Here at University CEU Cardenal Herrera we have an ever-growing community of Nordic students pursuing degrees in various fields of study. One of these students is Vidar, a Swedish first-year student of Veterinary Medicine, who we approached for an interview, curious to know why he decided to study Veterinary Medicine in Spain and how he ended up at our university.
Hello, Vidar! Let’s kick this interview off with an introduction, shall we? Tell us who you are, where you come from, and what you study here at CEU Valencia. Do you have special interests?
I’m Vidar Nimér. I come from Southern Sweden from a town called Malmö, and I’m studying the first year in the Veterinary Medicine programme.
I enjoy politics, philosophy, music, going outside…
Why have you chosen to study veterinary medicine? Is it something you have always been passionate about?
I was working as a gaucho, cowboy, for almost half a year in Argentina, and I found it super interesting. I never really had any thoughts about medicine, so I looked into what it actually means to work in veterinary medicine and not just handling animals, and it sounded interesting. So I’m not one of the people who had the passion since they were two years old.
How did you end up in Argentina?
I met an Argentinian man who worked with my mother at the time. I saw an opportunity, and decided to go there! I was working in Argentina for five months as a veterinary assistant, breeding polo horses. And out of this experience came my decision to study veterinary medicine.
ceu valencia is one of the few universities accredited by the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE)
You come from Sweden. How did you choose to pursue your degree here in Spain?
I like Spain. I speak Spanish, I’ve lived in Madrid and Mallorca before, and I figured that this is one of the nicer places that offers a degree in Veterinary Medicine. I study in the English programme, but after one year and a half the studies will be in Spanish, which will be nice.
Tell us about your studies, what does a first-year Veterinary Medicine student’s week look like? What are some of your favourite subjects, do you have a highlight to share with us?
I wake up and go to class, and after finishing class I have lunch and then I go to study at the library. After, I’ll go home and read, watch movies, or hang out with friends. I do that five days a week, and I try to get up early in the mornings.
We have a lot of practicals: dissections, visiting the farm, work in the laboratory. For that I really admire the University, to have the opportunity to do practical things and to do stuff with my hands. And I look forward to the veterinary clinic work, too, I think it will be fun.
As for the subjects, I really enjoy physiology — the brain is super cool. I’m starting an ethology class, which also sounds interesting. Cognition has always been a favourite subject of mine.
You have lived in Spain before and spoke Spanish before coming here, too. When did you first learn Spanish?
I studied it in school. In Sweden we learn two foreign languages, one starting when you are about seven years old and the next when you are about twelve: I chose Spanish. I studied it for five years, lived for one year in Madrid, and then I worked at a farm two hours away from Buenos Aires: there was no one else speaking English, so I had no other option but to learn it!
What do you think about Valencia and the student life here?
Valencia is a really nice city. The people are kind, the bars are good. And student life is student life, you are always busy! It’s fun if you enjoy studying. And I enjoy reading the subjects I read, as I find them interesting.
Do you have your future plans figured out yet, are you thinking about returning to Sweden once you graduate?
In this moment my plan is to move to Africa, or Alaska, and live there for a couple of years. Or I could move back to Sweden, I’m not sure yet. With this degree I will have many possibilities, I don’t have to be locked in a room with very bright lights for the rest of my life! That would be horrible.
