Bayes Abroad

A blog by Exchange Students

Month: January 2018

Start Your Life in Rotterdam

23rd January 2018 / / 0 Comments

Exchanges are all about making new friends, learning a new language and setting in a new culture. They are a fantastic opportunity that you get to experience once in your life. But how do you start well on your exchange? How do you get to meet people when you don’t know anyone? The answer is: go to freshers week! Freshers week are an easy way to get acquainted with the city, your fellow students (and potential future friends) and student life. So what are the options in Rotterdam? Which one should you choose?

N.B: If you are coming to Rotterdam on the second half of the year, don’t be afraid: ESN hosts two fresher’s week, one in Summer one in Winter!

 

Eureka Week

Participation is not mandatory, but it is highly recommended.

Eurekaweek is the official introduction week of the Erasmus University Rotterdam. It lasts a grand total of 4 days with diverse activities such as a touring the city, parties and getting acquainted with all the student associations. As a participant, you will be placed in a group with about 12-15 other students from the same study. Two guides, senior students from your study program, will guide you during this week and show you Rotterdam. The Eurekaweek is meant for everyone who is going to study at the Erasmus University. The participants can be prospective Bachelor, Pre-Master or Master students.

Watch the Eureka week 2017 Aftermovie : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD2MROx0SZM

More than 3.200 new students will take part in the Eurekaweek, it is an unforgettable experience, but what are the actual insights?

 

 

Fee: 

The fee includes access to the entire programme, breakfast, lunch and dinner on each day. The costs for the Eurekaweek 2017 were:

€ 65.00-   (excluding an overnight accommodation on the campus)

€ 85.00-   (including an overnight accommodation on the campus)

 

pros:

  • Motivation: Everyone is highly motivated, Eureka Week is the first event of the university year, everyone is new and excited to meet people.
  • Tailored groups: When you sign up you choose which bachelor/masters program you are from, this will result in groups tailored to your own program, ensuring you are not completely alone when going to class for the first time and will see them more often.
  • Stay overnight: If you haven’t got an accommodation, you can stay overnight on campus. It is not ultimate comfort but it is an easy solution.
  • One stop shop: Every year, the International Office EUR organises a One Stop Shop during Eurekaweek, where you will be able to take care of practical matters such as registering to the City Hall, setting up a bank account or an insurance. It is also possible to do the one stop-shop later.
  • Student Associations: You will get to meet all the student associations, including the study association, sports, student fraternities, international organisations and more

 

cons: 

  • The Food: The included breakfasts and lunches consist of pieces of bread on which you can put cheese, marmalade or chocolate with occasional fruits to accompany it all.
  • Average Age: If you are on a bachelor exchange, you will most definitely be with first years who will mostly be 18. It can be an issue for some to be with people from a different age.
  • Drinks aren’t included: During the beer cantus or other parties you will have to purchase your own drinks.
  • Pay with your wristband: You will have to put money on your wristband and then pay with them which can be very impractical and lead you to loose money.

 

ESN days

Participation is not mandatory, but it is highly recommended.

Every semester, ESN Rotterdam organises greatly appreciated introduction days for international students. This event will be THREE days filled with great activities to make you familiar with Rotterdam and its amazing student life. Once again, you will be placed in groups of 12-15 with international students and one guide. They will ensure you get to know the best places in the city, and you will have the opportunity to meet a lot of the other international students in Rotterdam. This event is meant for everyone who is going to study at the Erasmus University. The participants can be prospective Bachelor, Pre-Master or Master students.

Watch the ESN Intro Days 2017 Aftermovie : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4x7MMTBKBU&feature=youtu.be

 

 

 

Fee:

The fee includes access to the entire programme, lunch and diner on each day. The costs for the ESN intro-days 2017 were:

€ 65.00.-   Summer Edition

€ 69.00.-   Winter Edition

 

pros

  • Food: The food will be of higher quality than Eurekaweek, even including all you can eat pancakes on a boat tour.
  • Activities: Even if the activities are slightly the same, some are definitely better at ESN days such as the pancake boat, Beer tasting and the City Tour.
  • Drinks are included: During the Beer Cantus and the Beer tasting you will not have to pay anything for your drinks. You will also get tokens to get free drinks at every party.
  • Free ESN card: You get an ESN card for free once you finished your intro-days which can be practical for multiple types of discounts which can be found on ‘’ https://esncard.org’’.
  • Meeting Internationals: the participants of ESN days are mostly all internationals and exchange students which can help meet people who would like to travel with you.
  • Average Age: The participants are mostly all doing an exchange or Master which leads to a significantly older crowd.

 

cons

  • Demotivation: As ESN days come after Eurekaweek some participants will participate to both and will find themselves exhausted and having done similar activities. Thus skipping some of them.
  • Non Tailored Groups: The groups which you’ll get during ESN will not be tailored to your course, this means it will be significantly harder to run into them at university at first.

 

In the end, whichever event you choose doesn’t matter, the most important is the people you’ll meet there and to enjoy your time.

 

American Sports in College

10th January 2018 / / 0 Comments

Collegiate sports in America is taken very seriously and is one of the ways in which students are able to attend the institutions they want as well as play the sports they love. I’ve been to a few sports games since I arrived and I can say I absolutely love the school spirit and the vibe surrounding the sports teams at UMD. Being a sports fanatic, one of the things on my list of things to do is to attend as many sports events as possible.  One major difference is the popularity of sports at the college level which I feel in the UK is not taken as seriously as professional sports. Being in the US has been an adjustment but I’ve decided to go with the flow by learning the vernacular they use.  Football to me much like the rest of the world is referred to as “soccer” and “American football” is simply just football.

I’ve also been to the multiple basketball, football and soccer games. One thing I can say is that my university spends a lot of money on collegiate sports and make sure that as students the experience is worthwhile. The best thing thought is that all school sports events are FREE for STUDENTS!!!The families in College Park and surrounding areas come out to watch the games. They tailgate football games which basically means hanging outside of the football stadium, drink beverages and grill food. We get free goodies too!!! I think I am on track to starting a t-shirt collection. One of my favorites so far is one I got at the first home football game which was a shirt for senior and on it was the Michael Jordan crying meme but his face was replaced with our school mascot, Testudo.

 

These are some of the pictures I took at sports events.

 

Soccer games with the men’s soccer team being one of the best in the NCAA

 

    

Basketball and Football games

 

I hope to attend more sports events in the Spring semester too.

 

G

Arrivederci Milano!

9th January 2018 / / 0 Comments

My flight home from Milan back at the end of December gave me time to reflect on my exciting experience in Italy and the opportunities that came with studying at Bocconi. The time I spent abroad not only allowed me to learn a lot about myself but also, enabled me to experience the Italian culture first-hand. Meeting so many people from many different countries was very exciting as I got to learn about their cultures. Now I have friends in so many countries that I can visit and who I can’t wait to visit me.

Studying abroad helped me build my own confidence and knowledge especially at Bocconi which is an incredible university. It is clear to see that this university is one of the best in Europe and the best in Italy as the faculty are very helpful and are open to help with any queries and the students are very ambitious which motivates you. I found most of my modules fun and easy to understand however, as Bocconi specialise in Economics, my financial macroeconomics was harder than the others. However, my professor was always available to help out and make sure I understand everything. It is important to be aware of the module breakup as you can choose to be non-attending which means your final grade is down to only one exam (100%) however, I did for one of my modules and didn’t find it difficult as my professor always contacted me to ensure I was understanding everything.

I stayed at the Isonzo residence which is one of the newer housing spaces at Bocconi so it was very clean and modern. It was only a 15 minute walk from campus, in a safe location and mainly Italian students. Although, living with Italians helped me gain a better understanding of the language and culture. There is very good security so I always felt safe and even a cleaning service which was very useful. Most of the people I spoke to found it hard to get the Bocconi accommodation so had to find their own apartments which was not hard and they found it fun to live how the Milanese do however, if you do want the university accommodation I recommend to apply early on. Additionally, I did some research into the different halls and found there was one just for exchange students called Arcobaleno however, it was a 20 minute tram ride and was a lot older than some of the other residences. I still had many exchange friends who I had class with and met through the first weeks of activities so enjoyed staying where I did.

There are lots of things to do in Milan including the main sight such as Duomo and Galleria but also many museums and galleries along with many bars and restaurants. The city is known for its ‘happy hour’ and is great for socialising so just ensure you go out to the main activities in the first few weeks to meet many people and then you will be able to plan trips and dinners. However, there is also the exchange group called ESN which is a group of Bocconi students who run trips and events just for exchange students which is a great opportunity to meet many other people. The cost of living in Milan would be similar to London however, the coffee, pasta and pizza is a lot cheaper along with budget-friendly aperitivo where you pay for a drink and eat as much as you want. Navigli is the place to go if you want cheaper drinks and foods with a great view of the canal.

It is easy to transport around Milan as it has the tube, trams and buses at a low cost. I bought a student card at the beginning of term for 3 months which was very useful when travelling around Milan and I used the ATM app to plan routes in advance which has timings and easiest ways to travel the city.

It may seem daunting moving to another country for 4 months to a year on your own, especially when you speak only little of the language. However, Cass are always available to help out and answer any questions. In addition to this, if you are a UK student and are studying abroad in Europe you can receive an Erasmus grant to help fund your experience so you will not be confined or restricted when wanting to travel and eat out. Studying abroad, especially in Milan/Italy, teaches you a lot about yourself and builds your confidence but also, enables you to meet many people from many different countries and allows you experience the culture of the country and you could even be able to learn another language which is extremely useful.

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience in Milan as the four months I spent there was full of amazing times travelling, eating out and having a good time with great friends. I would recommend Bocconi as it lives up to its reputation and is an amazing university with very useful facilities.

https://www.unibocconi.eu/wps/wcm/connect/Bocconi/SitoPubblico_EN/Navigation+Tree/Home/Campus+and+Services/Campus/Bocconi+Campus/Isonzo+Residence

Ciao,

Jasmine 🙂

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