Joanna Lilja

After leaving the gymnasium school in Umea, Joana Lilja divided her time between jobs, travel and a semester at Stockholm University before she decided to study in New Zealand.

She applied and got accepted at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, down in the South Island where the mountains are high and it will only take you one hour to get to a ski field during the winter. "I love the nature and the people here in New Zealand. People are nice and helpful and very laid back. And the nature is amazing high mountains, heaps of tramping paths, beautiful beaches, but it is rather cold in the water".

Joanna was reading Criminology in Stockholm. But here in Christchurch she is majoring in Political Science. "The Universities here are more similar to universities in America rather than Sweden. You read more subjects here during a semester - during this semester for example, I am studying sociology, political science, developmental studies of third world countries and the history of New Zealand. I have to admit that I actually prefer to study one subject at a time because it keeps you more focused this is more similar to my gymnasium school, with homework and assignments. However the advantage here is that you can choose the direction of your studies more easily. The number of courses available here is larger than at home."

Joanna recently started her third semester here in New Zealand and will receive her degree almost within a year. That is, if she can use the points she accumulated at the University of Stockholm and it seems like this is possible to achieve. "And if I was to move home again, then I can use the major part of my points from here to an accredited degree back home."

When she arrived in Christchurch she stayed as a boarder with a family. But later, she moved into a student room. "It is like a student dorm in Sweden. We have our own rooms and a communal kitchen and we cook all our own food. It is great."

So what does Joanna believe she has learned from her New Zealand degree that she couldn't obtain from a Swedish University? "I am learning another language and I am living in another culture. You obtain a lot of self-knowledge when you are going abroad like this and that is also important."