Blog Postings by Returning Stellenbosch University Students
VISA: Fortunately for me I have a French passport, thus I did not require a Visa to get into the Netherlands and therefore I have no tips to give.
PACKING: I would suggest packing light, and buying all things such as towels, cutlery etc. in your host country. Once you go back home you have so much stuff that you’ve collected over your time abroad which can become problematic.
Pre-departure:
Over my years at Stellenbosch I have had a couple of friends that had been on exchange and shared their experiences with me. Hearing their stories made me very eager to go on exchange myself. I was extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend a summer school in Europe in 2017. I had an incredible time in KU Leuven in Belgium meeting people from all around the world and learning things from a unique perspective. After having attended KU Leuven, I was determined to spend a semester abroad.
Sara-Anne went on a semester exchange to the University of Aberdeen. Here is a posting about her experience.
The Phrase ‘Fit Like’ is a Doric (the local dialect in Aberdeen, Scotland) expression which translates to ‘How are you?’ When on exchange in Aberdeen you will hear a variety of odd turns of phrase like this, so keep your ears tuned, as what you think you hear may be something completely different to what you were expecting…but it’s ‘nae bad’ (not bad); you’ll get an introductory lecture on Doric when you arrive. And if you take nothing from it, at least you’ll get a good chuckle.
All jokes aside, I hope you’ll find the following at least a little helpful in preparing for what will be one of the most rewarding experiences you could have.