{"id":4749,"date":"2017-08-11T15:00:23","date_gmt":"2017-08-11T05:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/qut-exchange-students\/?p=4749"},"modified":"2017-08-09T15:08:00","modified_gmt":"2017-08-09T05:08:00","slug":"fall-semester-in-amsterdam-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2017\/08\/11\/fall-semester-in-amsterdam-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Fall Semester in Amsterdam City!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Darcy, C.
\nHodgeschool Van Amsterdam (Semester 2, 2016)<\/h1>\n

The reality of living in Amsterdam city is a true as the picturesque photos. It is all bikes in busy lanes, tourists flooding Dam square, tree lined canals, beautiful cobbled streets and beautiful townhouses to match. What\u2019s more, you\u2019ll see coffee houses beside museums,\u00a0reflecting the truly unique culture of Amsterdam and it\u2019s people. Unlike the relaxed culture though, the Dutch are very direct \u2013 kind but direct.<\/p>\n

Living in Amsterdam offers so many options. Not only is it centrally located in Europe, making travelling easy and affordable, but Amsterdam itself is a very small city and very easy to navigate, especially on your bike. It\u2019s perfect for one semester abroad but perhaps too small for two.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I studied at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam (also known as the University of Applied Sciences) studying a Minor in Business of Sports and Entertainment. As part of this minor, my class visited London meeting with Ticketmaster UK. While we were based in the classroom as well, half of our assessment was based on our work with a real world client, developing real initiatives and campaigns for implementation. I would highly recommend enrolling in a Minor course, rather than selecting your own individual classes; as you work with the same people every day, four days a week, you develop very strong friendships within the classroom \u2013 making it very easy to meet people. My class was a mix of half Dutch and half international students. The assessment was relatively easy in comparison to QUT though (which was a welcomed surprise).<\/p>\n

What about living arrangements?<\/p>\n

I lived in a private room at the Fraijlemaborg (Fry-lem-a-borg) student dorms. These dorms were home to 170 other international students across 6 floors and literally <\/em>right next door to the university. All in all, the standard of living was great and much better than I expected. The rooms were quite large and the facilities were ample \u2013 the only downside is that our accommodation was quite far from the city centre which made nights out a tactical mission to ensure you are on the last (or first) train home \u2013 the centre was too far to cycle most nights.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>My favourite Saturday\u2019s were spent at breakfast at CT Coffee & Coconuts and my favourite evenings began at Leed and Webber in Leidesplein and then to the Chicago Social Club in Rembrantplein.<\/p>\n

Amsterdam is such a wonderful city that will show you art, culture & all four seasons in four short months. I was surprised to discover that weather in Holland in very similar to England. Typically in cooler months, its windy, drizzles with rain, and is very overcast. I can say that my stay was mostly sunshine\u2026 lucky me.<\/p>\n

A few Do\u2019s and Don’t\u2019s to living in Amsterdam:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Do buy a bike
    \nIt will save you so much money on public transport and is quintessential to the dutch life. 9makes for a great photo too). You can buy your bike at the second hand flea markets (although the Dutch aren\u2019t fond of these markets whichs ell stolen bikes) or the Amsterdam Bike Marketplace facebook page for cheaper, better and more reliable bikes. Consider investing in two locks, bike theft is notorious (hence the second hand markets) and you\u2019ll want to ensure your bike has gears\u2026 one speed is just too slow for the Dutch.<\/li>\n
  2. Do arrive on time for Orientation week<\/li>\n
  3. It is a week long of socialising \u2013 you\u2019ll meet your semester long friends immediately and kick off your new social life. Miss it and you\u2019re off to a wobbly start as events are significantly less after wards.<\/li>\n
  4. Do learn please and thank you
    \nThank you: Dank je wel (dunk-ya-vell)
    \nPlease: Alstubleift (Alst-oo-bleeft)<\/li>\n
  5. Don\u2019t bother asking \u2018Do you speak English?\u2019
    \nEveryone<\/em> speaks English \u2013 probably better than you. You will more often than not be greeted in English and hear it all around \u2013 it is considered the business language.<\/li>\n
  6. Don\u2019t photograph the ladies of the Red Light District. \u2018Do\u2019 and find out what happens\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Go to Amsterdam.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Darcy, C. Hodgeschool Van Amsterdam (Semester 2, 2016) The reality of living in Amsterdam city is a true as the picturesque photos. It is all bikes in busy lanes, tourists flooding Dam square, tree lined canals, beautiful cobbled streets and beautiful townhouses to match. What\u2019s more, you\u2019ll see coffee houses beside museums,\u00a0reflecting the truly unique<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1513,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1242,207,6256,5246,6155,213,219,450,411,7865,226],"tags":[1242,207,6256,213,219,15977,12042,450],"class_list":{"0":"post-4749","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-accommodation","7":"category-adjusting-to-uni","8":"category-amsterdam","9":"category-europe","10":"category-first-impression","11":"category-friends","12":"category-public-transport","13":"category-student-life","14":"category-study-2","15":"category-tips-for-surviving-uni","16":"category-travel","17":"tag-accommodation","18":"tag-adjusting-to-uni","19":"tag-amsterdam","20":"tag-friends","21":"tag-public-transport","22":"tag-qut-global","23":"tag-qut-student-exchange","24":"tag-student-life"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFall Semester in Amsterdam City! - QUT Gone Global<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2017\/08\/11\/fall-semester-in-amsterdam-city\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fall Semester in Amsterdam City! - QUT Gone Global\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Darcy, C. Hodgeschool Van Amsterdam (Semester 2, 2016) The reality of living in Amsterdam city is a true as the picturesque photos. It is all bikes in busy lanes, tourists flooding Dam square, tree lined canals, beautiful cobbled streets and beautiful townhouses to match. What\u2019s more, you\u2019ll see coffee houses beside museums,\u00a0reflecting the truly unique\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2017\/08\/11\/fall-semester-in-amsterdam-city\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"QUT Gone Global\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-08-11T05:00:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/qut-exchange-students\/files\/2017\/08\/Pic-1-1-1024x768.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Study Abroad and Exchange Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Study Abroad and Exchange Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2017\/08\/11\/fall-semester-in-amsterdam-city\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2017\/08\/11\/fall-semester-in-amsterdam-city\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Study Abroad and Exchange Team\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/#\/schema\/person\/1caadfafc64c36916a92beca156fffa7\"},\"headline\":\"Fall Semester in Amsterdam City!\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-08-11T05:00:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2017\/08\/11\/fall-semester-in-amsterdam-city\/\"},\"wordCount\":686,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2017\/08\/11\/fall-semester-in-amsterdam-city\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/qut-exchange-students\/files\/2017\/08\/Pic-1-1-1024x768.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Accommodation\",\"Adjusting to Uni\",\"Amsterdam\",\"Friends\",\"Public Transport\",\"QUT Global\",\"QUT Student Exchange\",\"Student Life\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Accommodation\",\"Adjusting to Uni\",\"Amsterdam\",\"Europe\",\"First impressions\",\"Friends\",\"Public Transport\",\"Student Life\",\"Study\",\"Tips for surviving uni\",\"Travel\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2017\/08\/11\/fall-semester-in-amsterdam-city\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2017\/08\/11\/fall-semester-in-amsterdam-city\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2017\/08\/11\/fall-semester-in-amsterdam-city\/\",\"name\":\"Fall Semester in Amsterdam City! 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