Needing help with the Uppsala winter blues?
Hej alla!
We from the International Committee hope the first two months of the HT21 semester has been exceeding your expectations! A quick recap of September and October amounts to a couple main points: First off the restrictions have been left where they belong, the past! Events are taking place again, and the city of Uppsala is showing its student life in its full array of colours once more. A highlight that of the last months was the International gasque, a warm welcome to all new international students here in Uppsala! In addition the nations, amongst other student associations have hopefully allowed for many new friendships, activities and challenges.
Speaking of a sizable challenge is the looming winter. This blogpost, which is mainly targeted to the international students new to Uppsala but relevant for (international) student having spend a longer amount of time here too, aims to give an insight into how the winter will be and how to withstand the challenge it poses. Although I have never seen Game of Thrones as one of the few, probably the most famous quote in the series is applicable for the coming months. Shortly said, the winter here in Sweden is dark. Genuinely dark. As the attendants of the International gasque heard in a brilliant speech, the month of November does not show much mercy and neither do the months following. I will soon elaborate in which ways certain instances can be of help, but first I would like to share my personal experience from last year.
As a student form a country more distant from the Arctic circle than Sweden, I started my Masters degree here during HT20. With the upcoming second wave of new cases in Sweden, the quick switch to the dark version of Uppsala and tightened restrictions, I hit bullseye. Motivation was hard to find and it felt like the days went by as slowly as they possibly could with little foresight. However, since I have experienced what it was like last year, I have a better image of what to expect this time around. In addition, I would like to help others to get through this tough time of the year, and I will elaborate how.
In general, I would like to remind all of you that you are not alone in this situation. If you feel like you are slipping downhill, know that there are platforms that are able to provide aid in this regard! A website that is specifically made for this intent is the Student Health Services site (go to www.uu.se student (right top hand corner) support and services student health services student health services in Uppsala or simply enter https://www2.uu.se/en/students/support-and-services/the-student-health-services/student-health-services-in-uppsala in your browser URL). This information platform is made to help you as a student, regardless if you feel like the darkness is overwhelming (there is a lightroom for this) or if you are in need of counselling. An event I would like to outline is the Winter Blues seminar, focusing on surviving the Swedish culture and climate. It is held on November 18th between 17:00-18:30 at the Plantskolan seminar room (floor K1) at the Segerstedt building of the university. Please note that you need to register (if this does not work out, feel free to contact my email below).
On a personal note, I would like you to know that you are free to contact me or any of the International Secretaries of your respective nations if you need to. I experienced that writing or talking to people helped more than I expected it to during this period last year, and I would like to offer my help! Feel free to find me on Facebook or write to my e-mail address Sjoerd.koopman@hotmail.com and please know there is nothing to be ashamed of.
At last, please keep on enjoying the Uppsala student life as much as you can!
Kind Regards,
Sjoerd Koopman