Going Erasmus!

 

I had been planning to apply for Erasmus Mundus Master's program in Human Rights for at least two years. I was working at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan where I reported on human rights and religious freedom issues but I wanted to gain a deeper and better understanding of what human rights are and how some countries in the West particularly Europe have made such a headway.

First thing I prepared for IELTS and secured 7.5 score. Some people I spoke to were of the view that preparing for IELTS was useless as it did not affect the knowledge of English that you already have. But I disagrees as I never embark on something as important as Erasmus program without preparation. Next thing was working on the application. It was again not a tough task but something which required time and serious working. Finally I submitted my application in November 2013 and in June 2014 received my letter of admission. It was no doubt one of the most happiest days of my life. I was awarded an A Category Scholarship without which I would not have been able to undertake this program. I was going to embark on a program which would take me to three reputable universities in three beautiful European countries and as such there was no match for this excitement.

First Semester: Gothenburg

 

 Start of the two year journey from Gothenburg
 

Our two year wonderful program started from this beautiful and cozy place called Gothenburg, Göteborg or as the Swedes pronounce it Yoteboree. The first time I heard of this city was on the website of EMHRPP program after which I Googled the place and was already in love with it. I particularly wanted to see the serene islands near Gothenburg and the old town market called Haga.

The induction or introductory sessions were spread over a week during which students met most of their future teachers and program coordinators. We were a group of eleven international students from ten different countries around the world and we represented Asia, South, North & Central Americas, and Europe. To be honest, apart from the contents of the academic program, I was equally overwhelmed thinking about being friends with ten people from all over the world who wanted to bring about positive change in their respective countries through human rights promotion.

A good thing about Gothenburg University is their student buddies program. The university assigns you a buddy who is a volunteer and will provide you with the help in reaching your student residence from airport.  If you did not arrive on one of the official arrival days in Gotheburg, your student buddy would pick up your room keys on your behalf, which is what happened with me. My student buddy, Fredrik Lindqvist agreed to pick up my room keys and asked me to wait for him at Korsvägen tram station. After reaching Gothenburg Landvetter Airport, I took a the airport bus coach called Flygbussarna to the main city which cost me around 105 Swedish Kronas (SEK). After embarking on the tram station it took me less than two minutes to locate Fredrik who had been waiting for me. He helped me with my luggage and we took another tram going towards Linegattan. On the way my student buddy not only handed me over my room keys but also gave a mobile sim. The address for my student residence was written in a letter inside the key envelope but it took us a while to find Vega, my student residence. Imagine carrying those heavy suitcases around the streets of this lovely area which had many slopes!! No way I could have done it on my own.

After we failed to find it on our own, I had to call one of my classmates who was already residing there. She came, greeted me and took me inside. So here I was meeting the first member of my international family, a lovely girl from Philippines!! I met more of my friends inside the hall and though I felt like spending some time with them, I was so tired after this long journey that I went to sleep in my comfortable bed.

                              

Vega Residence, view from the street.

             

The University: A wonderful learning place

Gothenburg University is one of the best universities in Sweden. It has around 37000 students and although most courses are taught in Swedish language, there are some courses available in English for international students. Our program had two modules which were conducted by the School of Global Studies, not very far from our residence. It took us not more than ten minutes to reach our campus Linne from Vega. The days we had classes we all classmates left together in the morning for this short walk. This turned out to be a big luxury but also something that kept us to our cozy apartments most of the time, though we quite often explored the city. Another luxury was the efficient transport system of the city. I had bought a 3-month Västtrafik card that allowed travel on both buses and trams around the city as well as some of the ferry services. 

My first ever class at GU, with my friend Senada.

 At Linne campus, there was a small library but I preferred visiting the bigger Social Sciences Library which again was not very far from our campus or residence. In order to avail library and other university services, we needed student identity cards which were issued by the university administration. One of the best things about the university was that anyone interested in attending classes or lectures could do that without formal approval or registration. The easy access to university was unlike Karachi University that I attended in Pakistan with strict rules even for entrance to the campus. In Gothenburg I felt free to go anywhere without any hindrance which gave me more confidence.

The walk to our campus.

We passed by these exquisite shops everyday!

As I was getting acquainted with the city and university system, I was also working on assignments which I thoroughly enjoyed. I bought two compulsory text books on human rights from the university book shp called Studentbokhandel Goteborg.   These books were to become my companions for the rest of the term and helped me tremendously with the entire course.

My best guides to the course!

Another thing that I most liked about the university was our friendly teachers. We students could meet them or write to them about any issue that we faced related to the course.

Our courses

We had to undertake two modules at GU. The first one was an introduction to the field of human rights with an emphasis on the legal and political side titled Human Rights: Politics, Ethics and Law. I thoroughly enjoyed this course which was taught by my favorite teacher Eyassu Gayim. Under this course we were able to study the main legal instruments governing international human rights law including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other nine core conventions of the United Nations. We were encouraged and trained to critically and independently analyze the normative, legal and political aspects of the human rights systems in a world where clash of cultures and norms sometimes hindered the universal application of human rights. A number of teaching methods were adopted among which seminars where students presented their coursework findings was very new for me. Others included lectures, group work, role play and written assignments.



The second course that we did was on Globalization and Human Rights focused on the processes of globalization and how they affected state system and human rights eventually. A fundamental theme was where should the responsibility lie for protection of human rights in a world where non state actors like businesses were assuming equally important roles. As compared o the first course this one was a shorter one and our classes commenced from November to early December. This was also a time when day light became a rarity in Gothenburg and I kind of prayed for the sun to appear.