Person 11 Basic Information 1. Name Adam Hernod Olevall 2. E-mail address: adamolevall@gmail.com 3. Exchange university University of Washington 4. City Seattle 5. Country Usa 6. First semester of your exchange Swedish autumn semester (HT 2015) 7. Academic year 2015/16 8. What subject area/s did you study during your exchange? Computer Science och Spanska 9. Level of studies at the exchange university Undergraduate 10. What are you studying at Uppsala University? Civilingenjör IT 11. How many years of study had you completed before going on exchange? 4 Studies 12. Tell us about your studies on your exchange. If you are stuck for ideas you can for exemple write about: 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... Utbildningen var på en helt annat nivå kvalitetsmässigt än det jag var van med från Uppsala. Det var nödvändigtvis inte svårare, men man märkte att allt var upplagt så att man skulle lära sig på ett maximalt sätt, allt kändes mera seriöst. Skolan är ett toppuniversitet i Usa och det märkte man snabbt. Lärarna gick verkligen in för att vilja lära sina elever, en känsla man kanske inte kan känna i Uppsala. Vissa klasser var vi 300 som läste, men i andra var vi ca 20. I de mindre klasserna blev läraren verkligen en med klassen. Vill man åka på ett utbyte där det akademiska är prio ett kan jag verkligen rekommendera detta universitet. Orientation and reception 13. Tell us about how it was to arrive and settle in. Jag tog kontakt med den andra studenten från Uppsala det första jag gjorde. Vi gick tillsammans ner till mottagningen under de första dagarna och träffade där nya människor. Det var under denna aktivitetsperiod som man knöt kontakter för resten av utbytet. Det enda tråkiga är väl att det bara är internationella studenter på denna mottagning. Så vill man träffa amerikaner och komma in i deras kultur är detta inget att rekommendera. Amerikanerna får man istället lära känna via klassen, eller som i mitt fall, via boendet. Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 37 av 440
Accommodation 14. Describe your accommodation. What type of accommodation did you have, where you satisfied? Do you have any tips for future students? Jag bodde i ett hus off-campus som jag delade med 8 amerikaner, 2 tjejer och 6 killar. Hittade det via Universitetets Facebooksida för boende. Allt var klart redan innan jag lämnade Sverige så det kändes tryggt. Det som var lite segt var att dom jag bodde med var runt 18 år, så det var inga man kunde dra ut med på stan en lördagkväll. I mitt hus, och i de flesta andra, tenderar det att bli rätt smutsigt och stökigt. Det blir väl så när alla de här ungdomarna flyttar ut från sitt föräldrarhem för att göra collage. Inget som störde mig dock. Men är man lite mera renlig av sig så kan jag rekommendera att bo on-campus, eller alternativt hitta ett hus där medelåldern kanske är lite högre.. Your finances 15. Describe 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? Min hyra låg på 500 dollar, vilket var så billigt man kunde få där borta. Att bo på campus är svindyrt och mina vänner som gjorde det tror jag betalde runt 11000 i månaden, men då ingick lite mat. CSN räckte till utan problem för att klara sig i vardagen då jag fick via det gamla systemet på ca 14000 kr i månaden tror jag. Men ska man ut och göra resor och dylikt måste man nästan ha ett eget kapital med sig från Sverige. Ni som nu måste använda det nya systemet med CSN där ni får lika mycket som en student i Sverige, måste nog ha med er lite egna pengar även om ni inte ska göra resor. För dom 10000 kr försvinner nog rätt fort. Tror jag brände ca 12000 i månaden, resor exkluderat. 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? Jag hängde mycket med vänner på fritiden som jag träffade under mottagningen. Vi besökte bland annat Portland, Las Vegas och Florida. Jag åkte även ner till Los Angeles en hel del då jag har släkt där. Boka flyg i god tid för att spara pengar! Skolan, eller det Internationella kansliet, anordnade även mycket aktiviteter, men det var inget jag orkade gå på. Sen fanns det även tusentals föreningar man kunde joina om man ville, typ filmklubb, matlagningsgrupp etc. Men inget jag kände något behov av. Your exchange on the 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. Utbytet var bra! Vädret i Seattle är väl rätt likt det i Göteborg. Regn och rusk från oktober - mars. Jag hade tur att hitta sådana pass bra vänner som jag gjorde där borta. Utan dom hade jag nog inte trivts lika bra. Skolan var grym. 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 Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 38 av 440
the publishing of your exchange report on Uppsala University s website? Yes 19. Do you have any photos you would like to upload and include in your exchange report? - 20. Please tell us a little bit about the picture/s. - 21. Publishing of pictures - Thank you for submitting your exchange report! Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 39 av 440
Person 123 Basic Information 1. Name Victoria Eriksson Russo 2. E-mail address: victoria.e.r@hotmail.com 3. Exchange university University of Washington 4. City Seattle 5. Country USA 6. First semester of your exchange Swedish autumn semester (HT 2015) 7. Academic year 2015/16 8. What subject area/s did you study during your exchange? Restoration ecology, native american studies, environmental economics 9. Level of studies at the exchange university Undergraduate 10. What are you studying at Uppsala University? Master Program in Environmental and Water Engineering (Civilingenjörsprogrammet i vatten- och miljöteknik) 11. How many years of study had you completed before going on exchange? 3 Studies 12. Tell us about your studies on your exchange. If you are stuck for ideas you can for exemple write about: 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... Studying at UW was a lot different from studying at UU. First of all I had a lot more free time compared to studying in UU. My courses at UW were also a lot easier, however, there was a lot of time consuming homework. To get a better exchange from an academic perspective I should probably have applied for postgraduate classes. When choosing courses I tried to find classes with field trips to get to explore the beautiful state of Washington during class hours. It was also very interesting to study native american studies in the USA, especially since my teacher and a lot of my classmates were of native american descent and thus had many personal stories to share. Orientation and reception 13. Tell us about how it was to arrive and settle in. I arrived in Seattle a few days before the activities for international students began. Since I didn t know anyone in Seattle at this time, it was really nice to have a host family through FIUTS that I lived with the first couple of days (and that picked me up at the airport). I also attended several of the FIUTS events in the beginning, since this was a good way to meet new people. Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 374 av 440
Accommodation 14. Describe your accommodation. What type of accommodation did you have, where you satisfied? Do you have any tips for future students? During my exchange in Seattle I lived in 2 different houses. Both of the houses I found through the Facebook group University of Washington (UW) Housing, Sublets & Roommates. Since you need an official UW email address to join this group, founding housing through it felt fairly safe - however, always be on the lookout for scammers! UW also has a roommate finder forum that I came close to finding roommates through, before finally finding housing through the Facebook group. Both of the houses I lived in were in the U-district and within walking distance of campus. However, in the U-district (and a lot of other districts in Seattle) there are some sketchy areas. The first house I lived in happened to be in one of those. I found this house before arriving in Seattle by focusing on finding roommates that I d like - which I REALLY did. Unfortunately, we had several things stolen from our enclosed yard within just a few weeks, which made me feel very unsafe walking home alone at night. So, despite the risk of loosing my deposit, I decided to move. Since I found my second house in a hurry, I didn t have time to focus on finding people I d get along with as roommates. Although the people I ended up living with were nice, we did not have that much in common, so I ended up mostly hanging out with people outside of the house. I guess what I m trying to say is: when looking for housing, decide what your priorities are (cost, area, roommates, living standard), look in different forums (I d personally stay away from Craigslist though) and sooner or later you ll find something. Personally I recommend trying to find a house in the U-district with american roommates. That way you ll have roommates that know the area, can give you tips about the best things to do in Seattle and help improve your English. I d also highly recommend NOT living in the dorms, since they are super expensive. Your finances 15. Describe 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? I took CSN:s extended loan, which I found adequate. However, with the exchange rate being so high my entire exchange, I was lucky to have cheap rent. My rent was about 1000:- more expensive than in Uppsala, but still very cheap for the Seattle area. If my rent would ve been closer to what most of my friends payed, I would ve needed to use some of my savings. In Seattle, going out for lunch, dinner (and even sometimes breakfast) is a common way of socializing. So I spent a lot more money going out to eat then what I would have in Uppsala. I did not work part-time during my exchange since I wanted to spend my limited time there on more fun things. However, some jobs could be a good way to meet people as well as get some extra money (especially since the minimum wage in Washington is $15/h). 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? During my free time I explored Seattle by bike and public transportation (both work really well), hung out with friends, ate at a bunch of vegan restaurants (Wayward vegan cafe was probably my favorite) and tried to go hiking as much as I possibly could. Mount Rainier as well as Olympic National Park are beautiful to hike around. I went on several hikes with the on-campus club North West Women (NWW). I also attended some of that club s climbing events. There is also an on-campus kayaking club that I unfortunately only made it to one event with, that I wish I would have found earlier. Also, in the beginning of Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 375 av 440
my stay I attended a lot of FIUTS events, since it was a good way to find new friends and explore the city. My favorite trip with FIUTS was probably the one we did to Mount Rainier. I also traveled a lot. For instance, I went down to Portland and up to Vancouver a couple of times (both cities are only 3-4 hours away). My favorite trip was without a doubt the campervan road trip I did with some friends through several national parks in Utah. Some of the places/national parks we visited on our road trip were Arches, Zion, Canyonlands, Escalante, Natural Bridges and Bruce Canyon - all breathtakingly beautiful. Your exchange on the 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 exchange experience as a whole was a lot of fun, allowed me to grow as a person and gave me friends for life. 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 19. Do you have any photos you would like to upload and include in your exchange report? http://doit.medfarm.uu.se/kurtattachment/14698860131622983318.jpg http://doit.medfarm.uu.se/kurtattachment/14698860132039554012.jpg 20. Please tell us a little bit about the picture/s. I included 2 pictures from my road trip through Utah, One of the pictures is from Bryce Canyon and the other is from Zion National Park - probably my 2 favorite places we visited on the road trip. 21. Publishing of pictures I approve of my pictures being published only in this exchange report (web/printed) Thank you for submitting your exchange report! Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 376 av 440