Campus The Hague welcomes their new exchange students
On Friday 3 February, all new incoming exchange students for the Spring semester were invited to attend their own Faculty’s introduction session. The long awaited start of their study abroad was then kicked off by a guided tour of The Hague’s most interesting hot spots and a real Dutch Vrijdagmiddagborrel (Friday afternoon drinks) in the city center.
The Faculty of Social Sciences, the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs decided to team up for this event and together with two student buddies and the FGGA International Office they introduced the students to their new home town. All students now know to locate the important spots like where to arrange practicalities (city hall) and where to find bars and restaurants. The Hague has a lot to offer for this!
Furthermore, they were introduced to a little Dutch history, saw the Prime Minister’s Torenkamertje, checked whether they could spot the King in his office at Paleis Noordeinde and walked along the Hofvijver. Of course, we couldn’t let this opportunity pass without the ‘mandatory’ pictures here! Despite the typical Dutch, cold and wet weather everybody seems to be having a good time.
The tour’s last important stop was De Boterwaag, where everyone could warm up with a drink. Time to chat and get to know your fellow exchange students! We hope everyone had a good time and we would like to thank everyone involved. We wish all students a rewarding and fantastic spring here!
'The Netherlands was one of the top choices for me'
Sid was kind enough to let us know he loves The Netherlands already: ‘I love the Netherlands for two reasons: one because of its inclusive nature – I am a queer guy – so for me I wanted to experience diversity and everybody told me that the Netherlands is a very welcoming and affirming space. So, for me the Netherlands was one of the top choices. The second reason I picked the Netherlands was because I love Eurovision, and for me I always wanted to see Europe, and this is my first time in Europe so I thought Netherlands would be a good country to start exploring.’ What has surprised him about the Netherlands so far? ‘The Dutch sarcasm - sometimes I cannot tell if they’re telling me a joke or if they’re actually serious!’
'Everyone cares about sustainability'
Allison is a student from the American University, Washington, D.C.. She therefore likes to be in The Hague because this is, like Washington, D.C., also the place where you are right on top of politics and law. What was her first impression of The Netherlands? ‘I was taken aback about how straight forward people are. But nobody has been rude to me so far. And The Hague is so beautiful, I love how everybody rides bikes. It surprised me a lot how much the University, and everyone I talk to, cares about sustainability. I’m really involved in a lot of sustainability clubs at my school but sometimes it feels like I’m the only one who cares about it. I really appreciate that people here seem to think about it a lot, all the time. I’m seeing solar panels everywhere. It’s really nice and refreshing to know there are people thinking about our planet!’
What are her expectations for her time here? ‘I’m looking to make a lot of friends. I did the OWL-week and I made so many fun friends already, everybody is so welcoming! I’m also looking for some really hard classes, I really enjoy school and LUC has interesting classes. I want to travel a lot. I’m hoping to get everything out of it!’.
