One of the most important aspects of your abroad experience is where you live. As a full year student here in Amsterdam, I have already spent 6 months at my housing location, the Student Experience Minervahaven (SEM), and have a pretty good sense of what it’s like. What follows is my honest, well-informed opinion of SEM.

Room:

It’s hard to leave Amsterdam once you’re there. Simply put, it is one of the best cities in the world. It is uniquely beautiful, easy to get around, an English speaker’s dream, safe and clean yet never dull. However, it is a very international city, and it can be easy to avoid assimilation and negate Dutch culture entirely. If you have no desire to get to know the culture of your host city, so be it. I think this is close-minded and will limit your experience, but to each their own.

For spring break, some of my friends in my program and I went to France and Monaco! 

The first night, we flew into Nice, the larger airport in the area. We went to an incredible Vietnamese restaurant downtown, and walked near the waterfront which was all lit up with restaurants! 

Part of both the Business and Economics of Italian Wine and Food program and the Study in Tuscany program are numerous course-related trips to different areas in Italy. While some trips may not pertain exactly to a course you’re enrolled in, anyone is welcome to attend all of the excursions! 

What I love about writing these blogs is the opportunity to relive the memories

Everyone I knew was either traveling to New Zealand or Tasmania for flex week. Having already been to Tasmania and not wanting to repeat places, and having decided I will come back and do a long, proper New Zealand van trip, I was scrambling for Flex Week plans. With no one to go with and not wanting to stay in Sydney, I looked on Capital One Travel and found a roundtrip flight to Byron Bay for $50. Natürlich, I booked it.