If you’re reading this blog, it probably means that you are considering going on an exchange and you are interested in going to Maastricht: two very good life choices! It was such an amazing experience! I learnt so much about myself and got to experience such cool things! So doing an exchange is a must! And Maastricht is the place to go to. It’s a small(ish) town, similar to Stellenbosch and is beautiful with extremely friendly people! Maastricht is super central and is very well connected, so travelling is very easy. In the first 2 months of my exchange I went to England, Ireland, Czech Republic, Belgium and Germany. So be ready to go exploring! Check out Airbnb, blablacars and Ryanair for good deals.
Some admin to get out of the way before leaving: Go to your bank and sign an indemnity form to change your SA number to a Dutch number to do internet banking. Also, inform your bank that you will be overseas, so that you can use your bank card overseas. Make sure to have a credit/Master card so that you can do online bookings. Getting an ING bank account is also very helpful and you might spend less on bank transactions J You are also required to get health insurance, if you buy your flight ticket with a credit card, you will automatically be insured for certain things, you might just need to top it up, enquire at your bank what options there are. I chose to get AON health insurance, they seemed to be the best one for international students.
If your exchange agreement includes accommodation, ask the International Office at UM what they will do and what you need to do. I was looking for accommodation for 3 weeks and suddenly got an email saying that they booked my accommodation in the C-block at the Guesthouse (GH). I never realised that most exchange students from other universities need to pay tuition, flights, accommodation etc which is super expensive! A friend from Australia paid AUD 1000 (R10 000) for each course she took at Maastricht. So if you have the opportunity to go on exchange, do it, especially since the bulk of your costs are covered. Others are willing to pay literally thousands to do an exchange, and Stellenbosch takes care of so many costs, so grab this opportunity with both hands and apply!
I flew to Brussels instead of Amsterdam as the Brussels airport is 100km closer to Maastricht and flights to Brussels from SA are usually cheaper than to Amsterdam. Settling in was pretty easy- the GH is super international. I lived in a corridor with about 12 people with whom you share a kitchen, lounge and showers. The kitchen can get very messy so be prepared to see dirty dishes, old food and a bad smell now and again. Nevertheless, it is always very social and it’s easy to meet new people. If you arrive in January, make sure to bring enough vitamins/ boosters (there was a 30 degree drop!), viral guard does a good job.
In our arrival week ESN, a social committee, organised loads of fun activities- make sure to go to these- it’s great fun and you meet a lot of people. We had 2 compulsory introductory days at our faculty (SBE) which were quite informative. They are super well organized and give you your student card and an info pack on the day.
On arrival, I got a Lebara sim card. You can pay euro 30 and get 1000 min to call to 42 countries (including SA) and 1 GB of data, this is a winner for me. Try to join a UM sports team, there are many and really cool! Many of the local students do sports, so it is nice to also meet some Dutch people, since you hardly meet any on campus! 70% of the students at UM are international, of which 40% are Germans, so sometimes you feel like you’re in Germany. If you want to attend a church, I can recommend Damascus Road International Church . They became like my family while I was there and have a lot of students from all over the world.
Getting around in Maastricht: Buying a bike (+/- 65 euros) is a must! There are many FB groups or check out http://www.marketstuff.nl/ and http://open-market.nl/. Get a NS bus/ train card, it is cheaper per trip with a card. If you travel to Belgium buy a GO Pass 1 ticket online for euro 7.5, you can’t buy it at the train station.
During my exchange I did two courses, Economics and Social Policy Research and Personnel Economics. (For the Ecos Postgrad students, the first course is similar to our Master’s Cross Section course in term 2). I took the second course, thinking that it would be mainly data based, but soon realised that it was only literature based, so make sure that you get the correct info about the modules before signing up for them. The biggest difference between SU and UM are the lecturing styles. UM uses a problem based learning (PBL) system, which is more tutorial based. Their academic year is split into what they call periods, each period being 7 weeks long. For each module I had 4 hours of class a week and needed to prepare about 4 hours per class. Classes are small and you need to come prepared to each session (class is compulsory) as participation is evaluated. So you need to work throughout the period and I learnt so much and it’s totally worth it! I would say their courses are on par with Stellenbosch, but the workload is a lot. In 10 days, I had a 3000 word essay, presentation, review and an oral exam. So time management is key! If you are a postgrad student, don’t think you’ll write your thesis while on exchange! I was convinced I would have time, so take this into account to have enough time to finish your thesis before &/or after your exchange.
If you are academically strong, you can also consider tutoring there. I started tutoring for the Economics Department in period two. It was a very good experience but very time intensive-so think twice about it.
I returned to Stellenbosch about two months ago, adapting back to SA went really quickly again. Going on exchange makes you appreciate the SA weather and being able to see family and people you care about. While I was in the Netherlands, I barely saw the sun and I missed my family and friends and I am so grateful now that I am back and do not for granted that I get to spend time with them. The things that I miss the most are cycling (literally everywhere!) and never feeling unsafe, playing volleyball for the university, the people and travelling. Going on an exchange was definitely one of the best life choices and Maastricht was the right place to go to. Living overseas for a bit by yourself really teaches you to grow up and decide who you want to be. I am so grateful for being given the opportunity and would recommend it to anyone! It was such a good experience, that I am considering going to Europe to do my PhD there next year .