Dear Erasmus

Dear Netherlands,


studying in your lovely city of Nijmegen is indeed a rollercoaster, shaped by ups and down likewise.
Erasmus is fantastic! And yet I also developed some homesickness. When I left for the Netherlands, I had a wonderful life with my friends at university, living with my family and enough jobs to keep me busy and earn me money. Nonetheless I took this courageous step and left my nest - out of curiosity and wonder and because I wanted to challenge myself - and threw myself again into cold water. It was cold at first. Then it became warmer, the more time I spent here, the more friends I made, the more I got acquainted with the university and the country. The last few weeks were nonetheless shaped by homesickness, as I realized how lucky I was to live in Germany and to have such a supportive environment. And also university with all its deadlines and requirements stressed me out. Sometimes, I do not feel genuinely productive when I work for university, because it is often difficult to see the results and feel that my work is useful.
I am a bit inactive on this blog, but I am actively writing my biweekly column for the University Magazine, so feel free to have a look: https://www.voxweb.nl/blog/more-homes-than-one
https://www.voxweb.nl/blog/72527
And this column is especially about Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, about whom I also wrote a term paper for my Dutch history, politics and culture class: https://www.voxweb.nl/blog/dear-desiderius


Yesterday my friends and me participated in the 'fietsparade', a cycle tour with hundreds (or even thousands) of cyclicsts from all over the world, who celebrated the region Nijmegen-Arnhem as the 'VeloCity 2017' and it was so much fun to cycle approximately 17 kilometres in the sunshine on the wonderful fast cycle paths of Nijmegen, all citizens were out on the streets, cheering us cyclists, and music bands on every corner. By far one of the best experiences of my Dutch Erasmus! :D


And now I will return to my books to study for the next exam...


Doei!


Jane

Travelling solo

Dear Netherlands,

As I have done a bit of solo travelling in the last week, I wrote a speech for my Public Speaking Programme about it and also took it as a template for this week's column on "Vox" ( http://voxweb.nl/blog/travelling-solo ).

I realized it when I was on holiday in England with a friend. He wanted to lie on the beach while I wanted to visit an old castle. After our argument he went to the beach but for me it was too late to visit the castle that day what I later regretted.
So in order to not regret missed chances anymore, I discovered travelling solo. There are three steps to the process.

Firstly, it’s the loneliness people are afraid of. You will most definitely feel lonely some time. You will see things that will remind you of a person or you would like to show to him or her. Yet, having fascination for a place only for yourself will make you delve deeper, slow down, look around, notice different things. It’s easier to get absorbed in an unfamiliar landscape when solo, reliant on no one and vice versa.
And when a pang of loneliness hits you, be reminded you have someone to engage with: yourself.
Furthermore, on your own you are more likely to have chance encounters with strangers.

Secondly, after loneliness comes lightness: Freedom. The place is there, ready for you to discover. Your choices count because they are yours and you decide what to get from the day. You can’t blame anyone – but the weather. This will make you stop complaining and accept situations as they are. You are free, to contemplate than converse. Free, to only to meet your own expectations and no one elses.

The third step is discovery by and of yourself. On your own, you can go and explore at your own pace. You have more time and can tailor your trip to your desires. There will be no hour long searches for the right place to dine, you simply pick the one you like without arguing. You can take detours. You can just sit down for a while and take in your surroundings.  
By engaging with the surroundings instead of a travel partner, you get to know yourself better, what you like, what you are capable of.

So: Get lost and share these trips only with yourself.  

I realized that I could and should have gone to that castle on my own back then. Even if we were on the trip together, I was still responsible for myself.

Yet, I have to admit that after some time it can get really lonely. Of course it depends on the type of person you are. I would recommend travelling solo to everyone, just for the experience, at least once. Furthermore, how you experience a place or a city also depends on the mood your are in and - not to neglect - the weather.

Love,

Jane

Oh, the places you'll go!

Dear Netherlands,


the next days I will be on the road (well, rather on the tracks) to explore the West of you, such as Den Haag (so much looking forward to be back there), Leiden, Haarlem, Delft, Keukenhof. I will spend King's Day in Amsterdam with friends.


Because I travelled a lot by train in the last weeks already, I wrote a column for the uni magazine about the beauty of a train ride: http://voxweb.nl/blog/oh-the-places-youll-go


I will report about my adventures afterwards!


Love,
Jane


P.S. Would you please be so kind ass to bless me with some sunshine in the next days?

Sun

Dear Netherlands,


I plead guilty. I am sorry for having abandoned you for more than a month. Life has been busy. Even if that sounds like a lame excuse, it has indeed been busy. Have a look yourself:
Firstly, I drowned in deadlines for both my universities but luckily I managed to meet them - though I am still waiting for the results.
Secondly, I betrayed you by going abroad to Switzerland. The purpose was a long planned study trip and a Model United Nations conference in Geneva (GIMUN). Five lovely ladies from Hannover University and me visited international organisations such as the World Economic Forum, World Trade Organization, CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), World Health Organization and OHCHR. Every single institution filled us with inspiration and knowledge and made the world just that little bit bigger. Geneva itself is an interesting business city, beautifully framed by the Alps and Jura mountains and boasting the grande Lac Léman/Lake Geneva and a lovely Old Town.
The MUN conference was extraordinarily special in the regard that it took place in the European Headquarters of the United Nations. Equipped with badges which allowed us entry to almost anywhere on the premises we could enjoy our lunch breaks in the beautiful park, admiring the monuments (gifts from states) and the free-roaming peacocks. Inside the buildings we marvelled at the fascinating ceiling of the Assembly Hall of the Human Rights Council (which was in session at the time we were there) and the Assembly Hall which served the Meetings of the fromer League of Nations. It gave an overall special atmosphere to the conference, being in the same buildings and sharing the same lunch cafeteria with real diplomats and quickly jumping to the side because the Syrian government was about to leave a meeting room or crossing our way.
MUN conferences are interesting and inspiring a) diplomacy-wise. Stepping into the shoes of diplomats you have to convince your fellow delegates from your contry's position, even if it does not match your own view on this topic. It hones your debating and rhetoric skills and requires you to develop a negotiation strategy. MUN conferences are interesting and inspiring b) content-wise. Preparation for a conference requires deep research beforehand and throughout the conference. Additionally, the debates and guest speakers teach you a lot about the debated subjects. MUN conferences are interesting and inspiring c) people-wise. Yes, MUN is definitely about the young, ambitious, motivated, smart students from all over the world, willing to engage with each other and have fun. MUN conferences are interesting and inspiring d) MUN-Spirit-wise. There is indeed a term for the feeling delegates experience after an intense conference (lasting only a few days, hence its intensity): post-MUN-depression. 'We're all in this together' is probably the overarching MUN conference feeling, enabling you to actively engage in debates with like-minded people with the same goals, to make new friends and enjoy your priviledged position.

After my return from Geneva to Nijmegen I had to do a take-home exam and recover from a cold. I was not granted much time for that as a friend from Hannover (whom I had only recently seen in Geneva) had announced his visit. We enjoyed the (finally!) nice weather in Nijmegen, exploring its Roman history in the museum and even dared to cross the bridges over the Waal river, cycling for hours 'on the other side of Nijmegen where no one ever goes'. On Sunday summer came to Nijmegen for one day, leaving me with a heavy sunburn.
University classes started again on Monday and I am lucky with only two classes this period ('Theories of International Relations' and 'Dutch History and Culture') as I also have to prepare for a Sociology exam in Hannover in July.

 Sint Stevenskerk Nijmegen

 Do as the Romans do

Fietsen op de dijk

 Waal - Nijmegen

How wonderfully wide a fietspad is! Such a privilege!

This small chapel means 'home', because directly behind it is the student dorm

I can't stop MUNing or doing MUN related things. Yesterday (Tuesday) evening I had the first session of the United Netherlands Public Speaking Programme and it was great fun! This session we focussed on body language and everyone had to do an impromptu speech. Afterwards we went to have a drink and socialise. Not only the trainers made the session informative and fun, also the other participants seem to be cool and interesting people. I am very much looking forward to the next session! But before I have to prepare another speech and videotape it.....

Tomorrow there is a 'Spring Ball' for the international students and I hope to do some serious Standard dancing. I will spend the Easter days with my family in Hannover and the following weekend I will spend in my favourite city The Hague.

So much for the catch up!

Love,

Jane

Rain

Dear Netherlands,


I want to apologise that I have not written much lately. It is because your uni is so demanding! :D And it will be more quiet in the next weeks as well because I am going to Geneva in two weeks and have exams in Nijmegen at the beginning of April. Once they are done, my Erasmus life shall start properly! ;) 

So today I want to - again - tell you about how I and other international students experience life in the Netherlands in general and in Nijmegen in particular.
I am excited to tell you that I have started a biweekly column for the international section of our uni magazine "Vox" and my first column is online: http://voxweb.nl/blog/welcome-to-nijmegen


I also talked to a student from Korea and one from China. As I could not include their observations in the article, I wanted to share them with you.
Firstly, they are both very excited to live in Europe now but have to get used to the culture.
The Chinese student was surprised by the bike culture, as she was not used to riding the bike to university or just more generally around the city.
The Korean student was surprised to see that whatever the weather, the Dutch go by bike and hardly anyone uses an umbrella while cycling (and also walking) in the rain.
We have been here für six weeks now. The first three weeks were characterised by cold and snow, the last three weeks by cold, rain and wind. And with that observation I might have found the answer for why the Dutch brave any weather without much ado: the wind would blow your umbrella away. I tried cycling with an umbrella this morning but had to learn that this is not the best idea. I would have been an obstacle for the traffic, all the time struggling with my umbrella and not giving the impression that I am master of the situation. So I arrived at my lecture soaking wet. Luckily, everyone else did as well. ;)


Additionally, my Korean friend was amazed by what he called the "hug culture" in Europe: when people meet their friends on the street, they usually hug or kiss the cheeks as a greeting. For him, it looks lovely and warm and makes him feel loved. He concluded that Koreans (who just bow or shake hands) had to hug more to make this world a warmer place!
Yes, please! People, go out and give free hugs! Let's make this world a kinder, friendlier and warmer place.

Both the Korean and Chinese student still struggle with the language. They are aware that they have to get used to the signs (even important ones) being in Dutch (and not in English as they expected). A Russian friend of mine had to wait for a couple of minutes in front of the bathrooms at uni for someone to come out as she did not know what 'H' and 'D' stood for. :D

The Chinese student and I share the impression that the semester schedule is much tighter than in our home countries where we have two semesters lasting four months each with a long break in between. In the Netherlands the university year is divided up into quarters with an exam period at the end of each quarter. We concluded that this system can push the students to learn faster and more effective.

That's all for now!
I just wish this endless rain will stop eventually and we will have a nice spring here in Nijmegen. The locals keep promising me that Nijmegen is even nicer in the warm weather, so I am looking forward to enjoying some leisure time near the river.

Tot ziens!


Jane

Resonance

Dear Netherlands,


this week's post is all about resonance as the title gives away.
On Wednesday I attended an evening lecture by the German sociologist Hartmut Rosa ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BwKasee9Qc ) called 'Living in times of acceleration'.
He said that modernization sets the world in motion. A society can be called modern when it systematically requires (material) growth, acceleration, increase in production. The economy , science, art/literature and politics run on the promise of increase.
Humans strive for increasing their horizon, making the world 'available, accessible and attainable' on the promise of making 'more' of the world at an incredible speed. According to Rosa, we run on the promise that eventually there willl come a time where life slows down. E.g. "I only have to do this one job and then everything will be fine and I'll be happy!. Yet, says Rosa, it won't get better. It will be even worse next year.
In our constant process of making the world more 'available, accessible and attainable' (Triple A), the world eventually becomes more arid, quiet, numb, because not all sub-systems in the system can keep up. Rosa asks: Why do people listen to music? To feel alive, to feel connected to the world, it is an access to resonance. We answer to it.
While writing this blog entry I (ironically!) listen to a playlist on Spotify. Rosa asks: Through Spotify 9 million titles are available. But does this enhance our music experience? No. We still only listen to what we know, what we like. Same with streaming: in effect, fewer films are watched, people turn to the blockbusters.
We feel overwhelmed. So the world becomes silent. Eventually, with some people this leads to burnout because nothing touches anymore, the world becomes empty, dead, grey. The access to resonance is dead and we feel that we lose the world. Because we are overwhelmed by the speed, complexity and options.
Structurally, we experience a desynchronization, and culturally, the dream of Triple A leads to a loss of the world.
What are we going to do about it?, Rosa asks. He does not wish for a static society, but a new institutionalisation. He says that humanity needs a society which does not need to grow, speed-up and innovate just to keep up the status, a so-called 'mode of adaptive stabilization'. Society should grow if change is needed and desired. It should be modern in a liberal, pluralistic and democratic sense.
He calls for a Responsive World. For resonance as a way of relating to the world, where the subject and the world appear to touch and transform each other. People ought to reconnect with things and be transformed by their interactions. Resonanace requires that 'both sides speak their own voices, which includes contradiction and dissonance and leads to non-predictable transformation'. People ought to be willing to be transformed and to respond. Resonance is listening to voices different from yours and to get in touch with the difference.
Contradictory to the Triple A theory, resonance necessarily entails non-availabilty and elusiveness. It cannot be accumulated or increased or stored or controlled since we do not know the result of resonance. Resonance is not a set of mind, but a relationship.
In a competitive system as we live in at the moment, there is no resonance. Therefore, according to Rosa, the system and its institutions must enable resonance. Rosa calls for a revolution. Since we know that it is possible to live differently we should structure the world differently from the system of capitalism which consists of explotation, inequality and alienation.


Get out there and get in touch with the world. With yourself. With other people. With objects. With nature. With the system.
Make life worth living. Give it a meaning. Break out of 'more'.
Do not live in a dead and silent world. Get in touch. Be and feel alive.
This might sound naive to some people, but I, personally, genuinely believe that the key to a happy life lies in there. In being in love and being inspired by work.
What leads to a good life? That's what I am here for to figure out. It's easy for us to see what is wrong. But it is hard to see what is good for us.


Inspired by the lecture I made a small bike tour on Thursday afternoon alongside the Waal-Maas-Kanaal which I have a beautiful view of from my window. It had been a lovely day and in the late afternoon the warm sunlight and the soft breeze made me hop on my bike and discover a new part of Nijmegen. Riding my bicycle was inspiring, liberating and refreshing. I love going new places with my bike. It gives me such freedom, such joy!

Today, I talked to my dear friend who is on her Erasmus in Glasgow on Skype. Our conversation was also inspired by Rosa's lecture. We talked about how we do not want to be controlled or lead by companies, the system or society but by our ideas and visions. Is it not sufficient in life to be a good, honest, friendly, kind, polite and pleasant person? To do random acts of kindness and live in an exemplary manner. This certainly makes a good life in our opinion. People should focus on making life and the system we live in ethically better.
What sense is there in increased consumption and focus on profit while neglecting 'humanity' in the sense what makes humans human? To care about each other.


Love,


Jane

Look up, look down, look around

Dear Netherlands,


I already mentioned it before but they say that Erasmus is like a rollercoaster. I could not agree more.
On Erasmus, you meet highly intersting people. They surprise you - in good or not so good ways. Nonetheless, they teach you a lot.
I intend to 'find myself' here - as cliché as that may sound. And yes, through the experiences here, uni or private life, I learn what I wish to learn. Slowly, but steadily.


Dear Netherlands, you know, in life, it's about the little things. Random acts of kindness.
Today, I was on my way home from my excursion to the city centre after uni (I just HAD to see the Grote Markt in proper sunshine for the first time), when I and the other cyclists stopped at a traffic light. A young woman and a young man behind me had a conversation in English. Usually it's me and my Italian friend who entertain the other cyclists at traffic lights or annoy them by cycling next to each other on the fietspad. This time it was, as I guessed, two other Erasmus students. Funnily enough, they talked about the fact that they always presuppose the Dutch speaking English. That they do not even try to approach the Dutch in Dutch, but readily start talking to them in English.
I do the same, yet, I always apologise for only speaking English and make integration efforts, for example trying to pronounce the name of the bread in the bakkerij. The verkoopster then happily corrects me and teaches me one or two words in their language. I then praise their heerlijk carrot cake and we part as happy people.
I arrived at my student dorm and 20 seconds later the Erasmus students from the traffic lights arrived at the bike sheds. Since it is a bit tricky to hold the door of the shed open while pushing your bike inside, I saw the girl struggling with it and held the door open for her. She was thankful and we started a chat about the bike parking spaces. We then both realized that we 'met' at the traffic light and she said she just cycled relaxed behind me because I had such a convenient pace. Oh we then had a lovely little chat about our studies. If I had not held open that door, we would not have got to known each other.
Everybody I met today was in such a good mood thanks to the beautiful weather. It is still a bit chilly but the clear blue sky and bright sunshine make up for it. Spring is definitely on it's way. I, for sure, had a spring in my step! The last three weeks here were characterised by snow, rain and cold. And this one sunny day makes me incredibly happy.

Sunlit 'Grote Markt'



Typical Dutch snack: my beloved carrot cake and a variety of 'kaas': jong belegen, verse geitenkaas met honing and roombrie.

I cannot emphasize enough how lucky I am to study at this university for my Erasmus. On Monday I attended an evening lecture by a p rofessor from the London School of Economics about 'Europe's Promise. Kant's Point of View', he talked about euro-scepticism, euro-federalism and Kant's third way. Kant anticipated a United Europe of States, instead of the United States of Europe, so that states could maintain peace without giving up their sovereignity. It was a highly interesting talk.
How lucky we are to live in the Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain...!


I also genuinely enjoy my Political Communication lecture every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I soak up everything like a sponge and let myself be inspired.

"Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift." - Albert Einstein

It is true. Oh, so true. Look around. In nature. In your surroundings. Engage with your environment. Be present. And learn.

A little goes a long way: a welcome card from the city of Nijmegen. I genuinely feel welcomed here.

Even on days when the sun blinds you while riding your bike: Keep your eyes open.


Love,


Jane