someone did not understand, especially if they have international students in class. You can ask questions in class, set an appointment with the professor or counselor and of course, send an email about everything you don’t understand. So, no worries!
- “What if I don’t make any friends?”
This could be a very stupid question, but I did myself and I bet some of you will or already did. The thing you have to remember is: everyone is in the same position as you. If you meet international students you will know that they feel the same thing as you, everything is new, they want to connect and have good friends, so you just have to be open to start some conversations and there you go! And swedish people are very friendly, so you are not going to be alone!
I’m sure there is more “What Ifs” that will go through your mind, it is totally normal. You just have to keep in mind that studying abroad, especially in Sweden (;)) is an awesome adventure and small worries about the future should not stop you from coming. I thought about all of these questions and decided to come anyway. And you know what? That was the best decision of my life!
Photo: Melker Dahlstrand/imagebank.sweden.se
