First of all, could you tell us where you went on your exchange and what you did there?
“I went on exchange to Stellenbosch in South Africa. They also have a PPE programme there, so I chose courses from that programme. That was nice because the courses aligned quite well with what we study in Amsterdam, although it also meant that my options were a bit more limited. One difference was that the economics courses were mostly theory-based rather than mathematical. I was surprised that I had to do more academic work than I had expected during my exchange, but that was okay because Stellenbosch was my first choice, and I am so happy that I went there.
The overall university life was good, but the life experience was even better.”
What are your tracks, and how was your university/academic experience on exchange?
“My tracks are politics and economics, and I liked that during my exchange I was also able to take some philosophy courses, since in Stellenbosch I followed courses from all three tracks. My favourite course was Philosophy of Resistance, partly because it was so interesting to study it from a South African perspective, where people have actually experienced (neo-)colonialism and apartheid, including the professor. More generally, in the social sciences, perspectives on the world are quite different there. That change in perspective was a big shift for me. Overall, I learned a lot from all of the courses.”
What made you choose to do your exchange at this university?
“I really wanted to go somewhere outside Europe. I had heard many great things about Stellenbosch, and I liked the idea of having summer weather while being abroad. Especially in the last few months, it was 30 degrees every day.
In South Africa, the culture shock is quite big, while at the same time there is still a more ‘Western’ lifestyle in some ways. Overall, it is such a mix of many cultures. They even call themselves the ‘Rainbow Nation’, which you can definitely see.”
Was there one big culture shock that you did not expect?
“Far more people spoke Afrikaans than I expected. I thought English would be spoken more widely, so I was surprised by how big a part Afrikaans was in the culture. Also, in Cape Town, you might expect a very Western way of living, but people there do not identify as ‘Western’ at all, which I found really interesting. It was striking to see people who in some ways align with our culture, but do not identify themselves with it.”
Would you say that safety is a big issue if you go on exchange to South Africa?
“It is true that some areas are unsafe, and there are definitely places that are known to be no-go zones, even during the day.
But Stellenbosch is probably one of the safest places in the country. That said, if you wanted to go home at night, you generally had to take an Uber, so it is something you need to keep in mind. In my experience, no one I knew ended up in a seriously dangerous situation, so as long as you are careful and stay aware, it should be fine.”
What did a typical day as an exchange student look like for you?
“My semester started immediately when I arrived in July, so afterwards I had quite a long period of free time, since I finished in November and travelled after that. During the semester itself, I usually had classes starting around 11:00, and before that I would play football. My classes were usually until around 15:00. Wednesdays were the main party nights of the week. During the weekends, we often went to Cape Town or did weekend trips.
After the semester ended, we had a lot of free time, which we mostly spent in Cape Town, but we also did road trips along the coast, and I visited some of my South African friends. For example, I went to a place near Namibia and also visited one of their beach houses. South Africa is incredibly diverse in terms of nature. It has mountains with snow, but also beaches, deserts, and, around Stellenbosch, lots of wine estates and agricultural areas. So it is incredibly varied.”
How was the social life at the university?
“There was not really a PPE community there, because the three disciplines were more separate from each other. So I made most of my friends outside my studies, which was also quite different. I got to know people very easily, because there were around 300 exchange students from Europe, many of whom I met during the introduction week. Since I play football, I also met quite a few people through that, including some South African students. Through them, I got much more into the South African social circle, which was great to experience. They were all very interested in Europe and very approachable, which made it easy to connect. Stellenbosch is such a student city, so it is very easy to make friends there.”
What was the highlight of your exchange?
“Having summer break during the winter was amazing. Besides the trips I made, which were incredible, the nature in South Africa was fantastic. It is much less urban than the Netherlands, for example, and it is so diverse. Young people there love hiking and doing all kinds of outdoor activities. You can even hike directly from the university. That experience of being so close to nature was such a unique highlight for me. It is very different from Amsterdam, haha.”
Did the exchange also give you insights into your future career?
“Not directly in terms of specific career plans. But I did notice that many people there work remotely, for example, Europeans working from South Africa for European companies. The idea of finding a job in the future where you can live on a different continent while still working in the same time zone is definitely something I would consider.”
What advice would you give to future PPE students who are preparing for their exchange or who are about to go on exchange?
“Just be very open-minded and try not to have too many fixed expectations about what it is going to be like. Just go with the flow. Trust me, that is when you will have the most interesting experience. On top of that, really try to connect with local people, because it is so worth stepping out of your comfort zone and gaining a better cultural understanding by becoming friends with locals.”
What is next for you? Are you excited about writing your thesis and graduating?
“I am going to write my thesis in the field of economics, and I have the opportunity to conduct my own survey research in Zambia and use that data for my thesis. So, another African country. Next year, I am planning to take a gap year, during which I want to do some internships and gain work experience before starting my master’s. For my master’s, I am thinking of going in a more economics- or business-related direction.”