My Erasmus story — part 2.

One month after coming back home from Enschede and how it changed my way of thinking…

Enjoying time in Groningen

Being away from home for the past six months has really affected me as a person. I think I could say that I fell in love. One very simple country and one very small city showed me how to live a peaceful life. They showed me how to be even more polite to people as well as to live less of an individual life style.

Trips

For me, one of the big things that had been happening was packing my bags and hitting the road. Buying daily train tickets (for groups) to travel across the country for 7 € was more than acceptable as a chance to see Dutch cities. Therefore I visited Rotterdam, Groningen and twice Amsterdam. Since Germany is so close, we went to Gronau, Munster and Berlin. At the end of everything I had a big opportunity to see London.

Rotterdam, Groningen and Amsterdam

The inside of Markthal

We went to Rotterdam in February so I was very cold and windy. The best place there was the market place called Markthal. It has a very nice interior decoration that gives that extra feeling of fruits, vegetables, sweets, spices and international cuisine. The Erasmus bridge, port and monumental town hall called Stadhuis are also the places to see in Rotterdam.

Groningen was a very nice city with many symbols that show city’s support to LGBT community. There are many stores, as well as fast food stands. We had fun there since it was the first time that we actually saw sun properly and felt its warm. In Groningen we went to Kattencafe Op z’n Kop. It is a little cafe place, filled with cats inside. It is nice and cozy even though the cats were not as playful and cuddly as we expected.

Inside of De Hallen with restaurants on both side

Ahh, beautiful Amsterdam. It turned out that I went there twice even tho I have been there before. I decided to go there alone in March since I had wished to participate in Woman’s March. It was a pretty big event considering the fact that Dutch people don’t protest, culturally speaking. It was organized very well, with many volunteers and police. The second time I went to Amsterdam was in April, just after my birthday, with my boyfriend. We took a long walk around the city to show him the canals and the bicycle culture. I took him to De Hallen, the best place to eat in Amsterdam. It is a big hall, filled with many small restaurants that serve variety of international dishes. Good place to go because everybody can find the food they what to eat regardless their preference. Also, I really liked the Bulls and Dogs restaurant because they have this amazing milkshakes (“It’s like amazing!”).

Gronau, Munster and Berlin

Check point Charlie in Berlin

Since Gronau is so close to Dutch-German border, we took the time to go there by bikes. I actually liked the south part more then the north, because it was less industrial. When I talk about industrial, I start thinking about Berlin. I have to say that I do understand the history part and the influence of the socialism but still — the city is soulless. But, I have to say that if you ever wanted to go there, take the Alternative Berlin Tour. It is a good way to see a different side of the city by listening about subcultures like graffiti and street art. I was completely surprised how it affected my view of Berlin. On the other side, Munster is an OK city to see even though I did not feel like there is anything to do or see there. Except for buying cheaper stuff (read: booze).

London

The inside of Camden Market

Oh yes, yes. Very nice. Like! London is like a little New York I imagined it to be. This city can be anything you want it to be; fun, modern, historical, fashionable, peaceful with many large parks, with lots of good both flea and food markets. I really liked Onthebab (Korean) and Banh Mi Bay (Vietnamese) restaurant. Of course, there are lots of pretty good burgers you can find there. For me the best place in London is the Camden Market. The feeling I got there is indescribable. The mixture of a local subculture, flea market and international cuisines excited me.

One of the best part of my London trip was seeing my parents. It was this big surprise, especially considering everyone from Croatia was in on it, and I was none the wiser. My brother and I were in a restaurant looking at the menu when I heard a familiar voice talk to me: “Is this chair free?”. I looked up and there were my parents standing in front of me. It was a very nice surprise, it even made me cry. Then my mother started crying as well, and emotions started pouring out of us… It was one of the best moments of my whole Erasmus journey which is funny because it turns out I needed to leave home and not see my parents for three and half months to experience that. I had a lovely time with them in London since they knew their way around.

Dutch people and social work in them

Workshop @Saxion University where every Erasmus exchange student talked to first year students of social work about social problems in their home country.

I decided to do 60 hours of field practice in Netherlands for subject Social work in organizing communities from Croatian university, and it was the best choice I could have made. I learned a lot about Dutch people, culture and history. It is all very complicated but connected. I am thankful to each and every one who helped me (especially docent Kors, Cindy and Ernst from BEIEN and my favorite wijkcoach Sanela) and had the patience to talk to me (read: Sanela who was usually my translator). They showed me how the things will happen just as long as I know what I want.

Selfie with Helene and Nico while they were typing reports

One of the most exciting things that happened was riding one whole shift with Helene and Nico, police officers from Police station Enschede. They made me feel like I’m not worth less for being a civilian, rather they gave me the silicone gloves in case they will need an extra hand with giving first aid. Both of them created more than positive picture of police forces. I hope some day I will have the opportunity to work with them.

Aftermath

After coming back home, I can’t say that I had a posterasmus depression because I had to pass a very difficult exam at my home university. It felt like a big slap in the face, and I had to stay focused. There was no time to relax and think about coming back home. I performed a huuugee miracle and passed it in my first attempt. That D in my index felt like a medal for surviving whole semester away from home. I must admit everything feels so good. I can really say that I had the most productive semester in my life (I even came back home with four passed exams a.k.a. 20 ECTS from Saxion University). I have never felt prouder of myself!

But, I want to say that I miss the city. I miss the Dutch mentality; politeness and optimism. I miss walking around the neighborhood and peeking into strangers living room. I miss biking around and enjoying the light 20 something degree temperatures. I miss Saxion University because of its high level of functionality as well as my think-out-side-of-the-box-professors. I miss my international friends and my CZ roomie. If I could, I would do it all over again.

Me at the end of January while traveling to Enschede

Erasmus alumini

Now I can say to everyone: if you feel any interest in going abroad — GO. Trust me, you will not regret it. You will learn a lot about yourself, and others. You will expand your social network and upgrade your language skills. No need to mention that you will finally learn how to cook, wash your clothes, balance your monthly finances, … — to live a functional life on your own.