Last semester there were 409 Swedish students enrolled at City College. The number of Swedes nearly doubled in a year. Because of this, everyone has been asking the same question, why do so many Swedes come here?
A year ago, I would sit in my kitchen, look out my window and all I would see was a snowy, rainy and gray landscape. I would think to myself, is this it? Working six days a week in the same store, hanging out with the same people, partying during the weekend, just to go back to work on Monday and do it all over again.
Many international students, like myself, are tired of the gray and dull weather during the winter months. The thought of palm trees and summer weather year-round is too tempting. But the weather isn’t the only reason we come.
So why come to Santa Barbara? Many Swedish students travel with agencies. The agencies help us with registration, paperwork and housing. Many agencies collaborate with City College, making it one of the most popular destinations among Swedes.
Many agencies also provide their one-year students with a certificate that Swedish employers value highly. Being independent and fluent in English is high in demand among Swedish employers. Because of this, studying abroad is now almost as common as studying in Sweden.
Throughout my travels, I can honestly say, that Americans are some of the nicest people on the planet. Everyone is open-minded and mostly nice to talk to. Socializing and communicating is the biggest difference between Swedes and Americans. In Sweden, we don’t talk to strangers; we keep to our friends. If a stranger starts talking to us on the bus, we would ignore them and think the person is a lunatic. Here Swedes are able to break that mold and expand their social lives.
Like Swedes, other international students come here to discover and embrace a different culture from home. The American way of living is best described as chill, especially in California. We enjoy the culture of surfing, skating and embracing the day.
Swedes are the largest international student community but not the only country represented here. City College has 1,375 international students enrolled from over 70 different nations. Top three countries represented at City College are Sweden, China and Japan. Foreign students come to the U.S. because it is huge and its opportunities are endless. Living the American dream is not just a pursuit for citizens; it has become dream for foreign students too.
To get away from a monotonous life and live in the sunny California for a semester or two is something almost everyone that I know wants to try.
Many of us are trying to break away from the old system and behavior that our parents and grandparents have lived through. Our generation finally realized that Sweden is just a small country in a big world; and our world is waiting to get explored.
Within a year we might be calling Santa Barbara “little Sweden”, because City College will be here and the sun will keep on shining, you won’t get rid of us.
SBCC International Student site
