My Exchange at The University of Amsterdam
My time studying abroad at the University of Amsterdam was truly the highlight of my time at university thus far and one of the most transformative experiences of my life. Through this semester exchange, I have travelled to many new places, met incredible people, widened my perspective of the world and also come to appreciate many small often unnoticeable parts of life in Aotearoa.
To start, I felt quite discouraged from applying in all honesty; there is a lot of admin and large upfront costs involved but after making a new friend on exchange in nz I was inspired to try anyway. In my experience navigating course approvals is the trickiest part whether that be because the host university website is confusing or due to misunderstandings or due to not being able to find exact matches at all, so my best advice in these scenarios is to reach out to a student who has already done an exchange where you are planning to go; most people are kind and willing to help and are a valuable resource to you.
Within a day of arriving in Amsterdam everyone in my residence had met each other and exchange student orientations had begun. For me this included a small amount of looking around the university and a very large amount of looking around the city and partying- my first two weeks were definitely filled with a lot of socialising and drinking as everyone was attempting to find their friends and enjoy what the city had to offer, it was a lot but I recommend saying yes to as many things as possible as this is when I met the majority of my friends.
I stayed at the Prinsengracht accommodation which was exchange student housing organised through DeKey and the university, it was the most amazing location; incredibly central and accessible however it does feel a bit like a first year halls of residence as there is one large common area to lounge in that everyone shares. The University of Amsterdam itself has a stunning campus and amazing teachers and fellow students who are all well informed and interested in the topics being taught, I was able to travel a lot whilst taking my courses but it did require some coordination and forethough- I know people who did fail courses as the grading is quite different from NZ so do prioritise university around exam time.
The Netherlands is an amazing country to do your exchange in and perhaps I’m biased but I can’t think of a better. In Amsterdam I did not meet a single person who was not near-fluent in english and although it is a great idea to learn some dutch to get to know the culture better you will not stuggle at all not knowing any. One of my favourite aspects of living in the Netherlands is the cycling culture; you will need a bike to get around but it will allow you to see the city from a whole new perspective. The weather is not ideal but not much worse than a city like Wellington; often overcast and windy but you can’t beat it on a good day as the whole city suddenly emerges and sits on the canals and around the parks. The other amazing thing about living in the Netherlands is it’s location in central Europe. This was a major draw-in for me and it definitely paid off; I was able to travel to Belgium and back for $30 and could easily get to many major cities such as Paris and Berlin by bus or train. The airport was also easily accessible and had many incoming and outgoing flights every day. Financially if it weren’t for the extra travelling, I would say the cost of living is about the same as Auckland but definitely do budget extra to make the most of the prime location (and also make the most of the nightlife; there are some of the best techno clubs and raves in the world in Amsterdam as well as some great vintage shopping).
Some other things that Amsterdam is well-known for is the Red-light district and the legal and easily accessible marijuana but in my experience, these are completely avoidable if you do not wish to partake (particularly the red-light district as it is located in a very touristy area that you would not be living or studying in). In terms of food there are plenty of supermarkets, restaurants and cafes; you will not struggle to find something that fits your dietary requirements although at some point in time you will start missing meat pies and unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about it.
In terms of challenges of the exchange I don’t believe I met a single person who wasn’t a little bit homesick at some point in their exchange; once you’ve settled and some of the excitement has worn off it is normal to get fomo for things happening at home or to miss your friends or other kiwis in general (I started listening out for Australians just to hear the slightly similar accent) but this wears off and if you’re like me you actually start dreading coming home, feeling like the time is going by far too fast. My other personal challenges included not having an oven so being quite limited in what I could cook, getting sick from expending too much energy in the first couple of weeks and then having to navigate the health system and staying in some truly tragic hostels on my travels whilst on exchange but all of those are perfectly avoidable for you and wonderful learning experiences for me.
There are far too many highlights to count; I was able to tick so many dream destinations off of my bucket list, celebrate my 21st birthday with friends from all over the world and learn so many new things about myself and what I would like my future to look like. As the European semester ends earlier than the New Zealand one (if you are going in semester one) it has also meant that I’ve been able to go backpacking for a month to some beautiful locations before heading home.
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
Some of the highlights from the university specifically were meeting Dutch people; the stereotype of exchange students only hanging out with other students and Dutch with Dutch is definitely true and I found that reaching out to people in tutorials or via mutual friends in classes was definitely the best way to make dutch friends. In particular I had one tutorial group where we all grew together throughout the semester and became really great friends which was a fantastic experience. I also had the opportunity to do some fieldwork with one of my classes which was incredible (for a girl interested in sustainable agriculture, maybe not for you).
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
I recommend going to a couple of the many art galleries the city has to offer, if its warm go swimming in one of the safe canals, go to a techno party (even if you’re not into the music it will be an unforgettable night), peruse some of the many vintage shops and try some of the local beers; the dutch take a lot of pride in them!
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
Tip 1: Meet and hang out with as many people as you can at first but if someone isn’t your person don’t be afraid to move on and put more attention to others; your exchange will be what you make of it and you want to be surrounded by people that share your interests and will be your friends after the excitement, large group hangouts and crazy partying slows down. (But also remember you can meet people later too; one of my closest friends I only met three months in).
Tip 2: Get a bike: Even if you don’t usually ride one, even if you think you can walk to class or work, even if you are scared about not having a helmet – cyclists rule the road in Amsterdam and you can’t say you’ve truly lived there if you haven’t battled the wind on two wheels on your way home.
Tip 3: Remember that no one here knows you! You certainly don’t need to reinvent yourself but this is the perfect opportunity to be braver, embarrass yourself more and do things that might be unusual to your friends back home; let go of who you think you are and embrace the change and the strange. I gained new hobbies, friends and some hilarious stories from letting go.
How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?
My budget was ~$14,000; however, some of that money came from the UoA exchange student scholarship, and a large amount of it was from the New Zealand government student loan, which you can still receive whilst abroad. To break it down I would say my flights cost ~$3500 (these were two one-ways and I did a four-day layover in Hong Kong to explore, however, so you could probably find better), my insurance was roughly ~$800 and my visa and housing application fees ~$800, my accommodation for five months was ~$5000 (this is quite inexpensive as housing in Amsterdam can be a lot more than this). I’m unsure how much I spent on food, drinking and events, but on average, a movie ticket or entrance to a club might cost 15 euros and a sandwich from a cafe might cost 6 euros. I’ve been able to visit 15 new countries and enjoy life in Amsterdam with ~$4000 but that is staying at cheap hostels and doing overnight buses!
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
I learnt so much from this exchange that I can never fully articulate but to sum up; the world is a big beautiful place, with many amazing people that you will never be able to experience or meet if you stay in your comfort zone. I’ve now got friends all over the world, hilarious stories and a travel bug that’s begging me to go back.
Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?
I did lots of short weekend trips or weeklong trips in the breaks around the Netherlands and mainland Europe throughout the semester and then once it was over I backpacked down the Balkans before UoA semester 2 began; if you have any questions about logistics feel free to reach out.
Final Comments
Have fun, be brave, work hard, play hard.