My First Week in Amsterdam: Introweek at AUC

By Lily Sanders (AUC, The Netherlands )

AUC runs an introweek every year to welcome new first-years, and as an exchange student I got to join in too! It was the perfect way to get to know people, explore the city, and settle into life here. Here’s a little recap of how it went:

Sunday

After a train from London on the Eurostar, followed by a quick taxi ride I arrived at the AUC dorms. I found my way to my new flat and my roommate was there already! She’s from England too, studying at the University of Birmingham. We decided to head out for dinner together to get to know each other better (also neither of us had the energy for a food shop yet!) 

Monday

The beginning of introweek! The first thing I did was meet my ‘mentor group’ and student mentors for the week, my group was made up of all the new exchange students at AUC and we played some games (led by the mentors) to get to know each other. 

Then we did a massive ice breaker tournament against all the other mentor groups (they were all first years other than our group which was exchange students only) the tournament had multiple different games including a bouncy castle obstacle course, pub quiz, Dutch games, twister and more! The tournament lasted the whole afternoon and was such a fun way to bond as a group. That night we were all so tired that we headed home for an early night. 

Tuesday

Tuesday we met our tutor and the exchange officer who gave us all the key information about academics at AUC. After a lunch break we headed to the committee market and saw just how many student groups they have here at AUC. 

We had the afternoon off to relax and do some practical bits –  I went to the supermarket to get some food for the week, and then reunited with my exchange group for dinner in the dorm courtyard. Our mentors hosted a potluck dinner so we split into groups of 2-3 and all prepared something to eat, together before heading off to our first borrel – a Dutch style student pub night organised by a society at AUC. The theme was dress as your country.

Wednesday

After a late night, we had a slightly slower start on Wednesday. The morning was filled with some workshops on student life, followed by a tour of the science park campus, which is a 20 min bike ride away from the centre of Amsterdam and home to AUC’s academic building, the dorms (where I live), library, and gym. Everything is within walking distance, which makes life so convenient! 

In the afternoon our mentor group took part in a city-wide scavenger hunt organised by AUC and a fun way to explore Amsterdam properly for the first time. 

Thursday

On Thursday the exchange students had a special day organised for us separate from the first years. Our tutor and the exchange officer took us on a canal cruise along with our student mentors. In classic Amsterdam fashion, it rained! But the boat had a roof and the views were still beautiful. Afterwards a small group of us decided to stay in the centre, we had a wander around and got lunch before getting the train back to science park (which is only 8 mins!).

That evening we had another potluck dinner in the courtyard, but this time we got into small cooking groups depending on who else lived on our floor. I joined a cooking group with five people I hadn’t met before, and together we made tuna pasta. When we carried our dish downstairs, I was amazed to see about 100 people gathered! It was such a great way to meet 2nd and 3rd years and feel part of the wider AUC community.

Friday 

The final day started with workshops and activities organised by different committees, everything from dance classes to tie dye workshops. I chose tote bad decorating workshop and made a really cute bag!

In the afternoon our mentors took us on a trip to the local zoo, while some others went swimming in an outdoor pool. By the evening, we wrapped things up with a big karaoke and games night in the dorms – the perfect end to such a packed week!