Hi!
My name is Ashlyn Dunham, and I'm a junior Communication disorders major. This
summer I participated in the the health teams abroad 3-week trip to Sweden, and
will be blogging my experience!
Arriving in Jonkoping
After
a long day of travel, I was thrilled to finally arrive in Jonkoping! We will be
staying here for the first two weeks of our trip, and then will travel to
Stockholm for the final week!
We're
staying at an apartment complex called Rasslat that houses mainly exchange
students from Jonkoping University. I roomed with a sweet Ukrainian girl named
Helga who let me use her microwave.
P.S
I learned that I can make microwave scrambled eggs, and the eggs here don't
even have to be refrigerated because they don't contain any additives!
Over
these 3 weeks I learned more about Sweden's unique healthcare system than I
ever imagined I could learn in 3 weeks. While staying in Jonkoping, we've had
the chance to visit public & private clinics, nursing homes, rehabilitation
facilities and a dialysis clinic. It is incredibly fascinating how differently
they do things here in Sweden. A nights stay in a hospital in Sweden would be
about 10 US dollars, and many other healthcare services are completely free.
These services are paid for by the government, because swedes pay pretty high
taxes. The lectures we heard at Jonkoping University from Swedish professors
about healthcare, social insurance and culture were actually so interesting! I
love learning about this world that is so different from what I am used to in
the states.
Free time in Jonkoping
After
lectures or study visit in the mornings, we took advantage of our free time to
explore Jonkoping. It is such a beautiful city! Usually it's cold and rainy
pretty much all of the time in Sweden, but we lucked out and had some warm,
sunny days. Here are some pictures of a few of the activities we did during our
free time in Jonkoping.
My favorite day by far was when we took a fairy over to
the island of Visingo and spent the day biking and exploring old castles.
It was
so fun getting closer to the students and faculty during our time in Jonkoping!
Our first two weeks flew by, and I remembered being sentimental about only
having a week left!!
Here
are some pictures from our time in Jonkoping.
Stockholm
When
we arrived in Stockholm it was pouring down rain, which was a rude awakening
after having two weeks of sunshine in Jonkoping.
I
can't even complain about the weather though, because Stockholm is absolutely
the most beautiful place I have ever been. It looks like a movie set. The
streets are full of color and personality. We definitely took advantage of our
time in Stockholm, it seems like we were doing something every hour of the day!
My favorite museums were the Vasa museum, home of the ship that sank and was
underwater for 300 years before they recovered it, and the ABBA museum of
course.
Every night we have dinner together as a group, followed by ice cream
(ps the faculty pays for this). After trying every flavor, I determined that
the best combination is mocha, and sea salted caramel on a waffle. Not a waffle
cone, a waffle. You're welcome.
I
think I gained 5 pounds over the 3 weeks but it was worth it: the food in
Stockholm was incredible; I even tried reindeer!
The
week in Stockholm went by even faster than Jonkoping, and I was so sad to leave
Sweden! The relationships I made on this trip are priceless, this trip
was definitely the experience of a lifetime! These few weeks have assured
me of my passion for healthcare, and have inspired me to continue on my journey
to become a speech language pathologist. Also, The faculty that led this trip
are absolutely incredible- they were intentional about spending time with us,
and demonstrated to us what it looks like to be passionate about what you do.
This trip has taught me so much about myself.
The
HTA trip will definitely be one of the highlights of my time here at the U of
A. Here are some pictures from our time in Stockholm!
--
Celebrating its 11th year in 2017, Health Teams Abroad-Sweden provides comparative information and learning activities from the perspectives of health professions involved in higher education, clinical service delivery, and/or research in the US and Sweden. It emphasizes critical thinking about the ways in which societal values, policies and the practices of each country impacts the provision of health related services. Students are exposed to the need for research evidence across health careers as a basis for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of common and chronic diseases.
Celebrating its 11th year in 2017, Health Teams Abroad-Sweden provides comparative information and learning activities from the perspectives of health professions involved in higher education, clinical service delivery, and/or research in the US and Sweden. It emphasizes critical thinking about the ways in which societal values, policies and the practices of each country impacts the provision of health related services. Students are exposed to the need for research evidence across health careers as a basis for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of common and chronic diseases.
To find out more about the Health Teams Abroad: Sweden summer program, visit http://studyabroad.uark.edu/htasweden
Search for additional study abroad opportunities in over 50 countries at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/
