When I left my last blog off it was nearing the end of April. Now July, much warmer and much less busy (with the intensity of exams thankfully now being over), my last section of Belgium has just come to an end- but this makes it much more fun to reminisce.
After the mid-semester break in April, I quite rightly realised that I didn’t have all that much time left in Belgium- just two months, with one of those being for exams. Determined to live out the Belgian experience to the fullest, I sourced myself a train pass, and attempted to execute as many successful day trips as possible. By the end of my time in Belgium, I had managed 5, including Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp and Hasselt…but the one that students might want to hear about the most is Ghent, the other Belgian exchange destination for globe-bound Aucklanders.
Ghent is just as beautiful as Leuven. Of course, my observations are very much limited to the things you get just by wandering around a city for the day- so they’re not profound. But my fellow day-trippers and I had a such a fun day there. Ghent is bigger than Leuven, and they have trams there, though I would say Leuven is so small and walkable that the two cities’ ease of movement are alike. I’ve heard that Ghent gets slightly colder in the winter, and its location might not be as prime as Leuven’s (just a 20 minute train ride to Brussels), but Ghent might be the one for you if you prefer bigger cities. And as much as I don’t want to kill the good travel vibes, there is one other thing I must talk about, because you’re probably going to want to consider it when deciding on your exchange location: exams. 😬📝
I absolutely loved the classes at KU Leuven. I touched on this briefly in my last post, but I’d recommend that every law student spends a semester studying overseas. International law is so fascinating and so relevant- never before have I had a semester of education so filled with things that I’ve thought about and used outside of study so often. The lecturers are also incredible. All round a fantastic education experience.
However, if you’re an assignment-over-exams sort of person, just be aware that there are quite a few factors making the KU Leuven exam period much tougher than Auckland uni’s. To explain the system here: instead of having a 60 point semester, you have a 30 point one. You can take 3, 4 and 6 point papers, and you’re encouraged to take a range of them all. However, I found that the number of points each paper has does not reflect the amount of work they are. I had a pretty easy 6 point paper, and a really tough 3 point one. The amount of work each paper is is also roughly the same as an Auckland uni paper- so instead of only 4 papers in a semester, you’re taking 6-7. The content of the papers definitely aren’t harder than Auckland uni law electives, in large part because they don’t drill into the specifics of a legal system, as they have to cater to a large range of international students. But somehow the quantity of work for each paper felt pretty equal to our Auckland uni papers.
They also put a lot more weight on exams than assignments. Four of my papers had an exam that was 100% of the grade, one was 50% assignment-50% exam, and the other was all assignments-based. All exams were pretty much closed book too, a bit of a shock to the system for us faint-hearted open book Auckland champs (keep in mind that some of the following details will only apply to law students, as that’s what I studied while at KU Leuven). Not that you had to memorise reams of legislation- a lot of papers allow you to take in a delegated course book. But you have to memorise how to use the law (which can get super complicated), as well as lots of other information. Before arriving I had also read that the lecturers at KU Leuven are harsh markers and that failing is perfectly feasible, so while I knew that my exchange grades wouldn’t be added to my GPA and I only had to pass, I just wasn’t sure where the quality of my work sat on KU Leuven’s scale. So while I had a very balanced schedule for most of the semester, I definitely got down to it during the exam period, which lasted for just over month, much longer than it usually is for me at Auckland- and it felt like an absolute marathon. Now that I’ve got my grades back, while I passed everything and did fine, I will say that relative to all the work I put into it, KU Leuven are harsher markers compared to what you get at Auckland.
So in summary: KU Leuven has a fantastic reputation for law and I can see why. But I know that Fin and I (the other New Zealander in Leuven last semester) were the first Aucklanders to exchange to KU Leuven, so I definitely feel a duty to pass on all that you might want to take into consideration when deciding on your exchange location!!
But, aside from me basically crawling from June into July after exams (an experience that was very rewarding in its own way anyway), my semester at Leuven has been an absolute delight. Being at the centre of Europe makes it so easy to travel, and Belgium is just so beautiful. Even cities as small as Leuven buzz with their own goings-ons, Belgian delicacies like fries and beer absolutely live up to their legacies, and life in general here is just super comfortable and easy.
There’s one other thing I’d like to give my praises to, and that’s the student culture at KU Leuven. It is so full of life. Pangaea is KU Leuven’s main international student group, and they are constantly putting on events and setting up opportunities for students to meet each other and make friends. There’s always something to do, from nights out to city-wide games, weekly language exchanges and Sunday cycling trips. If your overseas exchange will be your first time away from Auckland or just your first time solo travelling, you will absolutely be in good hands at KU Leuven. 🥰
So, to summarise… go to Belgium for your semester exchange! I had such an amazing experience here, and I have no doubt that others will too. And to persuade you, or alternatively help you plan your trip if you’re already Belgium-bound, here are my favourites of the following Belgian delicacies:
- Fries: Frites Atelier (not in Leuven, but in lots of other Belgian cities!)
- Beer: Hoegaarden, which you might be able to get in NZ, but I haven’t seen it yet 😭😭
- Chocolate: I wish I could specify a local boutique that I loved just as much as Leonidas, but I can’t… they might be a chain that you can find in other European countries, but they are still Belgian, and popular for a reason!
- Waffles: House of Waffles, again not in Leuven, but across the rest of Belgium. The best one in Leuven is definitely Pinocchio’s!