{"id":101669,"date":"2019-08-19T13:06:52","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T11:06:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=101669"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:24","slug":"international-day-im-glad-i-decided-to-come","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/08\/19\/international-day-im-glad-i-decided-to-come\/","title":{"rendered":"International Day: I\u2019m glad I decided to come"},"content":{"rendered":"

Foreign students flooded the Theil hall during International Day on Sunday. The introduction day was specially organised by the Eurekaweek for new internationals. There were \u2018more than a thousand students coming\u2019, according to ESN Rotterdam, the association for international students.<\/p>\n

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The International Day in the Theil hall<\/span><\/p>

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You could already see them everywhere at Rotterdam Central station: English-speaking students with heavy suitcases. Almost all of them took the tram to the Woudestein Campus to participate in International Day. The stalls of various student organisations were waiting in the Theil hall to welcome the new faces. \u201cWe\u2019re here to help new students with practical things, such as buying a Dutch SIM card, registering with the municipality or opening a new bank account,\u201d said Cara Sainsbury, vice-president of ESN Rotterdam. \u201cBasically, we show them how to get around during their first days here in Rotterdam.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cara Sainsbury from ESN Rotterdam<\/span><\/p>

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Dutch games<\/h2>

In a corridor of the Erasmus building, the Chinese student association CSA-EUR organised traditional Dutch games. Laughing, new students tried sjoelen, koekhappen <\/em>and spijkerpoepen<\/em>. Shouldn\u2019t they have organised traditional Chinese games instead? \u201cWe do have one,\u201d said President Jingli Gao, pointing to a ring decorated with feathers. You have to keep it high on your feet for as long as possible. \u201cBut the internationals are new here, so we think it would be nice to welcome them with Dutch games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making friends<\/h2>

For Indonesian student Grace Christa, The Netherlands is not unknown, having completed her law studies in Groningen. \u201cFor my master\u2019s degree I would like to live in a big city,\u201d she explained her choice to move to Rotterdam. \u201cAnd then I saw that Erasmus University has a very interesting Master\u2019s programme in Commercial Law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next to Grace was the 18-year-old Iyani from Vietnam. The two girls already seemed to be friends, even though they have only known each other for a few minutes. \u201cGrace and I were just standing next to each other in line,\u201d Iyani laughed. \u201cBut I think that\u2019s exactly the intention of a day like this: you get to meet people and make friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Grace and Iyani<\/span><\/p>

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Paola Sanchez from Spain and Carla Braga from Brazil were also standing in line for poffertjes<\/em>. They just met each other, they said. Even though they will soon be doing different studies (IBA for Paola and Psychology for Carla), there\u2019s an immediate click between the two. Paola first doubted whether she wanted to participate in International Day. \u201cA day like today is overwhelming: a new place, so many new faces, I was afraid that it would be too much,\u201d she said. \u201cBut now I\u2019m glad I decided to come.\u201dBoth students won\u2019t participate in the rest of Eurekaweek. \u201cAn entire week of introduction activities seems a little too much to me,\u201d said Carla. \u201cBut today is fine. It\u2019s nice and well-organised, not forced, and, like the Dutch put it, gezellig<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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