This is Norway!

Why did you choose to go to Trondheim, Norway?

I chose to do my Erasmus in Trondheim for two main reasons. The first and the most important is that Norway is a Nordic country. Since I was young, I have been listening nice words about Norway, words saying that Norwegian's way of life is extremely different compared with the Spanish one. Since I had never visit this country, I wanted to spend my Erasmus learning about these culture: meals, traditions, different points of view, extremely different weather, etc.

The other reason is the high level of the Norwegian University (NTNU). Specially, the department of Chemical Engineering (the degree I am studying), has lots of publications and the number of project options to do there is very interesting from the learning point of view.

How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

I spent four months and a half in Norway, from August to December 2011.

I received around 1500€ from the Spanish university Rovira and Virgili and 850€ from the Catalunya Government. I am still waiting for money from the Spanish Government.

What is the student lifestyle like in Trondheim?

In Trondheim, almost everybody lives at the student village. That fact gives you the opportunity to share your way of life with people from all over the world and learn about their lifestyle. For example, I was living with an Indian girl, a Norwegian man and a Chinese boy. We had to keep our rooms clean at any time and, of course, we had to work together in order to keep the common kitchen and bathroom clean too.

We went to the gym, to study at the university, to do our laundry. We shared meal recipes and practised together the preparation of international food, we learned traditions from our flatmates' countries, songs, etc. Now, I have been talking about one flat. Imagine this feeling of sharing your style and learning international ones, but now with more than 200 flats. At the end of the scholarship, you have a mixed and diversified lifestyle.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Trondheim to other students?

Yes, my experience was fantastic. It is a very beautiful city, with many places to visit and things to do. The relationship with the university staff was excellent and the people are very quiet and open, always ready to help you, at any moment.

What is the food like?

They do not have special traditional dishes but traditional ingredients. For example, they use a lot of potatoes, cheese and salmon to prepare their meals. Young people eat a lot of frozen pizza and prepared meals. At midday, they eat vegetarian sandwiches.

How did you find your accommodation?

Through the International office of the University.

What are the accommodation prices like? What are prices like for other things in general?

I have been paying around 400 €/month for my accommodation. Everything in Norway is very expensive due to the high level of life. Workers earn a lot of money, so prices are high (too expensive for the foreign students). The prices are around 2-3 times of the Spanish ones.

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available in the University?

Norwegian is very difficult. However, everybody at the University and in the city speaks English so the adaptation is easy. Norwegian courses are available at the University.

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Trondheim from your city?

There is no direct flight from my city to Trondheim. The easiest way (not the most economical) is to take a flight from Barcelona to Oslo or Copenhagen and take another flight from there to Trondheim. The last step is to take a bus from the Trondheim airport to the city center.

The most economical is to go with Ryanair from Barcelona to Oslo. There you can buy a train ticket (you can do it from Internet, too) from Oslo to Trondheim center. This is a long trip (8 h in a train) but if you are student you have a big discount so it is the most economical way.

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Trondheim?

I would recommend you to go to the Gossip, a very cool pub where the main part of the international students meet every Thursday night. It's located in the center and there is a free entrance on Thursdays. You can drink and dance with a lot of people.

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And for eating? Can you recommend some good restaurants in Trondheim?

Everything is very expensive in Norway but there is a nice and cheap restaurant at the top of the Tower of Tyholt. For 12 € you can eat 'all the pizza you can eat' and enjoy excellent landscapes from the highest place of the city.

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What good cultural sites are there to visit?

Trondheim has not any famous museums or monuments. The most beautiful place is the cathedral but for me, the most beautiful in the city is the traditional Scandinavian way of life that you can breathe inside the shops, in the street or in a park watching how they skiing.

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Is there any other advice that you could give to future students who are going to Trondheim?

Yes, if you find something or you hear something that you do not understand because your culture is different... ask 'why'? Norwegians are very friendly and you will learn a lot from their explanations. If you see something that you do not use to do in your country, ask somebody why they do that. You will learn very special things from Norwegian culture.