EXCHANGE REPORT UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM 2017 FALL LAM HIU SUET YUKI Some tourists think Amsterdam is a city of sin, but in truth it is a city of freedom. And in freedom, most people find sin. John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
Monthly Activity Log August I arrived at Amsterdam on the 19 th August, a few days earlier than the student registration day at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), with my family members. I spent my time getting around Amsterdam so that I became more familiar with the transportation system as well as the locations of the campuses. Since the All-inclusive Start Appointment was scheduled on 21 st August, I visited UvA Science Park on that day. During the appointment, I had to collect my student card, register with the municipality of Amsterdam and make an appointment to open a bank account. In order to better immerse myself in Dutch culture, I had joined the ISN Introduction week. I had visited the Artis Royal Zoo, the DeLaMar theatre etc and made some international friends during the orientation week. In the meantime, I also accompanied my family to explore the beauty of this city. September The weather of Amsterdam in September was fine and sunny. Thus, I travelled to Utrecht and Rotterdam with my friends. As Giethoorn was referred as the Little Venice in the Netherlands, I spent a weekend exploring this village. It was simply a place for you to relax and also briefly forgot the noisy cars as roads could not be found there. The residents living in Giethoorn use canoes, kayaks or small boats to move around the narrow canals. October My friend, who was going on an exchange in Denmark visited me in October. I took her around and introduced some sightseeing spots in Amsterdam. We scheduled a day to visit Den Haag (Also known as The Hague), a city on the North Sea Coast of the western Netherlands. Although Den Haag was not the capital city of the Netherlands, most government bodies, such as the States General, the Supreme Court and the Council of the State, were all seated there. Once my exam was completed, I spent my vacation in Copenhagen for approximately 6 days. Try Smørrebrød, a dark brown bread with cold meat or fish toppings. This was one of the BEST Danish food I had ever tried before. November Studying abroad for a semester was always a perfect time to travel to nearby cities. In November, I had arranged two trips to Hamburg in Germany and also Stockholm in Sweden. I had a great time there. One of the Dutch traditional festivals that you could not miss in November was the arrival of Sinterklaas (Also known as Saint Nicholas) in Amsterdam. He was a Dutch character loved by kids and children for his reputation as a gift-bringer. On 19 th November, Sinterklaas rides a white horse and led a procession 2
through the town. More than 600 volunteers dressed as a Zwarte Pieten (Black Peters) and distributed pepernoten (small spiced biscuits) and candies to children. You would definitely be amazed by this event. December The exam period of the second block started from 18 Dec to 22 Dec. Since I had taken three courses in this block, I spent most of my time revising the study materials during early December. Snowfall was not that common in Amsterdam, yet, I was so lucky to witness snowfall in mid- December. Historical and contemporary architectures were all covered with a light dusting of snow and it transformed Amsterdam into winter wonderlands. Instead of travelling around to nearby countries, I decided to spend my Christmas in the Netherlands with my friends since this was the best way to experience a country. I visited the Amsterdam Winterparade at RAI, which was a Christmassy extravaganza with lots of market stores and a Ferris wheel. Festive food and drinks could all be found there too. In the meantime, Ice*Village Amsterdam in Museumplein was also worth a visit. I had watch a live entertainment show there!!! 3
General Exchange Information Visa Procedures The application procedures of the entry visa are not as difficult as you think. You will receive a detailed guideline from the University of Amsterdam. What you need to do is to enter your basic information on the online form and upload specific documents at the very beginning. The university will start processing your visa application subsequently. If the IND (Dutch Immigration) approves your visa, you need to schedule an appointment with the Dutch Embassy in Hong Kong. Once you receive your visa, you can enter and stay in Amsterdam for more than three months. If you have any problems, feel free to reach the embassy. The staff are willing to offer help. Orientation Activities International Student Network (ISN) Amsterdam is one of the largest student-run organizations in UvA. They organize the Introduction Week before the start of the semester. You will visit different tourist attractions, such as the Artis Royal Zoo, Vondelpark and Museumplein, during the event. In the meantime, ISN will also initiate various cultural events regularly. You can join their short trips to Belgium, Prague or other nearby cities with other international students. Seize the opportunity to make new friends in these events!!! Visit their website for more information: https://www.isn-amsterdam.nl/ International Services & Activities The major provider of International Services is International Student Network (ISN) Amsterdam. Refer to Orientation Activities to know more information about them. Accommodations The demand for housing in Amsterdam is exceptionally high. Affordable housing available to students is limited. The university usually advises international students to look for accommodations as early as possible. However, for exchange students, since you are guaranteed a student accommodation, you do not need to worry about this problem. The University of Amsterdam has agreements with three main housing corporations in Amsterdam, which are Dekey, DUWO and Ymere. You will be assigned to one of these housing agents. An email will be sent to you with information on the registration method. Do select your accommodation once you receive that email since the housing places are on a first come first serve basis. Courses Registration The education style, grading and credits system at the University of Amsterdam is different from HKUST. Their semester is divided into 3 blocks. 8 weeks for the first two blocks and 4 weeks for the last block. Most student only takes courses in the first and second block because more courses are offered at that 4
time. Make sure you have taken at least 4 courses (24 ETCs) in order to fulfil the visa requirement of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service. You are allowed to take courses outside the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) under a special approval. You better send an email to FEB and other faculties in advance to seek their advice as priority is given to local students for certain courses. You will be kicked out of the cross-faculty course without any prior notification during the course registration period under this policy. For your reference, I had taken Privacy in Public course offered by the Humanities department. Teaching & Assessment Methods Courses can have a combination of lectures, labs and tutorials as part of their requirement. Midterm examination and final examination are required by most courses. The grade for both examinations must be at least 5/5.5 to pass the course. There is a general perception that studying in Europe should be less difficult than Asia. However, do not underestimate the workload of the courses in UvA. You are required to go through more than a hundred pages of reading every week since the content will all be covered in the exam. Sports & Recreational Activities University Sports Center, which is located in the Amsterdam Science Park, is one of the places that offers a wide range of sports and fitness activities for you to participate. Tennis, aerobics and swimming can all be found in UvA. For certain kinds of sports, you can even have free trials. Therefore, do not miss this chance and visit the University Sports Center. Finance & Banking Having a bank account in Amsterdam is especially useful since most stores in Europe only accept cash or debit card payment online or in person. In some of the chain stores, an administrative fee will be charged if credit card is used. The university will assist students in opening a bank account in ING bank. You will be assigned a bank appointment when you are having All-inclusive Start Appointment in Science Park. Just remember to visit the bank and bring all the required documents on that day. Food Dining out every night is impossible in Amsterdam since a decent meal costs you at least 10. Therefore, you will be cooking in the dormitory most of the time. Albert Heijn, LIDL are some common chain supermarkets in Amsterdam. Almost everything, including groceries, can be found. Do visit the service counter in Albert Heijn and get a bonus card. This card allows you to get a discount on a large range of products. 5
Social Clubs & Networking Opportunities SEFA is the study association for Economics and Business students in UvA. Business networking or study trips are organized to enable business students to explore the financial world in Amsterdam. Even though you are going on an exchange, you could still join and be the part of them. I had participated the Skillsweek 2017 and attend a course -- Fundamentals of Web Development to acquire basic skills of using HTML and CSS. I did learn a lot though this 3-hour session. You can always look up on their website and see if you are interested in any of them. Health & Safety It is easy to catch colds when weather changes, thus, do remember to bring enough medicine to Amsterdam. Yet, even you feel sick, you can still visit the pharmacy and seek medical assistance from the pharmacist. They are always willing to offer you help. Transportation Amsterdam is well known for being the bicycle capital of the world. It is estimated that 38% of all trips in Amsterdam are made by bike. Therefore, you can imagine most students cycle to school. Instead of looking for an expensive bike in stores, you should visit the Waterlooplein Flea Market. Budgeted second-hand bikes, headlights or even locks can be found there. Bear in mind, it is especially important for you to LOCK your bike properly since bike theft is common in Amsterdam. Amsterdam has an extensive public transport network. Buses, trams and NS sprinter connect all neighbouring cities and extend outwards into the rural area. For instance, you can travel to Den Haag, Utrecht or other cities in the Netherlands by taking the NS sprinter. If you would like to visit Belgium, Germany or nearby cities, you can pick Thalys or ICE trains. You do not need to worry about the transportation problem in Amsterdam. Purchase a PERSONAL OV-chipkaart if you travel a lot through public transportation. Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), the principal railway operator in the Netherlands, offers various seasonal pass for the general populace. Take "Altijd Voordeel" as an example, you can enjoy up to 40% discount per ride if you subscribe to it. Go and check their website for more information if you would like to save more. Climate Weather in the Netherlands is totally unpredictable. It can change not only from day to day but from hour to hour. There are sunny days throughout the month and days are longer during August and September. Winter starts from November and brings with cool and freezing temperature. Chilly wind with frequent showers are common in between December and January. Therefore, do wear enough clothing if you stay outdoor. Buienrader is a mobile application that gives you the most accurate weather forecast in the Netherlands (Also applicable to some nearby cities). In the "Coming 24 hours" table, you can even find hourly 6
prediction of the temperature, the precipitation rate per hour as well as the wind force at specific locations. Communication Although Dutch is the official language of the Netherlands, the general populace can speak fluent English. You do not need to worry about the communication problem during your stay in Amsterdam. If you want to get to know the locals, learning their language is one of the fastest ways. The University of Amsterdam's Institute for Dutch Language Education (INTT) offers intensive and extensive Dutch language courses for students. You are required to attend the class once or twice per week. You can meet lots of friends all over the world during class. A free Lebara prepaid SIM card with 50MB data is usually provided by your housing agent. However, do not keep using that card since Vodafone offers cheaper bundles. Simply by paying 20 per month, you can enjoy 4GB with 30 minutes call. You can even connect to the Internet in other EU member countries without paying additional fee. Items to Bring - Summer and Winter Clothes - Waterproof Jackets & Raincoats - Router - Socket Adapters -Medicine Useful Links - NS International: https://www.nsinternational.nl/en - GVB: https://en.gvb.nl/ 7