Erasmus experience in Wageningen, Holland: My experience and advice

My experience:

It all starts the moment you decide to do an Erasmus year abroad, when you decide which countries you'd like to go to based on the language spoken there, the level of the University and the subjects available to study there, the climate and - why lie about it - the social life. You send off the papers (what sees like millions of papers) and depending on your academic record and other merits, they'll assign you a place in a university - whether it's a destination you wanted or not. I was sent to: < strong>Wageningen, Holland.

Once the process of being allocated a placement is over, that's when you enter Mordor a dark place people have told you about but you thought it was an exaggeration. You didn't think there could possibly be as much paperwork and as many headaches as you'd been led to believe! Well my friend, visiting your mobility Coordinator more than usual, sending messages at all hours of the day to see how you can validate a subject or to check you don't have any clashes in your timetable is a sign you've entered Mordor. There are times when you rue the day you decided to do Erasmus year abroad. But everything ends eventually. Paperwork is no exception. Sooner or (more probably) later, it comes to an end.

There we go! The study agreement is finally complete! But now it's time to look for accommodation. Where am I going to live? What do I do about bank accounts and my phone? I can't live without the internet and whatssapp! Ahh it never ends!

When you finally have everything finished and organised, you get your plane ticket and spend the whole summer impatiently waiting to see what the new year will be like. You'll be desperate to fly over to your new city as soon as possible and get to know the world. You start saying your goodbyes too and of course... packing your bags! What should I take with me? Will it be very cold? Do I need this? Am I gunna travel like a hippie?

The moment arrives when you have to get on the plane, with two suitcases (at least) but you're so eager to leave that you could pull ten more. When you get on the plane and sit in your seat you nervously start imagining your new year and looking at all the passengers on the plane thinking, "is he Dutch?" They're so blond and tall and their eyes are so blue. The flight lasts an eternity, but suddenly you arrive. You've arrived! You're in Amsterdam Schiphol, waiting for the train to Wageningen.

And now, the adventure begins:

You get to your apartment and dump your stuff in your room. You get to know your housemates and the people living around you. There's more paperwork, don't forget: Erasmus is not just about parties, it's also about paperwork. You head out to look around the university. You go crazy looking for a bike. You've already been told that you can buy a lot of things second-hand in Holland and so you'll easily find a cheap bike. But alas, they didn't know what they were on about! You end up getting ripped off and buy one for an arm and a leg. This happens to everyone, right?

Classes begin and you're amazed by the University, how big it is and how technological everything is, the level, the students (the suede loafers, the hair gel and that golden shade of hair that never fails to amaze you) and the language: if you know what it sounds like then I'm sure you've thought this too, but it seems as if they're going to spit at you when they speak, but there you go... lekker!

You want to meet people, especially international people. But you always end up making friends with people from your own country.

You form your group of friends and during the week ESN organises various activities such as pubquiz, weekly drinks, international kitchens...

On Thursdays, every Thursday without doubt, < strong>you're obligated to go out and drink beer< / strong> (Gladiator). How can you miss nights out in KSV or SSR?

On weekends you'll visit the country and from time to time you'll travel to other countries, especially when your parents have just given you some money.

Getting to know other cultures opens your mind. You're curious to learn about their customs, their way of life, the character of different nationalities. You end up discovering that people in the southern countries are similar, friendly and welcoming, while northern countries tend to be colder and more distant, but more polite and happy to help you.

Wageningen is a special place , you wouldn't think you'd find so many nationalities in such a small town. From China (there are Chinese people everywhere) to Brazil, even from countries you didn't even know existed. And even though it's small, it's charming. Surrounded by fields and trees (green, I love green), really cute little houses, old people riding their bikes (pedaling even faster than young people and always with a smile on their face). It's a quiet city but at the same time it has a lot of things to do for students.

The Netherlands is full of bikes, cheese, Mills, wooden shoes, water, rain (but it's a beautiful rain so you don't care about your hair, the clothes you wear, or if you're soaking wet from head to toe), green landscapes, cows, and giant hydraulic dams. The Dutch are usually very nice, but they can be cold and distant. They are very efficient, and this is reflected in how well the country works.

As the year goes by, you realise how wonderful your time there has been, and how many people you've met. Some will stick with you throughout the year, some won't, but there's no doubt each one will teach you something. Parties, trips, days in the library (Erasmus students study too), bike tours, music festivals (especially electronic music: DJ's), international dinners...

But the end of the year is fast approaching, and you realise that you have to savour every minute. A lot of your friends are leaving soon. Exams and dissertations are over. You look back and remember everything you've done since the moment you arrived, the experiences that have changed your life, the unexpected trips, the people who shared these moments with you. We're different people from when we arrived. Erasmus leaves life-long imprints on your heart.

I will always remember when I was saying goodbye to a friend and she said: "Oh damn it, you Erasmus people are always the same. It's always so sad when you leave! And it's true. That first day you arrived in your destination city, there was a smile on your face. But when you leave, it's time to say goodbye to the people, the place, to everything you experienced. When you gather up your things and pack your suitcases, a feeling of emptiness comes over you. On the plane you start to remember everything, from the first day to the last, the people you've met, how you've changed. But now it's all over. Your Erasmus is over, and the paperwork says so, but we Erasmus know that in reality this story never ends. Once you start you can't stop it, you'll never be on an Erasmus year again, but you'll always be Erasmus.

As the famous phrase goes: Once Erasmus, always Erasmus.

An Erasmus student experiences everything imaginable. From sad moments to happy moments. but what makes an Erasmus student special, and those who are Erasmus will know, are the people you experience Erasmus with, those moments. Where you are doesn't matter, it's the people that count.

Now, after a few months of having experienced one of the best times of our lives, I longingly look back on my year in Wageningen, missing every minute, but glad to have had that opportunity, to have known such a special place, and such wonderful people.

Wageningen tips:

Wageningen is a very good Erasmus destination . It's a university which is internationally reknowned, especially for its agriculture, environment, biotechnology and food technology degrees. It's not a city like those in Italy or Poland where you hardly study and go out partying a lot. Wageningen is like a small town, it's essentially a university city. It's lovely.

It has several supermarkets, some shops and cafés in the city center. It's surrounded by fields, forests and farms, so the landscape is beautiful. You can take your bike and go for a walk there. They also have a lot of things for students to do. The association ESN especially organises excursions, dinners and activities for international students. There's another association called ISOW which organises afternoon courses and Weekend Activities.

You'll find all kinds of nationalities, people from Vietnam to Ecuador. It's very enriching to learn about other cultures. Honestly, Wageningen stands out for the amount of different nationalities there are.

On the subject of accommodation, I recommend the company "Idealis" as it's an organisation dedicated to hosting students in its various residences and flats. They sort everything out for you very nicely.

In terms of the University, mobility coordinators are very friendly and professional, as are the teachers. The class level is hard, but you can choose from a lot of interesting subjects. If you study you won't have any problems. Besides, they have 6 semesters. During each semester you only study one or two subjects which helps you to focus. Classes end at 17:15 or earlier (depending on the subjects you choose), so you have plenty of free time. If you're doing your graduate dissertation, the facilities are generally really good and the tutors are very helpful and attentive to the students. Classes are all run in English (bachelor's and master's) except for first year bachelor classes which are run in Dutch. The University organises Dutch courses for those who want to learn, but these are very difficult.

The Dutch usually have lunch and dinner very early. Lunch is eaten around 12:30pmand dinner at about the 18:00pm. Obviously this is totally up to you, you can choose to eat at these times or not. For a Spaniard, getting used to these times was a little difficult at first.

The Dutch are very generally nice but they can be a little cold, especially when you first meet them. But they relax as you get to know each other more. And there are so many international students that you make friends straight away.

In terms of nightlife, it's good. The dutch organise a lot of parties, especially on Thursdays in KSV, Ceres, SSR... Highly recommended. At the weekends there're usually some parties going on that are organised by international people.

For those who like electronic music, Holland is the right place to go to festivals of this genre. There are lots of festivals all year round with very famous DJs. These festivals carry a very reasonable price tag which you just wouldn't get in Spain.

I recommend going to the solid introduction week AID where you meet lots of people and get shown the University and the city by the Dutch tutors. It's < strong>this week is the part of the year with the most parties and activities.

Weekends are a little quiet, but take time to visit the beautiful country by train. There are offers on train tickets on the website: 9292.nl. In addition, this page tells you all the change-overs you have to take to go from one place to another. The OV-chipkaart transport card is essential. In the Netherlands you have to check-in and check-out when taking public transport. If you don't, they charge you more!

On Wednesday and Saturday mornings they hold a market in the town Square where you can find very reasonably priced food (fruit and vegetables), among other things. In addition, there's a second hand shop by the centre too where you can find some real bargains!

There's a page on facebook called "Wageningen student plaza" where you can find accommodation and second hand things: bikes, furniture, books.... Students publish things here.

In terms of mobiles and internet, you can get a lebara card in Wageningen which is a free card that you can add credit to. It's the cheapest option.

Due to the rain and cold, it's important you take anoraks, waterproof clothing (which you can buy there) and warm clothes such as hats and gloves with you. It's very cold!

I hope this is useful for anyone who has chosen this destination, and that you have a great time!