Rotterdam is not as exciting as some other cities in Europe but it was a very convenient location to visit the rest of Europe, which is awesome. I stayed right on campus, but the city centre is about 15-30 minutes from campus. As with most other people in Rotterdam, I cycled a lot to get around! An important thing I learnt during exchange was how to manage my finances well. I only learnt this towards the end of exchange, and there’s nothing better than to consult seniors from the previous batch to learn all the tips for exchange.

Rotterdam is a quiet and chill city, but campus life can be quite vibrant with numerous student activities in school. The Erasmus Student Network organises several student events for international students. The semester at Erasmus University ends by end April, so I could travel and explore Europe. However, this means that modules are only 8 weeks long so it’s quite intense. Unlike in Singapore, students are not graded on a bell curve system so they’re generally less competitive.

My exchange experience opened my eyes to the different cultures of the world. It helped me become more liberal and less judgemental. I learnt a lot about life and what I really want out of it. Rotterdam might be rather boring compared to other cities, but it’s a nice city. The good thing about Rotterdam is that there are a lot of student parties. Alcohol here is also cheaper than Singapore (€3-4 for a beer) but eating out is quite expensive. A cool bar to check out is Concordia. For groceries, go to Bas near Oostplein or Plus near school. Blaak market is a wet market which is open every Tuesday and Saturday until around 5PM.