Studying abroad

I'm in my third year of college at UCLA right now, and I'm going to be studying abroad in the Netherlands at University College Utrecht for the winter & spring semester (about 5 months) this year. I'm absolutely terrified! My parents were really the ones pushing me to do this, and now I'm getting more and more scared as it comes nearer, mostly because of the academic situation. I will be attending an honors college, and the course listings just seem so intense. I'm afraid I won't be able to cut it academically, or even worse, not have any time to enjoy the country and my peers!

Have any of you had any experiences studying or living in another country? What were the highlights and the lowlights? Any tips? I'd love to hear some stories!

I haven't studied abroad, but I must say I've never met anyone who did who didn't have the time of their life. Keep in mind that the great majority of people in Holland speak pretty good English. You'll be able to make short trips to several other nearby countries. You'll meet all sorts of fascinating people.
You will be SO GLAD you did this! I absolutely positively guarantee you that you will have a blast!!!!!
Yes, it's a little scary to be in a foreign country, but it's also a thrill. It's a great adventure. And if you don't have adventures when you're young, what's the point of living? And you'll be posting your experiences every evening to your friends in the Lounge, and we'll all tell you what we want you to send us from Europe so we can get them duty free. lol
This experience will be something that you treasure in your heart for the rest of your life. Go girl!

I spent a semester in Ireland, back in 2003. It was far from rigorous, though; we brought a professor from the states with us, and didn't actually study at a university there. It basically involved reading Joyce and Beckett and Yeats and consuming many many pints of Guinness. Makes me wonder why I came back home...

The impression I get from people who have studied at foreign universities is that the faculty (and to some extent the students) tend to think that since you're from the states, you know quite a bit about American history, politics, and policy....which isn't always the case. So it might not hurt to re-familiarize yourself with American history, etc.

As basic advice, I would say (and this obvious enough that I'm sure you would have done it without me saying so), read about the culture of the country - what's considered polite, etc. And even though you'll be living there, don't neglect to do touristy things. (I don't mean kitschy things, but visiting historic sites, etc.) When I studied abroad I hesitated to do a lot of that, simply because I didn't want to look like the average American tourist. (It didn't help that when I was there anti-American sentiment across the pond was rather high, due to the Iraq war breaking out.) I wish now that I had gone to more museums, etc. I also wish I would have stayed in the country after my program was done. If you have the money to do so, I would recommend staying longer (assuming you want to) - the people I know who did that enjoyed it.

congrats on having such a wonderful opportunity! don't be afraid! are you going independently or with an organization? if you are going with an organization, you will probably have a chance to take a trip or two, i imagine. if you're going on your own, that might be a bit difficult. try to sit down and make a loose itinerary of your classes and when you have free time.
when you have free time, spend it how you want. with friends, alone, at a museum, historical place or at a cafe. ask yourself what you want to see, get a guidebook, and start marking the pages. or...take an hour or two and just walk around. you can find a lot of great sights that way. just enjoy as much as you can, be open to new experiences, and be flexible. make dutch friends, they can show you places that maybe tourists never see.
i used to work with exchange students (and i've been an exchange student four times), and the biggest problem for them were their expectations that life abroad would be the same as at home. it won't be. getting used to a new routine might be the biggest challenge...especially if you have a rigorous workload. flexibility will work your favor. but you're smart! you know this. lol
some of my fondest memories are of little and seemingly insignificant things...such as russian winter mornings (breathtaking!), regular peals of church bells, fresh bread, the pretty run-down houses i'd pass on my way to class, the smell of bus exhaust (i know..wierd...but i catch that smell sometimes and it immediately takes me back...), the taste of borsch and rye bread with horseradish, the internet cafe that i'd visit once a week that was usually full of adolescent boys playing multiplayer video games lol these things made the tougher aspects of living there better.
i don't know what it's like in western europe, but the difficulties for me in russia were the pickpockets, bad drivers (seriously...the cars have the right of way there and you will get run over if you don't watch it), and seeing homeless elderly people. but, i just kept my head about me, kept my passport underneath my clothing when i went out (paranoid about this, esp in russia), and gave the elderly homeless money.
the last time i was in russia was fall semester of 2001. i was sitting down for dinner when the news came on about the twin towers. i was scared for my family and i was scared to go home. my instructors advised me and the other american in my classes to keep a low profile as there were many afghan refugees in our city. for about the first week i didn't really go out much, but then i realized that most everyone thought i was russian at first glance anyway...so as long as i kept my mouth shut i would be fine. but you know...everyone i spoke with after that had nothing but kind things to say to me. they understood what it was like to live in fear of terror attacks...no matter what caused them. the rest of the trip was fine until i actually got home. so. point is...samsa is right in that you'll probably have one or two people try to grill you about something...be it american history, economics, or current foreign policies. it can be irritating...but answering honestly and respectfully will gain you respect from them.
this seems all jumbly. there's just so much to say about life abroad. i'm one of those people who could be happy anywhere that's not the u.s....so, in my eyes, time abroad will be one of the significant events of your life.
okay....i'll shut up now. sorry!!!!!
probably the highlight of my last trip was the week we spent touring the baltic states of estonia, latvia, and lithuania. i really want to go back.

I've spent two summers now studying in France--the first time was fantastic, partially because I was with professors I already knew who were laid-back and planned great activities (like a Parisian scavenger hunt or a poetry reading on a cliff). This past summer was more difficult, and although I traveled with my best friend, the course was tough to get through. I'm glad I went, but the actual duration was difficult. I lost my luggage for two weeks, which contributed greatly to my homesickness--I'd never really missed home before, but not having my things changed the experience quite a bit!

So with this in mind, and since you will be gone for far longer than I was, here are a few suggestions!

-Bring a few comfort foods. Food will be FANTASTIC overseas, but there will be weird things that you'll miss. For me, it was stuff that I rarely eat as it is--peanut butter, Kraft mac n' cheese, hot dogs. This summer I bought a bunch of biscuits, chocolates, and tea before I left, and that was a big mood-lifter. Most of it is packable, and worth it when you're really missing home.

-Make sure you have a back-up plan for communication. When I got to Paris, my cell phone didn't connect to the local network, and my plane was two hours late. To complicate matters, my luggage was nowhere to be found, so I was three hours later than expected, and I couldn't contact anyone! Talk to your cell provider to see if you can get an international deal, or even sign up for an account in the Netherlands.

-Get travel insurance. I wish I had!

-The hardest part is feeling absolutely alone, and the only way to beat the feeling is to get out and introduce yourself to people. I'm an introvert, but I made the effort to get to know those who were in the program with me and the trip was far better.

I hope this helps a little bit! You'll love it, I'm sure, and you will be home in five months, if all else fails. THe worst thing that'll happen is you'll be bitten by an insane drive to travel all the time, and you won't have the money to fuel the passion! Best of luck... :eusa_clap

Yes, I have studied abroad, lived abroad, and most of my work today is done abroad (I am currently in Angola). You could say I am really fond of broads

You will enjoy Netherlands. I have been there several times. I see that you are an art major, so Netherlands will be ideal for you. There are several outstanding museums there, particularly the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. Amsterdam continues to be a major art dealing city and you will find many nice art galleries there. It is also a nice place to learn about the business of art (I am a bit of an art history buff myself).

Get yourself a bicycle when you get there (you'll understand when you get there).

Cheers,

M8

You'll have a great time!

My fiancée travelled to New Zealand to do her degree. End result? She returned home with the degree and a Kiwi man

Living in another country is incredibly good for anyone, as well as learning lots about Holland and Europe, you'll also learn a lot about yourself.

All the best for the big adventure!

pigeon toe said:

I'm in my third year of college at UCLA right now, and I'm going to be studying abroad in the Netherlands at University College Utrecht for the winter & spring semester (about 5 months) this year. I'm absolutely terrified! My parents were really the ones pushing me to do this, and now I'm getting more and more scared as it comes nearer, mostly because of the academic situation. I will be attending an honors college, and the course listings just seem so intense. I'm afraid I won't be able to cut it academically, or even worse, not have any time to enjoy the country and my peers!

Have any of you had any experiences studying or living in another country? What were the highlights and the lowlights? Any tips? I'd love to hear some stories!

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I spent two semesters in Italy when studying art history. It was the best thing I ever did. I was terrified too but I really think you will enjoy it. Granted, the art programs are full of pretty laid back people (teachers and students).

Make sure your cell phone works in Europe. If it does not, get one that does so that you can just push the +1 then US area code and number. I didn't have a cell phone back in 1992 but I can tell you from just normal travel since then that it is a big help.

Holland is a nice place, we go fairly often, as my husband has family there. Gotta love any place where they eat chocolate for breakfast!

Just enjoy and do not stress out too much. You will do just fine and you know what, if for some reason you just hate it (and I would really, really think that would be almost impossible), it's not the end of the world, you can always jump right on a plane and be back home any time you want.

pigeon toe said:

Have any of you had any experiences studying or living in another country? What were the highlights and the lowlights? Any tips? I'd love to hear some stories!

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After the Army, I took the GI Bill route to the Sorbonne where I had
intended to take a degree; however, Paris lost some of its charm due
to several ugly incidents that I tried to avoid without success. I chalked
it up to experience and reconsidered stateside options. Still, I would recommend
a foreign university with an established academic exchange program.

Oh you are so lucky! I have been looking into doing this myself, but since I am not taking enough classes, I can't and I don't think I can take my offspring with me either lol But I keep looking anyway, maybe I can find one where I can work and study and have my kids go to school to, ahh well.
Congrats!!!!

I visited Utrecht a couple of times for an annual blues festival - the Blues Estafette, sadly no longer running - and it's a very nice little city. The area around the railway station is not very inspiring - but railway stations rarely are - but the old part of town is exactly what you'd expect from a Dutch town: tall, narrow terraced houses built either side of the canal network; winding, cobbled streets; great cafes and restaurants; and bikes everywhere.

It's also only a short train ride away from Amsterdam, with the trains running all night.

There are a few Netherlands-based Loungers, so you'd have something in common with at least some of the locals. If you can change the thread header to show that you'll be in Utrecht they'll be more likely to spot the thread, and can offer much more insider information.

Good luck with the studies.

Wow, thank you all for the interesting comments and advice!

I'll definitely bring some mac n' cheese with me. Do they not have any over there? I'll die! However, the chocolate and candies are way better in Europe so I'll probably be too busy stuffing my face to be worrying about the lack of mac n' cheese.

I'm a little shy, but hopefully making friends won't be TOO tough. It's an international school, so I'm assuming most of us will be in a similar boat. There's going to be a surprisingly small amount of North Americans over at the school though, which is both exciting and scary at the same time. I just hope I can break through my shyness enough to make some good friends.

Keep the stories coming!

Oh, and Salv, I don't think I can edit the title of the thread (I couldn't figure it out at least), but hopefully some of them see this thread. Too bad the blues festival is no longer running, that sounds like it would have been lots of fun!

Studying abroad is an amazing experience. I was in England for 9 months just last year (Sept 06 to June 07). I didn't come back to the U.S. at all, although I had a few friends study abroad that I met up with during the year. I find it incredibly difficult to sum up the year and come up with some sort of conclusion about it. There is one thing though that I'm sure of, and it is that I have absolutely no regrets about going.

At the beginning I found it extremely easy to make friends with others studying abroad at the uni I went to. My only problem was that most of the friends I made were only studying abroad for a semester, so when their semester was over I lost all the friends I'd made. You shouldn't have that problem though.

Where will you be living? I ended up in a dorm with freshman, which I found kind of hard since they seemed so young, so green about everything. I did become friends with my neighbor though, who was an older exchange student from Finland. Making friends with students from other countries is probably one of the best things to do if you can. My best experiences meeting people from different places happened in hostels when I traveled. I'm not sure how close Utrecht is to an airport, but if you're able to take advantage of low airfares, (ryanair.com, easyjet.com) do it! I think most of my favorite moments last year happened while I was traveling. Don't be afraid of traveling alone either (using common sense of course). One of my favorite trips I took last year was a weekend alone in Berlin, and I had no problems wandering around by myself. I feel like I noticed more things on the trips I took alone, although it is nice to have someone with you to reminsice with later. I pretty much traveled until I was broke last year.

The worst part about food is finding favorites in the country you study abroad in, and then coming back home and not being able to find whatever it is in the grocery store. (Nutragrain ginger elevenses, I miss you!)

I don't know anyone who's gone to Utrecht, but a lot of my friends have studied abroad through EAP (which I'm assuming is what you're going through, being at UCLA and going to Utrecht). None of them have had any problems with academics that I'm aware of. EAP seems pretty considerate about translating grades from the country you study in, to American style grades. So don't get too stressed about that if you can help it!

pigeon toe said:

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Oh, and Salv, I don't think I can edit the title of the thread (I couldn't figure it out at least), but hopefully some of them see this thread. Too bad the blues festival is no longer running, that sounds like it would have been lots of fun!

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Can you still see the Edit button after your first post in the thread? If so I think clicking on that will allow you to change the title.

O/T, but the blues festival was incredible. The city council subsidised it very heavily, so tickets were very cheap - I think I paid between £15 and £20 / $30-$40 - and the council paid for all the musicians to fly in from the US. It started at about 3pm and finished at about 3am next morning, with acts playing in the main auditorium, and in a smaller room upstairs. The last one was 2004 and the lineup, a superb mix of blues, soul and R&R, was as follows:

Willie Walker with the Butanes
Laura Lee
Earl Gilliam with his band from Houston
Joe Houston with the Blues Farm Band
Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots with special guest Lazy Lester
Tommy Brown & The Bonedog Allstars
Johnny Drummer & The Starlighters
Ellis Hooks
The White Cloud Hunters, a bunch of Mardi Gras Indians
Sonny Burgess
Charles Hayes, The Delta Blues Hog
Phillip Walker and his band
Eddie Bo with George Porter
Roy Lee Johnson
Warren Storm with The Sunset Travelers

One main suggestion.....

I live and teach abroad right now and my advice is to BE CONFIDENT! Remember, you attend a top shelf university now and shouldn't be intimidated because of the exotic environment surrounding the top shelf university there. Also remember that there are plenty of idiots there just as there are plenty of idiots at UCLA or ANY other university.....I VERY sincerely doubt, from what I have read here, that you are one of them. Even if you are, hell some idiots go on to get Ph.D.s. so don't worry In my experience the main difference between an honors program and the standard track at a university is to be found in the dedication of the students, NOT NOT NOT their intellect. Have fun!

JMHO,

eightbore

Pigeon toe, how awesome for you! I spent a semester in London when I was 19, and liked it so much I came back to England for my MA program two years ago...then stuck around for my PhD...hee.

It looks like everyone else has already given really good advice, but I just wanted to chime in with a weird reassuring note, in case you're anything like me--I'm a horrific traveller, I get totally freaked out and nervous before any sort of moving-house-type change, and both times I came to the UK I spent my first day or so absolutely convinced I was going to be miserable and have no friends and go home in ignomious defeat. And both times it's ended up being fantastic. So I just wanted to say don't feel like you have to be deliriously happy immediately--I have lots of totally laidback globetrotting friends, and I think I can psyche myself out sometimes going "oh, god, I'm not overjoyed by this lower water pressure, I'M A FAILURE AS A WORLD CITIZEN," when really I needed to just shrug my shoulders and give myself time to adjust.

Of course, if you're not as neurotic a person as I am, more power to you.

I have a friend who just graduated from UCU. I visited him there once and I remember it being a nice school in a great city.

I spent a year studying in Freiburg, Germany. It took me about a month before I could function around town without any language problems, and one semester I no longer felt any language barrier in my courses. You shouldn't have this problem - it's difficult to find anyone in Holland who doesn't speak English, and I believe all the classes at UCU are taught in English as well.

Studying at a German university was difficult. Students are expected to take far greater responsibility for their own learning than in the USA. The advantage of that is far greater freedom, from course selection to how you spend your time. There's nothing in the way of busywork, weekly quizzes, progress reports, and other nonsense. I was able to do a lot of traveling, and it was easy to study on the train, too.

It was a wonderful experience for me. I wish I could have done all my undergraduate work there. My language skills, scholarship, and confidence all improved tremendously. I spent a week backpacking in Switzerland over New Year's. I took a class on Chinese, taught in German. I made good friends and I felt very welcome.

As an aside, I don't recommend living in the building called (I think) "The Wall." It's an interesting structure, and good at its primary task, but livability suffers.

pigeon toe said:

Have any of you had any experiences studying or living in another country? What were the highlights and the lowlights? Any tips? I'd love to hear some stories!

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I didn't study abroad per se, but I spent a summer in Israel on an archaeological dig (Tel Dor through UC Berkeley, U of Washington, Hebrew U of Jerusalem and Haifa U).

I found that i immediately bonded, despite being a bit of a loner, with any other foreign nationals. I spend a day wandering the Mount of Olives with a young Polish seminarian (speaking for the most part in Latin- he didn't speak any English, nor I Polish, but Latin worked well), for example. All of us Amerikanim got along quite well too. So, I wouldn't worry too much about not making friends. Do you speak any Dutch or German? Even a little bit (or even French) will help a lot, though I suspect more people speak English there than in Israel.

Never panic, and take things easy. Always carry your passport, always carry it in a pocket under your clothing, along with some spare cash and any credit cards.

Academics-wise, I can't say. You should be fine, though, with hard work and diligence.

I second basically everything everyone else has said. Also: never be afraid to ask questions.

I'm about as socially-anxious as they come. Yet I went to Moscow for a semester through EAP and it was the best semester of my four years. The only hard part is making the decision to go. The rest just happens.

I heard schooling in the Netherlands was very easy academically compared to UC standards. A friend of mine spent a semester there.

I studied a broad...

...and got smacked.

Seriously, It's normal to be nervous. I'd be stunned if you didn't really enjoy yourself. You're going to Europe girl, not Devil's Island.