Winda's Exchange to Utrecht University of Applied Sciences | The Netherlands
Whenever I
pictured myself 10 years from where I am, I never pictured myself in Perth. I
thought that the world is too big and there are too many people to meet for me
to decide where I want to be for the rest of my life now. I told myself that I
would go to every country in the world before I can finally decide where I want
to settle down. This study abroad experience has allowed me to do just that. In
just over six months, I traveled to 11 new countries, made new friends from
all over the world and experienced more than I could ever imagine.
Initially, I wanted to study abroad somewhere in America because I had this idea in my head of a stereotypical ‘college experience’ that I wanted to have so badly. But after doing some research (and after realising that I won’t be 21) I decided that I wanted to go somewhere in Europe. I chose to study abroad in the Netherlands, in a student-city called Utrecht and honestly, that was the best decision that I have ever made in my life.
Whenever people talk about the Netherlands, they always think of Amsterdam. They think of riding around on bicycles around the canals, and while that was definitely on my to-do list, Utrecht is where my heart decided to settle. It’s essentially a mini-Amsterdam; just as pretty, just as fun, but without all of the tourists. It has a population of over 300,000, which does not seem like a lot, but when you consider how geographically small the city is, 300,000 is a lot. A lot of the population are students, and a large chunk of the student population are international or exchange students.
I have always
been comfortable being by myself, and by that, I mean that I didn’t really need
friends to do things. I could travel by myself, watch movies by myself, eat at
a restaurant by myself and I wouldn’t feel embarrassed or lonely. Before my
exchange, I thought that if I didn’t make any friends for the whole 6 months, I
would be okay. Little did I know that it would be much harder maintaining being
alone and not having friends than it would be to just have friends. I met one
of my best friends on exchange, a girl from Lithuania (a country I have never
heard of before I went on exchange) named Paula on the day that I arrived in
Utrecht. She was one of my eleven housemates and we became really close, really
fast. I also made friends in my classes at university.
The university structure
in the Netherlands was different from what I was used to at Murdoch. I had to
go to Uni for most days of the week as we had a set timetable for our course,
but this meant that I had the same people in my classes every time and that
made it easier for me to make friends. On top of making friends in student
dorms and University classes, there are a lot of student organisations in the
Netherlands (and I think in Europe in general) who plans activities and events
for international and exchange students so they can make friends and explore
the city. The friends I made during my exchange was definitely one of the best
part of studying abroad.
I had the best
time of my life in Utrecht. Living away from home and having to be completely
independent has taught me a lot of things about life and about myself. Ultimately,
I think my advice for everyone who’s thinking of studying abroad would be to
JUST GO! It’s not going to be something you will ever regret! You’re still
young, still studying, treat yourself a little and go on an adventure.
- Winda studied abroad at The University of Applied Sciences Utrecht in The Netherlands
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