A Blog about Education Abroad

Category: Winter / Summer School Postings

  • Helen in Helsinki

    Pre-departure:

    Being a candidate for the Helsinki summer school was thrilling although much preparation is needed. The application was a process that can be stressful if one leaves it to the last minute. I filled out the forms and did my digital interview well in advance. It is important to make a creative yet professional interview so that the people who analyse will know that you are serious. My lectures letter was a hassle, thus it is wise to warn your lecturer in advance and repeatedly nag them to get it as soon as possible.

    Once being accepted I would say it is important to meet your group and get to know them. Fortunately I had wonderful fellow candidates and we got on immediately. The next step was booking my flights. I tried to book my flights with another candidate so that we would get to Helsinki at the same time. We booked in advance but if we had taken the initiative to book earlier we would have had a better price. I would advise that as soon as the money is deposited in your account to begin searching for the best flights available. I flew with KLM airlines who were very reliable with decent food. (more…)

  • Dan in Helsinki

    Pre-departure:

    Once I got the confirmation that I had been selected, all the excitement ended. Why, u might be asking, because visa application processes are always a patience needing experience! So kick starting everything was the news that I couldn’t get my visa here in Cape Town but had to go to Pretoria as the Finnish consulate here in Cape Town had suddenly decided that all who needed the Schengen visa to their country must go there.

    Dan in HelsinkiThanks to the efficiency of the organising office for bailing me and my fellow students out by taking care of our booking to and from Pretoria. The Finnish website talks about 5 working days for South African citizens and since am not one I would urge anyone who isn’t to get prepared for a minimum or 2-3 weeks at the soonest. The plus side about the visa process is that it is free! Yes as long as your papers (ALL DOCUMENTS) are in order. As I learnt at the Embassy do not overlook any document or piece of information they require, as it will most likely delay your visa application process

    The trip to Pretoria was fun, as we spent the day together as a group for the first time, with the exception of Liam and Susan. Our combination of Helen, Kristin, Lefras and me was just awesome. (We enjoyed each other’s company and wished we had done it often in Helsinki but the different schedules made it impossible).

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  • Michael in Germany

    Michael Coombes took part in the DAAD-US Ancient Studies Museum Trip to Germany 2013; here is his story.

    Trip to Germany:

    Our trip to Germany included going to three beautiful and completely different towns and cities, namely Munich, Tübingen and Berlin. Starting off in Munich, we arrived at 9:30 in the morning on a Thursday and immediately made our way, via some hectic underground train navigation, to the hostel where we were to stay for the next four days. Soon after we met up with Prof. Dr. Schneider from the Ludwig-Maximilians University who took us for a fantastic trip to the stone and marble workshop of Dr. Pfanner. This visit was one of the highlights of the trip for me personally as it gave the full impact of the level of craftsmanship needed to produce the sculptures that we were to see later. That night we met up with the vice consul from South Africa who welcomed us and we had a fantastic mingling session with some of the local students.

    Without going into too much detail, on the following day we visited the Köningsplatz and the Glyptothek and the Antikensammlungen, which were both fantastic. Of real interest to me were a number of items which I had studied by way of photograph during my undergrad and postgraduate degrees. For this reason they were particularly pertinent to me personally and I took great joy from seeing these pieces in person. The following day we went to the cast gallery that belongs to the University, which in turn made all of us South Africans realise how much more the German universities had in terms of actual items and full scale casts in particular, but they are expensive and delicate. However, it would be fantastic if Stellenbosch could acquire just a few.

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