1. Your study programme or your internship programme
During my period abroad I studied at Northern Arizona University. This choice was quite easily made when I saw the options to apply for. As I study American Studies at the University of Groningen it was obvious that I was going to do my minor at one of the host universities in the United States. The reason that my choice was Northern Arizona University was because the nature surrounding the campus really spoke to me and it seemed like friendly environment to spend my semester. I chose several courses to follow that, more or less, fitted in my program here in Groningen, but overall we were free to choose courses that would fit in your own range of interests.
2. Language
Language was not any problem for me as the speaking language was English and I can read, write, and speak it fluently. In High School I did a bilingual program, meaning that half of my courses were in English. Besides, my entire studies here at the University of Groningen is taught in English as well.
3. Finance and other conditions
Finance was the part that, for me, needed the most thought and planning. Before I decided to that I wanted to study abroad for a semester, I knew that it was going to be expensive. That expensive, actually, that it kept quite some people from going and experiencing what I now see as the most amazing half year of my life. Before I even got to the United States, there were already a lot of costs prior. Before I could apply for my visa, a TOEFL test was required to take in order to prove that your level of English is sufficient. This, first of all, I found ridiculous as I already had enough certificates to prove that I can speak, read, and write English at a sufficiently high level. However, this was not enough and a TOEFL certificate was necessary, which costs me 200 euros already. After this, there were the costs of applying for a visa, etc., the standard costs obviously. Right before I left to the United States, I had to pay money for fees to Northern Arizona University. This set me back quite a lot over a 1000 dollars already, since we had to pay for a health insurance there, while I already had my health insurance from here that would also cover the United States, but it had to be paid nonetheless.
Then during my stay in the United States I realized that for many people actually studying at Northern Arizona University for a longer period of time, it is hard to have the finance for it.
Housing almost cost double what I pay here in Groningen, and you often have to share that room with a roommate as well. Beside living, living of a foodplan is quite normal to do. Still, this foodplan obviously cost a lot more than the average amount of money for grocery
shopping in the Netherlands. So all in all, I could manage because I had been preparing for it for a long time and I knew, for most costs, what it was going to cost, but I can understand that for a lot of other people it is not possible to get that money in a shorter amount of time. The Marco Polo Grant that we got/get was obviously helpful, but it only financed my plane ticket to the United States, it was already long gone after that.
4. Preparation and contacts with faculty before, during, and after your stay
I actually found that contact with the faculty before I went to Northern Arizona University was a big rough. At the time I remember I was told that there was some people that called in sick with the Mobility Office, meaning that I got to hear I was going to Northern Arizona University pretty late. This meant that I was late with signing up to the International Housing as well, so I had to be placed somewhere else since it was already full at that point. Other than that, there were not a lot of other complications and contact during and after has been also quite fluently.
5. Housing
As I mentioned in the part above, I could not live in the International House from the start. I was sharing a bloc with mainly other Americans and also had an American roommate. This was a shame as almost all the international people lived at the International House and the Americans were very easy to become friends with due to other interests, so I had a feeling I was missing out in the beginning because I did not know people and I also did not live at the place where this was happening. Thankfully, due to the introduction week, I did get to meet other internationals quite soon and became friends with them, so at that point living
somewhere else was not a major problem anymore. After some weeks a spot opened up at the International House and I was able to move. After my move I was very relieved. I now had a single room, so I did not have to share a bedroom with someone else anymore, and I found it was a lot easier to socialize with a lot more people this way.
6. Culture
It was not the first time for me that I was in the United States, so I knew what to expect from the country. Still, I definitely noticed the difference between states as I was on the other side of the country now than I was the first time I went to the United States. What I very much liked was how friendly everyone is and that Americans are a lot more open than people in the Netherlands. Everywhere you would go there is always someone willing to have a nice conversation with you or compliment you on something, something Dutch people can definitely take an example of.
7. Free time
The free time on campus was great. What is especially different from Groningen, and every other university in the Netherlands, is that the University there arranged a lot of activities for their students. Every week there were several activities to attend for everyone, which is a great opportunity for you to get to know people and have some distraction from your studies.
There were movie nights, both in the theater as in the swimming pool, game nights with free food, etc. My friends and I never had to be bored as there was always something to do around campus during the weekends or during the nights.
8. Traveling
Since my study was very easy here, I had a lot of time left to go travelling and explore the United States. Almost every weekend my international friends and I went on roadtrips or went somewhere to go hiking. I went to a total of 8 states during semester abroad. For me this was the greatest experience and memory I have about the time there. We rented a car, rented an Airbnb, and spend the weekend in another state to explore the nature there. During my second weekend in the United States I went to Las Vegas with people I had just met for about 1,5 week! I think this is what a semester abroad does. You connect with people so quickly that you already feel comfortable about a week to spend a long weekend with these people in one house. Still, it were the best weekends I had. During Thanksgiving we flew to New York city to spend this American holiday there.
9. Other
The only thing I still want to say is that the fact these opportunities are there for students is incredible. The study abroad period was for me the best time I have ever had and I do not regret any moment of it. Before I went I was nervous and was not sure whether I made the right choice to go, now I wish I could do it again and definitely recommend it to everyone to do so!
