Pre-departure:
When I decided that I wanted to do a semester exchange at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands I knew I was going to have to do a lot of administration to make it happen. I was not wrong. Since I have already gone through the whole process and live to tell the tale, I thought I’d give future exchangers some tips to smoothen the process.
Firstly, when applying at the international office of Stellenbosch University it is good to have a legitimate reason for why you want to go on an exchange. You might have some contact with the university at which you want to do the exchange, or you might know a lot about the courses that you want to take at the host university. Since I had contact with one of the professors at the University of Groningen the chances were just that much bigger that I would be successful in my application for the exchange.
If you as future exchanger want to go to the Netherlands on your exchange, you will at have a little less administration to do because you will not have to start the process of applying for a visa by yourself. When the international offices at Dutch universities accept an application for an exchange, the international office contacts the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) to start the process of obtaining a visa. When I received an email from Groningen stating that I had been accepted I also received a form that I had to fill in for my visa, which according to the email would be processed within two weeks.
In the end it took three and a half weeks before my application for a visa was processed, resulting in me only going to the Dutch Embassy in Cape Town to give my passport, fingerprints and signature a week and a half before I planned to leave for the Netherlands. At the time I also did not realise that once the Embassy receives your passport, they send it to Pretoria to get the visa. Because of this I only received my visa three days before I left for Groningen. An important tip is to always follow the deadlines that the different departments give you as part of the process leading up to your exchange. Even though I stuck to all the deadlines given to me, I almost did not receive my visa in time.
Experience at the Host University:
Once arriving in the Netherlands I had the best time of my life. Academically and personally the exchange has made me a more fulfilled and well-rounded person.
Firstly, the academics. At Stellenbosch University I am currently obtaining my MA in Document Analysis and Design. An extraordinary professor at Stellenbosch, Prof. Carel Jansen, is also the head of Communication Studies at the University of Groningen. He was the person who first got me interested in going on an exchange. In Groningen I attended courses in MA in Communication Studies, namely Persuasive Health Communication and Human-Computer Communication. I also attended a course called Dutch Society 1000-2016, which is specifically aimed at international students.
These courses have taught me a lot that I would not have learned had I not gone on the exchange. The University of Groningen focuses a lot on group work and presentations, something that I have not had a ton of exposure to at Stellenbosch University. Since the University of Groningen is a research university, a lot of emphasis is also placed on students doing their own research, analysing data quantitatively. Another important tip here is if you as future exchanger do not have previous experience with SPSS, it would be very advantageous to do a short course in SPSS at Stellenbosch University’s Sociology department beforehand. I did the short course, and even I was lost sometimes.
Even though there are differences between Stellenbosch University and the University of Groningen, there are also a lot of similarities. Like Stellenbosch, Groningen is a small-ish town with students making up the biggest part of the population. Groningen also has a lot of organisations that students can join, and there is always something going on. Like Stellenbosch, Groningen also has a vibrant night life.
When I ran out of things to do in Groningen (just kidding, there are always things to do in Groningen), I travelled around in Europe. A very important tip for future exchangers is that when you get the chance to travel, do it. Groningen is at a disadvantage since it is quite far from Holland with it’s big cities (think Amsterdam and the Hague). What people don’t tell you, however, is that only an hour by bus and half an hour by ferry away is the Frisian Islands, which are unbelievably beautiful and a must-visit for anyone. Groningen is also only about an hour from the German border, and taking the Flix-bus will let you to a cheap day-trip in another country.
Return to Stellenbosch:
Living in the Netherlands for a semester caused me to become very attached to it. After returning to South Africa I have had a chance to think about how the exchange affected me as a person.
Firstly, I really miss the wifi which is basically everywhere in the Netherlands. I also miss the amount of vegetarian options available there that are not available in South Africa. I do not miss having to look out for bikes every time I cross the street, or how expensive it is to eat out in the Netherlands.
Besides these everyday things, my exchange has also given me a new perspective on myself as a South African. In the Netherlands every person I met wanted to come to South Africa to experience the nice weather, beautiful scenery and diverse culture. This, combined with the love of travelling that I obtained in the Netherlands, has made me aware that I do not travel in South Africa. All South Africans should travel in the country and explore it as much as they would in a foreign country.
Even though I have not been back in South Africa for a long time, I would love to travel to the Netherlands again in the future, maybe if I decide to do my PhD. I would actually love to travel anywhere in the world. The semester exchange has made me aware of how much there is to experience in the world, and just