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Life on Campus at The National University of Singapore
By Florence Slade, National University of Singapore, Singapore When friends and family ask me to describe NUS, the first words that come to mind are exciting, different and welcoming. With over 2,000 exchange students alongside local students, there’s a brilliant mix of people from all over the world, meaning endless opportunities to make new friends. I live in University Town, the newer part of campus, and was immediately struck by its convenience, cleanliness and community atmosphere, all designed with students in mind. My home is Residential College 4 (RC4), at the northern edge of campus. Within a five-minute walk I have a corner shop, lecture theatres, libraries, coffee shops, food…
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“Sorry, I don’t speak Swedish”
By Connie Foy, Stockholm University, Sweden There’s nowhere in Stockholm, from the metro, in a swimming pool, to the supermarket, where I have not apologetically repeated the phrase ‘Sorry, I don’t speak Swedish’. Despite my new Swedish friends telling me that I could pass as Swede here in Stockholm, the second I opened my mouth it quickly became apparent that my Swedish skills left a lot to be desired. I used Duolingo over the summer before moving to Stockholm, however I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that the words ‘milk’ and ‘bread’ come up a lot less in daily life than Duolingo anticipated. My frustrations at the language…
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Montreal: Pedals, Parks & Public Transport
By Katie Dolan, McGill University, Montreal, Canada From the very first day that I arrived in Montreal, the city was noticeably vibrant, clean, and well-taken care of. In the summer time, there was music on every street, and every restaurant was full of people sitting outside on terraces. But as the months passed and the weather got (A LOT) colder, the atmosphere didn’t change. People embraced the cold weather and the snow. Every frozen lake became an ice rink, and winter jackets were fashionable. Over the year, the respect and love that Montrealer’s have for their city became so obvious. Montreal is such a unique city because it is literally…
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Merci Montreal
By Katie Dolan, McGill University, Canada After facing every challenge that comes with moving 3,000 miles away from home for almost a year by yourself, it truly is saying goodbye that is the toughest part of going on an exchange. I always thought going on an exchange would be a great experience, but I never could have imagined just how great it would be. After being home for a couple months now, I have had some time to reflect on my year in Montreal and all my favourite areas of the city, classes that I took, and trips that I went on. I feel so lucky to have lived in…
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When the Plan Doesn’t Go to Plan
By Christos Nicolaou, UNSW, Australia The start of my year-long adventure to Australia didn’t quite start as planned. It was supposed to be perfectly timed: right after my birthday, escaping the grip of the August heatwave, and landing with a day to settle in before my orientation day on campus. Instead, it began with receiving an email from the airline that my Monday night flight had been delayed to Tuesday morning subsequently meaning I would miss my connecting flight in Shanghai. From there, the panic set in. I hadn’t even left the country yet and things were already going wrong. Nobody from the airline company was answering my calls. After…
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Lyon: first impressions
By Zehra Kes, Université Lumiere Lyon 2, France Bienvenue à Lyon! It has been officially 1 month since I moved to Lyon and here are my first impressions. The city is super lively and there are plenty of things to do. I have so many restaurants, shops, cafés on my wish list to explore. The weather was super nice and sunny when I first arrived, it was very sunny and jolly outside — if you don’t count the bugs. Luckily, my flatmate took me to tour around Vieux Lyon and we came across a beautiful vintage market. I love the artsy aspect of Lyon. It is very likely to run…
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Why Singapore? My initial NUS experience.
By Holly Scholfield, National University of Singapore, Singapore When deciding where I wanted to spend my year abroad, I had two main considerations beyond academics: finances and travel opportunities. Both led me to put the National University of Singapore (NUS) as my first choice. After two months here, I have had the chance to experience both sides of student life in Singapore, from eating at hawker centres and navigating the huge NUS campus, to travelling around Southeast Asia. Here is why I think Singapore is the best choice for a year abroad. Finances: Is Singapore really that expensive? If you have watched Crazy Rich Asians, you might assume that Singapore…
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On Privilege
By Jessie Punn, Universidad de las Americas, Mexico Last weekend, I went on a trip to Puerto Escondido on the Oaxacan Coast. It was paradise – white sandy beaches, the most crystal-clear ocean, and the most spectacular sunset I had ever seen. One afternoon, after having spent hours floating in the sea and reading my book on the beach, I went for a wander with my friends where we bumped into a lady selling tamales. We bought some and sat down to eat them on the sand. About 10 minutes later, the lady came back and asked if we would mind if she sat with us for a minute in…
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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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Everything I did to prepare for Mexico (and when I did it)
By Jessie Punn, Universidad de las Americas Puebla, Mexico As my third week at UDLAP draws to a close, I have found myself reflecting on all the decisions I made which have led me to be sitting in an extremely comfy armchair, in the gloriously air-conditioned UDLAP library, overlooking the most beautiful of campuses. Moving to Mexico and leaving behind literally everything familiar has certainly been an adjustment, but I am a person that loves a checklist and lives life according to my Google calendar, so here is a mostly comprehensive list of timeline of everything that I did to prepare for UDLAP (that I wish I would have had…
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52 Hours, 7 States, 5 Friends
For our end-of-year trip, we decided to travel sustainably and take the train across the United States from Chicago to San Francisco. We travelled on Amtrak’s California Zephyr, which makes 35 stops along the way.
