Participating in an exchange program presents unique challenges and opportunities. Hannah Nicole Gaudiel, 22, talks about how exchange studies changed her perspective on life in general and what helped her get the most out of her experience.
– I truly believe that discomfort is growth.
Hannah is an exchange student from the Philippines and studies biostatistics in her home university. Here, in Karlstads University, she is taking classes primarily in statistics and one class in swedish.
Her dream has always been to study abroad, but because of the Covid-19 outbreak a few years back she had to put her dream on hold. Then, she got offered the opportunity to do an exchange year, and she moved to Sweden. Hannah talks about how her family pushed her to pursue her dream.
–My step father is danish, and he has always talked about how there is more to life than schoolwork. He’s always wanted me to experience life outside of academics, says Hannah.
She talks about how her studies can get quite lonely because her classes don’t have that many students. She says it is important to make friends and to spend time with others to enrich your experience.
– During the fall we would bake and cook dinner together, and during the spring we spend a lot of time outside, says Hannah.
She also travels a lot to neighbouring countries and cities to experience as much of the culture as possible.
– I’ve noticed that I travel a lot more than my swedish friends because I want to experience more culture, it makes life more fun, says Hannah.
Discipline and good routines are crucial for making the most of your experience. Hannah talks about how the weather and climate changes forced her to have clear routines in the day in order to be productive.
– You really need a schedule. I also built up systems with my friends and we often work out together and go grocery shopping. It helps us keep eachother accountable, says Hannah.
Hannah also talks about the language barrier and how talking swedish with her friends and learning simple phrases can really make a difference. Listening to swedish music, talking with your friends and diving into the culture head first are important to her.
She also mentions how finances and being aware of your spendings is important, especially if you change currencies.
– The digits may look small, and that makes you blind to how much you are spending. Make sure to convert swedish pieces to your own currency to help with the overspending, Hannah explains.
She explains how you have to keep an open mind in general when studying abroad and strongly urges everyone to, if possible, take the opportunity to study abroad.
– I thought I had everything figured out, but here I met myself in so many different ways. I truly believe that discomfort is growth, says Hannah.
This is a news article. Read more about the journalistic work in Karlstads studenttidning here.
