Accomodations for students

Well, maybe it's time to give some info about what possible accomodations there are for students.

There is of course a hostel, where there are more students in one room and bathroom/kitchen have to be shared, These cost around 250-350 euros and I would NOT recommend them at all because in my opinion, they kinda suck. So your other choice could be a flat or a house. Here you usually have your own room, you only have to share the bathroom and the kitchen with max 5 other people which is not horrible at all I think. In Leeuwarden you can get a room from 200 euros til 300. Over 300 euros you get a pretty nice room. I pay a little bit more over 300 euros, but it IS worth it.

ours is the 3rd if I'm not mistaken

So about MY accomodation: the 5 of us rent an actual family house. It is really awesome, and modern. And we also have a little garden in the back and sometimes we barbecue there. It is really fun.

View from my room

As for my roomies: there are 3 guys (around the age of 20-21), another girl (17) and me (22 - yippie, I'm the oldest in the house :D) and I must say that I-JUST-LOVE-MY-ROOMIES. They are really awesome and fun people. Really idiots! But in the positive way of course! Just love 'em. Everytime if we're together, we just laugh A LOT. And it seems that my last two years (if I don't get kicked out of the house), I'm gonna live with them and I am really happy about it. So here are some pics about my Dutch home and the surrounding of oit :)))

The mysterious world of chatsites

Well, since I live in Holland, I have become a user of different Dutch chatsites to improve my Dutch and get to know new people because most of my friends live outside of the city. Besides that you can come across really pervert people there are also some really nice ones. The secret is, that you have to be open, not too open and not to share very personal information on the internet (your mobile phone or anything) and it is really handy if you live in the same city and if you finally meet, always do it in public! After you added each other on msn, it is really easy because you can keep in touch, have video conversations and you can actually see the person you are talking to. If something goes wrong, you can still block them everywhere.

I have had some very good experiences and met people from the internet. I have become very goods friends with a girl, since it turned out that she was also Hungarian, and comes from the same city like I do and studied at the same primary school and secondary school, like I did. It was really funny.

I have also met some guys (without the total lack of intention that something would happen between us) but  with them I am not in touch anymore because there just wasn't a 'click' but it was still nice to be out and have a nice conversation.

My very best experience came really spontaniously: I was chatting with some guy for just a half an hour long, we were both complaining that our friends are busy and/or don't want to go out and now we are just gonna have a boring evening. Yeah, right..... oké, then I suggested: do you feel like going out? Okaay, then we met and started a pubcrawl in the city. And it turned out to be really fun, we were totally on the same wavelength and we had an awesome time and I think, I have just got a very good friend (overtaking any thoughts if something had happen, it did NOT). Of course, it also came because the Dutchies are really open to others and to new things, but of course not everyone dares to meet with a total stranger. But that's why it was exciting!

Well, if you have any questions about how to chat and meet nice people, just aks HEHEHEHEHE

The Dutchies

me with some Dutch friends :))

Well, the Dutch people: besides that they are tall, blond, got blue eyes (most of them at least), they are the most fun people I have ever met. They are direct, open to everything, social, easy-going, not afraid of new things and new people. If you are a foreigner and they see that you are lost or something, they are going to offer their help at once.

Futhermore, they hardly worry. I love this feature about them. I do love hanging out with my Dutch friends, they are really fun and know how to party and 'just let it go'. If you ever come to live in Holland, you have to learn to live with this directness, because they will ask a lot about you (part of the getting-to-know-you process) and will switch to English at once if they see that you have troubles with the language. Or if you speak in Dutch, they won't care if you make a mistake, they will treat you and talk to you just like if you were a Dutch yourself. It probably comes from that they are full of foreigners and are used to hearing and listening to accents, poor Dutch knowledge, so don't be afraid to use what you know in Dutch! They will help you! So that's why I think that if you decide to live abroad, the Netherlands would be a great first choice because their people are nice, kind, welcoming and will make you feel just like at home.

HOLIDAY

Nationale Nederland -
during the day

YEEES, it's finally time to have some rest from school. At my school the vacation starts officially on the 1st of July and lasts til the 31st of August. Obviosly, it is 2 months, must be enough time to 'repair' yourself both menthally and physically. And what to do in Holland? Especially if the weather is so unpredictable! Really, it is July and I'm still wearing my jacket.... ridiculous. But at least I don't sweat my ass off, so to speak.... Well, it is a great weather to make trips to other cities. I'm not gonna do that coz I travel a lot during the year, as well.

City hall

Pathé, theather

City hall

Nationale Nederland - at night

Rotterdam has become my favourite Dutch city. It is totally different from what you're used to in the Netherlands. Because it was destroyed during the 2nd WW, and it had to be rebuilt, it is pretty modern. New cool buildings and streets, hardly any canals can be found anymore. The city is LIVING. It is full of foreigners, I kinda feel tall there (that IS strange, coz I'm like 172 cm tall, that's smaller than an average Dutch) but you can find ANY nationalities in Rotterdam. So even more people speak English there (if it's even possible because almost everyone speaks English in Holland) but if you wanna get a job, it will be easier there. It is also said that Rotterdam is the most international city of Holland. I have experienced that...

So here are some pics about the city and I hope you get an idea what I mean by 'different' from other cities in the Netherlands. Enjoy


P.S: sorry for that the pictures look so idiotic but this stupid blog just does not want to put them where I want them to be!!

Studiefinanciering//Student loan

If you want to study in the Netherlands, I think, it is pretty handy to know about this opportunity. You can also find info about it on this website: http://www.ib-groep.nl/particulieren/default.asp

You are allowed to get this loan, if you are Dutch, or an Eu -member (I am sorry, I'm not sure if non-eu students can get it)
A dutch student gets it because he's dutch, but an EU-student has to do the following things to be able to get it:
1. you have to follow a full-time study at a dutch university.
2. He has to be working at a dutch company, and have a contract with them at least for 3 months already, when you apply to studiefinanciering.
3. On the contract there has to be 32 hours per month working hours. and you also have to work at least this much and keep working as long as you want to get this loan.
4. there are two parts of this loan: the basisbeurs, meaning basic loan, which is around 240 euros/ month. This is what everyone gets. In addition, you can apply for an aanvullende beurs, meaning something like additional loan, which can be max 260 euros/month and it gets calculated by the salary of your parents. If your parents earn well, then probably you are gonna get less. If they don't, you might get the max. amount.
5. In addition to these, you have  right for an OV-chipkaart, which is a travelling card with which you can travel for free during the week OR at the weekends, depending on which one you choose.
6. So you get this loan for max 5 years, and if you get your degree within 10 years, you do not have to pay it back.

All above these, you can get a "real" loan, as wel but you DO have to pay this back, no matter if you have your degree. Only the basisbeurs and the aanvullende beurs can be a kind of gift in case if you have your degree.

If something is not clear, just let me know your e-mail and I answer all questions or just check out the link above.

Travelling to the Netherlands

Well, I am going to write this from a European distance.

By Plane:
There are flights frequently leaving to and from Amsterdam Airport (Schipol) or to Eindhoven. Schipol is the main airport of Holland - there are usually nationall aircrafts flying here. The Dutch aircraft is KLM and for a reasonable price. As for the luggage, it can weigh up to 23 kg.
Usually the charter flights fly to Eindhoven such us Wizzair or Ryanair. And of course most country's own aircrafts have planes flying to Holland.
The journey can take from 1 hour up to 3 but then you come from really far. the average travel time is 2 hours to Holland from Europe.

By Bus:
It is an ever cheaper way, though it takes much longer but you are allowed to take much more stuff with you than on the plane. Busses usually stop at the bigger European cities.

By car:
if you don't travel alone then it is the cheapest way if you don't mind driving a lot :D Austria can be reached withing 10 hours, Hungary 15 hours. But it also depends on the weather and the traffic of course but a huge adventage is that you can take as much stuff as much fits in the car.

Qeen's Day

Well, this is a national day when the Dutch do know how to celebrate. Held on the 30th of April, the birthday of the Queen. Though it's funny because her birthday is not on this day officially. All in all, this day is all about celebrating. It usually starts early in the morning and lasts until the next day. There are a lot of venues all over the country where there are stages set, so live music, and everyone is just drinking, dancing, freaking out :D and everything is Orange!!! Btw, maybe you all know it already, but just a bit of history lesson why the orange is the colour of the Dutch. It is all because of William of Orange :))

But so here is a video of where I have been to this year (I am somewhere there in the crowd, who can find me, wins something :D)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98xk73mAjt0&feature=related