Erasmus
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A hitchhikers guide to Berlin
By Frazer Randalls (Universiteit van Amsterdam, The Netherlands) This isn’t so much as a guide but an interesting story for me nevertheless. Our journey (me and my flatmate) to Berlin started at a bleak 6am by Amsterdam South Station. Here we met with the organisers (International Student Network) whose instructions consisted of the direction of Berlin and a mere “Good luck”… Boycotting our initial attempts to get picked up in the pitch-black, we took to the train in order to make some headway. Not getting very far, the hitch-hiking began. This is Zwarte Piet, a Dutch Christmas tradition. Zwarte Piet or Black Pete, is a helper of Santa Claus, but…
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My first few weeks in Amsterdam
By Frazer Randalls (Universiteit van Amsterdam, The Netherlands) So I’ve bought my bike, a must-have living in Amsterdam. It took me a week to find, scouting about the many markets for a cheap bike that still had both wheels. So when I found mine, a golden shambles of a bike, I snapped it up for just €40, a bargain! However, on cycling my bike home the pedal broke off and I discovered the brakes didn’t work. Next time I think I’ll be test riding it… As far as the university is concerned, it has taken me a while to get used to locations of the many different buildings that are…
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Tourist Tips
By Colton Hill (University of Heidelberg, Germany). In this post I want to talk more generally for people who may be coming to visit or planning on staying in Heidelberg for a relatively short period of time. Instead of mentioning the major tourist attractions (which I may get to later), this will be slightly more practical. Food may not be on everyone’s list when they come to Germany, aside from maybe a Currywurst (Bratwurst with spicy curry/ketchup sauce), and unfortunately when people have “eat Wiener Schnitzel” on their list for Germany, they may be slightly confused to find out the dish is Austrian. Do not be dismayed, however, there is…
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Auf Wiedersehen (Pet!)
By Joanna Harris (Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany). The time has finally arrived for me to move to Berlin. When I applied to go on exchange over a year ago it almost seemed like it would never really happen… But now it feels like time has flown by! So here I am. As I sit in the airport writing this I have such a strange mixture of feelings… a fuzzy flutter of excitement mixed with a small (but definitely noticeable) twinge of nerves. Firstly though, the excitement: I am so looking forward to being in Berlin again – I visited for a few days last year and loved it, despite the…
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Question 1: Did you study for this exam?
By Colton Hill (University of Heidelberg, Germany). When the University Library is your home and the Mensa (Cafeteria) your kitchen, exams must be getting close. As I’m writing this I am excited to say that this time is over. In many ways it is immediately noticeable how the exam system in Heidelberg contrasts the exam system in Manchester. And yet, exams are meant to be a universal differentiation method, separating the students from one another. Perhaps internally, exams serve as a benchmark, however even year to year the difficulty of an exam can vary or the syllabus can change. For those unfamiliar, Manchester gives students roughly four weeks of preparation…
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Heidelberg Housing Crunch
By Colton Hill (University of Heidelberg, Germany). This time I want to dive into two annual Autumn/Winter occurrences in Heidelberg: The Winter Term Housing Crunch and the Heidelberg Christmas Market. My personal experience with this Housing Crunch was much too close for comfort. I actually started looking for accommodation slightly more than 1 month before the start of term, hoping to avoid serious competition. Unfortunately, I had no success. Rather concerned about spending several weeks in a hostel, I turned to my only hope – university accommodation. However, this is before I truly understood the nature of finding a place to live in Heidelberg in autumn. The first clue about…
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“Roll Me Away”
By Colton Hill (University of Heidelberg, Germany). First of all, for those of you who are familiar with the lyrics, I didn’t actually ride a motorcycle this summer. And for those of you who are unfamiliar with Bob Seger, you’re missing out. Anyway, some students already abroad or local students reading my entry may be slightly confused when looking at the date of this post. To clarify, the University of Heidelberg officially starts lectures on the 14th of October this year. However, before anyone feels envious, this also means that the Summer Term finishes on the 24th of July. For me, this just means an exchange – gaining time this summer and…
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First Impressions
By Hannah Langan (Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain). The University – Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona This uni accepted me as an erasmus student on the 10th of May this year and I hadn’t heard a word since. So after a couple of weeks I was beginning to worry something had gone wrong. Based on what I could find on the internet, term started on the 2nd Sept but when I eventually got some information (by going to the international welcome point at uni) I discovered my course didn’t start until the 16th. Don’t get me wrong, those extra days of freedom were bliss but I would say this university is…
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¡Hola España!
By Hannah Langan (Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain). 2 days to go! So, I’m going on my year abroad. I speak un pocito Español and I certainly don’t speak Catalan. I don’t know anyone there and I’ve never been to Barcelona before, actually I haven’t spent much time in Spain at all as it goes. This is all completely unchartered waters for me and I couldn’t be more excited. My flight is in two days. I have been waiting to go for so long but, strangely, it doesn’t feel any closer now than it did a couple of months ago, I don’t think it’s really going to sink in until…
