A Blog about Education Abroad

Author: timothy

  • Maria at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland

    Maria at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland

    Pre-Departure:

    Pre-departure is a blur of paperwork and ceaseless emails. I thankfully already had a European passport, so I didn’t need to apply for a Visa, which made things slightly easier. The Learning Agreements were the most difficult thing for me, because Lausanne University had a very different system which I had to figure out on their website and with numerous emails and trips to the Stellenbosch International Office. I had to change my Learning Agreement various times too, because when I arrived in Lausanne, I realised many of the courses I had chosen didn’t exist anymore. Fun. But despite the endless back and forth, the huge amount of documents to submit and the long wait to hear whether I was accepted for the exchange, it was all worth it when things started coming together and I started counting down the months, weeks and days until my departure. Packing was great too – music playing loudly as I decided which clothes to pack and which books to take along (top tip – less is more! I ended up frantically throwing out unnecessary clothes and books five minutes before leaving for the airport because my suitcase was too heavy). I arrived in European winter but realised very quickly that I needn’t have packed that many jerseys – you end up wearing more or less the same outfits a few days in a row anyway. It depends where you’re going, but I packed cutlery and crockery and it wasn’t actually necessary because there was already some at the student accommodation I was placed in. And there were already clothes hangers too.

    Maria's fun along the snow slopes
    Maria’s fun along the snow slopes
    Experience at the Host University:

    The months I spent in Lausanne were some of the best of my life. Their academic system was quite different, mainly because of their evaluations. They mark you from 1 to 6, and don’t test as often as in Stellenbosch, so most modules only required one essay or one oral presentation to validate the course. This lack of constant assessment meant I could learn other things, like French. The French I had learned at university was very different to the French spoken in everyday situations. I had a tandem with which I met once a week, and we would walk along the lakeshore and speak French and German (she wanted to learn German), and that helped me so much, just being able to practice. My French flat mate was also a huge help, because he spoke a lot of slang, which was super fun to learn! Although I had some friends with whom I spoke French, I fell into the trap of spending most of my time with exchange students, and thus ended up speaking mainly English and German. They were just very nice people in the same boat as me, which made it easier to connect. Swiss locals were kind, but already had their cliques and were difficult to befriend, especially seeing as most modules/courses (they were more like seminars, very specific topics) were only once a week, and so there wasn’t much time to cement friendships as one didn’t see the people all that often.

    Besides French I learnt a lot of valuable life lessons, even if they seemed small. I learnt to live away from home, to cook and vacuum and do the laundry myself, to go to the bank and the municipality, etc. I learnt how to travel with metro and train and find my way around foreign cities. I gained a lot of independence in that way. I also travelled a lot within Switzerland and Europe during my time there, which opened my eyes to so many languages and ways of life. I met incredible people, and especially when I hitch-hiked through Provence, France, I got to speak to the locals (and practice my French!) and experienced travelling in an entirely different way.

    Return to Stellenbosch:

    I had the most amazing exchange and was incredibly sad to have to leave beautiful Lausanne and say goodbye to my new-found friends, but I was also really excited to return to South Africa. During my time abroad I gained perspective on my life and South Africa. I realised that South Africa, no matter how enchanting overseas countries are, is my home, and I will most probably stay. I may study overseas and will always love travelling, but I decided I wanted to give back to South Africa some of that which it had given me. I changed my entire career plans because of this new-found appreciation for South Africa and the beautiful natural world that I feel needs our help. Needless to say, I now tell everyone and anyone who will listen that they simply must go on exchange. It was such an important experience for me, which came at the perfect time. I learnt so so much, not only academically but more importantly about myself and the role I want to play in this world and more specifically in South Africa. I now have friends and connections all over the world, who all contributed to my change in perspective. Everyone I encountered influenced me in some big or small way. I will definitely try to do another exchange, and will always travel to new places, knowing that I will also always return home.

    Maria taking in the view
    Maria taking in the view
  • Nikiwe at Salzburg University in Austria

    Nikiwe at Salzburg University in Austria

    Pre-Departure:

    Upon my nomination of the program, I was able to get direct correspondence with the host University – whom were not only helpful but seemed quite excited to have us attend the programme. I still had almost three months until the actual programme date so I was quite relaxed in terms of booking of flight tickets and visa applications. The panic only started to kick in when only a month was left and I had not done a thing!

    Ergo, by the time I booked flight tickets prices had gone up quite a bit! Quick tip: check how much flights are online and compare them to quotations from at least two travel agencies to get the most buck for your money. Also be sure of the dates you wish to travel on as some programmes require that you arrive the day before orientation. In addition, confirm the accommodation period if the host university is providing it (this is also important for visa purposes).

    The rest of the process of organising everything else was surprisingly easy!

    Once I had received the Visa Letter from the SU Student Affairs office it was more a matter of making sure all of my documents were in order. This wasn’t too excruciating a task seeing as there is a checklist provided for on the Study Abroad Module. Once I had the Visa Appointment booked, however, the consultant required explicit instructions of my accommodation upon arriving at the host university as well as how long they would be providing the accommodation for (PS: MAKE SURE TO DOUBLE-CHECK ALL THE DOCUMENTS YOU NEED ON THE VISA WEBSITE BEFORE BOOKING AN APPOINTMENT!). The second Visa appointment went much smoother after “triple-checking” that all my documents were in order. The period between visa application and receiving the visa took exactly 10 days – something which I was very grateful for as it was my biggest worry! After finalising all the formalities, I made sure to have three copies of each document (passport, ID document, host university address and visa) for my hand luggage and suitcases. Overkill – I know – but necessary as well.

    Extra tips:

    1. Make sure to download phone applications that have an offline map of the destination you are travelling to.
    2. Download applications of the bus or train systems as this will definitely make your life easier.
    3. English is not as universal as you may think, familiarise yourself with some easy words that are essential – for example “I’m lost, Please Help”.
    4. Check flight times and check-in online to save you queuing time.
    5. Travel with a portable phone charger everywhere you go – you never know where you may end up!
    6. Don’t forget to get a universal charger for purposes of charging your laptop and other devices as it is much cheaper in South Africa than overseas.
    Experience at the Host University:

    The programme was on European Private Law – a summer exchange for the duration of two weeks with the University of Salzburg.

    Each lecture was presented by a representative Professor for each country ranging from England, Italy, Scotland, Portugal and other Nordic Regions to Canada, Louisiana and Puerto Rico. The duration of lectures differed from an hour to three hours at a time depending on the country. There were additional panel discussions pertaining to the creation of civil codes, mixed legal systems, comparative law, and law and languages. We further had workshops which consisted of group discussions that focused on family law, breach of contract and transfer of title scenarios. We had received a programme schedule of the seminars that would be held and were all quite diverse in the countries that they represented. Each seminar was given with the purpose of educating and informing the audience of how the creation of the respective “civil code”, South Africa being one of the few to present on our mixed legal system. The programme was on the whole very informative and had many different perspectives. We were not obligated to submit a final test or examination which made the whole programme more relaxed. The biggest difference between classes held in Stellenbosch as compared to the programme is that the seminars were held for much longer periods with breaks in between. The seminars were very interactive although a little clustered.

    What I did not expect was a very hot 33 degrees Celsius upon arrival! Lesson learnt, check weather reports of EVERY day of the trip and pack accordingly! Salzburg’s weather went from extremely warm to decidedly chilly in a matter of days – not forgetting the numerous thunderstorms that decided to make an appearance towards the end of the trip.

    Albeit a full schedule, it makes it easier to plan out all the activities that you are interested in so that you know how much time to set aside. My biggest regret is not having prearranged my schedule so that I could get the most out of enjoying the actual change of scenery and visiting more neighbouring villages in Austria. We did, however, get to visit Wolfsgangsee – a very large and beautiful lake as blue as the sky which was a welcome breath of fresh air from the hot weather with its open shores that allowed for an awesome swim.  We also went to Halstatt, a small village which is known as the hallmark for the production of salt in Salzburg; the visit was absolutely breath-taking in addition to the Salt-Mine Tour which we took. Bad Ischl, on the other hand, known as a “spa town” had by far the best lager I had ever tasted!

    The best part of the trip was the fantastic group of people we got to meet who were also attending the summer school. These were students from all parts of the world which made the experience that much more exciting and fun.

    Taking in the beautiful riverside view
    Taking in the beautiful riverside view
    Return to Stellenbosch:

    Two days prior to my departure from the summer school, reality started to kick in! Although it was a beautiful experience, I couldn’t help being excited about going back home and seeing all the faces that I am much more familiar with! As soon I arrived home, however, I found myself missing the 8PM sunsets on the terraces of some Austria’s oldest buildings, the morning runs next to River Salzach and her neighbouring fortresses, the short passages of the small town and steeped gravel pavements to the Stiegl-serving beer gardens, and especially the exquisite views of the Mirabell Palace gardens and her statues. Not to mention the Mascarpone-centered chocolate bars! Yum-my!

    The programme opened my eyes to how different laws work across the globe, what influenced the development of certain legal systems and how different outcomes can be reached in a variety of ways. I did not anticipate such notable differences between the various legal systems. I further realised that just and fair outcomes can be achieved through various means, which implies that one legal system is not superior to another.

    I couldn’t help but notice all the differences between life in South Africa compared to that in Austria, our economic and political priorities compared to that of most other countries which were presented, as well as the numerous accolades South Africa received for having “one of the best Constitutions in the world”. I found that South Africa makes more use of electronic means of payment, as this tends to be limited in Austria where a few corner restaurants only accept cash payment. This was quite surprising as presumed that Austria, as a developed country, would be more “up to date” in this respect. On the positive side, I found it a wonderful discovery that fresh and wholesome foods are more readily available in Austria as compared to South Africa’s refined-foods dispensation.

    The perspectives gained from other students who were a part of the programme were more personal and gave me insight into the kind of lifestyle and set-up of their respective countries.

    This intrigued me and ignited my curiosity about cultures and experiences in foreign countries. As such, I am already planning trips to these awesome destinations and I most definitely am planning to travel to a lot more places in the near future (especially considering that I made so many new friends who happen to live across the globe).

    I find myself constantly keeping a look-out for study opportunities such as summer or winter schools, as well as opportunities to study further overseas.

     

  • Claudia at Radboud University in The Netherlands

    Claudia at Radboud University in The Netherlands

    Pre-departure:

    Pre-departure is an exciting time and luckily for me it was a very simple process.  If you are in the same lucky boat and have an EU passport too, you will find that skipping the visa application is a major benefit.  So a tip would be that if you have access to dual citizenship – as in, if you are directly related to someone who was born in the EU, you should find out if you qualify for an EU passport.  The initial hassle is most definitely worth it.

    So with my passport, I was lucky enough to just focus on the booking, packing and learning.

    With regards to booking and something that I didn’t necessarily consider, is to make sure that you fly to the nearest international airport – and it is not necessarily in the same country.  In my case I would have saved quite a bit if I flew into Germany rather than straight to Amsterdam.  So that is something to consider.

    The summer school that I attended didn’t initially have university accommodation, so I had to book separate accommodation.  But something to keep in mind is that plans change – and they change often.  Try be sure that any accommodation that you book has a free cancellation policy, because as in my case – the university made accommodation available in one of their residences.  Although, it isn’t compulsory to stay there and of course you would still have to pay for it, it is a lot more fun.  Most of the other summer school participants stay in the university accommodation, so to make the most out of meeting people I made use of my free cancellation at the hotel and opted to stay with my fellow students.

    One thing about majority of Europe, is that the summers there are not that same is the summers we are blessed with in South Africa.  Remember to pack warm clothes too, some days the weather in Nijmegen was the same as our winter days back home.  I travelled with a travel backpack, which I highly recommend.  Although space might be tight, it is much easier to manoeuvre around with both of you hands free, especially in the trains.  And with regards to the trains, it is definitely less stressful to book train tickets when you get there. There are so many trains, there will definitely be on to the place that you need to go to at the time that you want to go there, so do not panic.

    Last but not least for things to think about before you get there, is that yes, it is expensive.  But rather than dipping into all of your savings or spending extra money on bank fees, get yourself a cash passport.  This is a debit card, where you put in the money that you would like to spend and it automatically converts it to euros, so no need to pay the South African banks conversion costs, you pay euros in euros…Happy packing!

     

    Claudia's boat trip
    Claudia’s boat trip
    Experience at the Radboud University:

    As I mentioned in my pre-arrival post, I was fortunate enough to stay in the university residence, Talia.  Although Radboud is unlike Stellenbosch University where are all the res’s are on campus and everything is within walking distance, the res is very conveniently placed near the city centre and right next to the train station.  Distance to campus was very conveniently solved through the distribution of very entertaining and very Dutch bicycles.  These bikes are given to the students who arrive early enough to receive them, so try be early.  If you aren’t comfortable on the bikes, or you don’t get one, there are buses that are available at a cost.

    I stayed in Talia and at the university for the duration of my summer school, which was one week – 6 days.  There was class from 9am-5pm for the five weekdays, with a welcoming session on the morning of the first day.

    I attended Sustainability Science: A system dynamics perspective. This was hosted by Prof. Vincent de Gooyert as well as numerous guest lecturers.  There were approximately 25 people in the class, all from completely different backgrounds and experience levels.  Our days consisted of a morning lecture by Vincent where he prepared interactive lectures on system dynamics with the theme being climate change and sustainability.  During this time we were introduced to the modelling programme, “Vensim PLE”.  It was incredible to experience how much one can learn in a short space of time and how applicable this course could be to almost any line of work.

    Back to morning lectures
    Back to morning lectures

     

    In the afternoon sessions, we had guest lecturers.  We had a very interactive lesson in a model United Nations format, on the first day.  We were exposed to the actual ins and outs of how decisions are made between governmental parties at a very serious, mock climate change conference.  The actual program that is used at these international conferences was used in this sessions and decisions that were made by the participants influenced the state of climate change in 2100.

    On the second afternoon we had a lecture discussing the Port of Rotterdam and how imports and exports occur and the organisation and technological advancements that are involved at the biggest port in the Netherlands.

    The third day was an interactive afternoon using Vensim, where the class chose to discuss the factors that influence anti-vaccination activism.  This was particularly helpful as it gave real-time insight into the programme that we were learning.  From after this lesson, the afternoons were free for us as students to work on our own Vensim models.

    Each and every evening included very well organised and incredibly entertaining social events.  I highly recommend taking part in at least of the events per day, as this is where I bonded with some of the most incredible people, that I will most definitely keep in contact with – which is a major reason why we go on a summer school, isn’t it?

     

    Claudia in some new Radboud gear ;)
    Claudia in some new Radboud gear 😉

     

    Returning to Stellenbosch:

    Coming back to Stellenbosch I realised that we too live a great university life back here. Although we may not have busses that take us all over town and that we need to walk everywhere, we live a great life here.  Our university is very tight-knit and the walking everywhere allows for a day-to-day interaction with strangers that you can’t easily replicate.

    I could also appreciate that our university is very much on-par with those around the world. Although Radboud University may lack some – vintage-like charm, the modern living has a few perks too. It was fun to see state of the art technology being showcased around campus, especially in their sporting arena.  With very few unhealthy eating options in the food court, healthy living is further promoted through the many exercise options available to the students for free. From a climbing wall, to beach volleyball, to yoga and tennis, they have it all – and right on campus.

    Summer school, or any exchange abroad is a fantastic opportunity to extend your network and make friends or future colleagues form around the world.  I was fortunate to do just that and the university made it very easy.  This experience has solidified my love for travelling and I now have friends that I need to visit again – so I will have to continue my travels.

    That being said, we are so incredibly fortunate to live in a country so different in relation to other countries and with people so different from each other. Travelling just shows that because we are all so different back home, we can get along with so many different people abroad.  Being exposed to many different cultures while travelling as a young adult, brings tolerance back to our own home, building a brighter future for our university too.