When I found out that Chur was one of the options for my exchange I laughed a bit, because I actually drove through Chur last year during my summer road trip and thought “ah this is such a cute little town.” I found out that it was way more than that and so I applied. The Swiss culture is very similar to Dutch culture, but the people are a bit more timid and less outspoken. Luckily this meant that it was not a huge culture shock for me when moving here.
From the first moment, I immediately had a good click with the people in my building and class and that bond only grew stronger. We did a lot of activities outside of school together such as hiking, ice skating, and going to parties and pubs where we got to know a lot about each others’ cultures and habits. Seeing how other people live their day-to-day life in a different country always interests me and this definitely made me even more aware about that.
The program I followed was the Creative Media and Digital Innovation International Exchange Program and I really enjoyed it. I ended up having a few quite technical courses, but I personally find those interesting. It was a good combination of creativity and technology for me. The schedule was also nice and allowed for lots of time to have fun and have time for yourself. ESN Chur organised many events that were definitely worth joining and enhanced my experience as an exchange student, since it really connected me with the other students at FHGR.
Photography is one of my favourite hobbies which was so fun to do in Switzerland! All the surroundings, nature, and architecture are just absolutely stunning, so I went on many trips to just explore and use my camera to capture the views.
A new hobby that I picked up here and will never forget is snowboarding. I always wanted to try it, and this was the perfect opportunity. I met a lovely girl from school who gave me classes and it went great, so now I go snowboarding whenever is possible. Switzerland offers so many beautiful places to enjoy the snow, which I will miss so much.
It was a new experience for me to live on my own, so that was a bit scary at first, but it was way better than I expected. I had friends all around me and every time I went to cook dinner, we would have the best conversations and parties in the kitchen! Usually, I really appreciate my own space, but here it was very comforting to just see your friends every day.
Initially, I came here to study, but it became so much more than that. It was cultural enrichment, meeting people from all over the world, doing fun activities, going exploring, managing living on my own, and just overall personal growth. I am so glad I had the opportunity to do this exchange semester and meet the most wonderful people.
Sanne van Lierop, an incoming student from our partner institution Breda University of Applied Sciences, spent one semester at the University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons as part of the Creative Media and Digital Innovation International Exchange Program.