Experience report
Name: Linda van Liempt
E-mail: l.j.vanliempt@tilburguniversity.edu
Exchange semester: Spring 2015
Academic year: 2014/2015
Host University: LUISS Guido Carli
Country: Italy
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?
You could get a room through university, but I liked to know where I would live and choose the place I
would call home for 5 months myself. I started looking for rooms in Rome months before departure
and found a spacious, luminous, perfectly located apartment in the historic center. I shared my
apartment with three other international girls. They had all lived in Italy for a longer time, so they could
help me getting around the city and to improve my Italian as well. I was also very lucky the landlady
was a very punctual person, so I had a contract that covered everything and if things broke down they
were fixed within a day.
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?
LUISS has three campuses, all in the more “rich” neighborhoods of Rome, located north from the
historic centre. You can get there easily by bus, tram or metro. They have incredible facilities (you can
even borrow a car!) for their students and make you feel at home from the second you arrive. I would
definitely recommend this university, they love their students and you feel that from the moment the
guards greet you!
Roma, la città eterna, sarà sempre la casa mia. Words cannot express my love for this city. You have
to be there to feel it, to breathe in all the history and to experience everything this city has to offer.
The coffee, the food, the kindness of people, the passion that is put into everything (including bus
strikes etc.), the architecture and of course the weather. I cannot recommend going there enough!
I broke my ankle in the second week I was there, but thanks to a lot of help from people I had only
known for a short while I managed to get around and still enjoy my time there!
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.
I took courses to prepare myself for my master’s degree in Law and Technology. The courses:
Intellectual Property Rights, New Media and Technology Law, Legal Aspects of IT and European
Business Law. The courses were a lot easier than I was used to in Tilburg, but it was nice to see what
different teaching methods can teach you. I did not have to study all day every day, and this allowed
me to learn things I wanted to learn and there was a lot of room for discussion. This also meant I had
more time to explore the city and culture, as well as time to recover my ankle by going to physio
therapy 8 hours a week (yes, that’s the way they do it in Italy!).
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?
ESN Roma LUISS organized a lot of activities, ranging from drunk parties to visits to museums or
crypts. We were very much encouraged to take part in these activities, but I wasn’t able to go to
many, because of my broken ankle. This was also the reason I did not get to know a lot of the
Erasmus people and I wasn’t able to travel. I did make a lot of friends though, the locals in the
neighborhood all know the poor girl that came to Rome and had to walk on crutches for such a long
time. I also went to physio therapy, and because the sessions are so long and shared with multiple
people, I made the best of friends there! So I didn’t make a lot of international/erasmus friends, but I
did make friends with the kindest locals!
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.
My family helped me out and I borrowed money at DUO to finance my stay. I only had to buy one €20
textbook, so this saved me a lot compared to Tilburg. Groceries and eating out are also a lot less
expensive. Living in the city center was quite costly, but to me it was worth every penny.
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 did not expect or experience culture shock. I knew what I was in for before departure: Italian culture
is a Mediterranean culture and if you prepare yourself for this, you won’t fall into shock. I read a lot
about Italy and Rome before I left, I think this helped me understand what I saw when I got there
more. Of course, when a guy got mad about his bad hair day because his blow dryer was broken, or
when a barrista cursed at a tourist when he ordered a cappuccino after 11 am, I thought that was odd.
But you just have to accept those things.
In the Netherlands, people complain if their train has a 5 minute delay. In Italy, the bus doesn’t have a
time table. You just wait, and it will come. Sometime. You never know when, you just wait. This taught
me that being late isn’t the end of the world, and that even if I can’t arrange every minor detail, I don’t
get a heart attack. I try to remember this when I get upset about these “silly” things back home.
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?
The whole broken ankle thing taught me that you have to accept things. I could whine all day about
not being able to do all the things I wanted to do, but instead I accepted it and made the best of it!
Some people said they admired that I stayed in Rome even when I wasn’t able to move for a couple
of weeks, they instead would have gone home if it would have been them. I didn’t, and I learned that
great things happen, even if you don’t expect them, if you stay positive and make the best of every
situation.
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?
I cannot stress enough how you develop on a personal level through a stay in a foreign country. You
change, you learn things you will never learn from books. My advice to everyone is just GO!!
I am a very punctual person and I wanted all the minor details taken care of before departure. I had
made an appointment with the landlady an hour after I arrived, I had somebody pick me up etc.: I
planned everything in advance. I liked this very much, but some people prefer to just go and take care
of everything once they arrive. I didn’t plan on breaking my ankle there, but that also worked out well,
so I think everybody should prepare to the level that makes them feel comfortable. It’s a personal
preference!