Exchange Report (International Office´s )

BASIC INFORMATION

General information

Surname Ye

First name Sofie

Exchange Ye, Sofie - 2017/18

Exchange country

Exchange city Vancouver

Duration of the stay

Academic year 2017/18

Start semester/term Autumn Semester 2017/18

Duration in semesters/terms 2

Your exchange in brief

Level of studies at the exchange Postgraduate / Master

Subject area Chemistry

Other 0313 - Psychology

Your studies at Uppsala

What are you studying at ? Master program in Organic Chemistry

How many years of study had you completed 4 before going on exchange?

STUDIES

Studies/Semester description

The text field will expand to allow you to write as I took the following classes at UBC: GRSJ101, CRWR200, PSYC101, much as you like PSYC365, CHEM413, CHEM460, CHEM473 and CHEM573. In general, studying at UBC was very different from studying at UU. For me, the biggest difference was that I had to take four classes at the same time again. As a master’s in chemistry I have become very used to taking only one class at the time (at a 100% study pace) and going from that to having to focus on four different classes simultaneously was a bit of a challenge in the beginning. This was, however, compensated by the ‘grading system’ and the general ‘teaching method’ at UBC. My experience was that the fact that your final grade of a certain class would be a summation of the grades you got for different modules of that class (e.g. midterms, projects, homework, assignments and even participation, etc.) made it easier to pass classes as compared to at UU, where – in some cases – the final examination is the only module affecting the final grade of the class. I also thought that the classes required less responsibility from students in general. For example, it did not feel like they expected students to be independent in terms of finding information for assignments or what questions to think about for an exam, and this made it very much easier to study. Of course, all this would differ from class to class. In general, I would say that the chemistry classes I took required more time and independence than the other classes. Overall, I enjoyed all classes that I took at UBC but would especially recommend: CHEM473 with Prof. Harry Brumer – a class giving you a good overview of different spectroscopic methods used in chemistry given by a wonderful professor who was lived and worked in Sweden for 10 years; GRSJ101 with Prof. Kim Snowden – a class where you are asked to think about how to use the tools of social media to fight social justice issues given by a very enthusiastic and slightly sarcastic professor; PSYC365 with Prof. Rebecca Todd – a class that gives you a good overview of current research in cognitive neuroscience given by a very friendly and nerdy professor who loves bears and The Simpsons.

ORIENTATION AND RECEPTION

Orientation and reception

Tell us about how it was to arrive and settle in. I was very lucky and got to travel to Canada together with three other UU students. We stayed downtown in a hostel for about a week and explored the city of Vancouver before heading over to campus. ‘Moving-in day’ at campus was exciting and we all got to meet our new room mates. There were people around to help you with practicalities around moving in, such as where to get your keys, where to do your laundry and who to talk to if you manage to lock yourself out of your room (this happened to me, twice, on my first day). Coming from UU, the orientation and reception activities offered by UBC was quite the disappointment. The only thing offered by the university in terms of orientation, was a day where they divided all incoming exchange students in groups of about 25 and guided you around campus. And as for reception, what I recall is that they had a lecture on course registrations and the drug and alcohol policy of the school. I do not think that the orientation day was a complete waste of time, it was still a great opportunity to meet other exchange students. I just think that students from Uppsala might be slightly ‘spoilt’ as our university has a long tradition orientation/reception periods stretching over weeks. My best tips for getting to know people is to not be afraid of talking to your neighbors, where you live, and in class. Most people are very friendly and will be delighted to get to know an exchange student.

ACCOMMODATION Your accommodation: I stayed in a shared four-room apartment at Fairview Crescent. I had a medium/large-sized bedroom which was perfect for being abroad a year. I shared a kitchen, a living room and to bathrooms (one with shower) with three other girls. The apartment was a 10-minute walk away from the center of campus and if you walked about the same distance in the other direction, there was an area with a big grocery store, bank services and coffee shops. Living in a shared apartment was fine although we did have some troubles with one of the room mates. In general, however, it was a cute little neighborhood housing loads of other exchange students. There were always people to hang out with and the atmosphere was friendly.

YOUR FINANCES

Your finances: The cost of living in Vancouver was not much different from that of living in Uppsala. My rent for the shared four-room apartment at Fairview Crescent was a little bit higher than that which I pay for my shared two-room apartment here in Uppsala. Groceries were slightly more expensive, especially when it came to dairy products such as milk, yoghurt and cheese. Eating out, on the other hand, was generally cheaper than in Sweden. CSN covered the daily living and a few weekend activities. I did, however, feel like I wanted a little bit more economic freedom for Term 2 and took on a part-time job in a coffee shop on campus. I worked about 20 hours a week and combining that with four classes worked surprisingly well.

FREE TIME

Your free time: The student of UBC (AMS) offers a lot of clubs for students with all kinds of interests. There are clubs for those interested in martial arts, yoga, singing, dancing, reading, crafting, sports, outdoor activities etc. I joined UBC boxing club and a group called ‘Shine On ’. The latter was a group where students could volunteer as music teachers for children in elementary schools in ‘less privileged’ areas and I spent my Wednesday afternoons teaching violin to three 7- 8 years old girls. The boxing club offered instructor lead classes 2-3 times a week and it was a fun way to get to know students from different programs at school. Whenever there was a long weekend, me and my friends would try to arrange a trip. We visited Vancouver Island, the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Seattle and San Francisco but we also travelled within British Columbia where we did a lot of hiking. The nature around Vancouver is beautiful and there are many hikes of different levels to enjoy. The only downside is that many of them are only reachable by car (meaning public transit will not take you to the trailhead) and so having access to a car is a big bonus when in Vancouver. There is an exchange student club at UBC that arranges trips and activities for exchange students. I personally did not take part of any of their trips and thought it was easier to arrange trips alone with my group of friends. I have other friends who went on a few trips with the exchange student club though and they seemed content.

YOUR EXCHANGE ON THE WHOLE

Please choose the alternative that best describes 2. Very good your exchange on the whole Please describe your impressions of your Going to UBC on exchange is definitely one of the best decisions I exchange: have ever made. I made some great friends – not only international ones but also Swedish ones that I am still hanging out with. I feel much more comfortable speaking English, I am totally in love with the nature of British Columbia and the food scene in Vancouver and I am 100% sure that I will go back to Canada soon again.

Please describe how you have developed as a I have grown more confident in myself and that I can get through person during your exchange: tough situations on my own. Even if I was lucky to have a wonderful group of friends around me from the very start of this journey, I still found myself in situations where I missed my closest friends, my boyfriend and family tremendously. With today’s technology, keeping in touch by phone and Skype probably makes life as an exchange student much easier than 50 years ago but still, there were challenges and situations that I had to face being ‘more alone’ than I would have been in Sweden. I also think that I have gained new perspectives on the privileges of the Swedish social security system. Through my part- time job I met a lot of working Canadians that really wanted to, for example, study simply could not as it was way too expensive for them at the moment. Even if I was aware of many of the benefits of growing up in Sweden before I went on exchange, it eye-opening in a more direct way to live with and talk to people of a different country and .

Finally, why do you think a future student should With a risk of sounding somewhat cheesy – going on exchange is a go on exchange? great experience for everyone involved. You get to experience a culture different than your own, you get to explore a new city and you get to meet people, not only from the country where you are going on exchange, but from all over the world (as there are typically exchange students from other countries as well). The people of the country where you are going, get to know you and learn about your country and culture. It is a total 'win-win situation'. If you decide to go on exchange, do not be afraid of talking to people. If you decide to go to UBC and do not know where to meet people – start with your room mates (if you have any) or join a club. UBC campus is huge and might feel anonymous and slightly scary in the beginning but try to talk to the person next to you in class and I think you will find that most people are more than happy to show you around and share their favorite spots of campus. Also, if you are not a ‘people person’ and prefer to do things on your own, there are plenty of beaches, forests and mountains to enjoy in and around Vancouver.

DOCUMENT UPLOAD

Photos(1)

Photo (.jpg) file_5b702e7a0da6a-img_1295.jpg

Please tell us a little bit about this picture Exploring Vancity by bike during our first week in Canada.

Photos(2)

Photo (.jpg) file_5b703036070b1-tempimageforsave_(4).jpg

Please tell us a little bit about this picture Hiking in a foggy Golden Ears Provincial Park.

Photos(3)

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Please tell us a little bit about this picture Enjoying the views of the Rocky Mountains.

Photos(4) Photo (.jpg) file_5b702f1d7c0b0-2017-10-01_00.32.15.jpg

Please tell us a little bit about this picture Our team, with friends from , France and Korea, for "The Day of the Longboat".

Photos(5)

Photo (.jpg) file_5b702fbf37115-tempimageforsave_(5).jpg

Please tell us a little bit about this picture First snowshoe hike of 2018.

Approval

I approve of my pictures being published 3. and used in Uppsala University´s marketing of international exchanges

DATA HANDLING

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