The application process for UCF study abroad was a little bit long. It is really important to have your passport for a couple months before your trip. I would also recommend getting in contact with the international coordinator of the university you plan to attend early on. That connection is pretty important. If you have to do a wire transfer to another country for a payment, like housing, do no wait until the month before. I am with Fairwinds Credit Union, and they gave me a really hard time. I ended up having to go to Wells Fargo.
Unfortunately, I cannot really remember too much about what I wanted to say during that first post, but a lot of it is written down somewhere at home. When I get back, I will talk more about the application process and do's and dont's.
Back to SWEDEN:
I went bowling two weeks ago with a couple of guys in Erasmus program, and we had a ton of fun. I also went to something like a backyard rally car race across this tight dirt track. It was pretty entertaining for 100 sek (which is what I paid for a burger one day...). That is how have been judging price here haha. That burger was not as enjoyable as the race, and hanging out with friends.
I think, more importantly, I should mention my trip to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. It was gorgeous. The past couple of days had been very rainy, but on the morning that we were leaving for Stockholm the sun was up for us, and it stayed up all day. We had a three hour guided tour around the old center, and new center. The guide showed us the Royal Palace, Parliament, Town Hall, etc. I love cities on the water so I had a really great time just walking across the bridges.
I am going to go back for another trip, and maybe do the Ghost Tour. They can be pretty fun sometimes. This coming weekend, I am going to Edinburgh, Scotland to visit my girlfriend and explore the castles. I am a little worried about not having the right clothes since it rains practically everyday over there according to her. It should still be really fun.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Hej, Hej
I have not kept up with the blog as much as I would have liked, but I will try again now. I guess that is pretty normal for things like this though. I made it to Sweden a little over a week ago. To get here, I flew SAS, Scandinavian Airlines. First, I left Orlando airport to Chicago(where I couldn't get wifi for some reason). Then, from Chicago, I flew into Arlanda, which is a little outside of Stockholm. I could bring one backpack, one carry-on (17lbs.), and one checked bag(50lbs.). I will look up the price and post it next time. I can't remember right now. It took about an hour and a half to get from Arlanda to Västerås by Swebus.
Unfortunately, once we got to Västerås Centralen, we had no idea where to go since everything was in Swedish. I finally decided to go into what was luckily the ticketing station for the buses and trains, and ask someone what the was best way to get to the university. We bought two tickets to the university, and got there 4 hours before the expected pick-up time for exchange students so we just waited with our luggage in front of the office. Once, the registration started at 2pm, we were given our keys for the apartment, along with a temporary id card that would eventually allows us to make a real university card. Again, there was some difficulty with that not being ready until the end of the week because we weren't all registered in the university system properly. It wasn't all bad news. We got free coffee! The best part about the exchange registration was that everyone was speaking English. It really is the common language.
After talking to people from Germany, the Netherlands, and the U.K., we were told to get into one of the vans so we could be taken to our apartment complex. I should have started this by saying the first day did not leave the best impression. Our complex was 30 minutes away from the university(walking), once an old hotel, and kind of small. I was with my friend from home Kevin, and as far as we could tell, we were the only people living in this place. The people from the university left us at the desk with no idea how to get back to the university haha. The first night was rough. We had no internet because we were told we had to wait to get a real university card to purchase it, and we were alone without knowing what the signs meant.
The next day, we were saved. Our savior, Antonio from a small town in Italy, was waiting for us patiently at the university! Well, he happened to be on a bench in front of the university, and I had overheard him speaking English so I gave it a shot...and we won everything. He introduced us to a Swedish girl, Maya, who showed us the town, and helped us get internet, and bus passes, and understand what was going on. She was great. The rest of the Swedish people are very reserved though they do understand English so once you get over the fact that you sound like a stupid American for having to ask them for the price in English, things get a little easier.
Unfortunately, once we got to Västerås Centralen, we had no idea where to go since everything was in Swedish. I finally decided to go into what was luckily the ticketing station for the buses and trains, and ask someone what the was best way to get to the university. We bought two tickets to the university, and got there 4 hours before the expected pick-up time for exchange students so we just waited with our luggage in front of the office. Once, the registration started at 2pm, we were given our keys for the apartment, along with a temporary id card that would eventually allows us to make a real university card. Again, there was some difficulty with that not being ready until the end of the week because we weren't all registered in the university system properly. It wasn't all bad news. We got free coffee! The best part about the exchange registration was that everyone was speaking English. It really is the common language.
After talking to people from Germany, the Netherlands, and the U.K., we were told to get into one of the vans so we could be taken to our apartment complex. I should have started this by saying the first day did not leave the best impression. Our complex was 30 minutes away from the university(walking), once an old hotel, and kind of small. I was with my friend from home Kevin, and as far as we could tell, we were the only people living in this place. The people from the university left us at the desk with no idea how to get back to the university haha. The first night was rough. We had no internet because we were told we had to wait to get a real university card to purchase it, and we were alone without knowing what the signs meant.
The next day, we were saved. Our savior, Antonio from a small town in Italy, was waiting for us patiently at the university! Well, he happened to be on a bench in front of the university, and I had overheard him speaking English so I gave it a shot...and we won everything. He introduced us to a Swedish girl, Maya, who showed us the town, and helped us get internet, and bus passes, and understand what was going on. She was great. The rest of the Swedish people are very reserved though they do understand English so once you get over the fact that you sound like a stupid American for having to ask them for the price in English, things get a little easier.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
1 week
I will be flying out to Sweden in a week. Am I prepared? Well, I have my passport, residency permit approval, flight ticket(info on that a little further down), some clothes, a new laptop(Dell), housing arranged, and ideas about what I will be doing there. I am a bit nervous because I am not sure how prepared I should be compared to how prepared I am. There were a few more things I thought I would know by now. I had every intention to practice more Swedish before this week, but I was just busy with work. I had also planned on doing some more research on my course material, three cs classes, and Swedish so...this week will involve cramming some of that stuff in.
I am going to start with a swedish podcast, play, tv show, song, and audio book for listening material while driving to work for last couple of days. The new laptop is going to make a lot of the preparation a little smoother. It is so much faster than the previous machine. Plus, I have a battery life! I should probably look at some Swedish typing capabilities. I know vill and vill ha and jag. That is some progress.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Intro to the Blog
Hello, I am Cody McMahon. Currently, I attend the University of Central Florida pursing a degree in Computer Science. The university promotes studying abroad through the great programs that they offer. Freshman year, I came across the fair detailing each program. I have know for a while now that I would be going abroad somewhere to study. My heart was originally set on going to Ireland. Unfortunately, UCF only offers Computer Science programs in a couple of countries; Sweden being the top choice. The classes are offered in English so there isn't too big of a language barrier. I was applied to the Malardalen University program for this coming Fall, and have been accepted. This blog will be about my journey to Sweden and around Europe.
The first couple of posts will be about the process for applying, and the things that need to be done to make it to Sweden. Once I get to Sweden, I will try and post twice a week. The content will be a mix between classwork and adventures. I plan on doing as much as I can while I'm abroad. I am ready to check out a new place. I hope the blog helps you guys learn so valuable stuff and enjoy the stories.
-CM
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