Meet Noah from the United States
Meet Noah from the United States
Name: Noah Mergendahl
Age: 22
Home University: University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
Field/Programme of Study: Linguistics, Scandinavian Studies
Personal Interests: playing guitar, travelling, politics and social issues
Favourite thing about Umeå: meeting and hanging out with other international students from all over the world, especially at the infamous corridor parties!
Favourite Swedish word or custom: ‘lagom’, which basically means ‘just right’. Swedes live their lives by this word for sure!
What’s it like to study at Umeå University?
Studying at Umeå University was a wonderful experience, in that I was able to interact and take courses with students from many different countries and develop new perspectives about politics, social issues and current events. The classes were a bit different from the U.S. university system, in that in the Swedish system one takes seminar courses that last about a month each, with an exam at the end of each one before the start of a new course. There is of course flexibility on this point however. The academic atmosphere was very laid back and informal which I really liked, with discussion groups and a first name basis with professors.
Your impression of Umeå and the surrounding areas?
Umeå is a very student driven city, for sure. The university really adds a sense of life to the city and makes it seem bigger, even though by American standards it is rather small. The fact that a lot of young people live and work in Umeå made it so that a lot of cultural events were happening each week and weekend, such as music, film and theatre. Umeå struck me as a very clean, safe and organized city with extremely low crime. I never felt unsafe walking home at night, even if it was from the city to the campus which is a fair distance. Umeå is surrounded by a lot of forests which are nice to hike and pick lingonberries in during the fall!
What you like best about the town of Umeå and its surroundings?
What I liked best about Umeå is that since it isn’t an extremely large city, it doesn’t take long to get to know where all of the cool places to go are (as a young student). I quickly discovered which clubs, restaurants and shops I liked best and frequented them often. Also, since Umeå is only 200 km south of the Arctic Circle, the change in seasons is quite spectacular, especially in the late spring and early summer when the sun never really sets. Of course the snow in winter is also incredible, but coming from the Midwest United States, that wasn’t much of a change. If you come from South America, Africa or the Middle East though, it can be quite stunning to see for the first time!
What you would say to another international student thinking of attending Umeå University?
I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone to study at Umeå University if you get the chance. The friends I made there are ones that I will keep in touch with for many, many years and the experiences that I had were simply unforgettable. Also, Sweden is a very beautiful country with unspoiled wilderness at every turn so for nature lovers it is particularly appealing! Plus, Stockholm is only 1 hour away by plane so if you need a ‘big city’ experience it is easy and affordable to have.
