Schedule:
- Join a nation
- Get your LU Card (more on these below!)
General Information Meeting: 09:00 - 11:00
Welcome to Lund!
Aside from running us through all the essentials of beginning life and study in a foreign country alongside presentations from a member of the fire department, police and chaplaincy of Lund Cathedral, the Info Meeting also sold tickets to Orientation events at the end and handed out free tickets to a concert in Lund Cathedral. If you want to go on a particular day + time, have that handy because tickets are allocated with a designated time to go!
Note: there are two different types of 'cards' you need to get as an exchange student at Lund -
- Studentkortet (this is also an app)
- LU Card
The Studentkortet card gives you access to all things involved in student life - so the nations, academic support and also provides you with a valid "student" identity so you can get discounts when purchasing public transport tickets.
Your LU Card is your library card and grants you access to all buildings in Lund as well as the ability to borrow books and print documents. You must get your LU Card - it also contains your "personal number" which is essentially your Student ID while you are studying in Lund. You must go to one of the twenty-one libraries in Lund in order to validate your identity (with a passport) and then have your photo taken for the card.
The seas in front filled up quick after the late stragglers managed to find their way to the classroom!
With 100% honesty, the first lesson of SUSA was long. I'm not a languages person by nature, but we ran through the pronunciation of "r" in the Skane region and outside of it, the phrases "it is", self-introductions, personal pronouns (male/female/gender neutral), the Swedish alphabet and the "schematic of the mouth" - essentially a chart explaining how different words/sounds are pronounced and where the sound comes from within the mouth and how the mouth shapes what sounds are vocalised. Not exactly my cup of tea in terms of content, and with only a single 10 minute break it was a challenging session to sit and power through.
However, after SUSA it snowed! It was incredible (and funnily enough, not as cold as I thought it would be. It was exhilarating spinning around like a mad-person taking photos, jumping up and down and trying to catch the falling flakes in my mouth! Here are some photos of the streets:
View of the shops near Lund Central
Passing by Lunds Nation!
Lund Cathedral
'Kathedral Skolan' or Cathedral High School
Student Association Fair: 15:00 - 18:00
The Student Association Fair was a little overwhelming at first, but it's quite easy to make your way around each of the booths. Note: you can't formally "join" a nation at the Fair. In order to complete your registration as part of a nation, you've got to actually go to the main "residence" of the nation and sign up there. The Fair is just so you can get to know all the different nations and find out how each of them differ and what they offer. I didn't explore too much at the Fair because I already knew which nation to join, but I took advantage of the abundance of free candy being thrown my way!
An aside, Swedish liquorice is "dangerous" for foreigners according to a Wermlands member, but I decided to try it anyway (unfortunately forgot the photos!) - it's stronger than what I've had previously and there's salt added as a twist, definitely an acquired taste but I liked it~!
The stalls of the Nations!
Joining My Nation (Wermlands!)
I pretty much had already decided on a nation before leaving Australia so I was dead-set on choosing Wermlands. It's the "greenest" nation which has an actual environmental committee, is the only nation which organises hikes for members, provides all vegan food, yoga sessions and is smaller than most nations so the atmosphere is far more tight-knit and cosy.
You're in the right place!
Close up sign of the Wermlands Office opening hours!
Inside the Wermlands Office! It's like walking into a good friend's house. Most of the events like fika or frunch are in the basement which I didn't get to visit today, but hopefully will very soon!
This is the front entrance of Wermlands, but it's not the entrance you've got to come through to register! Makes for a pretty picture encapsulating the essence of Lund though!
Getting Your LU Card:
The closest library that prints the LU Cards to both the Student Association Fair and Wermlands Nation is Law Library, located at Lilla Grabrodersgatan 4.
Entrance to Law Library
It was an incredibly quick and efficient to get my LU Card - the whole process took less than 5 minutes. I was also offered a card holder (one that I could clip on to a waistband or shirt) but I decided to just to take the card and put it in my wallet instead. Simple!
That aside, Law Library is worth a visit just for the ambience -
This cafe is what greets you when you enter! The reception is located just to the right at this gorgeous curved wooden desk.
Plus a cosy seating / study area next to the revolving door exit!
Vegan Burger Cafe @ Smalands Nation: 17:00 - 21:00
Smalands was about a 10 minute walk away from the Student Association Fair, so it made sense for me to head there before finding my way back to my accommodation (25 minutes walk away) or to the Board Games events (15 minutes walk away). Smalands appears chill but you can tell from the atmosphere that the members are exceptionally passionate about what they do. They're advocates for feminist thinking, ending animal cruelty and socialism. Smalands would've been my second choice but I just felt more at home and had a better "vibe" with those at Wermlands!
The Entrance to Smalands Nation
Inside Smalands! It's a super cosy, indie/alternative place.
Dinner: Vegan Burger woo! (SEK 30) - the options were "classic" and "mushroom", the latter being the same as classic but with mushrooms added. I got mushroom! It was soooooo good, the vegan cheese and patties was one of the best I've ever tasted. 10/10.
Speed Friending with ESN: 18:00 - 18:30
I didn't stay at Speed Friending for long because I was just floored from the long day (and mental exhaustion from SUSA most likely AHAHA), but essentially you rocked up to a group of about 4 people and chatted to some light and controversial questions (e.g., "do you support the death penalty? Why/why not?") on the sheet provided. At the end of each "round" two people left the group and walked around to another group. All who attended this event were exchange or international students!
I didn't enjoy this activity as much most likely because I was already quite tired, but personally I don't think it was the best idea to get strangers chatting about potentially very sensitive issues where disagreements might eventuate into heated debates. I'll admit, some of the questions/prompts made me feel a bit uncomfortable, but most people seemed to enjoy it!
Gamecube and Board Game Tournament at Helsingkrona Nation 18:30 - 19:30
Typical (free!) fika at Helsingkrona Nation - vegan chocolate balls (oats, cocoa, vegan butter, coffee powder, sugar, coconut in some), plus a selection of tea, hot water, cold water and of course, coffee.
Since Helsingkrona was on my way home I stopped by here to check out the board games event - there were a selection of games available and little clustered groups of people playing Jenga. I didn't end up playing any games but found myself chatting to a German medical student (who's interested in neurology!) for the hour and eating my fill of home-made vegan chocolate balls before calling it a (very early) night.
Although it's the third day of orientation I'm honestly astounded at how much I've packed in the last three days. It's intense, but the experiences have been out of this world!! I think my highlight was being 100% present when the snow fell and just skipping around town having a ball with it.
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