Exchange Report

Inform yourselves about the university abroad, especially what courses they have to offer, so you can perform in the interview. Read a lot of the exchange reports, they are really helpful and talk to the people who already went to the university. Get everything ready in advance, especially with the host university, because they can occur unexpected problems and things could be handled differently than at WU. If you have any questions in general, feel free to ask me :)

I read the exchange reports and most of them recommended to stay at Nonsi Residence, because it's full of exchange students. I spent a little time to search for alternatives (Bangkok has fancy apartments with pool etc). I decided to stay at Nonsi Residence. It may be a little bit older, but if you want to connect to other students, it's definitely the place to be. There was something going on every day and we went on vacation together. I can definitely recommend it more than staying "alone" in an apartment complex. Nonsi Residence is located in a quiet area, which is really nice to calm down. Bangkok is safe in general, so is this neighborhood. It took me 15 min with Grab to get to university. The only disadvantage with the location was that the public transport is 20 min away per foot, so I never used it. I only used Grab Bike, which was fine for me. So all in all, I was very very happy there and in my opinion it's the only must-do for the exchange semester to live there.

The campus is really big with the different faculties. Everybody wears a uniform, but they are not 100% strict with it. I would describe the academic life like a feeling of being back in high school. We have smaller classes (30-50 ppl), it's not very interactive for most of the parts. Moreover, it's a lot of group works in general with a very high usage of AI. In general, I would say it's easier to get good grades than at WU. However, I needed some time to adapt, because I didn't quite know what they expected of me and how the grades are made is not as transparent as at WU. It's definitely less workload in comparison to the courses at WU, which allows a lot of free time. The campus offers various sport activities, which I can really recommend. I would also recommend to really research the courses you want to take, because they highly differ in complexity, grading and workload.

As I said, I barely used public transport, because it would have taken me so much more time. I used Grab Bike instead, which is way faster and cheap. My impression of Bangkok is that it is completely safe. I could walk around the city, no matter the time of the day and I felt comfortable. I also never heard anything "unsafe" from the other exchange students. Social activities were mainly with other exchange students, as I had problems to spend time with the Thai students apart from the university life. We spent most of the free time chilling at the pool, getting some food, going out for party or going on a weekend trip. Sport options are in general a little bit less available, as it is very exhausting to do sport in Bangkok. I played in the university football team, which was really fun. If you like sports, I would recommend to use the offers of the university, as Bangkok has rarely free public places for sports.

For me, the people I met made the semester abroad truly special. Everyone was so open and welcoming, and I felt comfortable from the very beginning. I would also say that it was the perfect balance between everyday life and traveling. I had an unforgettable time, and it helped me grow personally while experiencing a completely new environment. I am also very grateful that this opportunity exists at all and that, from the WU’s side, the process is made so simple for students. I can honestly recommend this experience to everyone — it was a truly special time.