{"id":3948,"date":"2019-05-31T17:04:35","date_gmt":"2019-05-31T09:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/en-SG\/?p=3948"},"modified":"2019-06-25T16:06:54","modified_gmt":"2019-06-25T08:06:54","slug":"how-i-conquered-14-countries-in-4-months-on-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/sg\/blog\/how-i-conquered-14-countries-in-4-months-on-exchange\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Conquered 14 Countries in 4 Months on Exchange"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Heading off for your university exchange programme and looking to explore Europe? Here’s how I conquered 14 European countries in just 4 months!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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After digging a huge hole in my pocket for my overseas exchange programme to Europe, I was determined to maximise it and travel as much as possible. When else am I ever going to get a four month break to travel? With looming student debt, not any time soon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My host university was in Hertfordshire, England, and these were the 14 countries I conquered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How
I bought a magnet in every capital city during my travels! <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
  1. \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc65\udb40\udc6e\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc7f England (Bath, Brighton, Hertfordshire, London, Stone Henge, Oxford)<\/li>
  2. \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf9 Austria (Melk, Salzburg, Seegrotte, Vienna)<\/li>
  3. \ud83c\udded\ud83c\uddf7 Croatia (Plitvice, Split, Zagreb)<\/li>
  4. \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddff Czech Republic (\u010cesk\u00fd Krumlov, Prague)<\/li>
  5. \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 France (Marseille, Paris)<\/li>
  6. \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea Germany (Berlin, Munich)<\/li>
  7. \ud83c\udded\ud83c\uddfa Hungary (Budapest)<\/li>
  8. \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea Ireland (Dublin, Kilkenny, Glendalough, Wicklow Mountains)<\/li>
  9. \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9 Italy (Rome, Venice)<\/li>
  10. \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf1 Netherlands (Amsterdam, Utrecht)<\/li>
  11. \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf1 Poland (Krakow, Warsaw)<\/li>
  12. \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc63\udb40\udc74\udb40\udc7f Scotland (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Glencoe, Loch Ness)<\/li>
  13. \ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddf0 Slovakia (Bratislava)<\/li>
  14. \ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddee Slovenia (Lake Bled, Lake Bohinj, Ljubljana)<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Honestly, all the planning, travelling and rushing of assignments was exhausting. On top of that, my internship was due to start in less than 24 hours upon landing in Singapore. All in the name of maximisation or perhaps just me being kiasu<\/em>. Here’s how you can conquer 14 countries in 4 months too:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/div>\n\n\n\n
    \"How<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    1. Strategise Your Class Attendance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The most important thing is knowing how many lessons I needed to attend to pass. Lucky for me, my module requirements were on a “pass or fail” basis. Of course, I didn’t want to fail any of them and then retake again in Singapore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My classes required 75% attendance, which means I could only afford to miss 3 out of 12 weeks of class.<\/strong> Some of my friends from other courses had it easier \u2013 they only needed 50% attendance, so you could imagine how often they were out exploring compared to me \ud83d\ude29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On the bright side, as a Communications major, my modules don’t usually have finals, so that gave me extra time for travelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/div>\n\n\n\n
    \"How<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    2. Arrange Your Module Timetable <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    I chose a university which offered more communication courses, so I’d have more options in terms of interest and timetable flexibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Though I selected and matched my modules before departing, some modules were no longer offered upon my arrival at the host university, and I had to replan my module timetable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For three consecutive days, I visited the course coordinator office to arrange my modules<\/strong>. I managed to squeeze all my five modules into three days, which freed up four uninterrupted days to travel. My timetable looked like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n