I chose north2north because I wanted to study something else than my own field, and other exchange programs were not as flexible in that sense as north2north. I had very different courses during my exchange: my courses were about aquaculture, immunology, global and local food production, climate change, architectural history, economics, and ecology. We had quite diverse teaching with lectures, group works/group discussions, and even excursions. I had two excursions, one of them was to South Norway (aquaculture) and the other was to Germany (architectural history) and I understood that excursions are common at NMBU.
There were a lot of free time activities and associations for students, and NMBU students are described as the happiest/most satisfied students in Norway. I didn't participate in the student activities that much, but my favorite thing was outdoor swimming in Oslo fjord that they organized every Sunday!
I am very happy with my exchange year, I became so much more confident to speak English, which has always been difficult for me, and I learned Norwegian quite well. I had a Norwegian language class, but it was pretty easy for someone who already had learned a bit Swedish in school (I'm not fluent in Swedish). I noticed quickly that the best way to learn the language is to try to use it every time you have a chance, and, when you're living in a foreign country, I have the chances all the time. By bravely and stubbornly speaking the language, the skills develop without even noticing. Additionally, I learned so much about other cultures and the world, things that I would not have learned without the exchange."
