Living in Leuven:
Living in Europe in the summer is one of the most fun things you could do. Not only are the days extremely long, but there is a lot to do. Cycling around and visiting other towns in Belgium is extremely easy. Other than in South Africa, the towns are close to each other so within an hour or so you can be in almost any of the towns. I also found that as the good weather set in, the people in Belgium started to come outside and open up more. This was a great time to make friends with the locals.
In order to come to Leuven, I had to take a course. This course was very helpful and related to my field of research. The course was an 8 credit course, however the credits do not bear the same weight as in South Africa, here we would get more credits for this course. Lecturers from over Europe to give the course so we used to have 2 or 3 days blocked out starting with class at 9am and then ending around 5 or 6pm. However in total we only had about 10 days of class. The classes were pretty extensive and covered a large amount of work.
For this course I had to write exams for the first time in 4 years. This was an interesting experience. Other than in Stellenbosch, the mark you get at the end of the day is out of 20 rather than out of 100. The process however is very similar to Stellenbosch, however for some of the courses the students had to do oral exams as well as written exams, which is not a prevalent in our department in Stellenbosch. I found studying for the exam pretty difficult especially as this week was the best weather I’ve experienced in Belgium.
When you come to Belgium the first time, you need to register with the city municipality. This is very important if you are going to get a Belgium bank account as they freeze your account after a few months if you do not do this. It is important to follow up with the police that they come visit your house in order to obtain this registration. I had to learn this the hard way.
Returning to South Africa:
Returning to South Africa has been a very pleasant experience. It was great seeing friends and family for the first time in about 5 months. Even in the airport, meeting up with other South Africans coming back from longs stays in Europe and Asia made me realise how we all miss the African sun and its people when we are away. There is something that binds us together, irrespective of our race or culture that makes us all South African, and when you have been away from that for so long, you really get to realise how special this country and its people are.
Unfortunately coming back did not mean holiday time, and it was back to work as soon as I had got some sleep after the long flights. Although going back to the department and seeing everyone was also a great experience, the cold after the European summer just wasn’t all that great. The Europeans are much more geared for cold weather, and even though I thought that I would be ready for our South African winter after experiencing a bit of the European winter, the absence of indoor heating and the constant cold both indoors and outdoors made the transition a bit more difficult than expected.
My time abroad has also challenged me to critically think about the way we do things in our labs here at the Department of Sport Science and has opened my eyes to the potential that we have. I am now very motivated to try and implement some of the things that I have learnt and to carry this knowledge over to my peers. I have also started thinking of my future and where I see myself in the next couple of years. I am open to the idea of working overseas, as there are very good research groups in my field especially in England, but for now I am content in being in South Africa and showing others what I have learnt. However, as I am finishing my PhD this year, this trip has broadened my horizons and made me critically think about what I have available, what I want to do, and whether there is a possibility for me to achieve this at home or whether I will have to go somewhere else in order to fulfil those desires.
All in all it has been a great experience, both being there and coming back. You only truly understand what you have once you lose it, and this exchange has allowed me to see that and value it more. It had its ups and downs, but one tends to only remember the ups upon looking back, which makes for one extremely exciting story.