Experience report
ANR:
Name:
E-mail:
Exchange semester:
Academic year:
Host University:
Country:
473794
Eveline Jansen
e.n.jansen@tilburguniversity.edu
fall semester
third year
National University of Singapore
Singapore
TOPIC: Admission, arrival, housing
How was your arrival organized? Did someone pick you up from the airport/station? Was an
orientation or introduction activity organized? How was accommodation organized? Does the
university provide you with accommodation? What kind of accommodation does the university
provide? Did you have to book your accommodation in advance or did you have to search for a place
to live after you arrived?
Actually, there was nothing organized for my arrival. I assumed my buddy would come to pick me up,
but this didn’t happen. I took a cap to campus with two other Dutch guys I met on the airport, so after
all it was not a big deal. The first week was an informative introduction week with some organized
activities to get to know each other. There also were a couple of informative sessions to introduce you
to the university and to tell something about the Asian culture.
Luckily, I stayed on campus near to the Business faculty. This was provided by the university. I
already applied for a room on campus at home, so I already knew I had a place to stay with all the
other international students.
TOPIC: Location of university/city
Please describe the city you lived in. Where is the university located in the city? What is the best
place to go to eat/drink/dance/do sports/etc.? What are interesting things to see and do in your host
city? What was different than in Tilburg?
Singapore actually is both a big city and small country. My university was located in the South-West,
which was easily to reach with public transport. Singapore is very clean, as they told me before, and
very strict. For example, you’re not allowed to consume food or drinks in public areas and public
transport, even tough it is really hot and humid in Singapore. It is also forbidden to jaywalk and to
consume chewinggum (unfortunately).
In Asia, in general, there are so many places to eat. It is really common to eat in food courts which are
located at every single street corner. The food courts of the university were subsidized so even in
terms of a student budget it was cheap. The food courts downtown, however, were way more
expensive to eat. The most common food was chicken rice, of course. It doesn’t matter which dish
you ordered, it always included rice or noodles. But, you get used to it.
One thing I liked about the food courts is the cheap fruit they sell. All kinds of fruits, smoothies,
milkshakes were sold for a very student-friendly prices.
Both the campuses were provided with a gym, so you had enough possibilities to work out.
Additionally, a lot of group lessons were organized by the university, like Zumba, HipHop, Yoga etc. I
joined the Zumba classes during the semester.
In the first couple of weeks, I did a lot of sightseeing. I took the hop-on hop-off bus to get aware of
Singapore as a whole and to see all the highlights of the city. One of the most famous buildings is
Marina Bay Sands, This an expensive hotel with a really famous infinity pool and rooftop terrace. I
also went to the famous Botanic Gardens, China Town, the beach (Sentosa) and some other places.
TOPIC: Academics
Which courses did you take and why? Which courses would you recommend? What did the courses
add to your program at Tilburg University? How does the university compare to Tilburg University
concerning the level of the courses, use of extra material, level of English, workload, etc.? Overall,
were you happy with your academic achievements during your exchange? Please describe the
campus of your host university.
The courses I took:
- Product & Brand Management C+
- Asian Business Environments C+
- Managerial Economics
B+
- Organisational Behaviour
B
- Marketing Research
B+
The reason I took these courses was partly because I thought they were consistent with my area of
interest and partly because I had to. The university made use of an add/drop system, but there was a
run on business courses, so there was not much choice left. I am still not really satisfied about this
system.
The workload of the courses is way higher than in Tilburg. The courses are not that difficult, at least I
didn’t experience any difficulties, but it was just a lot. For example, the course Product & Brand
Management Course, we were supposed to do one individual assignment, two work group
assignments, one presentation, two exams and one big project group assignment. This was only the
material for one course, so you can imagine the workload was high. Besides, your performances
depend on the performances of others, so it is very relative to each other. This makes studying very
competitive, more challenging, and way more stressful.
I am satisfied with my achievements, which you can see above.
TOPIC: Social life
Which social activities organized by the university or students? Did you have contact with local
students? Did you have contact with other exchange students? How did you get along with the local
students and other exchange students? Did you travel to other places/countries during your
exchange?
During the introduction week, there were some activities organized by the university, just like the sport
activities I already mentioned.
During class, you had a lot of group assignments with both international students and local students,
so you had a lot of chances to get to know them better. At my floor, on campus, especially Asian
exchange students were accommodated. As I already expected, they were really shy and almost not
able to say any hi or hello. Now, after my exchange, I still have not spoken to some of them and I
don’t know the names of any of them. But fortunately, I met a lot of international students to hang out
with in the evenings and weekends.
We travelled a lot through South- East Asia, with two other girls. During the semester, we went to
Tioman (an island of Malaysia), Borneo, Batam (an island of Indonesia) and Bali. After the semester
we backpacked through Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, which was one of the most
exciting and impressive experience of my exchange in Asia. It was amazing!
TOPIC: Living costs
How did you finance your exchange period, apart from the grant you received from Tilburg University?
What were your living expenses abroad like compared to Tilburg? What did you spend most of your
money on? What would you advice future students to spend their money on? Please outline your
approximate monthly budget whilst on exchange: housing, food, textbooks, etc.
I did not receive any grant form Tilburg University, unfortunately. I financed my exchange with the
grant from the government, grant of public transport, my parents, my job and my savings account.
Singapore is one of the most expensive countries in the world, so it is not at all comparable to Tilburg.
Food, especially Western food, was really expensive, since everything needs to be imported. For
example, one kilogram of yoghurt costs like 5-6 euro’s. My biggest expenses were probably on food.
Of course, you can avoid buying Western products to save money, but after two months some
yoghurt, cheese, bread etc. is nice to have. So, for future exchange students, buy what you like,
because it is going to be expensive anyway. You can save on alcohol by buying it on the airport, since
this is also really expensive in Singapore.
-
Housing: SGD 400
Food: SGD 600-800
Textbooks: not so much
Clothing: depends per person 
Public Transport: SGD 50-100
Room decorations, bed sheets etc. (one-off) SGD 100
TOPIC: Culture
Did you experience culture shock while on exchange? How would you compare your host culture to
your own culture? What did you learn about your own culture while on exchange? What was different
about your host culture than you expected? What did you like and not like about your host culture? Do
you feel you learned a lot about your host culture, and if not, what would you like to learn more? How
would you describe your host countries culture? If you travelled to other cities/countries during your
exchange, were they different than your host city/country, and how?
I was not really in shock, but I absolutely needed some time to get used to the new culture and
people. Asian people differ from Europeans: less outgoing, shy but friendly, interested in different
things, act younger etc. But as soon as you get to know them better, they are less shy and really nice
to hang out with. Face value is important in Asia, as well as their performances. They are so hard
working, even during nights, which subsequently leads to a lot of sleeping Asians in the library and
other places around campus. I liked them to be so friendly, but I didn’t like them to be so shy and
acting so young. For example, when I was eating in the kitchen and some Chinese girl came in, she
didn’t look up or said anything. I liked the Asian food, but after one or two months it became really
boring and kind of unhealthy, since they barely included any vegetables or fibers in their food.
An other thing worth saying about the Asian culture is the fact that they want to be ‘white’, like
Western people want to get tan. They avoid the sun and cover all their skin to stay white and
additionally, they use body lotion, soap, deodorant etc. with whitening included. It is strange to see
such a difference between two cultures.
During my exchange, I learned a lot about Asia, things I didn’t knew before. The other Asian countries
only partly differ from Singapore. Singapore is really modern, prosper, a kind of business centre and
really expensive. The other countries, like Thailand and Cambodia were less rich and therefore
cheaper. I think the culture, regarding to their religion, their ideal of being white etc. is quite common
in Asia.
TOPIC: Personal development
What did you learn from the people you met during your exchange? Would you do things differently if
you had the chance, and what would you do differently? What was your best experience, and what
was your worst experience? What will you remember for ever about your exchange period? What was
the most important lesson you learned about yourself during your exchange period?
During my exchange, I had a lot of freedom to do whatever I wanted and whatever I liked. My nicest
experience was during my one-month travelling at the end of the semester. I travelled with two other
girls through four countries in South-East Asia. It was very impressive to see how some people live in
poverty and the way they live and the priorities they set. Besides, it was such an experience to travel
with night buses and night trains and to arrange everything just when you leave etc.
My worst experience was that I experienced a little homesickness. Even tough I met a lot of new
people, had enough amusing activities during the week, I really missed home, family and friends. But,
I also started to appreciate my life at home more, which I realized because of my homesickness. I
also figured out I don’t like being alone, which was often the case in Singapore. I like having people
around me.
I will remember my backpacking trip forever. It was so impressive and we had so much freedom, we
were flexible and the weather was great and everything was so beautiful. I will also never forget the
people I met and the nice trips we made during the weekends.
TOPIC: Tips for future students
Would you recommend an exchange period? Would you recommend your host university? What
should prospective students bring with them/leave behind? What preparation is required for going on
exchange to this destination? Was there anything you should have done in preparation that you didn’t
do?
Yes I would definitely recommend an exchange period. It is such a special and unforgettable
experience to be abroad for a couple of months and to discover an other continent, culture and to
meet people from all over the world. Additionally, you learn so much about yourself, your strengths
and weaknesses, so I think it is absolutely worth it.
I would recommend them to bring bed sheets and pillows, since those are not included. Singapore is
more expensive than Holland, regarding shampoo, body lotion etc, but it is not that necessary to bring
everything from home.
I think I did the right preparations, since I didn’t found any unexpected surprises.
TOPIC: A picture is worth a thousand words
If you took any pictures or made any videos that you would like to share with future exchange
students, please include them (or e-mail them separately). Pictures that show your daily life or
symbolize your exchange period are especially interesting for future exchange students.