Georgia M., Bachelor of Business and Psychology
BI Norwegian Business School, Norway (Semester 2, 2017)
If there is any advice I can give to someone when talking about exchange it is to be open minded and just say yes! Say yes to going on exchange and say yes to every trip/ event/ party you are invited to. I’ve learnt it is better to take some risks rather than to live a safe life. See as much beauty as you can, gain loads of amazing experiences and meet new friends from all over the world even if it means you make a few mistakes along the way and maybe run out of money…
Amazing Sights
Early in my exchange in Norway someone asked if I wanted to go on a hike to Trolltunga with him and his friends (whom I had never met). Usually I would have had a lot of questions about what the trip would entail, who the people were and if I would feel comfortable with everything, but I just said yes.
The trip was amazing – Trolltunga is the biggest, most impressive hike in Norway and took about six hours to complete – with a majestic view to make it all worth it! I then went on another holiday with these people and we completed two other hikes. Some of the best relationships I formed while in Norway only occurred by a chance meet at little parties or events I decided to say yes to going to last minute and I do not regret any of it.
On top of the beautiful snippets of nature I saw on these hikes I also experienced the beauty of Norway’s nature in other ways too. The Norwegian fjords are impressive bodies of water that wind through giant mountains and I went on boat trips and drove beside fjords numerous times.
Also, Norway (and Oslo, where I lived) receives A LOT of snow. It is incredible to watch it falling, to play in it and, also, to enjoy the activities that come along with winter – ice skating, tobogganing and skiing.
The winter is fun, but it is also long, cold and dark so when the sun comes out in summertime Norwegian people fully take advantage of it, swimming in lakes that were frozen a couple of months earlier and tanning in public parks.
The highlight of the nature that I saw would have to be viewing the beautiful Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) in the Lofoten Islands from the cute, red cabin we booked by the waterfront.
The BI Norwegian School Experience
Although this exploration took up a lot of my mind and time, I did also attend university through all of this and that, in itself, was a fun, new experience.
BI is a very modern, cool university with a spiral staircase, huge escalator and glass ceiling. There is a great and surprisingly affordable cafeteria with a variety of food options and a couple of coffee shops.
At BI there is not the same lecture/tutorial set up as at QUT. Instead, there is only one longer class which is a mix between a lecture and a tutorial with just one professor.
Study Load
One way that BI was especially different to QUT was that all the classes I took only had one 100% assignment as the only assessment piece and in all of these I worked in a group with other exchange students. The academics felt quite relaxed really.
I decided to take part in the Norwegian language course offered by BI and it meant I was able to learn basic communication and also hear some first-hand information about the country from the teachers who were both Norwegian.
I also learnt about the Norwegian culture simply from living in the country and coming into contact with people. Learning about the Norwegian people and their common practices and then comparing it to Australia and Australians, this was something I found this incredibly interesting. Norway has become a special part of me.
I think the best part of doing university at BI was the amount of exchange students I had classes with and worked with, in turn gaining knowledge about many different cultures and hearing new opinions and personal experiences. I became friends with people from Denmark, South Africa, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Austria, Italy…
Accommodation
Luckily for me I lived in the same student accommodation as most of the friends I made at university. BSN housing was less than a ten-minute walk from BI and housed the majority of the exchange students which meant small parties could be planned last minute and I saw my friends every day.
This accommodation provided everything I needed and was very comfortable. One element of exchange I particularly liked was learning to be independent in all sorts of ways, like buying groceries, cooking and cleaning for myself, and being completely self-dependent.
Buying groceries was expensive though, as Norway is ranked in the top three of most expensive countries. Norway is undoubtedly beautiful and is also a country with some of the best environmental initiatives, great education and healthcare systems, as well as many other government benefits.
When considering this, and the high income of Norwegians, the cost of living is not unusually high but to an Australian student it was worth finding the cheaper grocery shops, utilising op shops and learning to have dinners and parties at home rather than going out.
I feel that exchange in Norway has been the greatest time in my life and I have learnt so much about myself, this country and the world. Embracing all new experiences and being open minded about everything has allowed me to see some amazing things, makes connections with people from all over the world and grow in a way I am proud of. I would recommend going in exchange to everyone I meet.
