^{Our Global Responsibility & Leadership students, in the third year of their studies, get the chance to do a minor, in which they can choose between travelling abroad on exchange, doing an internship, or doing other university minors. In this blog post, we will hear from Madelon, Mattia and Renate, three students now beginning their exchanges in Australia, Colombia, and Indonesia, respectively. Fasten your seatbelts, and enjoy traveling with them for a bit!}

Madelon (Newcastle, Australia)

"How are you going!" Greetings from down under. My name is Madelon and I am studying at Newcastle University in Australia for my exchange. I had multiple reasons for choosing the university that is as far away from home as possible (as if leaving home wasn’t already hard enough). First and foremost, I was set on studying journalism during my minor and not many universities offered that. I also wanted to study somewhere I didn’t see myself living in the future and with exciting nature and wildlife to explore! The latter I have already done: I solo travelled part of the east coast and discovered koala’s, rock wallabies and many different bird species. I saw the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef, but I am equally excited for the places I haven’t visited yet!

I now live on campus in International House (IH). The first week was an orientation week full of activities. There was an international welcome where we tried fairy bread and vegemite, I went on a dolphin cruise, but I also attended my fair share of parties in the ‘’O-weeks’’ (as the Aussies like to call it) including the Autonomy Day festival, where all of the students living in IH blocks dressed up as Smurfs! (Autonomy Day is the annual celebration of the University of Newcastle becoming independent from the University of New South Wales in 1965).

My classes have just started and next to courses in journalism, I am following courses in the Wollotuka Institute about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. I am learning about their history and their fight for justice. These courses align closely with the direction GRL has taken me in and my ambitions for the future, as I hope to work on social (in)justice and human rights within the media and journalism field.

Mattia (Medellin, Colombia)

Hey all! I'm Mattia and I’m currently in Medellin, Colombia, doing my minor at the Universidad de Antioquia. I chose this university because I was interested and attracted by the country, its nature, culture, people and history. Plus, I can improve my Spanish here, and really connect more with the local people and the culture.

For three weeks now I’ve been having classes at uniniversity but, of course, hiking everytime it is possible to get out of the big city, and see the beautiful nature here. I have also been drinking a lot of "jugos naturales" (natural juices) and trying so many different fruits that I had never heard of (which I recommend you all if you come here (both the hikes and the fruit)). I have also been trying to attend some cultural manifestations, such as the Feria de las Flores (Flower Fair), in which there was music all over the city and parades with flowers, displaying traditional practices of exchanging flowers to connect different villages from the surrounding mountains.

At university, I am taking five courses. I chose "Ethnoeducation and Afrocolombian Studies" and "Ancestral Pedagogies" to be exposed (and learn) from different epistemologies and traditions, which are not taught to us and, instead, have been eliminated even from their places of origin, being suplanted by our european oppressive cultures. So it’s interesting, important, valuable, and just to pay attention to what other communities or have to say. Plus, I am following two courses on agrosciences, for example agroecology, because I have been getting more interested in how food is grown and how to make that as sustainable as possible, respecting natural boundarys, and transforming our food culture which is exploitative and has damaged the earth to a point of no return. In general, the courses relate to how I am trying to experience my minor here, which means learning from and about Colombian culture, how they think and relate to society, nature and development. 

After 2 years of GRL, learning about global societal, environmental issues, including coloniality and colonisation, and climate change, I feel prepared to experience this journey with a perspective that welcomes a Colombian/Global South approach to these challenges. GRL makes us aware that the way we think of global issue is very much the western dominant oppressive way of thinking of these same issues, which disregards/thinks to be the superior one. So now after these 2 years, thanks to them, i feel more prepared to welcome different philosophies and different approaches, people to integrate in my future path as a person who tries to have a positive impact in the world.

Renate (Yogyakarta, Indonesia)

Hey! It’s Renate, all the way from Yogyakarta, the “cultural capital” of Indonesia. I will be studying here at Universitas Gadjah Mada for the next few months, together with three other GRL students. Even though in Leeuwarden I major in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, I am at the Faculty of Psychology here. I applied for this exchange spot for multiple reasons. I have never been to Asia before, so that is a big first. Indonesia specifically was warmly recommended to me by multiple friends who raved about the beautiful culture, the kind people and the stunning landscape of this country. After a couple of weeks being here I have to strongly agree. Indonesia is a beautiful country with the most welcoming people, and Yogyakarta specifically is bursting with culture and history. I was able to reconnect with friends I met on their exchange to Leeuwarden and look forward to making new friends here.

Before classes started, I explored the city and its surrounding areas a little bit.

In the city centre I was introduced to Batik, a javanese art form on textile, visited centuries old buddhist and hindu temples like Candi Prambanan and Candi Siwa, and witnessed stunning Independence Day (17th August) celebrations.

Next to my psychology courses, I am also taking two politics courses (in line with my major) in Humanitarian Actions and International Humanitarian Law, as I want to pursue a Master’s degree in that field. With this set of courses, I can both deepen and broaden my knowledge and return to GRL with a fresh perspective. Classes have just started and the methods and atmosphere feel a lot like classes at Campus Fryslân, which makes the academic transition easier. I am excitedly looking forward to the next few months!

Time to land

After reading about the amazing expereinces our students are living at the moment,