LIVING IN JÖNKÖPING

My Swedish experience

I have always liked to travel and visit new places which brings new experiences to my life. Scouting and asking for new things is very common for me every time due to my personality. Actually my friends would say about me that I am always asking, sometimes too much. I really like to discover new spaces, new cultures and people from different origin who will offer you a distinct view of the world.
This is probably the main reason why I decided to come to Sweden in order to study.
Nevertheless, to be honest, before coming to Sweden and leaving my family and friends I was a little nervous because I have never lived on my own and especially not in a foreign country. Despite of my tension and doubts at the beginning, I thought that I always had liked the idea to go abroad and that it was pretty impressive for me so I could not reject this wonderful opportunity.

Besides, the chance of going abroad represents a big challenge for me in my life since I did not know how I was going to react when facing a new culture such as the Swedish one and the fact of living far away of my “normal life” for so long.
I believe that the easiest thing would have been to stay in Spain and finish the last year of my degree there, because I really like the place where I live in my country. It is a warm and nice place where I have all what I need in every moment.
However, I needed something else. I needed new challenges; get to know other cultures and new people who would show me their lives, their habits and their way of behaving.
I was looking for something different of what I have in Spain. Therefore coming to Sweden was definitely the best option to get to know all of this and discover unknown places for me.
Before travelling to this country for the first time, I did not have too much knowledge about Swedes and their real culture, although I had a general perception about this country because I had seen some TV documentaries about Swedish nature but not about the society and general culture. In Spain a kind of stereotype exists about Swedes, they are seen as cold people who work a lot and do not have too much relationship among each other.

Generally speaking, Spanish people see Sweden as a boring country where people do not go out very much and the climate is extremely bad. Before coming to Jönköping there were people in Spain who used to tell me that I would get bored in Sweden every day because there is nothing interesting to do so far north.
Besides, advices like “The best thing of Sweden is the beauty of women” were quite common between the general ignorance of people who share their opinion without having any idea about anything related to this place.


I came to Sweden to get to know new languages, cultures, and people from different parts of the world so I changed my mind and I started to mingle with international students much more often although they were not able to speak Spanish.
Actually this change involved a great improvement because since that moment I have met many people from a lot of countries in the world and I am continuously learning about them because we exchange information, ways of behaving and customs, that were unknown for me and I really feel glad of learning all those new habits and distinct cultures. However of course I miss a lot my family, my girlfriend and all my friends, but it is not that much time away.
During this period in Sweden I have noticed several differences between both countries what made me feel an intercultural shock because these are quite distinct places.
Probably the biggest change I noticed was the climate. I live in the Southeast of Spain, where the temperatures are quite high the whole year so this new weather was a shock for me, even a little bit difficult at the beginning but now, few months after, I can cope with it. I am really enjoying my time in Sweden, I am learning a lot every day although sometimes I really find some problems adapting to this new culture.

I encountered some problems during my stay in Sweden because of my lack of Swedish skills. Even though most Swedes can speak English very well, I have experienced situations which made me feel frustrated because sometimes I could not communicate with Swedes who could only speak Swedish or because I could not understand the recipes of Swedish products when cooking. These are two examples of the importance of knowing the native language.

One of the biggest changes I noticed during my first weeks in Jönköping is the quietness and the tranquillity you can feel in this city. Also Swedish schedule was a considerable change in my life because in Spain I used to have lunch at 3 pm whereas in Sweden I usually have lunch at 12.30 or I used to have a nap after lunch when in this country it would be a waste of time and light hours. These are examples of the intercultural shock which has been caused in my life since I came to this country.
Also during this time I tried to mingle with Swedes because it could really help me a lot to feel more integrated in this culture.
From my point of view Swedes people are a little bit shy even when you do not know them you can think that they are cold and very independent people.
However I have had the opportunity to relate to a lot of Swedes during these months and this first impression changed completely because they are not as boring and cold as people can believe. Once you are closer with them they are really nice, respectful and warm people who always try to make you feel comfortable in their country. Generally speaking I really like their character and I just can have nice words toward them because since I came to Sweden they have tried to help me in many ways.


I consider that few months after I came to Sweden I can have a better general view about this culture, and how people and Swedish society are. I can give a more contrasted opinion than before because I have been living in this context for a period of time.

In conclusion I would like to express my satisfaction with my stay in Jönköping; I am really comfortable in this city and in the university as well.
I am learning a lot, and the most important fact is that I already know a lot of wonderful people with whom I can share feelings, thoughts and dissimilar views of what we have in our origin countries.
In my opinion going abroad in order to study is a fantastic experience which become you in a more open minded person since you have to coexist with people from different cultures who can have other distinct religions or beliefs. Besides this International and intercultural experience could help you to grow up in many different ways.