Hello!
My name is Lisa and I am from Sweden. When I moved here I did expect to notice
differences and I did know that there was going to be things that I consider
strange or surprising. Even though I have only been at campus for fourteen
days, I have already noticed some differences between St. Norbert College and
Swedish universities. My first impression of the school was that it seemed stricter
than I thought. One thing that I did not know was the importance of attendance
here at St Norbert College. For instance, your grade can be dropped if you show
up late or miss a class more than two times. While the universities in Sweden
do not really care if you show up for class or not. As long as you hand in your
work on time and pass the finals.
Another
thing that surprised me when I first got to college was the importance of politeness
against the staff and your professor. I understand that I am expected to show
respect and all of that. But apparently, it is also very important to be proper
by calling them by either professor or doctor and then their last name. As I mentioned,
Swedes also needs to be respectful against the staff but we always call our
professors by their first name and to use professor and then the last name might
even seem old-fashioned to some swedes.
The
last thing that I noticed is the financial part. It is very expensive to study in
America and you need to pay for everything if you do not get scholarships or
anything like that. The Swedish tuition is paid by the government and the only
thing we need to pay for is books and our living. Even though that sounds like
a good thing, I´ve noticed that students here at St Norbert College seems more grateful
towards their tuition and really appreciates the opportunity to get a degree
and a brighter future.
What
differences surprised you the most when you got to College?
/ Lisa
Thank you so much for sharing this reflection and insights, Lisa! It is very interesting to read your perspective and your appreciation for your opportunity and experience here. All the best to you this semester!
ReplyDeleteHello, Lisa. It was interesting to know about school differences between the United States and Sweden. I also noticed the strictness of attendance because Japan is similar to Swedish Universities. I also agree with the point about politeness to professors. Although students seem casual to professors during class or after class because they are close, they never forget to be polite to their professors. Lastly, I was surprised that the government in Sweden pays for tuitions for every student. The most surprising difference I noticed is the closeness between students and professors because students never argue with professors during class. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHello Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI think you make a pretty good essay to articulate the differences between our school and schools in Sweden. You use three different perspective to let readers see those differences and you write the essay in a logic way, which is really easy for me to understand what you are trying to say. What is more, you give specific examples or explicit explanation for every argument, which is really good!
Hello, Lisa. It was interesting to learn about the school system in Sweden. I also noticed that the system is greater than the system in my country too. I also was amazed that there is something similar between the school system in Sweden and my country, which is the financial system. schools in my country are totally free for everybody. Even textbooks for elementary, middle and high school are free too, but for college students, books are not free, but the government give them a monthly stipend so that they can afford their books.
ReplyDelete