Adventures From SVF 2012, Äventyr Från SVF 2012: I Sverige: Student Life at SVF

Here's a brief glimpse of what student life is like here at SVF!

Dorm Living:

Many of us from the college line program (collegelinjen) here at SVF live in dorms here on campus. The rooms are of a good size, and they each have their own little bathroom with a toilet and sink, a desk, shelves, and there is a closet for each roommate. There are also showers and laundry rooms there in the buildings. It's the responsibility of everyone to make sure that the buildings stay clean; especially in the areas that are shared by everyone (such as the kitchen, lounge, hallways, etc.).

The kitchens are well equipped with the basic appliances (except for toasters which are fire hazards) so we can easily cook for ourselves on the weekends (the cafeteria is closed after lunch on Fridays and reopens for breakfast on Mondays). There are also plenty of dishes, pans, and eating utensils already there, so you probably won't need to bring any or purchase any here. They also have large refrigerators and freezers where you can store perishable food items, and each person gets their own locker to put other food items in. It takes only a few minutes to walk to the nearest grocery store, so getting food is pretty easy. (Tip: When grocery shopping here, it's a good idea to have some sort of bag that you can use over and over again. It's actually harder to get plastic bags for shopping here.) And whilst we're talking about food, I think it's worth telling you that the food here is really quite good! Not just in the grocery stores, but also in the cafeteria. There isn't as wide of a variety of food as there usually is at college cafeterias in the states, but they make up for that with better quality. They also have morning fika (coffee time) Mondays through Thursday in the cafeteria between morning classes, and on Fridays in the lobby (hosted by the Bible line). The food here is generally healthier, too.

Furugården - our dorm building

You'll also need to sort out your trash as Sweden is a very environmentally friendly place. Anything that can be recycled is set aside along with organic waste (egg shells, misc. food waste, etc.) for composting. Laundry is done in a similar way to back in the states, except the washing and drying machines are smaller so only need about 1/3 or 1/2 of the load you would originally have to make a full load here, and you don't have to pay to use them (so no having to keep track of quarters (or kronor here I guess)! Yay!). And again, being environmentally friendly comes into play in that the driers don't use as much energy, so they don't dry as quickly as American ones. So you may need to hang up your clothes to dry the rest of the way, or else put them in for another round.

School Days:

For the most part, the courses here require more of you in class rather than outside of class. Unlike in the states, more of your grade comes from attendance, in-class activities, and tests rather than homework or outside studying. So it's imperative that you attend class on a regular basis and stay involved throughout each class session.

At SVF, there are several different lines of study that go on around here. Here they have the general curriculum (similar to college prep), Bible studies, Public Relations and Advertising (Graphic Arts), Journalism, Music, and of course the International College Program. For the college program, our four main classes are a Swedish language course, Scandinavian History and Culture, History of the Mediterranean, and Survey of International Politics. We are also required to participate in a P.E. course, and other activities around the school such as forums, game days, etc. There are also several student councils you can volunteer to be on as well.