Posted in: ALL POSTS, GENERAL TIPS on 19 May, 2018 by Marcela
As my time as a student is coming to an end I had to look a new place to live. So now I want to share some useful places where you can look for accommodation in Linköping.
Notice Board page of LiU
Here many students post available rooms in shared apartments or even renting out entire apartments.
Blocket
If you filter for accommodation (bostad) in Linköping, you can find many options from single rooms to different sizes of houses and apartments.
Groups on Facebook
There are many groups for accommodation to international students and housing in Linköping in general.
Remember to always be aware of scams, never pay before you visit the place and know the person who is renting out. The ‘contracts’ through this kind of rent is the type of ‘second hand renting’, that means that someone else owns the place or got a first-hand renting contract and is renting out to others.

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Posted in: ALL POSTS, STUDIES on 18 May, 2018 by Marcela
Another semester is almost finished and with this graduation ceremonies of all kind are going on in Sweden. I’ll graduate soon but it’s not about my graduation ceremony that I’ll talk about today. It’s about the studentexamen. Have you ever seen an open truck full of high school students wearing some kind of marine cap, jumping, singing and celebrating something that you didn’t understand? This is part of the high school graduation ceremony in Sweden. Studentexamen is the last test done by high school students to get the high school degree and then to continue with university studies.
When the students finish everything, they go for the studentutspringet (the final run out of the students) and this continues with the students onboard of some decorated open truck that goes around the city followed by the students’ relatives.
What actually have got my attention when I first saw the celebration was the studentmössa (student cap). The caps started to be used in Germany to differentiate the just graduated students as now part of group of importance in the society. In Scandinavian countries the student caps were introduced around 1840 and the first used student cap in Sweden was first used in Uppsala in 1843.
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Posted in: ALL POSTS, FUN THINGS TO DO IN SWEDEN on 6 May, 2018 by Marcela
Last Monday (30th of April) I’ve travelled to Uppsala to celebrate Valborg. The date initially was celebrated because of Saint Walpurgis from England which became a Christian missionary in Germany. The saint’s canonisation was held on 1 May in 870 and because of that a celebration was set on this date and also on 30 April called the Walpurgis Night. During Walpurgis Night bonfires and dances became a common way of celebration which lasts until nowadays.

Uppsala is known for being the most traditional student cities of Sweden. Alumnae’s, graduates and undergraduates gather together with their student caps to sing songs about the arrival of spring but early in the morning Uppsala students start with the traditional champagne breakfast. The rest of the day is fulfilled with other activities such as the rafting on the river Fyrisån where students use their homemade rafts to go all the way through the city centre, the Champagne Races organised by student nations of Uppsala as well as activities in parks with a lot of drinks and barbecue.

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Posted in: ALL POSTS, STUDIES on 5 May, 2018 by Marcela
Last month I took my first national Swedish test to start the last level (D) of SFI. The test is called nationella prov and is an official way of measuring your Swedish level after completing your first cycle at SFI. In order to take the test, it is necessary that your teacher indicate and then enrol you in the test. He or she will know whether you are prepared or not to take the test based on your progress during the classes.
I was a little worried about the test, but it was fine. The test starts in the morning and goes until the afternoon after lunch. First you do the part 1 of the reading section (Läsa A), after a small break you start the listening part (Höra), another break comes and then it comes another part of reading (Läsa B), lunch break and then the penultimate part consists of writing (Skriva), one more interval and then the last part that is the speaking test (Tala). What made me happy is that in the listening part each exercise is repeated twice, so in case you do not get it at first you still have one more chance to mark the right answer. In the speaking part, you first talk about a random topic and then have to establish a dialogue with another colleague who is also being evaluated. You finally reach the end of the test (uhu!) I hope I have clarified a little about the test and good luck if you ever take it!
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Posted in: GENERAL TIPS on 26 April, 2018 by Marcela
Last Sunday it was my first time in a rock concert in Sweden. It was at an indoor venue and when I was on my way to the concert I saw some people selling hearing protectors. I asked my boyfriend why people go to a concert to put hearing protectors as I have never seen that in Brazil haha. He explained me that due to the sound being extremely loud, people normally put the protectors just to avoid the decibels that can damage our hearing. I found this impressive and it has everything to do with the precautionary principle which is intertwined into the Swedish culture in many other aspects. The sound was definitely really loud, and the hearing protectors avoided that temporary hearing loss after concerts, as people say: better to be safe than sorry 😉

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