.: 26/07/2004

August - December 2003

Student Exchange Programme
UppSala University, Sweden

Stepping out of one's comfort zone and venturing into an unknown territory has never been an easy task for anyone. Yet within oneself, there is always this desire to venture beyond, a dream which evokes a journey of discovery. Initially, I was sceptical about obtaining a place as competition was very keen and my academic grades were only average. Fortunately for me, I was able to put my procrastinations aside and with the support of my parents, I decided to apply for an exchange programme. To my delight, I was offered a place at Uppsala University (UU) in Sweden to do a course titled International Media and Communication Studies (IMCS) which mirrors my ICM major back at NUS. After getting past the bureaucracy and settling my personal preparations, I was on my way to the Kingdom of Sweden.

From the outset, I was worried that I would not be able to adjust to the new environment and was expecting to experience some degree of culture shock. Putting that aside, I was able to assimilate fairly quickly as most Swedes are able to speak English fluently. Incidentally, the Swedes although friendly to others are known to be reserved and private people and this unfortunately hampered my chance of making any close native friends there. Students studying in Sweden are expected to lead an independent life and throughout my stay, I learnt to do just that and the resilience which I developed has indeed strengthened my character. Besides that, I gained wonderful insights into the different lives and backgrounds of my classmates who came from various countries around the world. Similarly, being the only Singaporean in class, I took it upon myself to act as an ambassador for Singapore and attempted to give an objective view of my country. However, one thing which really struck me was the realization that it is only in contrast to others do you start to question matters which have long been established in your beliefs. Nevertheless, I have grown to become more discerning and come to acknowledge the fact that everyone is unique and different.

As part of my course requirement, I got an opportunity to participate in a week-long study tour to Brussels, the capital of the European Union (EU), where I visited places such as the European Parliament, the Commission and the International Federation of Journalists. Amid studying, getting to travel around and exploring new places is another perk of going on an exchange programme which I cannot forget to mention. Click here for some photographs.

Broadly speaking, studying abroad is definitely a much more relaxing and less stressful experience as compared to Singapore. Instead, you learn that being self-driven and motivated helps aplenty as the emphasis is more on independent learning. Additionally, I discovered that it is important not to be parochial in your thinking and most crucially, the entire experience has taught me not to take the things we enjoy at home for granted. It is really difficult to capture the wide-ranging experiences I gained abroad in a few paragraphs but essentially it has been an enriching and fulfilling journey for me. Looking back on my experience now gives me a surreal feeling, but somehow I know that this exchange programme has changed my outlook of life considerably. Lastly, on a parting note, as the Swedish would say "Borta bra men hemma bäst." ("There's no place like home.")

Cher Jia Wen Eugene
ICM Honours student