Manja
My exchange adventure started in September 2007. I choose to do an exchange here in Antwerp because it was close to home and the offered courses looked quite appealing.
I am sharing an apartment with my friend and classmate Rob. Who is the best roommate anyone can ever imagine. We have a large apartment, which is situated near ‘Het Zuid’. It is a quiet neighbourhood near the centre of Antwerp.
I really like living in Antwerp! Cities have always been very attractive for me as a student. What I like most about Antwerp is that it has its special areas. For a tourist you come to the ‘Meir’ and the ‘Groenplaats’, which is very nice at first. However, if you take a closer look to the city you find lots of other places. They are less touristic and you find real inhabitants of Antwerp enjoying their life.
What made the decision to come here more easy, is that Antwerp is a city of fashion. I come from Delft which is a small city in The Netherlands. Shopping has always been one of my favourite things to do. However in my opinion Delft is not very nice to shop. When I make my usual round throughout the city, I can almost never find something to buy. This is really different in Antwerp! I only have to walk down the Meir once and I have my hand full of shopping bags. If I would ever do an exchange, again I will bring a big bag of money with me.
School is quite different than back in Holland. There teachers are quite strict and students show more respect towards them. The biggest difference is that this school is much more organised than back in Holland. Here teachers actually show up on time and lessons continue according to plan. We have a lot of interesting lessons, like: European Media, Public Affairs, Intercultural Communication, Corporate Communication and Multimedia.
The school program is quite different than the one back in Holland. I have had most of the subjects already in year one. If you follow an education at a Hogeschool you find that it only takes three years to get a diploma. In The Netherlands this is four years.
I see Belgians as very nice people who are slightly introvert. They tent to mind their own business a little bit more than Dutch people. The biggest thing to adapt to for me was the Flemish language. Some people have a really strong accent, and although they talk Dutch, it is very hard to understand them. So talking in English was sometimes even the best solution!
So far I have really enjoyed my time here in Belgium. Next think I am going to do is an traineeship. I have not found one yet but I hope to find one in Belgium! I enjoy living in Antwerp and I hope to stay here for a long time!