A Blog about Education Abroad

Author: timothy

Chante Wearing at UNC Charlotte in the United States of America

Pre-departure:

An exchange programme is an adventure. One that is equally exciting and frightening at the same time. The best advice I can give in that regard is to focus on how exciting it is during your preparation and planning. Because it isn’t always easy, and everything doesn’t always seem to be going your way, but it’s all worth it.

Luckily UNC Charlotte provides helpful travelling tips about what to remember when you’re traveling, from a power bank to your DS-2019 form. They also provided me with a pre-departure checklist that included things like making sure you have medical and travel insurance, housing, immunizations and so forth sorted before going. Getting all this sorted beforehand really reduced my stress upon arrival.

Getting a Visa is one of those things that seem stressful and time consuming but really doesn’t need to be. Be prepared to sit on the US embassy’s website for an hour or maybe two when doing your application and scheduling your appointment. But once you’ve got that sorted going to the embassy for your appointment can be smooth sailing – just make sure you have all the documents they could possibly ask for (even though they most probably won’t even ask to see half of it) and be there on time.

Finally, I booked my flights and a US Eastern Discovery contiki through a travel agent – because who needs the extra stress?

Traveling before or after you’ve completed your semester at your host university is a must. Traveling half way across the world to a foreign country and staying within the borders of the university would be an absolute shame! The two weeks I spent traveling before going to UNCC was one of the best decisions I could’ve made. I spent two weeks on the Eastern Discovery Contiki ‘discovering the east’ of Northern America. I strolled through the markets in the French Quarter of New Orleans, I had a blast at Universal studios in Orlando, I spent a day in the sun at Miami beach, I spent a few wonderful days in Washington DC enjoying the busy life, seeing the White House, enjoying a sunset and local music at the Capitol Building and spent the rest of my time exploring the numerous museums Washington DC has to offer. I also walked the streets that Forest Gump did in Savannah, Georgia, experienced the rich historical culture of St Augustine and visited Kennedy Space Centre on launch day. Finally, the trip came to an end in New York City- specifically, at the Empire State Building, looking out at the endless lights of the city that never sleeps.

As that adventure came to an end the next one was upon the horizon. Next stop, UNC Charlotte!

Touring Washington before hitting the books

Experience at Host University:

My experience at UNC Charlotte can only be described as the experience of a lifetime. Academically, I learnt so much; I made friends for life and gained irreplaceable life experience.

Academically, UNC Charlotte does it slightly different than Stellenbosch University, but that’s nothing to worry about. Professors go out of their way to know each student by name, teach in a way that is most beneficial to students and strive to help students succeed and do well. And by do well, I mean, if you do your part in preparation for an exam a 90% grade is yours.

Both of my business courses taught me a lot and would be most beneficial and applicable to my degree back home. I completed the Energy Economics 3090 course, taught by Professor Peter Schwartz (the author of the Energy Economics textbook that was used), which I would definitely recommend. My second business course was International Business Economics which I would highly recommend to any economics students interested in the internal and external workings of economics, how trade influences this and what impact trade has on individual businesses.

As a business student going to UNC Charlotte, I was limited with regards to which courses I could take due to very strict requirements on the part of the Business School. For this reason, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to develop my other talent and passion… painting and artwork.

I completed three art courses: figure drawing, painting and 2D Design. And it is amazing how much you can learn in one semester at the art department. I had an excellent painting professor, Andrew Leventis, who is a very talented painter I could learn much from. I also had an excellent figure drawing professor who taught me skills and techniques that improved my drawing exceptionally.

But, UNC Charlotte is not only an academic experience, but a cultural one. I was privileged enough to be able to stay in Global Gateways. Global Gateways is a house in Greek Village – but what was a house quickly became a community and a community quickly became a family. The house has 14 female students living there in total – each with their own room. 7 Students were international and 7 were American. This created the environment to interact with American students as well as students from Japan, Korea, China and even France. We also went on a semester trip to North Carolina State Fair – which was an ideal place to experience American culture at its best with countless rides, games and of course, greasy and sugary food. Global Gateways also hosted an International Potluck where everyone contributed by making a dish from their country and sharing food, languages and stories from all over the world. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interact with different cultures first hand. I would definitely recommend living in Global Gateways to anyone going to UNCC.

Chante and some campus buddies enjoying the campus scenery

UNC Charlotte also presented many other cultural events and opportunities to learn about American culture as well as other cultures or just opportunities to become part of a community. These included a Chinese folk music concert, an International Festival, a Study Abroad festival, football games (and let me tell you, American university spirit is something to experience!), soccer games, a Christian organization (Niner United) – and the list goes on. Something else that I feel is mention-worthy would be UNC Charlotte’s outstanding facilities. There are two dining halls on campus where you can get an unlimited meal plan as well as a on campus bus service that runs all day.

Return to Stellenbosch:

One thing I am thankful for is that I didn’t experience the so-called culture shock when going to Charlotte, nor when returning home.

When asked, and I did get this question quite frequently, “So, what is different here in Charlotte to what you experience back home?”, finding an answer was quite difficult. Because, in fact, things were quite similar. So, I’d usually go with, “The people here are so friendly, most of the food is fried and so on…”

But in the end, an abroad experience like this – no matter how wonderful – makes you appreciate your home country once again. Coming back to South Africa and Stellenbosch has reminded me how beautiful this country is, how great the weather is and what a good feeling it is to be among people who share love for this country.

February 24, 2020
Jamie Pretorius at Utrecht University in The Netherlands

Pre-departure:

While it may – for a long time – seem as though your departure date for the Law Exchange Programme is in the distant future, you should begin preparing early as, before you know it, your Company Law and Evidence oral examinations will be over and it will be time to start packing your bags! Below are a few notes outlining my (unforgettable) experience in Utrecht which I hope may be of assistance to students thinking of pursuing an Exchange Programme there.

Step 1: visa and residence permit

Luckily, Utrecht University is really good with guiding you every step of the way and, if you do what they tell you to, your pre-departure process should be an easy one. One thing you’ll notice when interacting with the Dutch is that they are a pleasantly efficient people and your encounter with the Dutch Consulate in South Africa will be your first experience of this when applying for your visa and residence permit! Once all your documents are in order, the whole visa process should take no longer than two weeks.

If I have any advice in this regard, it’s this: firstly, don’t worry about being refused entry into the Netherlands! I remember that, for some reason, I feared that all my hopes of going on exchange would come to nought at this stage of the process, however, such fears were unfounded. Secondly, make an appointment with the Consulate before collecting your visa and residence permit (I remember that the email wasn’t too clear in this regard).

Step 2: housing

Probably the most important thing for you to do in the pre-departure process is securing housing in Utrecht as there are many people looking to get their hands on whatever accommodation they can in a city, which has little accommodation to offer. Secure housing as early as possible! I secured housing through “SSH”, a student-housing company in Utrecht, which I found to be cheap in comparison to other housing in Utrecht.

The accommodation itself was rudimentary but adequate and was about a 15-minute cycle outside the city (a lot of people live slightly outside the city and commute to work/campus). What’s nice about student housing is that you’ll be staying with other international students from all walks of life who will most likely be your first friends in a foreign place.

If you’re looking for something a little more luxurious than student housing, I recommend posting on accommodation groups on Facebook. I met friends here who lived in a lovely apartment and who met online before moving to Utrecht.

Step 3: go to the dentist

While you’re still in South Africa, it’s probably a good idea to make sure that you won’t need to experience the (very good) healthcare provided by the Dutch. So make sure you have enough prescription medicine for your entire stay and go to the dentist! I had to have an unexpected root canal while in Utrecht which was luckily covered by my health insurance, but it would have been nicer not having to use my health insurance at all.

Experience at Host University:

I can confidently say that my choice to study in Utrecht was the best choice I made all year. The city is easy to fall in love with – I will never forget my time here – and, if I’m being honest, I don’t think I would have chosen a different place at which to spend my semester abroad!

One thing you’ll notice immediately upon entering this once-Gothic city is its beautiful architecture, cobblestoned roads and charming canals (hint: make sure to go on a canal cruise while the weather is still warm). You’ll find that getting lost will become less of an accident and more of a hobby and that going to early-morning classes becomes a lot more bearable. Being a small city, Utrecht is perfectly sized. You’ll see the benefit of this as many of the more beautiful cities in the Netherlands (like Amsterdam or The Hague) are swimming with tourists which can be tiring. However, in Utrecht I never felt as though I was bumping shoulders with tourists despite the many attractions the city has to offer.

The people are (almost always) very friendly and are eager to help you in those confusing first days living in a new city. Absolutely everyone speaks fluent English, but learning a bit of Dutch is a fun way to indulge in the culture, as is riding a bicycle or eating too many ‘oliebollen’ during the festive season. Utrecht also has a number of cafés, restaurants and bars (try Lebowski, Beers & Barrels and Mick O’Connells), and however, eating at home is certainly easier on the wallet!

My experience with the University itself was also a very pleasurable one. The modules that were offered to me were all interesting, the lecturers were all highly knowledgeable, insightful and easy to talk to and studying in an international setting offered to me a completely new and invaluable academic experience.

If I can offer some advice that I wish I was given before I went to Utrecht, it would be the following: first, transferring money from a South African bank account to a Dutch one can be costly, so rather don’t open a Dutch bank account and, instead, try apps like Revolut or N26 which are far easier and cheaper. Second, don’t buy a bicycle for more than €80. Alternatively, one can rent a bike for €10-15 p.m. through Swapfiets or CheapAssBikes. Third, pack warmly. I personally found that the Netherlands was not as cold and rainy as people warned, but one can never be too prepared! Lastly, take advantage of the many travel destinations that are at your doorstep. I myself travelled to places in five different countries while I was in Europe, including Vienna and Budapest!

Return to Stellenbosch:

Surprisingly (especially in view of the fact that my bags were overweight upon my departure to Amsterdam), my bags were 3kg underweight upon my departure back to South Africa. I think one way I reduced the weight of my bags was perhaps to sell those pesky Company Law and Law of Evidence books that I had to bring along with me, including the stacks of notes that accompanied them. Also, make sure to pack all the gifts for your friends and family in your hand luggage so as not to add any unnecessary weight to your bags.

Upon returning to South Africa, the first thing I noticed was the February heat. It certainly took a day or two to adjust to the weather and the strange feeling of being back home after Utrecht being my “home” for about six months. I was pleasantly surprised to find that being back home wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, being back home made me remember all the things that I had missed while abroad, including the sunny weather, my friends and family and the fact that there is less stress on my wallet! Moreover, recounting the stories of my time abroad hasn’t (yet) grown old as it makes me appreciate my time in Europe all the more!

The colourful view of Utrecht

February 24, 2020
Jana Loots at Bocconi University in Italy

Pre-departure:

An exchange semester is included in the BCom International Business degree and was an opportunity that I had been looking forward to. I chose Bocconi University in Milan as it is ranked as one of the best business universities in the world and offered specialised courses that I wouldn’t be able to take at Stellenbosch. The Italian lifestyle of good food and the centrality of Milan of course appealed to me as well.

and dates of the registration processes and residence applications. Accommodation in Milan is expensive – full stop. Whether you stay in a Bocconi residence or in private accommodation, you can expect most (if not all) of your budget to go into this. Spots in residences are extremely limited, first come first serve, and most exchange students get placed in Arcobaleno residence which is relatively far away from campus. I therefore opted for private accommodation and contacted an agency to help me find a more affordable apartment closer to campus to share with other students.

At first the preparations can seem like an overwhelming task, but the university helps you through it and by ticking off the boxes one by one everything will eventually get done.

Course selection also operates on a first come first serve basis. I therefore recommend making a list of all the courses you are considering beforehand and sitting by your computer and refreshing the course selection page continuously to ensure that you are able to enrol for all the courses you want to take as soon as course enrolment opens – spots fill up quickly!

I had to apply for a long stay Italian Visa. Apply for this well in advance and go through the Visa checklist extensively to ensure you have all the required documents before you go to the scheduled meeting. This will ensure for a smooth and stress-free application process.

Packing was another concern of mine – how do you fit everything you will need for six months into two suitcases? (Check the airline bag policy about the weight and number of suitcases can check in by the way – I almost got it very wrong). If you don’t have winter coats and clothing for the European winter yet, I recommend buying them in Milan. You can get winter coats for relatively the same price as in South Africa and it will save you a lot of space. I packed some old bed sheets and pillowcases from home as my accommodation in Milan didn’t provide any, this saved me some money. Pro-packing tip: pack your winter clothes and bedding in vacuum packs for more space.

Experience at Host University:

To be honest, my first day upon arrival in Milan was not quite smooth sailing. I couldn’t find a shop to buy an Italian sim card at – all of them were closed (it’s called Italian time I later learned), my suitcase’s wheel broke, I had to buy a tram ticket from a random man on the street to get to my apartment because the tram ticket shop was also closed (shocker), all of the labels in the grocery store was in Italian so I had no idea what I was purchasing, I didn’t know where to buy pillows and a duvet and whenever I asked for directions no one understood a word of English. Needless to say, when I arrived at my empty apartment that night, with no bedding, no sim and a grocery bag containing some questionable items – I came to the realisation that the next six months were not simply going to be a walk in the park and that this would be a period of serious personal growth. I felt very alone in the first few days, class hadn’t started yet, my flatmates hadn’t moved in yet and I didn’t quite know how to meet new people. It helped a lot to keep myself busy so in the first few days I explored the city. I quickly became familiar with the streets and the public transport system and Milan started feeling a bit more like home soon enough. I stepped out of my comfort zone to meet new people before class started and met up with other exchange students for aperitivo when they suggested it on an exchange WhatsApp group. I am so glad I did this, as the students I met that night became some of my best friends on this exchange.

Bocconi university will give you all the information you need to apply for your permit of stay during welcoming. The International Student Desk (ISD) also hosts optional welcoming activities like campus tours and outings to some museums and art galleries in Milan.

I didn’t attend the Italian language crash course as isn’t compulsory, but this could be a good way to meet students before class starts – it is, however, quite time consuming. I recommend learning a few basic Italian phrases if you won’t be attending the crash course as Italian is definitely the predominantly spoken language and many of the people I met couldn’t speak English at all. I definitely experienced more of a culture shock than I initially anticipated.

I joined the Erasmus Student Network (ESN). They hosted many activities and aperitivo’s for exchange students and arranged trips to Italian cities like Florence and Cinque Terre. It was also great for discounts on bus and plane tickets!

The Summer Sun in Winter

I found the level difficulty of the course content to be relatively similar to my home university, however I performed better academically at Bocconi than at Stellenbosch because of their assessment methods. I took International Project Finance, Business Strategy, Management of Fashion Companies, Management of public and non-profit organisations, and Principles of E-commerce and E-marketing. My favourite was definitely Business Strategy – there was no exam, but five group work case studies had to be submitted during the semester. Class participation accounted for 20% of your grade and you had to come to class prepared and ready to answer questions. The lecturer was incredible – he inspired us to think about business strategy in a different way, he explained content in a way everyone understood, and students were eager to answer his questions.

Life outside the classroom consisted of trying many Italian delicacies: pistachio brioches, cappuccinos, pasta, and pizza and way too much gelato. Aperitivo quickly became my new favourite word! Eating meals at restaurants can be a real budget breaker, but with aperitivo you definitely get bang for your buck as you pay for your drink and get to dive into an all you can eat buffet that’s included in the drink price. There are many cute affordable aperitivo places that students love to hang out along the Navigli canals.

Enjoying all the Italian food

I organised my class schedule to have Fridays free, allowing for a bit of a longer weekend which was ideal for traveling. Milan is very centrally located in Europe and traveling from here was relatively cheap and easy – especially with Flixbus and Ryanair. During my time in Europe I visited some beautiful Italian cities: Rome and Cinque Terre are definite must-see places. I also travelled to France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary.

Lecturers were very helpful in equipping students for exams and answering any questions that students had, exams were reasonable, and the exam process was slightly less formal than at Stellenbosch. All exams ended on the 21^st of December to give students the opportunity to go home for Christmas. I however, decided to make the most of my stay in Europe and travelled some more after exams.

Return to Stellenbosch:

I left for Bocconi in August 2019 and returned to South Africa in January 2020. It definitely took a few days to get used to the South African heat. But to be honest I was so happy for some sun! When I arrived, I quickly realised that six months feel like a long time but also like almost no time at all. Nothing much changed back home and it soon almost felt like I had never left – except that after all of this I am a bit different in the sense that I have experienced so much growth, gained a much broader perspective of the world and the people in it, and learned that I can do much more than I give myself credit for.

I also learned to appreciate South Africa much more and be grateful for all that our country offers. There are just no people like South Africans, they are in general so much more friendly and open than Europeans. I was shocked when I walked into a shop in South Africa for the first time again and the staff were all warm and chatty, asking if they can help me and making conversation. South African weather is also in a class of its own and I will never again complain about our winters.

Something interesting I learnt is that South Africa is not that different to Italy in several areas. We might have African time, but Italian time is just as frustrating. Shops open much later and close during the day at the most random hours, the trams are seldom on time, very often they stop running or break down and many Italians don’t enjoy problem solving – rather throwing a “non-possible” your way than trying to help you. I also learnt that Italy has many bureaucratic issues and corruption just like us.

This exchange taught me some important life lessons too. Not only did I learn so much about different countries and cultures, but I also learnt some serious problem-solving skills, to speak up for myself, and to take charge of my own experience. I learned that it is okay to struggle with things and to be put out of your comfort zone.

If I can give one tip to future exchange students, it is to not compare your journey with anyone else’s – especially not the experience people show on social media. Everyone’s journey is different and that is the beauty of it. Move at your own pace, do what makes you happy and make the most of the opportunities given to you. Buckle up for six months out of your comfort zone, challenges, incredible experiences, beautiful people from all around the world, picturesque towns, and personal growth. It is all over in a blink of an eye and will leave you with a lifetime of memories.

To summarise: I recommend the exchange experience to every single person. This is an incredible opportunity that you will without a doubt walk away from so much richer.

Italian market experience

February 24, 2020