Back to School, Back to School, to Prove to Dad that I'm not a Fool... ;)
Yesterday I began my intensive course called Fundamentals of Neuroscience. This is my only class and we meet from 9 to 5 every weekday. So far it's been alright but I know that it's going to be a pretty exhausting 10 weeks. Tomorrow we begin dissecting a human brain. I'm very excited for this. It's simultaneously freaky and incredible to have the opportunity to do this. We'll be working in large groups of 9 people to 1 brain.
Most of the people in my course at dutch (~85%) and so it's been interesting to be surrounded by people speaking in another language. Now, the course is absolutely taught in english but many of the students revert to Dutch when speaking to eachother. I definitely don't get upset about it but occasionally I have to remind them that I'm there and need them to speak in english. It makes me further aware of how boring and monolingual I am. Everyone tells me that they don't mind and even like speaking in english but I'm still embarrassed that I can only speak english. Additionally, everyone tells me not to bother learning dutch. They argue that it's a useless language and although I might agree with them in some respects, I'd also like to learn the language that's spoken to and around me constantly; particularly since I'll be living here for 2 years. We'll see what I decide to do. I think I might try and get the dutch students to teach me in passing and see what I can learn by immersion. I think I can also trade my english for dutch as well if I were to sign up for some partner learning.
I've been able to meet a lot of people in my program during this last week at our orientation and also during class since we often do group work. I've been enjoying all of their company and learning new things about dutch culture and thoughts about american culture as well. It's a growing experience to meet so many international and dutch students and I feel so lucky to be here.
Continuing Impressions
This past week was, as the dutch jokingly say, typical dutch weather. Meaning that this week was beautiful sunny and warm weather not at all resembling the typical dutch day. I tried to take advantage when I could by going out into the city. I had three different introduction days for my masters, international program and my graduate school and all of them had great free stuff and activities for us. They gave me an opportunity to meet new people and explore the city and campus. Saturday I signed up for an intro day by the Erasmus Student Network which is a group that supports international students but boiled down, they're basically a party all the time. ESN is more for bachelors students but it was a fun opportunity to see the city and meet more people. They also hosted a party that evening and a bunch of us went to that as well. It's pretty funny riding your bike to the bar. Definitely not something I thought I'd be doing all the time. I've had the chance to meet some great german friends and we decided to go to the beach on Sunday. We drove to Den Hague (40 mins away) and it was amazing. It was beautiful and such a great temperature. Even the freezing ocean was delightful. We stayed and watched the sunset while eating fish and chips on the harbor. I can't imagine a better way to spend my last day before starting this masters.
Challenges
I know it goes without saying but this adventure has not been without it's snags. One of the more obvious difficulties is that they speak dutch here which means that I don't know what people are saying when they speak to me at first (I also have to ask for english), I struggle pronouncing cities, street names...everything, shopping at the grocery store can be an adventure even with pictures on things(!) and plenty of other things. Now, it's really been okay so far and I survive just fine because the dutch speak english and I can always ask questions and get an okay answer. Another trick is money. For some reason, the Netherlands uses cards with chips on the card, and a pin as well, almost exclusively. This means my credit and debit cards are rendered useless because I only have magnetic strips. This means I always need cash on me which makes me pretty uncomfortable. To get a card with a chip, I require a bank account. I truly thought this would be an easy enough endeavor. I signed up for an account ahead of time and planned to sign my contract and activate the account at the international intro day on Thursday. Of course the bank immediately had technical difficulties get anything to work for anyone and said we would need to go to the one and only bank branch that handles our student accounts which is also on the other side of town. On top of that, they were so busy that they were turning people away on Thursday and Friday. I have class everyday from 9-5 which is their working hours so it's nearly impossible for me to get over there from campus even on a lunch break. It's INSANE. So ridiculous that such a large bank could eff up a simple enough process. You might be thinking: why doesn't she just go to another bank? Well I would in a heartbeat if I could. But since I'm on scholarship, the school needs me to have a rabobank account so that they can put my money in there and then pay for my tuition as well. Luckily my classes today are shifted later tomorrow and thursday so I'll be able to activate it then but it's been frustrating. I also require a bank account in order to get a contract cell phone so right now I don't have a real phone. I've been borrowing one but I'd like to have a smart phone that I can do translations, conversions and maps on as well as simply a number that I don't mind giving out to lots of people because I'll have it permanently. The biking thing was mostly intimidating for a few days but now I ride everyday and although sometimes I still struggle with head winds and rain, I feel confident enough to get around. I also get lost on a somewhat regular basis. I always make sure to have a map with me (usually 2-3 slightly different ones that have better versions parts of the city). I don't mind being lost too much because I get to see more of the city (silver lining). All in all, things could be much more difficult and I'm happy that I chose to move here. It's bound to be an incredible adventure!
The Dom Tower in Utrecht
One of the Uni buildings in the City Center. I'll graduate here in 2 years
An example of the many many bikes!
Until next post. Tot ziens!
Brenna
I've been able to meet a lot of people in my program during this last week at our orientation and also during class since we often do group work. I've been enjoying all of their company and learning new things about dutch culture and thoughts about american culture as well. It's a growing experience to meet so many international and dutch students and I feel so lucky to be here.
Continuing Impressions
This past week was, as the dutch jokingly say, typical dutch weather. Meaning that this week was beautiful sunny and warm weather not at all resembling the typical dutch day. I tried to take advantage when I could by going out into the city. I had three different introduction days for my masters, international program and my graduate school and all of them had great free stuff and activities for us. They gave me an opportunity to meet new people and explore the city and campus. Saturday I signed up for an intro day by the Erasmus Student Network which is a group that supports international students but boiled down, they're basically a party all the time. ESN is more for bachelors students but it was a fun opportunity to see the city and meet more people. They also hosted a party that evening and a bunch of us went to that as well. It's pretty funny riding your bike to the bar. Definitely not something I thought I'd be doing all the time. I've had the chance to meet some great german friends and we decided to go to the beach on Sunday. We drove to Den Hague (40 mins away) and it was amazing. It was beautiful and such a great temperature. Even the freezing ocean was delightful. We stayed and watched the sunset while eating fish and chips on the harbor. I can't imagine a better way to spend my last day before starting this masters.
Challenges
I know it goes without saying but this adventure has not been without it's snags. One of the more obvious difficulties is that they speak dutch here which means that I don't know what people are saying when they speak to me at first (I also have to ask for english), I struggle pronouncing cities, street names...everything, shopping at the grocery store can be an adventure even with pictures on things(!) and plenty of other things. Now, it's really been okay so far and I survive just fine because the dutch speak english and I can always ask questions and get an okay answer. Another trick is money. For some reason, the Netherlands uses cards with chips on the card, and a pin as well, almost exclusively. This means my credit and debit cards are rendered useless because I only have magnetic strips. This means I always need cash on me which makes me pretty uncomfortable. To get a card with a chip, I require a bank account. I truly thought this would be an easy enough endeavor. I signed up for an account ahead of time and planned to sign my contract and activate the account at the international intro day on Thursday. Of course the bank immediately had technical difficulties get anything to work for anyone and said we would need to go to the one and only bank branch that handles our student accounts which is also on the other side of town. On top of that, they were so busy that they were turning people away on Thursday and Friday. I have class everyday from 9-5 which is their working hours so it's nearly impossible for me to get over there from campus even on a lunch break. It's INSANE. So ridiculous that such a large bank could eff up a simple enough process. You might be thinking: why doesn't she just go to another bank? Well I would in a heartbeat if I could. But since I'm on scholarship, the school needs me to have a rabobank account so that they can put my money in there and then pay for my tuition as well. Luckily my classes today are shifted later tomorrow and thursday so I'll be able to activate it then but it's been frustrating. I also require a bank account in order to get a contract cell phone so right now I don't have a real phone. I've been borrowing one but I'd like to have a smart phone that I can do translations, conversions and maps on as well as simply a number that I don't mind giving out to lots of people because I'll have it permanently. The biking thing was mostly intimidating for a few days but now I ride everyday and although sometimes I still struggle with head winds and rain, I feel confident enough to get around. I also get lost on a somewhat regular basis. I always make sure to have a map with me (usually 2-3 slightly different ones that have better versions parts of the city). I don't mind being lost too much because I get to see more of the city (silver lining). All in all, things could be much more difficult and I'm happy that I chose to move here. It's bound to be an incredible adventure!
Until next post. Tot ziens!
Brenna
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