I studied in Leeuwarden which is the city located in a northern part of the Netherlands during the first semester of 2009. The name of the school is Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden (NHL) and I studied in the communications department. The school is specified for practical studies such as business, education, and  communication. The facilities for specific studies were set up very well. For example, there was a media office that managed some facilities for a film shooting and they had a lot of things like high-quality video cameras and lights. Also, there were many computers  available all the time for all students and some editing rooms in a great condition. Even though the size of the school was quite smaller than Ewha, I think the condition for studying is better at NHL. I was really satisfied with it. Also, the international office gave information about the courses and how to register for proper courses. I could choose whatever courses I wanted. I just needed to inform the office which courses I would take within two weeks after the period started.
At Leeuwarden, there was a student union for exchang students called “ESN.” The members of the union were mostly Dutch students studying in NHL so they would always kindly help us and had some parties with us. Therefore, we learned many things about the Netherlands. They always sent us e-mails on the information of parties and trips. With some parties they held for us, we got to know many other exchange students from different countries and had good relationships with them. We always had picnics or parties in the dorm and had a lot of fun.
Leeuwarden is quiet and peaceful, and a very nice city to live in. Some people may easily get bored because there are not so many places to hang out, but it was a really good place to study.
Despite the size, necessities and other facilities such as supermarket, clothes shop, snack  bars and movie theaters were available. What I liked was riding a bicycle in Leeuwarden. Since the roads are very flat, everyone in the city rides bicycles when they transport. This is a very particular and great experience you can only have in the Netherlands. I really enjoyed my life and studying in Leeuwarden.

 

* Lee Jeong-yeon (’06, Public Relations) studied at Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden.