2015
Exchange Studies to Norway
January to June
Hallo! Jeg heter Hui Hui Chia. Jeg kommer fra Malaysia. (Hello my name is Hui Hui Chia. I come from Malaysia) I am Malaysian and a full time international student in Waikato University. It was like a dream came true for me to have the opportunity to travel 17,722km to another side of the world as an exchange student: I have experienced an amazing life in a completely new culture and country­ Norway in 25 weeks. Norway, Bergen. A peaceful and beautiful country. In the 25 weeks as a exchange student at the University of Bergen I experienced life in a very different way to what I was used to and it changed my perspective towards life. It gave me the chance to visit and travel around Scandinavia and some part of Western Europe. Besides that, I met the amazing people that made the exchange even more interesting and unforgettable. The 6th January 2015, my arrival at Bergen airport, was a freezing cold midnight. One of my Norwegian friends picked me up at the airport and brought me to Fantoft­ place I stay for the next months, a student apartment. My Norwegian friend was an exchange student in New Zealand, that is why I knew him and he could help me. In Fantoft I had my own bedroom and a bathroom with a shared kitchen with seven other international exchange students. The seven of them were from Australia, Germany, Brazil, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic and Italy, they were really nice and friendly, we had a good time. The whole block and area were mostly rented to international students. Five minutes walk to the light rail station, six minutes walk to the grocery shop, three minutes walk to the gym and travelling to the city and university took about 25 minutes. As a student I could enjoy a 25% of a monthly public transport pass card, which also included ferries. In addition there were free coffees for students at some cafes. Applying for the accommodation was not a hassle. It was quite easy for me to choose the room type via the link that the University of Bergen had provided. All the people in University of Bergen were very friendly and helpful by in providing me guidance and tips for me to get around and understand the culture of Norway. Bergen itself is not a very big city and the maps and information given by the university were really helpful. So I got used to getting around by myself quite quickly. Most of the grocery shops are very close to the light rail station and the Norwegian public transports are punctual and clean. Fantoft, the view from my room window Bergen is a city that is surrounded by seven hills and seven fjords, because of that there are many rain in a week. In winter season, we only get five to eight hours sunlight. But when turning to spring we have more sunlight, thirteen to sixteen hours. Beside that, the hills and fjords have make it a great place for outdoor activities. Skiing is one of the famous sport in Norway. Beside that, hiking and fishing are also one of the daily sport for norwegian. In the city, there’s a modern glass building next to the bay, the top of the building is the information centre and the ground floor is fish market, it sell many variety of seafood, you could also have the chance to taste and buy whale meat from there. Spring in Bergen is a also know as tourist season, a huge fresh market will be set up around the fish market building, those are set up by the local fishermen. It was the first time I have seen that much snow and hail. It was very cozy and warm to sit in a place having tea or coffee and have a chat with flatmates and classmates in a snowy or rainy day. I had also celebrated my birthday in Fantoft with my flatmates and friends. The birthday party was very nice, I cooked Malaysia food for everyone, two of the Polish girls has baked me a traditional Polish cheesecake, it taste really good. And was the first time I received ten different language birthday song from them. The after party was crazy and fun. Bergen City, January 2015 Birthday Cake­ traditional Polish cheesecake Fish market Whale meat burger The university had organised lots of activities, which allowed me to make more norwegian friends and understand their culture. Once I was invited to one of the norwegian cabin houses for a two night stay. We baked and cooked norwegian traditional food and dessert. I learned how to make norwegian traditional meatballs and boller ­ soft bread with marmalade and whipped cream in between. My Norwegian friend also drove me around Bergen. Because of this exchange program I had the opportunity to learn a new language ­ Norwegian. It was fun to learn Norwegian with students from more than thirteen nations in that class. The lecturer was friendly and helpful. She had made all the lessons very relaxing, fun and interesting. Other classes were nice as well, providing a lot of direct contact and interaction with the lecturers. We had short discussion time with students in most of the lessons, it makes me understand the topics even better and the involvement arouses a lot of interest from the students. Preparing Dinner Boller ­ soft bread with marmalade and whipped cream in between My norwegian friends The lecture times in Bergen are a bit longer than the lectures in Waikato. The longest lecture I had was four hours, but we did get a fifteen minutes break every hour. And the lectures were twice in a week. Most of my classmates were Norwegian, Norwegians are normally shy compared to Kiwis. But once you know them they are very friendly and open. I did not manage to know all of my classmates, but I could make some friends in my classes. I was very lucky to be there on 17th of May ­ their National Day and also the cultural festival. It was nice to join both of the events and celebrate their national day with them. Beside that, I saw the queen of Norway and also the king of Sweden on the cultural festival. 17 May Constitution Day 17 May Constitution Day Norwegian language classmates Norwegian language lecturer­ Miss Lilian In Easter break, one of my German friends ­ who also was an exchange student in New Zealand ­ visited me in Bergen. We had a week road trip from Bergen to Førde­ 172km, Florø­ 57km, Selje­ 130km and it took us more than eight hours to drive back to Bergen. It was one of the best way to truly enjoy and explore Norway, the landscape was amazing and magical, due to the hills and fjords, every time we we passed through a tunnel, the season was changing, from winter to spring, spring to winter again. The whole journey was so fun and exciting. The first two nights we were staying in a cabin, a traditional type of Norwegian cabin. It was surrounded by snow, very cozy and nice. Norwegian cabin Hov, Norway­ May 2015 Viksdalen, Norway­ May 2015 Besides that, I also found some time to travel to a few cities in western Europe: Paris, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Cologne, Hamburg, and Amsterdam. It was quick and easy to travel with train around europe. Travel from Scandinavia to western Europe was not as expensive as I thought. I was travelling as a youth ­ below 26 years old with scandinavian airlines (SAS) ­ with youth tickets 40% cheaper than the normal ticket. Oslo, Norway Traditional type of Norwegian House Viking Ship Time flies, it feels like yesterday I arrived at Bergen airport. It was really hard to say goodbye to all those delighting and awesome people. But at the same time I am looking forward to see my family and friends in New Zealand as well. After I left my student apartment, I used the last time to travel in Scandinavia: Oslo, Finland and Stockholm. I took the train from Bergen to Oslo, the Bergen Railway is known as one of the most scenic train lines in the world. It took me about seven to eight hours to reach Oslo. I decided to stay as a couchsurfer for two night in Oslo. It was a new experience for me, the host was very nice and gave me a lot of information and tips for getting around in Oslo and he was hosting other travellers as well. He was a very open minded and friendly person, I had a wonderful stay in his place and a nice dinner with him and people from twelve nations. I personally liked Helsinki most, compared to other capital cities in Scandinavia. I used a day with my boyfriend for sightseeing around Helsinki and enjoy the local food and walk through and in most of the parks. It was interesting to see and get to know what they are selling in grocery shops in different countries. After visiting Helsinki I met my Finnish friend from high school who drove us to her place and we stayed a night at Purunpää. On the next day we sailed from Purunpää to Högsåra and passed by many small islands with cute houses on it. In the evening, she dropped us at Turku, to take the overnight cruise to Stockholm. It was nice to see the capital city of Sweden. Aye Aye Captain Stockholm, Sweden Last hike in Bergen Goodbye! Bryggen, Bergen The whole exchange journey was full of surprises and adventures. I am really glad I grabbed the chance for this exchange semester. It does not only allow you to meet more people, understand culture and experience living in a foreign country. It changed my perspective towards life, it also challenged my beliefs and the way I see people and the world. And the most important thing is that it made me understand myself even better and re­engaged with myself again. For anyone who is considering going on the same or similar exchange: don't hesitate. Because it is now or never. Tips and Tricks for studying abroad in Bergen: ­ Kiwi and Rema1000 are the cheapest supermarkets to shop for grocery ­ still living costs are very high ­ Travel in Bergen is not cheap. Be sure that you buy a student monthly pass card from Skyss ­ it is impossible for you to check on google maps which public transport to take in Bergen. But they do have a online travel planner or phone app which allows you to check­ ​
https://www.skyss.no/en/ ­ Remember to bring rain boots and clothes ­ Never say Hi to stranger in a public transport, unless you know he/she. If you do people will think you are crazy ­ Go to a cafe and restaurants at lunch time, most of the cafe and retaurants had lunch specials ­ Buy alcohol before you travel to Norway, alcohol prices in Norway are extremely high ­ register a public library card with your student ID, it allows you to borrow two books and two materials at the same time, the public library also has movies night and also provides free norwegian language classes. ­ remember to grab your free coffee from the cafe near to the University