Europe
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The Little Things I Wish I Knew Before Moving to Amsterdam
By Anna Bluemel, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Moving to a new country is super exciting, but it can also be DAUNTING. I tried to research thoroughly before moving to Amsterdam to feel as prepared and connected to my future mystery life as possible, but there are always small differences that you can only ever find out about through actually living there. For example, during my first food shop I had a bit of a wobble and ended up severely missing the trusty Fallowfield Sainsburys. I had heard that Albert Heijn was very expensive so I tried a different random shop – but my research was not very good because…
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Cafes + Cramming … Amsterdam’s best cafe study spots!
By Anna Bluemel, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands The rumours are true… the workload at UvA is pretty heavy. You don’t need to fret, though – the work is super interesting and varied, and it doesn’t take up allll of your time. Yet a chunk of the year will definitely be spent studying. During exam periods, I got just a little bit too used to the view of the UvA library, and whilst it is stunning, I felt the need to switch up my study location every now and then. In Manchester, I enjoyed going to cafés to study, but in Amsterdam, there are quite a few cafés where laptops…
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A Love Letter to My Bike
by Lily Sanders, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands One of the things I have loved the most about living in Amsterdam is cycling everywhere. I know that may sound slightly ridiculous, but cycling in Amsterdam is so much more than simply riding a bike. The default assumption is that everyone will cycle, whatever the occasion, going to uni, meeting at a café, heading to a restaurant or even a club! I find it so lovely that cycling is a communal activity here, and I feel this especially at AUC because we all live together in the dorms. At the start of my exchange when we were constantly exploring the city…
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Reflections on My Year Abroad in Leipzig, Germany
By Miranda Dreisin (Universität Leipzig, Germany) Summer has always been a bittersweet time for me. The weather is beautiful and life is more exciting, but for the past three years, it has marked the end of a chapter. This time round, it marks the end of my year abroad in Germany, and in a year it will mark the end of my degree. I am very lucky to still have just over a month left of my year abroad as the academic year finishes in late July in Germany for most people, including me. I do however have exams right until the end of July, which I find quite frustrating,…
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Where Sustainability Isn’t a Trend – It’s Just Germany
By Miranda Dreisin (Universität Leipzig, Germany) I had a friend visiting me recently in Germany, and on an afternoon walk through one of Leipzig’s most beautiful parks, she asked me if the entire city had randomly woken up that morning and decided to go cycling. It was that comment that made me realise that the sustainability that had initially suprised me, had become something I had slowly stopped noticing. Living in Germany has made eco friendliness seem like less of an occasional effort, and more like a consistent everyday expectation. The Culture of Recycling One of the first things I noticed after arriving in Germany was the recycling system –…
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A STUDENT’S GUIDE TO THE BEST BAKERIES IN BUDAPEST
By Nadine, Eotvos Lorand University – Budapest, Hungary If you’re anything like me, baked goods are a staple in your life. I’m not talking about the Lidl or Aldi type (although they do have their place), I’m talking about the handcrafted, exquisite, flavourful kind, where there’s always a queue outside the shop. When I moved over here, my bakery expectations were not very high. Honestly, I didn’t associate Budapest with bakeries — boy, was I wrong! Here is a student’s guide to my top four bakeries in the city (at least on the Pest side). Arán Bakery Arán, which means “bread” in Old Irish, is situated in the Jewish Quarter,…
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4 Interesting Modules of Law at the University of Helsinki
by Ria Mair, University of Helsinki, Finland 1. Animal Law I was excited to study this module since it was a specific area of law that I had not come across at the University of Manchester. ‘Animal law’ covered the main theories and approaches of animal law; local, regional and international regulation; and future prospects. There were many political aspects to this course, following the increase in practices such as animal testing and environmental issues like climate change. A lot of the theories regarding animal rights are linked to human rights, such as the topic of ‘sentience’, discussing where the line is drawn between beings, or the capabilities approach, which…
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How I Settled into my Year Abroad in Helsinki
By Ria Mair, University of Helsinki, Finland Initial thoughts… Before I arrived in Helsinki, I did not know what to expect. After scouring social media to gain insight into student life in Helsinki, it seemed student life would be fairly tame and somewhat dull, as there was not much content online. However, after speaking to a former University of Helsinki student who was on exchange from Manchester, it was the opposite for her, so I felt unsure. As well as this, Finland, and most Nordics for that matter, are not depicted much in media, so I had a limited schema, one I would build from diving into the deep end…
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academics at the UvA
a blog by Chiamaka🎀(Universiteit van Amsterdam in the Netherlands) (me when i realised had to do work on exchange </3) campuses + campus lifeI studied on Roeterseiland Campus, which was huge. I think that the whole of UoM could fit on its grounds. It has an expensive but delicious canteen, 2 bars / cafes and even cinema rooms to rent. The location is maybe a 10 minute cycle from the centre and there is a metro nearby. There are several study spaces on Roeterseiland, which is perfect since the main library is in a random location. I visited Oudemanhuispoort once, which is the ‘aesthetic’ campus. It’s quite nice and is…
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How Studying in Finland had an Impact
By Ria Mair, University of Helsinki, Finland Learning about different cultures Through my social circle, I learned a lot about different cultures during my year abroad. In the first semester, my friendship group consisted of people from various countries, and so we hosted a ‘bring your own dish night’. I had the opportunity of trying French quiche, Dutch ‘Poffertjes’ and even a New Zealand ‘mousetrap’. Beyond food, I became aware of other cultural differences. For example, when listening to music with my friends, I was introduced to different genres, and now I have a more broadened taste in the arts. I learned about different structures of language, as my French…
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A must do Nordic trip – hiking in Lofoten
By Ria Mair, University of Helsinki, Finland The Lofoten Islands, a beautiful archipelago located above the Arctic Circle in Norway, was the most breathtaking and fulfilling trip of my study abroad in Helsinki… The Cabin in Kabelvaag My home for the trip was a cosy little cabin right by the sea, which was perfect for a trip of long and exhausting hikes. I shared the place with my good friend from the University of Helsinki, and three other exchange students that I did not know – my little family for the next week! Showering, cooking and resting in the cottage became the prize after each day of physically pushing ourselves…
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The Best Eats of Helsinki
By Ria Mair, University of Helsinki, Finland Sushi Buffet Something all tourists should do when visiting Helsinki is try a sushi buffet. There are several dotted around the city, and all are delicious. With fresh seafood from the Baltic Sea, and plenty of vegetarian options, it is the perfect tourist spot. The nature of Finland is that the country is very trusting, and sushi buffets are an excellent depiction of that: you can trust that everyone will be respectful and tidy up after themselves. Although many things in Helsinki can be expensive, in comparison to the UK, sushi is one thing that is loads more affordable in Finland – and…
