Universitet i Tromso - Alta location

What to expect?

15th of July - 2017: Everything is arranged. School helped me organize my studenthousing, all documents are signed, I am ready to go. I need to wait one more month before school starts, I can't wait. I am trying to pinpoint differences between Norway and the Netherlands. I know Dutch people can be really straight-forward, something I do not expect to see in Norway. Furthermore, I think they will be less formal at UIT than at my university back home, something I have already noticed in email communication. They adress you by your first name, instead of your last name. However, regarding a cultural shock, I don't expect to experience one. I do expect to experience an educational shock, I will study different topics than back home. In the Netherlands I study International Hospitality Management. In Alta, I will study Adventure Tourism, Outdoor Life Activities and Norwegian (the different courses will be discussed in a different post). Furthermore, I expect that they will have different teaching methods than back home. I am really curious what will happen.

Fadderuka 

15th of August until 30th of August - 2017 : UIT University Alta, a university all up north in Norway. For my experiences, quite small, but really cozy, friendly teachers and an great atmosphere. You are really a student, they know who you are, you are not a number, eventhough you are an exchange student. Something I did not expect. 

During the two introductionweeks (also called Fadderuka) we got to know all new and old students. We were put in groups from around 10 people, with two buddies. These buddies accompanied us throughout these two weeks. They showed us around town, where best to party, secret chill spots and cool activities to do in Alta. It was great, I immediately felt like home and felt comfortable. 

The student housing

The student housing is really cozy. I lived in Komsa studentboliger. Two studenthouses, located around 15 minutes from the university. It is right next to the Komsa fjord. The first night we hiked up the mountain around 2 am, to see sunrise. Truly beautiful! In one building, there are 4 kitchen with each 8 rooms that are attached to it. You share the kitchen with 8 persons, the bathroom with 2. The house itself is really open, all hallways are connected via one main hall, so communication with all the other students living there is no problem! 

ESN (Erasmus Student Network)

UIT has many different student organizations. ESN is one of them. ESN is an student organization for all the international students. It provides new students with for example kitchen equipment and other stuff that old students have left behind. Furthermore, they organize all kinds of activities for the internationals, such as a trip to North Cape, to the Alta Museum and to Alta Canyon. In this way, we see all surroundings and we get to know more international students.