Hur känns det att återgå till campusundervisning?
Daniel Jacoby, 24, studies Computer Science at California State University Monterey Bay.
Hey! Are you a student at Uppsala University?
– No, but I’m a student in the US, if that’s ok?
You know what? Let’s say it is! We’ve been walking around for an hour and the only Uppsala student we’ve met so far didn’t want to talk to us. So what are you doing in Uppsala?
– I’m here visiting a friend. He did an exchange in the US and we toured California together.
How are you liking Uppsala?
– It’s a beautiful city! I can’t stop taking photos of random old buildings and we’ve visited a few student nations as well. It’s actually my first time abroad. I was planning to go in 2020 but then the quarantine happened.
Are you looking forward to getting back to studying on campus? I’m guessing you’ve had to do “distance” studies as well?
– Yeah, we’ve done online teaching since spring 2020, so I’m looking forward to going back. Classes start on August 23rd.
Have you been vaccinated?
– Yes! I got fully vaccinated back in April.
Joakim Sjöberg, 20, ska påbörja psykologprogrammet efter att ha läst fristående kurser, och Elsie Dannborg Witalis, 21, läser termin fem på psykologprogrammet.
Hur känns det att återgå till på plats-studier?
Joakim: Blandat. Det känns som att vi inte borde, att halva terminen borde få passera innan man beslutar om man ska återgå, men samtidigt så är man ju sugen på att få komma tillbaka.
Elsie: Ja, jag har inte hört om vi ska köra allt på plats än. Vi är inte jättemånga i vår klass, runt 30, så det känns som att det borde vara okej. Och det kliar ju i fingrarna efter att få komma tillbaka, men i ett större perspektiv, om man ska tänka osjälviskt, så bidrar ju studenterna mycket till spridningen, så det bästa hade väl varit om man fortsatte köra på distans ett tag till.
Har ni vaccinerat er?
Elsie: Ja, första sprutan.
Joakim: Ja, samma. Jag ska få andra sprutan precis innan vi börjar för terminen.
Hur har sommaren varit?
Elsie: Det hade väl varit roligare om det inte vore för restriktionerna, men jag har ändå mest jobbat. Jag har jobbat med LSS.
Joakim: Ja, den har väl inte varit jättekul. Jag har också mest jobbat. Jag är på Campusbokhandeln. Det är många kunder där just nu, många som lämnar in sin gamla kurslitteratur.
Francesco Bonaldo, 23, from Italy, arrived in Uppsala only 30 minutes before we met him outside of Ica Folkes. Will be studying three courses on food safety at SLU.
Have Italian universities done online teaching these last semesters as well?
– Yes, we did part of the year from home last year. We had a lockdown in the winter and you still have to wear a face mask when going indoors in public places, and in some places they still measure your temperature before letting you in so you don’t have a fever.
How do you feel about getting to take part of campus teaching again?
– Very happy!
Have you been vaccinated?
– Yes, fully.
So you’ve only been here for half an hour, but how do you like Uppsala so far?
– I like it so much. Last year I was in Copenhagen and Malmö and I really liked it there.
Melissa Cantu, 29, from Mexico, begins her second year at the Master’s program in Entrepreneurship at Uppsala University.
So you have been here for a year already, but you’ve only done online teaching?
– Yes, but there was some uncertainty last fall as to whether we would do the semester online or not, but I had already quit my job back home so I decided to come here anyway.
So you have lived in Uppsala for a year but only done online teaching?
– Yes!
Have you met your classmates at all?
– No, not in person. But I live in a shared house, so I have had people to hang out with. Otherwise it would probably have been pretty lonely and boring.
Are you looking forward to taking classes on campus this semester?
– In Mexico there is a third, very aggressive wave affecting young people right now, but I hope that won’t happen here. It seems a lot of people have been fully vaccinated and it seems the Delta version hasn’t affected people as badly as it could have here, so I hope things will be ok when the university opens up again.
Are you vaccinated?
– Yes, I will get my second dose tomorrow.
Was it difficult to book an appointment?
– Not really. I don’t have a personnummer, but I called a phone number to book an appointment. I think it might be a bit difficult to get a vaccination certificate without a personnummer.
How was your summer?
– It was quite good. I stayed in Sweden mostly. I visited Sigtuna and Dalarna, went hiking in the woods and just hung out with friends.
