Frequently asked questions - General questions about Antwerp or Belgium

During fall, it can be hot, cold, windy, or rainy. You can expect cool, windy, and rainy weather in September, getting progressively colder until December. By December, it will be quite cold. You will need to dress accordingly. Highs probably will not top 70 degrees Fahrenheit at any time during the fall. Bring an umbrella! You will need one.

During spring, the semester will start out cold in January, and get progressively warmer by the time you leave in May. You will need to dress accordingly.

During summer (May to August), the weather can be fairly cool to fairly hot. Usually, the temperature will stay in the pleasant 70 to 80 degree range, but especially in early May, it can sometimes be cool. Bring a jacket and appropriate cool weather clothing.

You will do a lot of walking while in Europe. Especially in Antwerp, Paris, London, Cologne, and Amsterdam, you can expect to do a lot of walking. Therefore, pack some good walking or running shoes. We will charter buses and take trains to get to other cities, but once in the city, you can expect to do a lot of walking.

The best way to exchange money is with an ATM card or a Visa or MasterCard debit or credit card. Most ATM cards work in Belgium (although some do not). You can get money right at the airport, at the highest possible exchange rate. Recommendation: get a checking account and a debit card from Visa and make sure you have plenty of money in your checking account. You will have a small service charge (say, $2.00) from your bank each time you use your debit card. If you use a Visa or MasterCard credit card, you will be charged some hefty finance fees. If your ATM card works, you can use that. Be aware there will also be a small service charge for using an ATM card.

You can also use traveler's checks, but there is a service charge each time you exchange money, and you generally get a poor exchange rate.

If you bring cash, bring $50 bills or smaller, as many places will not cash $100 bills. We will give directions to one or two exchange shops where you can change dollars for euros. However, even at a bank, you get a worse exchange rate than from a debit card or an ATM card.

If possible, avoid changing money in airports, train stations, and at most Exchange businesses, as you generally lose out on the exchange rate.

Do not exchange money in the United States at the airport. You will get a very poor exchange rate and a hefty service charge.

My recommendation: get a Visa debit card for your checking account.

Yes. In Belgium, the law states you must be sixteen (16) to drink. Therefore, you will be able to purchase alcohol if you choose. For your reference, here is the text of the JMU Study Abroad alcohol policy:

"JMU's alcohol policies, which derive specifically from laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, state: "Individuals must be 21 years of age to buy, possess, or drink alcoholic beverages." Students should note they will be studying in countries where the drinking age is 18 [16 in Belgium]. Thus if students choose to consume alcohol, they are expected to drink and behave responsibly. The excessive consumption of alcohol or misconduct due to alcohol consumption will not be tolerated and may result in dismissal from the program." Here is the full text of JMU's alcohol policy.

You will have a fair amount of free time some weeks, and not much other weeks. Typically, you will have classes on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Wednesday afternoons, you will visit either a cultural site (e.g., museum) or a business institution. On most Thursdays, you will be taking a daylong field trip to certain destinations (e.g., the Port of Antwerp, Brussels, Amsterdam, or Port of Rotterdam).

Several times, you will be taking extended field trips. These field trips will last one, two or three nights, leaving on Thursday and coming back on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, as the case may be. During these extended field trips, we may include some free time, as program demands dictate.

At least once during the semester, you will have an unscheduled, four-day weekend. We encourage you to use this time to explore Belgium, or other European countries on your own.

Remember, however, that you are in school, taking five courses required for your business major. You will have to study. However, you will have several hours of free time each week.

Yes. The University of Antwerp has several computer labs with Internet access. We also offer a problematic wireless network in the JMU residence in Antwerp. You should be able to use your JMU webmail account without too many problems.

There are also several Internet cafes near the University that will give you greater access to e-mail, though you will have to pay for these services.

The program covers costs for two meals per day, or fourteen meals per week. Each week, you will be given money for food (75 euros per week), enough for a dorm-style breakfast and either lunch or dinner that you prepare in your dorm. You will be on your own for one meal each day.

Each Monday evening, each student who shows up to the required meeting will be given 75 euros to cover the costs of two meals per day. We expect that you will use this money to buy groceries and cook in the residence; this allowance cannot cover the cost of eating out twice. However, if you purchase a lot of alcohol, your money will not go nearly as far.

Yes. There are two major theatres in Antwerp. The UGC theatre is a ten-minute walk from Antwerp Hall. It has 14 screens, and you can see the major new releases in the original language, with Flemish and French subtitles. Since most new films come from Hollywood, it means most films are in English. You can get a movie pass to see five films for 25 euros, which is not a bad deal.

In addition, you can go to the Metropolis theatre, which has 24 screens. It is further away, and will require you to take a bus (73-77, leaving from Roosevelt Place), but it is a wonderful theatre experience. The theatres are incredible. You will also find that many movies that were released in the U.S. months ago are still playing in Antwerp. For example, the movie The Lord of the Rings was released in the U.S. in December 2001. In May 2002, it was still playing in Belgium, as was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. In Belgium, films are typically released after they are released in the United States, and they tend to stay in theatres longer.

No. For the program, you will be able to walk almost everywhere.

However, for about 20-25 euros per month, you can get a transportation pass that will allow you to use all trams and buses in Flanders (northern Belgium). This is a good idea, especially if you want to see more of Antwerp than what is available by foot. For example, seeing movies at the Metropolis requires a bus trip. We will discuss public transportation options more in depth at our meetings.

Yes, though they will have to stay in a nearby hotel (it is against the JMU Semester in Antwerp policy to let anyone other than JMU semester in Antwerp students into your apartment). In addition, we do not allow visitors to join the group on field trips, as we already have a large number of students in the group.

It is our experience that visiting friends and family members cause considerable stress to the student they visit, as the student grapples with school work and tour guide duties. Often, student academic performance suffers.

One potential solution to this problem is to have visitors come during one of the two four-day weekends (see the calendar). A particularly good time might be during the week of Thanksgiving (for fall semester) or during the spring break (for spring semester), as airfare will be low, and you will have four full, unencumbered days to play tour guide with your guests. However, do not forget your studies, either!

Yes. Complete information is contained in the Student Guide. In brief, there is a doctor at the Student Health Center on campus, available for one or two hours each day. We also recommend a family doctor located two minutes away from the students’ apartments. The University of Antwerp has a medical school hospital that will accept American insurance plans. You can also find dentists and other medical specialists in the area.

Yes. We will teach you a bit of "survival Flemish," so you can, for example, read train schedules, and we will provide you with a Flemish/English restaurant guide. Nevertheless, you will soon discover that almost everyone speaks English, that many restaurants have an English menu, that TV shows are broadcasted in English with Flemish subtitles, and that you will have little to no difficulty talking to people.

Why does everyone speak English in Antwerp? Because there are very few people who speak Flemish on this planet. To communicate with the rest of the world, native Flemish speakers learn other languages, of which English is perhaps the most popular. Belgian students who attend UFSIA likely speak fluently four languages: French, German, English, and, of course, Flemish. To be a cashier at McDonald's, you need to speak at least three languages (French, English, and Flemish). Language study is a matter of survival in Flemish speaking Belgium. This is not the case in the United States, which is why we are generally so poor at speaking other languages. You will notice that people in France and Germany, will speak a lot less English than people in Antwerp.

FAQ - General Questions About Antwerp or Belgium

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