Coming to a new country for the first time

Hej everyone!

First, congratulations if you are a new student at Linköping’s University! You made the most difficult part, now you just have to wait for the big day!

And while you wait, you may think about all the things to take into consideration when you are moving to a new country for the first time. I’m not gonna lie, this was my first time out of Portugal, my first flight and, although I was super confident and happy for being accepted, I was also super nervous of leaving everything that I knew behind.

And it is not easy. Coming to a different country, speaking a different language and where you can’t even distinguish the products on the supermarket, it is not a piece of cake. At first, even simple things like taking the bus felt scary. I ended up walking to IKEA a lot to get stuff for my new place. And because I lived in a shared room, I mostly ate easy meals that didn’t need cooking.

Besides that, before getting here all the worst-case scenarios came to my mind, either because I was leaving my family and might miss special moments, or because I was going to an unfamiliar place that might not be as good as I was thinking. But let me ease things a little for you: everything will be okay!

It takes time to get used to everything. But once you start classes, make new friends, and try new things, you’ll feel more at home. And don’t be afraid to feel nervous or sad sometimes—it’s normal! So, to make things a little simpler, I will let you here with some of my advices for you know and once you get here:

• Before coming, look for things you would like to do in Sweden! Let yourself get inspired by things you like, so once you are here you can try them when you have the time!
• Once you get here, adjust your time to your needs:
  • Are you a person that needs to call your family every day? Are you okay with just talking with your family/friends from time to time? If you are attached to your friends/family, make sure you have time for them and that other things don’t get in the way.
  • Do you need time for yourself, but you are afraid of losing the best moments with all the other people? Just try to balance it the best you can: allow yourself to relax, but also force yourself not to be always in your safe place.
• Make sure you have someone to talk to when things are not great: sometimes even when everything looks great, you are not and that’s completely normal! Just make sure you have someone that can help you, a friend, a family member, or even someone specialized for these situations from the university!

And just remember: embrace this journey with an open mind and a willingness to grow. Remember, you’re not alone in this adventure. Here’s to the exciting chapters ahead!

Thanks for reading, see you soon!

/Leonor, Applied Ethology and Animal Biology

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