Wil je weten of liefde op het eerste gezicht bestaat? Welkom in Nederland! Exchange Report Universiteit van Amsterdam Spring 2017 Ho Wang Lee Activity Log February I arrived at Amsterdam on 1st February. UvA (University of Amsterdam) arranged airport pickup service for exchange students with ISN Amsterdam1. Before we were transported to our individual residence arranged by either DeKey or DUWO, we arrived at Amsterdam University College (situated next to UvA’s Science Park campus) for the Start Appointment. This is where you get detailed information about setting up a Dutch bank account, ISN’s orientation, and your residence permit (if available at that time) from Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Your housing agency also hands you the key for your home. ISN Amsterdam organized a 3-day orientation event. I made most of my friends here. It covered a canal cruise to learn about the history and architectures of Amsterdam, the campuses, places to shop, and Dutch culture. Apart from the orientation, I went to the bike sale organized by ASVA2 and shopped at IKEA with friends I met during orientation. In this month, I spent some time getting used to biking in the city centre because that was where I lived. This was one of the nicest way to explore the city. Also, I travelled to Belgium, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark with another student from HKUST and a friend we met during orientation. We did a lot of travelling together afterwards as well. 1 ISN (International Student Network) is a student group that organizes orientation 2 ASVA is a student group that provides a lot of discounts at a small membership fee. activities during the introduction week, budget student trip (organized by YES-Trips), This includes access to second-hand bikes at reasonable price, discount at Athenaeum and regular gatherings every week at their bars/clubs. Boekhandel (a bookstore near the Roeterseiland Campus, a.k.a. REC), discount for air tickets and performances at Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam. March I also attended an event for economics in Eindhoven and took the time to look around the city (with OV-fiets). March is still cold but the weather is generally fine in the Netherlands. I spent most of the time preparing for my midterms and final exams under the 3-block semester system (this system will be explained later in this report) and some of the time travelling to nearby cities such as Den Haag (The Hague). I also happened to witness the Dutch Royal Family’s welcoming to other nations’ representatives for a big event at Dam Square. April It marked the start of Block 2 of Spring Semester. Also, since April has more public holidays than other months, these meant that I had more time to travel around before working on the midterms and finals. Speaking of public holiday, one of the most important day is Koningsdag (King’s Day) and also the night before (a.k.a. King’s Night) because everyone across the country and also tourists came to have fun. I travelled to Rotterdam and Leiden in the Netherlands; Milan, Venice, Cinque Terre in Italy; and Paris in France3. YES-Trips organized a student trip4 that covered Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava. The trip was generally well thought out and the guides were excellent. 3 Note that your residence permit grants you free access to all museums in France. 4 Their trips do get sold out quickly because they are perfect for budget travelling. May June As I got closer to the end of my adventure in Europe, I decided to spend 13th June marked the end of my stay in Amsterdam because 14th was the even more on travelling around, both in and outside of the Netherlands. end of my tenancy agreement. Before that, I went to Iceland and the Scandinavia again to see what they looked like after the snow retreated. In April, the Dutch says April doet wat hij wil, which literally means “April does whatever it wants”, implying that the weather in April is Moreover, I went to Volendam, Zaanse Schans and Marken by bike from unpredictable. Therefore, May was an excellent time to travel to Lisse Amsterdam. (Technically these places are not in Amsterdam) I also (where Keukenhof is located) to get mesmerized by the tulip fields. covered as many Dutch cities as I could, including Hilversum, Delft, Den However, I didn’t get into Keukenhof, because it was merely a small Helder, Alkmaar, and Gouda. garden. Instead, I biked from Leiden to Lisse. This was much cheaper and you do get to see more. Other than that, I joined another student trip by YES-Trips again, which covered Berlin in an in-depth way. Also, I went to Dublin, Barcelona, Seville, Rome, Florence, and Naples with my friends. General Information Visa Procedures design (single room with shared bathroom and toilet with another flat mate) is perfect for making new friends. If you are on exchange to UvA in Don’t worry about visa at all. UvA’s system ensures that the process is as Spring, your tenancy agreement at PHK and PG might be shorter than smooth as possible. You will receive emails about the instructions. Just other places because these places are usually reserved by UvA keep in mind that you should check your email account regularly after exclusively for their summer exchange programme. the process has started because they might require you to mail them the Bear in mind that you need to pay a registration fee, deposit and first documents needed, including insurance and financial proofs by post. month’s rental upfront to secure a tenancy contract. Every month, you When in doubt, don’t hesitate to ask for clarifications from the university will receive a payment request from your housing agency that you can and the Dutch embassy in Hong Kong. pay with your Dutch bank account through iDeal, the central online banking system in the Netherlands that you can even use to transfer money to your friends to split to bill conveniently. Orientation Activities ISN Introduction Week is jointly organized by UvA and ISN Amsterdam. You will receive information on payment and how to participate in the Course Registration programme once your student status at UvA is confirmed. It costs Course registration can be completed through their student information around EUR 60 as of my year. system. Please note that you might be allowed to take courses outside of Make sure you make friends there and take part in their gatherings. School of Business and Economics, but you should look up for the relevant courses and submit your request to either the respective department or your exchange advisor at UvA before course registration period. This ensures that they have enough time to grant approval for Accommodation you and you will have greater odds at registering the courses successfully when competing for quotas. UvA is not directly responsible for your accommodation. However, they leave the work to their housing agency partners, i.e. DeKey and DUWO. You will have to enter your preference on price, location and type of room. These agencies will do the job of matchmaking. Make sure you 3-Block Semester System check your email frequently because flats with good location and price do get taken quickly. Though don’t worry about that too much. I highly Each semester is comprised of 3 blocks. Most students only take courses recommend stay at Centrum if you would like to experience the most in the first 2 blocks because these are when most courses are held. The rd out of your stay. Prinsengracht (PG) and Prins Hendrikkade (PHK) are first 2 blocks are 2-month long and the 3 one is 1-month long. One very close to the center of Amsterdam, with Prinsengracht being the block represents a “small semester” so you get through midterms and location of a lot of festivities. It is not expensive and their shared flat finals in 2 months in a regular block. Health and Safety dinners. Your wallet will thank you for that. Groceries at supermarket is very affordable and a lot of products are cheaper than what you get in Once you arrive Amsterdam, you will have to make an appointment with Hong Kong. Action, Aldi and Jumbo are places where you get cheaper Amsterdam Gemeente (Municipal Government of Amsterdam) during products than the largest chain in Amsterdam, Albert Heijn. However, in the Start Appointment for a Tuberculosis screening. When you general you will never break your bank by cooking. experience illness, visit general practitioners nearby or go to one of the For Asian groceries, you can go to branches of Amazing Oriental. They hospitals when it is more serious. AMC is a research hospital under UvA are usually not far away and things are sold at a reasonable price. Of and it is one of the largest hospital that operates all year round. There is course, feel free to look for other stores for Asian groceries nearby but I also a hospital at the city centre that opens at normal office hours. found Amazing Oriental had the greatest variety of products at the Amsterdam is generally safe, but bike theft is an issue so lock your bike lowest price around. always. If you have a bike storage room at your building, use it. Kitchenware can be bought from HEMA (they have stores everywhere) As you might be aware, the Netherlands is an open-minded country, and IKEA at Amsterdam-Zuidoost (Amsterdam Southeast) which is quite especially when it comes to regulating drugs. Marijuana is legally far away from Centrum.