Aleks, BSc Criminology

Hej da, (Hi there!)

My name is Aleks, and I am a second-year Criminology student at Surrey. This summer, I completed the Summer Academy at Linkoping University in Sweden. I decided to go abroad at the end of my first year and it was the best experience that I ever had! I had the pleasure of learning about the Swedish language, culture, and society whilst in Sweden, but there were some social activities that we did together. The course as a whole was really interesting as I had the opportunity to learn basic Swedish, as well as learn different aspects of Swedish society such as music, politics, education, history and others. My lessons were based in the Student House (Studenthuset), a building which is a library with classrooms in it, and my lessons took place in room SH63, which was based on the 6th floor of the building, way high up.

While in Sweden, I met people from all over the world, such as Germany, Finland, Canada, Chile, Singapore, France, China, Japan, South Korea, and even people from other universities in the UK. It was really great to meet those people and spend time in Sweden with them.

Alongside my course, I was able to attend some social activities organised by the hosts which were really interesting and included some trips. Some of the social activities included a welcome dinner, playing board games, tasting different Swedish candies, and winning a quiz with my teammates where we won power banks. Moreover, in Linkoping, I visited IKEA for the first time in my life, and was big, with a restaurant, where I tasted Swedish meatballs, and they were simply the best.

There was a trip to Vadstena, a town in the local area where we went to the Vadstena Castle, and after this, I went to the local market. It was great to visit small places, like this one, which are cosy and beautiful, and the lake on which the town is based contributed to the creation of memories.

Undoubtedly, the best trip was to Stockholm on 13th and 14th July. I was able to visit some nice places including the ABBA Museum (where they had a special section dedicated to the 50th anniversary of their win at Eurovision in 1974 where they showed the medal they won), Friends Arena (now called Strawberry Arena, which is the largest stadium not only in Sweden, but in Scandinavia as a whole), Avicii Arena (host venue of Eurovision in 2000 and 2016), where I went inside a glass gondola, and I was able to view the city 130 metres above sea level. Other sites include the Old Town and the Royal Palace (where the Swedish King works, something like Buckingham Palace in the UK). Whilst in Stockholm, we stayed in Zinkensdamm, a hostel, where we had breakfast in a traditional Swedish style with a buffet-style table.

Overall, my time in Sweden was wonderful. The combination of studying, socialising, and travelling contributed to a great sense of atmosphere. I was able to visit a country that I wanted to go to for some time now, not only because of Eurovision but also because of their beautiful nature and the fact that people are very respectful and open-minded.