Jonas Løken Estenstad, Norway: 'AUBG is super'
Every year, students from all over Europe, the U.S. and beyond choose to do an exchange program at AUBG for a semester or a year. We decided to interview some of those exchange students and hear more about their experience with Bulgaria, Blagoevgrad and AUBG. We first introduce you to Jonas Løken Estenstad, who comes from Norway. Jonas is in his second year of study at the College University of Volda, where he majors in Journalism and Mass Communication with a concentration in TV and radio. Right now, he is part of AUBG student radio AURA, and back in Volda, he was a producer of a food and travel program in his university's student TV.
So, why did you choose Bulgaria?
The classes that AUBG offers suited me. They are all relevant to my Bachelor's degree. Those are Public Speaking, Podcasting, Digital Storytelling, Hosting and Interviewing and Writing for Media. Here, I study on a pass or fail basis.
What are the differences in the architecture between your country and Bulgaria?
In Norway, we have a lot of wooden houses, that is the stereotypical building style. We also have buildings from the 20th century that are more detailed. I find architecture [in Bulgaria] intriguing, foreign and interesting. It is completely different from where I live.
Differences in culture?
One of the first things I noticed is children being out longer during the night hours. You see kids being up until almost midnight, that never happens in Norway, especially on a school day. That is something that caught my eye.
Differences in education?
There is more freedom to choose in AUBG, whereas in Norway, you study journalism and only journalism. Here you can make your package of courses, but in Norway, you apply for a program and study for three years following that same program. AUBG is also more diverse, but in Norway, we have Erasmus as well. In Norway, students live off-campus while here, almost everyone lives in the Skaptos. And I don't really know what a GPA is. We use, what you call, GPA from high school, you turn it in points. To apply for a university, there is a specified amount of points, and points can be earned over the years: through work, extra courses, or military service.
Differences in nightlife?
Where I am in Volda, we had two places to party when I left, but now we only have one. It is not really a club. It is a student house. They do karaoke nights, quiz nights, disco. Under[ground] is not really my forte, I prefer to sit down and have a conversation over a beer. I do enjoy dancing but Under is not the best place for that. You just get squished and jump with everyone else. You have to make your own space and push people aside. In the student house, there are not as many people.
What are your expectations from this semester?
I expect to get a lot of challenges for me as a future journalist and that the assignments will be both fulfilling and challenging. I hope the things I learn here I'll be able to use back home. I want to see some parts of Bulgaria. Like, experience some smaller towns.
If you are studying in a different language, how difficult was it to switch to English?
There are some things I do not understand, but I am not afraid to ask. I studied a lot of English, so it is not foreign to me. Grammar, especially terminology, is challenging to me.
What are your thoughts on AUBG so far?
AUBG is super. I like it here. It's including, I feel like, especially the freshmen. All of the people I met are nice. And the professors are interesting, and so far they are all actually good.
Do you have any fun experiences or advice to share?
A guy named Anton from Belarus and I went to the cross and we just followed the river and found a path. There was a building and inside of it, I saw the Norwegian flag, which excited me a lot. We followed the path and arrived at a house, and the road didn't continue afterward. CDs were hanging from the trees and there were posters on the windows. We turned back, saw a sign and took the steepest path possible to get to the cross.