Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands

My name is Fotini, and I study Product Design at UTS. I finally arrived two days ago in the beautiful city of Eindhoven, after much organisation and preparation !It’s a 30 degree day here (which is not what I was expecting at all), and I’ve already had some time to explore and look around. I’m already loving the Dutch culture, even though I’ve only been here for a short amount of time. The people seem happy to help and communicate with me, even though English isn’t their first language. In fact I have found that English is quite widely spoken here; I haven’t had any problems in asking for directions so far.

I’m staying in the Student Hotel Eindhoven, and I already feel at home in my room. There are plenty of shops and supermarkets just across the road from me. It’s been really exciting settling in. Although at times it can feel daunting being here on my own, I know it’s a great experience that I have to embrace. Everywhere I look I can see rows of bike racks with bikes stacked on top of one another! Small things like crossing the road have become a lot more eventful; there are separate bike lanes, and I’ve nearly been run over a couple times.

I took a walk to the Eindhoven University of Technology (which is 5 minutes walk from me) today, and I really liked what I saw. There is a very relaxed vibe to the place, and I saw lots of people lying down in the grass and looking up at the trees. There are lots of buildings that are spread out throughout the campus. I think it’ll take me a while to adjust to this, as I’m used to sticking to one building in UTS.

I’m most excited for my two introduction days. I can’t wait to meet other exchange students and make some friends. I’m eager to find out why other students decided to come on exchange; if it was to immerse themselves in a different country’s culture or if, like me, they really wanted to learn from industry professionals on the other side of the world. I’m excited for what this exchange journey has to offer, and I can’t wait to share my experiences back with my friends at UTS.

Fotini Theodoulou  
Bachelor of Design in Product Design
Eindhoven University of Technology  
The Netherlands

For more information about the UTS Global Exchange program please visit: www.global-exchange.uts.edu.au