I never expected to live in the Netherlands. To be honest, I knew so little about the area that I might have confused Belgium and the Netherlands if you showed them to me on a map. Going there was a jump in cold water, but I do not regret it at all. And because I can’t turn back time to experience it all over again, let me at least tell you about it. I decided to go to the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht (HKU), because I wanted to focus on Animation in my semester abroad, and that was one of the few schools, that made that possible. After a very kind “You are accepted!” Email and some happy tears the first preparations started. How do you even move abroad?!

Housing Crisis

Before I keep going about how fantastic everything was, I must mention the seriousness of the housing crisis. We had the opportunity to get a room from the student housing company if we apply on a certain date at exactly 10 am. I specifically asked my producer if I could book my stay in his office, because he has the best possible internet in there – and woosh, in just two seconds everything was booked out. Worse than buying tickets for Billie Eilish! I was one of the lucky ones who got a room, but other exchange students were not that fortunate. Some had to live in a hotel for the first few weeks or take a 2 hours train ride to university every day. Despite my lucky win, I had to pay almost 700 € per month. Let’s just say the condition of the apartment was not necessarily worth that much money. Collect some good luck and good karma, I’m sure that won’t hurt!

New Friends

I wasn’t just lucky with the housing situation; I was also lucky with my new friends. The Dutchies are extremely kind and I was immediately welcomed. Especially in Animation they switched all conversations to English, so Kai (from Finland), Sharan (from India), and I could always participate. They even taught the lessons in English! I am eternally grateful for all the new people I met that I can now call my best friends. I am so excited to visit them again very soon! But that is not always the case. My graphic design roommates, who were also exchange students, told me they were not integrated as well as we were. It doesn’t hurt to learn some Dutch beforehand to make the process a little easier.

The Lessons

Now that we mentioned learning, I’ve got to tell you about the lessons. The semester started with the main course “experimental animation”. In the very first lesson the professors emphasized that this course is not about the result, but about learning about yourself. At the end we only had to prove, that we were brave, tried new methods and stepped outside our comfort zone. They didn’t even expect us to do animation! This absolute freedom was exactly what I needed. I could let go completely and rediscover myself as an artist. At the same time, it was extremely interesting to observe everyone else’s work progress, because all of us had different goals. The competition- and achievement-spirit was also less prominent and did not distract one from getting to know oneself. The other courses supported the spirit of that project and therefore introduced us to the workshops. As soon as I entered these walls, I felt the world was filled with endless possibilities! They weren’t just wonderfully equipped; they also had professionals working there at all times who you could ask for help whenever you needed. They had Risographs, Screen-printing, analogue Photography Studios, Laser cutting, 3D Print, a Blackbox, Woodworking, the coolest printers I have ever seen and even a Bio-Lab where you could grow your own mushroom cultures or play with the microscope. And so much more! The HKU is so well equipped it can’t get boring. Next to the courses that focused on your artistic and personal development, we also had theory courses and hard-skill projects like animating in perspective or acting for animators. Something for everyone!

The City

The school was wonderful, but sometimes you need to mix things up a bit and Utrecht is the right place for that. There is always something going on and because the Netherlands are quite small you can visit every corner with a quick train ride. I especially loved riding my bike and feeling the breeze on my skin, but Utrecht showed a great variety in restaurants, bars and parties too. Everything seemed queer-friendly and even late at night I felt safe.

What now?

I could keep talking and talking, but just like how my semester abroad had to end, so does this throwback. This report does not really focus on the rough parts, but I also had my ups and downs. A semester abroad brings its very own challenges, but it’s 100% worth it! I am still in very close contact with a lot of the other exchange students and none of them regret this experience. The complete opposite, actually: They all returned home with a heart filled with love. Love for their new friends, for the Netherlands, the HKU or love for what they always had back home but never paid attention to before.