Making friends was something I was concerned about in the lead up to study abroad. Having moved to uni what seemed like five seconds ago, I thought I had a secure group of friends who I liked, and would be very hard to replace abroad. Of course, I kept in contact with my friends through social media and visits but turns out making friends in Amsterdam was far easier than I had expected. One thing I would advise to any student going to Amsterdam would be to join the International Student Network (ISN), and the Buddy Scheme. It’s very much forced fun, but it’s a great way to meet people.…

My first couple of weeks in Amsterdam have literally flown by. It feels like yesterday I turned up alone at Schipol Airport with no idea what to expect. Today already I feel like so much has happened since that morning, and I’d love to share some of my first impressions since that moment. The first thing that happened since arriving at UvA was the International Student Network, which is their equivalent of the International Society. The group picked us up from the airport and for the first weekend organised events to immerse us into life in Amsterdam. Apart from faculty introduction meetings, our Dutch student guides took us to the…