Satenza Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 I am going there in September to study at The Catholic University of Leuven for 12 months. I recently visited and it was very nice. I was wondering if any Belgians could give me any tips on living there? Thanks :) With so many trees in the city you could see the spring coming each day until a night of warm wind would bring it suddenly in one morning. Sometimes the heavy cold rains would beat it back so that it would seem that it would never come and that you were losing a season out of your life. But you knew that there would always be the spring as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason. In those days though the spring always came finally but it was frightening that it had nearly failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kill_Life Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Have fun in Leuven, I'd say. Though Ghent is the party-city. I think. Will you be renting something there in the neighboorhood or on the campus?I think they'll threat you well, you're an exchange student afterall. "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do"[Currently playing: K1ll L1f3] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satenza Posted August 11, 2010 Author Share Posted August 11, 2010 Have fun in Leuven, I'd say. Though Ghent is the party-city. I think. Will you be renting something there in the neighboorhood or on the campus?I think they'll threat you well, you're an exchange student afterall. When I went I sorted out where I shall be living, just opposite the main library on the square. I think the square may be called Ladeuzeplein. Leuven as a city looked very nice and I hope my time spent there will be entertaining. The city, even in the summer, was filled with students everywhere. With so many trees in the city you could see the spring coming each day until a night of warm wind would bring it suddenly in one morning. Sometimes the heavy cold rains would beat it back so that it would seem that it would never come and that you were losing a season out of your life. But you knew that there would always be the spring as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason. In those days though the spring always came finally but it was frightening that it had nearly failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kill_Life Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Seeing how perhaps a majority doesn't pass their exams from the first try, they have second try in august/september, so it's logical it's filled the entire year.What will you be studying? And I guess you're not on the campus.Do you have to cook your own food?The food in Belgium isn't bad. If you decide to try the fries, don't go to a McDonalds. Locals are the best and every tastes different. So change from time to time :) Enjoy the Belgium beers. Good with the fries, I guess. Personally, I'm not that big a fan of them. For some, you have to learn to appreciate them. You have 12 months.Overall, I don't think going to school in Belgium or elsewhere is that much different. You'll be teached in Dutch, I guess. Though, many books I need are in English (for me atleast).Perhaps the biggest difference between Belgium and perhaps the US is the distance from home. In the US, I think almost everyone lives at the campus because home is very far away. Belgium's a small country with quite a lot of schools for its size, meaning many students go home after school. "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do"[Currently playing: K1ll L1f3] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreezer Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 i have some friends who go to the university of Leuven, if u have a student card, you can easily get very cheap drinks and such in the so called fac-bars (just a hint if u plan on enjoying the Belgian night-life ;)) (oh, and try out the different Belgian beers ;) hint: look at my avatar :P) Sacrificing efficiency for fun since 1991 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iconic Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Don't order vinegar with your chips, order muscles or everyone will point at you and notice that your not Belgish. [Falador tavern] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satenza Posted August 11, 2010 Author Share Posted August 11, 2010 Hah. I already know much about the Belgium beer and I am a fan of it. I do quite like Duvel too. I was surprised by how cheap it was to drink things like Rochefort which over here costs quite a lot and over there was less expensive than tea! I have my own place so I have to cook my own food but I have lived away from home for three years anyway so I am not worried about all that. I was wondering about books actually because I will need quite a lot and they will need to be in English, is it easy to pick up academic books in English over there or would I be best to order them online? Oh Im from the UK as well, so it isn't too far and I don't mind being away from home et cetera. Im not very sentimental about all that I suppose. Oh, I don't think it fills the entire year. I may finish late June. I have my apartment there for 12 months though so I'll be there for that amount of time. Hopefully in the summer I can go travelling to France, Germany, Netherlands et cetera. With so many trees in the city you could see the spring coming each day until a night of warm wind would bring it suddenly in one morning. Sometimes the heavy cold rains would beat it back so that it would seem that it would never come and that you were losing a season out of your life. But you knew that there would always be the spring as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason. In those days though the spring always came finally but it was frightening that it had nearly failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreezer Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 i thinck you will be fine, but i don't know about the books :???: certain books will be in english probably but i thinck most will still be in dutch, maybe you can contact the school itself for information? Sacrificing efficiency for fun since 1991 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satenza Posted August 11, 2010 Author Share Posted August 11, 2010 Yes, I should have asked that question when I visited the University. I did see a few bookshops around but I didn't really have time to explore them because of time restraints. With so many trees in the city you could see the spring coming each day until a night of warm wind would bring it suddenly in one morning. Sometimes the heavy cold rains would beat it back so that it would seem that it would never come and that you were losing a season out of your life. But you knew that there would always be the spring as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason. In those days though the spring always came finally but it was frightening that it had nearly failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreezer Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 do you have a contact adress (phonenumber/e-mail-adress) with witch you can take contact?i don't know about Leuven but the university of Ghent has a support-program for foreign students so the university of Leuven will probably have such a program to... maybe have a look around their website, their might be a lot of usefull information there :) website Sacrificing efficiency for fun since 1991 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insert_name_here Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 I study in Leuven!About the books, there is a specialised student's book store that normally has everything. At the least, they should able to help you alot further if they don't have them in stock already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satenza Posted August 11, 2010 Author Share Posted August 11, 2010 Oh excellent. Do you enjoy it there? What are you studying? With so many trees in the city you could see the spring coming each day until a night of warm wind would bring it suddenly in one morning. Sometimes the heavy cold rains would beat it back so that it would seem that it would never come and that you were losing a season out of your life. But you knew that there would always be the spring as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason. In those days though the spring always came finally but it was frightening that it had nearly failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insert_name_here Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Oh excellent. Do you enjoy it there? What are you studying?Yeah, I like Leuven alot. I study Law there.Leuven is a small city but it's filled with students, and you have alot of students bars. Beer is really cheap there and they haved themed nights like a Duvel for a euro. Also there are student restaurants which offer decent food at a low price. But most of the "normal" restaurants have student discounts anyway.The foreign exchange students have a support program, there's alot of them too so normally you'll make friends pretty easily. There's also a new museum which I hear is nice (opened this year). Some good CD stores too. You can also find live shows pretty regularly.Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, Leuven has everything a student could need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satenza Posted August 11, 2010 Author Share Posted August 11, 2010 Sounds good. When I visited I went to the small museum within the Library which has the official decree opening the university in 1425. That was interesting. Almost every other building seems to belong to the University as well. I did go in June and it was quite hot and that was nice but I suspect the city by appearance looks nice whatever the weather, and indeed if it rains it might even bring out more of the character of the city. I am looking forward to moving there in September and getting acquainted with Belgium. Do you know if the trains are reasonable prices to visit other European cities or whether there is a special student pass or young persons pass that can lower the prices? With so many trees in the city you could see the spring coming each day until a night of warm wind would bring it suddenly in one morning. Sometimes the heavy cold rains would beat it back so that it would seem that it would never come and that you were losing a season out of your life. But you knew that there would always be the spring as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason. In those days though the spring always came finally but it was frightening that it had nearly failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insert_name_here Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 You can get a campus card which cheapens travel within Belgium considerably. I'm not wholly sure about the prices for travel out of Belgium but you can check out the Belgian railways site, it's got an english version : http://www.b-rail.be/main/E/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kill_Life Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Do you know if the trains are reasonable prices to visit other European cities or whether there is a special student pass or young persons pass that can lower the prices? Within Belgium, there's a student discount which is pretty cheap, like insert_name_here said.But outside Belgium, it's pretty expensive imo, unless there are special offers from Thallys which travels directly to France, the Netherlands, no idea if it goes to Germany aswell.If you use the Belgium railway, NMBS, it's expensive. I once checked for the Netherlands and I think it was like €60 and several hours travel. It was cheaper and faster by car. Thallys or IC (InterCity) is better for that, prices depend on time and such, so check in time for cheap offers. Thallys is also pretty cheap around the holidays, I think. "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do"[Currently playing: K1ll L1f3] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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