Mamma Sverige – By Fleur

Dear parent,

Having your kid leave home and moving north, all the way to Sweden. For most parents: a huge step. Your child has most likely never been so far away, for so long, on its own. Now who will take care of him/her?

No worries, once landed in Sweden, your child will get a very warm welcome from nobody less than Mamma Sverige. And luckily for you, dear parent, Mamma Sverige is a very protective mother. I can assure you: your child is in great hands.

Unless your child grew up in the Netherlands or Denmark, you must be worried about cycling. How about traffic? What if my child falls of its bike? Now don’t worry. Uppsala is a wonderful small town (and yes, of course you may visit us!), which means that the traffic is really quiet compared to other cities. Besides that, many separate cycle lanes have been constructed in order to diminish chances of bikes and cars accidentally meeting each other. Biking with a helmet is strongly recommended by the university, although I have never seen one student do it. In the dark, lights must be adjusted to the bike, and neglecting to do so will result in a fine equivalent to 20 beers at your son/daughter’s student nation. I’m sure s/he will not take this risk. Furthermore – completely incomprehensible to me, a Dutch person – giving lifts on your bike will be heavily fined to. For safety, I guess.

Furthermore, the railway crossing closes at least ten minutes before the train passes by .This may result in coming late to class, but definitively eliminates the chance of your son/daughter being run over by a train.

In case your child forgot this crucial fact over the summer: at the beginning of the academic year, all students are reminded of the fact that in case the fire alarm goes off, they have to leave the building. Better safe than sorry!

Although the above mentioned seems a bit exaggerated, I assure you that everything stated truly happened to me. Clearly, Mamma Sverige really wants the best for her students, even if that results in some crazy things. It does mean that most things are really well arranged. To mention one thing in particular: Uppsala University’s facilities for their student’s wellbeing are very elaborate. There is help for people with disabilities; a light room against winter depression; student psychologists; help if you have difficulty with academic writing; a career desk; housing help if things actually go wrong; and probably more. Most importantly: the university really makes sure that all students are aware that this help exists, so that they know where to go in case of need.

Dear parent, I assure you that Mamma Sverige does everything to make sure your child has a splendid time in Uppsala.

Now breathe in, breathe out, they will be fine.

N.B. Please keep in mind that these experiences are based upon my own and are thus most likely biased. Other people’s experiences might thus differ from mine.

If you need help from one of the above mentioned institutions, or if you want to read more about the facilities offered by Uppsala University, I recommend you have a look at the following page: https://www.uu.se/en/students/support-and-services/

/Fleur