Wooh, last week was definitely one of the most intensive and hectic ones ever. I wanted to attend as many events as possible, just to meet new people and have fun. We had introduction week program from the uni, and also an introduction weekend organized by ESN. Before the last party on Saturday (which was like the 6th party of the week), it seemed like everyone was in some kind of coma ready to fall asleep, but we got ourselves together and had a really cool party on the boat around the river IJ, which was a really nice ending for the whole week.
Last Monday and Tuesday day time was reserved for taking care of practical matters, such as registering for municipality, getting your student card, opening a dutch bank account etc. It was really good to have that time reserved for those things, cause even though we were able to arrange many things in advance before arriving here, there were still many things to be taken care of and of course everything doesn't always go like planned and ends up taking more time in the end.
GETTING A BIKE
One thing that I was happy to have arranged before coming here is my bike. Already on the first days we had to make all kinds of small trips, to the grocery store or the uni campus, so having a bike really made that easier. Also cheaper, because with the public transport card here you pay separately for every single trip, and yesterday I found out that as a foreign student I can't have student discount on my card unless I receive the dutch student finance. So for a foreign student, bike is a really useful form of transportation. I ordered mine before arriving through a company called BikeBoys, which our uni had advertised, and I made an appointment for picking up my bike on the Friday when I moved in. I could test different bikes and pick a suitable one, and that was it. There are many markets and people who sell bikes around Amsterdam, but I felt like it was much easier to just go and pick it up after arriving, instead of trying to find time to go and look for one.
ACCOMMODATION
Also one thing that I think is really helpful to arrange in advance, is accommodation for your exchange. The first week is so busy and you are surrounded by all kinds of new things and people, so adding an apartment search on top of all that sounds waaay too stressful for me :D I got my apartment through a student housing company called DUWO, and I live on a campus in an apartment building unit with 13 other international students, sharing the kitchen with them and having my own room and bathroom. Living with so many people is really different compared to living in a studio apartment in Helsinki, but I think it's the best way to get to know new people and have some kind of group to belong to. Also I got really lucky with my room mates, so I'm happy with my housing choice even though the building and room itself were quite messy and disgusting at the time of arrival. But I'll write a separate post about that and the whole accommodation thing at some point!
Tomorrow I'll have my first lectures here. My feelings consist of strong excitement and slight concern, since I think studying here will be more stressful than in Finland, because the grading system and way of teaching are both quite different compared to Finnish universities. But I'm really happy to get some kind of structure and obligations in my life (for sure I'm going to regret saying that), after these two weeks full of events and derping around.
Writing a blog after a long time and about a certain topic feels surprisingly difficult, so if there is something that you would really want to read about, please leave a comment! :)
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