When I was planning to leave for exchange, there were the normal ‘admin’ tasks that I knew all about. However, some of the most burdensome tasks popped up that I hadn’t even considered before, and these are the ones I would like to point out to anyone who may be leaving on exchange sometime soon!
- The time period before leaving on exchange was a complete blur, and I am sure it is for most people. Not only are you trying to spend sufficient time with your friends and family before you disappear abroad, but you also have the task of completing your Company Law and Law of Evidence orals. Because you are missing so much of the term, the professors – understandably – require you to do your oral as close as possible to leaving, which for me meant the same week that I left for exchange. So the first thing I would recommend is to factor enough study time in, with all the administrative tasks that come accompanied with travelling overseas!
- I am very lucky in that I didn’t have to obtain a visa, but I did have the same problem as all other South Africans travelling abroad – currency. I would strongly recommend that the moment you plan to do an exchange – even if it is still just a mere idea – to start putting money aside for your travels. It is all about having the best experience possible while away, and you want to be able to seize every opportunity that your Rands allow you to seize, so save as much as you can, from day one!
- The third most important tip: make friends with a very good note-taker, who will be staying behind while you are away. While not being in class may not seem to be a big deal every now and then, you are going to need to remember that you are not going to be in class for very long time! It is therefore very important that you locate and lock down someone who will send you good notes each week – and of course, no one will say no to the prospect of a European-sourced thank you present.
- Research your host city and university! This will only make your life easier when you get there. Download the local travel apps, which give you the times of the trains, for example. Familiarize yourself with the layout of the town, or get your hands on a map beforehand, if possible. Try to remember that when you land, you will be exhausted, disorientated and slightly overwhelmed, so try and make this process a bit easier.
- Try and contact someone who went on exchange to the same city before you. This is absolutely crucial in the ‘planning’ stages, such as deciding where in the city to stay, or what subjects to take. However, even if it is too late for this, it will be very useful to chat to someone who can tell you about nice places to eat, travel or any other ‘local’ knowledge they may have obtained.
Experience at Leiden University:
My experience at Leiden University was absolutely incredible. It is a beautiful little Dutch town – probably a close equivalent to Stellenbosch, by Dutch standards. We started off with an orientation week, of which the most important part was making new friends. It is absolutely crucial to put yourself out there in order to meet new people so that you settle in as quickly as possible. It was the very people that I met on my first night there, that stayed my close friends until I left! I can safely say that I avoided feeling homesick due to the great bunch of people that I spent time with. Just remember – everyone is as eager to make friends as you are!
The University itself was great in respect of orientation and making us feel welcome. The law faculty, in particular, was very beautiful and modern. We had tours around the building which definitely came to be helpful later, when we had to maneuver the building ourselves. The orientation programme itself was quite cleverly put together, as you were put in groups of about 10 people, and they tried to group people in terms of faculty. This allowed us to make friends with a lot of people who we would later be in class with.
Once the excitement of meeting new people and exploring the new city had started to fizzle out, the reality of having to study in a new country set in. I was particularly nervous about the fact that most of the exchange courses offered, and those which I had elected to do, were based in EU law. This is, of course, something that we aren’t entirely familiar with coming from South Africa, whereas most of the other exchange students have a background in EU law – so I was anxious that we would be slightly behind the others. However, in my experience, the small classes and pace of lectures made the learning process very easy. The amount of persons per class is about 20, which really makes for a good learning environment. On the other hand, which we aren’t as used to from a Stellenbosch perspective, is the fact that all pre-reading is absolutely compulsory and the lecturers will find out if you haven’t done it. Luckily, myself and a friend who was also from Stellenbosch chose the same subjects (highly recommended to do that!) and split up summarizing all the prescribed articles. Working ahead, and splitting work, is something that you will quickly learn is something that is especially relevant to us Stellenbosch students, due to the fact that we carry Companies and Evidence. In other words, while other students on exchange may have no work, you need to remember that Companies and Evidence will sneak up on you later, so you need to try and work around those by working a bit more cleverly than usual. For myself and the other South African student with me, this just meant keeping up to date with our South African class notes each week, as well as with our Leiden subjects. While this was, in all honesty, quite a hefty workload, we definitely managed to make time for all the things one would expect to do on exchange in Europe!
In summary, the student life was absolutely fantastic in Leiden, as were the travel opportunities. The academic life, without Companies and Evidence, would have been much more relaxed than the standard at home – expect your marks to go up, if you give your usual standard of work. However, with Companies and Evidence added, the workload is quite a lot more. The food (mainly deep fried), shopping and sightseeing were all fantastic. The social life was of Stellenbosch standard. The people – all on exchange – were people I will be friends with for a very long time. All in all, I would 100 times over recommend Leiden University as an exchange opportunity.
Returning to Stellenbosch:
My return to Stellenbosch was premature, due to my father becoming terminally ill. This meant I had to return in September, as opposed to December. While this was of course unavoidable and completely unique to my circumstances, I must say that Stellenbosch University made this transition for me, as smooth as possible. I hope that anyone going on exchange will be confident that if anything goes wrong in your personal life that may affect your exchange period, the staff and lecturers at Stellenbosch will go out of their way to ensure that you are fine, and assist you in any way. For me, this meant dropping out of three courses in Leiden (because I had to leave), but continuing two via correspondence from South Africa. Special arrangements were made for me to write my exam in Stellenbosch, and have it sent to Leiden. Other arrangements were made for me to pick up enough credits at Stellenbosch in order to finish my degree on time. While my circumstances of return were completely different to anyone else’s, for a variety of reasons, I can only compliment our university on their assistance in my transitional period. While Leiden University was helpful at the time when I had to leave, they weren’t shy to send me a 2000 euro cheque for the rent of my ‘res’ room from September to December, even after I cancelled my lease upon explaining my circumstances for leaving and being assured that it was okay – so if you have to leave (even if you just move somewhere else) be sure to rather sub-let your place. This was, however, the only unhappy experience I had with Leiden.
Due to my return being premature and the fact that my experience of leaving Leiden will be different to any other exchange student leaving, I feel that I am unable to comment fully on how it was to return and adjust back to life at home. However, I can say with confidence that my time on exchange was too short. If you are having doubts about going, or if you are nervous to go, I want to reassure you that you are making the right decision. If you go with an open mind, keen for adventure, you will have the time of your life! The time I spent there was irreplaceable, and the friendships made will last a very long time. At the end of 2015, I was privileged to return back to Leiden for a week to visit and say a proper farewell to my friends there. No matter where you go, or who you go with, the experience is literally what you make of it. So if you’re contemplating going on exchange – do it!