23 August 2022
One of the highlights on my university life has definitely been the semester I spent on exchange. Since I entered NUS, I have heard so much from seniors and friends about the idea of exchange and could not wait to experience it for myself. I am glad to say that I was not disappointed.
I did my exchange in Bergen, Norway, in the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration(NHH). The learning style there was very different from what I am used to in Singapore. For the modules I took in NHH, it was a purely lecture only system, and our grades was based purely on written submissions and finals examinations. There was no class participation or presentation requirements, which are given very heavy weightage in Singapore. However, the students in NHH still willingly spoke up to contribute to the class, which is different from the silence that greet professors in lectures in Singapore. Additionally, NHH does not work on a bell curve system, making it less competitive. This provided for a good break from the hectic academic life in Singapore.
As a city, Bergen is very different from Singapore. Bergen is surrounded by 7 mountains that are great for hiking. This made for great after school excursions during the summer months! Bergen is also the city that inspired the Disney movie Frozen, so imagine how pretty the city Centre and its surroundings are! For a cherry on top of an ice cream sundae……… I could see the Northern Lights from my bedroom window! One of my favorite experiences in Norway, however, would be participating in a wolves encounter 2 hours drive from Tromsø. There, we were able to interact with wolves who had been socialized. The idea seemed intimidating at first, but quickly became one of the best experiences I have ever had.
During the semester, I travelled to Copenhagen, Prague and Iceland. Iceland has such dramatic landscapes, beautiful waterfalls, and really fun activities such as whale watching, glacier hiking and horse riding! It is an expensive country however, so we cooked almost all our meals and spent a little more on activities instead. In Prague, I enjoyed the chimney cakes, cheap but good food, and I was able to try Skydiving!!
After my semester in NHH ended, I was able to travel around Europe, even going down to Africa, for about 5 weeks before returning home. During this time, I got to spend more time in Central and Eastern Europe, appreciating the lower prices in their cities as compared to Norway. I really loved how each European city has such different and distinct architectures and cultures from one another despite being just a few hours drive away. One of the highlights was also getting to go down to Tunisia, Africa for a short 5-day stint. The culture and dessert there is really something to remember! The 5 weeks that I spent travelling Europe really felt like a dream, and I really hope to be able to return in the future.
Chang Lea, from National University of Singapore, previously on exchange at Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration
Enjoy what you have just read? Sign up at Flying Chalks to receive more study abroad and travel content from us!
Share your experiences in the comment box below!
