Universiteit van Amsterdam (UVA)

I had a wonderful time, met bizarre people and was terribly homesick. Americans usually do the all-over-Europe-trip and profit from Amsterdam as a place 'right in the middle of stuff'.

In general, there were no major problems as all Dutch people speak English very well which helped when I did not know how to express myself in Dutch. The bad thing about it was that people could get impatient when you kept trying speaking Dutch while it would have been easier to communicate in English

If you are from somewhere within the European Union, don't bother applying for the expensive residence permit, since nobody will ask you afterwards.

I could say that studying in Amsterdam was one of the most exciting experiences in my life. I would have loved to stay there longer, but my grant did not allow me that. Anyway, I did learn a lot of practical things. Not only about journalism but also about ways of studying, living in Europe, getting in touch with people from everywhere, etc. Obviously, improving your english level is also a main point, and you can achieve it easily because you don't even realise that you are becoming more fluent in this language. It happens just as a natural thing, which is great!

In Amsterdam, everyone speaks english... almost to a fault. I think it is important to learn dutch, that way, one can from real relationships with the local people. In general, I'm more comfortable when i can understand what's going on around me, read the paper and listen to the radio.