Studying in Switzerland!

Since they were looking for an Erasmus student who wanted to write for the weblog, I decided to be creative, because I love writing. As an Erasmus student I advise you to go abroad! I will tell you my story, why I decided to come to Switzerland and why I love it…

I am from the Netherlands and the school system is totally different there. For instance: you are 21 when you graduate for your bachelor : in the Netherlands it takes four years instead of three like here, to get your grade. Also, Education at the ‘Hogeschool Rotterdam’ is based on a laissez-faire principle, which means that the teachers are passive and willing to help you with your group exercises when you need it. Of course there are also exams but all the subjects have a lot of practical exercises, even English. For instance with eight students we started our own business for a year. Complete with a company strategy, stockholders and at the end an annual rapport. So everything is on a practical base.
This semester in Switzerland is the last semester that I have to attend classes. After the summer I have a final traineeship for half a year (about 800 hours) where I am going to write my final report (Diplom Arbeit). I will graduate after finishing it.
Motives to study abroad
There are lots of motives to study in a foreign country. I wanted to practise my languages, to take the challenge to live and study abroad (with financial support of Erasmus and the Dutch government) and to attend “normal” classes and do some smaller group courseworks.

But you might wonder why I chose Switzerland…
For me there are lots of reasons to come here, I love the mountains and snowboarding, I wanted to speak English fluently and to practise my German and I also find the culture very interesting. Swiss people have a good reputation abroad and coming here is the best way to analyse it on my own. And you know?! It isn’t too bad
While almost all English courses are given on Tuesday, I also attend some German classes, so that is a good opportunity to get my German up to a higher level. And also the Swiss German is a great challenge, I already met lots of Swiss people here and they find it cool when I am able to understand it. And to be honest, I prefer Schweizerdütsch
Marije's street, in Holland
In the Netherlands I live on the outskirts of Rotterdam, in a small village called Bleskensgraaf, so this is also my first experience of living in a ‘city’. More and more I’m getting to love Winterthur, the parks and of course the forest. My parents visited me last weekend and I warned them that there was a possibility that I want to stay here, even though I was just joking.
After this semester
After this summer I have to do a traineeship and after that I already have an international job for half a year. It is a great opportunity to practise my languages again, which is a big advantage. If you are considering studying abroad but you think one semester is too long I only can give you one piece of advice: GO!!! The time flies, you have so many new things to discover and new people to meet that your weeks are passing at an amazingly high speed. Every week or two, we organise a trip so we can discover Switzerland. It might be the last time that I live here for such a long time but I’ll definitely come back next year for a snowboard trip of two weeks in Emmetten (which lies between Andermatt and Luzern).