Hello! I am writing this blog today because I have just completed my first weeks studying abroad at HZ! For those of you that don’t know, the first 8 weeks are called a quarter, so I have done the first quarter of my study abroad.
I must be honest…the time really flew by! It is hard to believe that it has already been eight weeks. At the beginning when I first started, I was terrified for many reasons: I didn’t think I would find many friends if any, I thought studying at university level would be extremely difficult, I thought I would be bored most of the time and I thought I would suffer from home sickness. It is now safe to say that all those fears were in my head. I had nothing to worry about.
New international friends
I personally believe that HZ University of Applied Sciences has some of the nicest people I have ever met in my entire life. I found it very easy to make friends in the short period of 8 weeks. I have become quite close with some of those friends. I find it truly amazing that I have made friends from all corners of the world like Tanzania, Colombia, Italy, Germany, Venezuela, Greece and Dutch.
The new friends I made during the first weeks of my first year studying abroad
Start with a basic level
As for the work, it is not that difficult! Everything started at a very basic level and the lecturers explain things in detail.
Settled down in Vlissingen
And finally, homesickness. I won’t lie. I do miss my family and my hometown, but Vlissingen has become my new hometown and my friends have become my new family. I feel very comfortable and happy here and whenever I have any problems or concerns I just talk to my friends about it or go to a member of staff from the HZ. So, as you can tell, it is quite easy to settle down in Vlissingen and it has the potential to become your new (and maybe even better) home!
HZ-staff member Florence (right) and me
Thank you for reading my blog and if you have any questions about life in Vlissingen or the Chemistry programme at HZ you can send me an email!
