{"id":101722,"date":"2019-08-20T10:43:55","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T08:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=101722"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:24","slug":"busy-times-at-the-hatta-building-125-new-tenants-arrived-in-one-single-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/08\/20\/busy-times-at-the-hatta-building-125-new-tenants-arrived-in-one-single-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Busy times at the Hatta Building: 125 new tenants arrived in one single weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

After several quiet weeks over the summer holidays, the Hatta Building is bustling again. On Saturday, caretaker Hugo van der Schelling and his two colleagues (both students) welcomed 125 new international students who will be staying at the Hatta during the upcoming academic year. They hail from many different countries of origin: Taiwan, Finland, Serbia, France and Germany, to name just a few. The students\u2019 first impressions of the Netherlands in just a few keywords: \u2018highly organised\u2019, \u2018bicycles\u2019 and \u2018rainy\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"\"

New residents moving in Hatta, August 2019.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarko de Haan<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

A queue of students is forming near a door that has a sign saying \u2018beheerder\/caretaker\u2019, on the first floor of the Hatta Building. An Azerbaijani student and her mother are expressing complaints about the condition of the kitchen (\u2018absolutely filthy\u2019); two students from Taiwan are experiencing difficulty with the lighting in their rooms; and yet another student has a key that is not working.<\/p>\n

So who is solving these problems for the students? The caretaker, Hugo van der Schelling, who has worked in student housing for the last seventeen years. Not that Hugo was supposed to be working today. Actually, he is only supposed to work on weekdays, \u2018from 8am to 4.30\u2019. Hugo doesn\u2019t mind being flexible, though. He was working out at the university\u2019s gym, as he does every week, when the student caretakers sought his advice due to the enormous number of new tenants who had just shown up. So he decided to come and help out on his day off.<\/p>\n

Which is why he is currently walking around in tracksuit bottoms and a Puma shirt, with his neck still covered by a mini-towel. Which is also why he absolutely refuses to pose for a photo. For Hugo, this is the busiest period of the year. \u201cThe contracts of the previous cohort of students expired on 14 August, and the new cohort started moving in on 15 August, meaning we had very little time to arrange everything properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today Van der Schelling and the two student caretakers are receiving 125 students who will move in over the course of the day. Crates full of envelopes sit in his office, containing keys, a map of Rotterdam and everything necessary to register at city hall. Students are entering and exiting the building, often accompanied by their parents, carrying suitcases and removal boxes. Who are they, and what are they expecting to find?<\/p>\n

Dutch boyfriend<\/h2>
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarko de Haan<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Sofie Wahlberg, 18, from Finland, is one of the students queuing in front of Van der Schelling\u2019s office. She moved into her room on Thursday. \u201cI\u2019m here to take a Bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology. In Finland it\u2019s very hard to get into that degree programme, so I decided to look elsewhere. And even though this isn\u2019t supposed to be the main reason why a student chooses a degree, I have a Dutch boyfriend who is attending Erasmus University.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wahlberg knows what it\u2019s like to live abroad. She met her boyfriend in China. \u201cMy father is a diplomat, and his father used to work for IKEA there. I lived in Shanghai for four years, and also lived in Japan and Belgium. It was fun, but at the same time it was hard to have to leave people all the time. Even though Finland is my country of origin, I only have two or three good friends there. That\u2019s weird.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is looking forward to her Dutch adventure. \u201cPeople are nice here, and so tall! I\u2019m expecting to see a lot of windmills, but so far, I haven\u2019t. Eureka Week is on next week, and I\u2019m looking forward to it. Making new friends, exploring the city. I\u2019m going to have a good time. My flatmates haven\u2019t arrived yet, but I\u2019m looking forward to meeting them, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bike<\/h2>
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarko de Haan<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Felix Bracht, 19, has just arrived from Germany and is standing in the corridor of the Hatta Building, accompanied by his parents and younger sister. \u201cWe came by car. I live near Cologne.\u201d In addition to clothes and his computer, he brought a bike. \u201cIf there\u2019s any place in the world where I\u2019ll get a lot of use out of it, it should be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Felix always knew he wanted to live abroad. \u201cA friend of mine recommended Rotterdam, so in 2017 I attended an open day. And now I\u2019m here. I always wanted to do this in order to become more independent. People who stay at home get attached to that sort of life and will keep the same friends. I will meet loads of new people and have new adventures.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to getting his degree in IBA, he is looking forward to checking out Rotterdam\u2019s clubs and bars. \u201cAnd I wish to learn Dutch and become a waiter.\u201d Once he starts talking about food, it turns out he has already learned one Dutch word: poffertjes<\/em>. \u201cI want to get to know the Dutch way of life and really get a feel for how this country and its culture work.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Serbia by car<\/h2>
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarko de Haan<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

For his part, Rastko Glisic, 19, came to Rotterdam by car, as well. It was a considerable drive from Serbia. \u201cWe had to cover about two thousand kilometres in two days. Hungary, Austria, Germany, then the Netherlands and Rotterdam. It wasn\u2019t great, but it\u2019s better to come here by car. Makes it easier to bring things.\u201d<\/p>\n

His first impression? \u201cIt\u2019s extremely clean here, and highly organised. I think it\u2019s a proper environment for learning. Belgrade, which is where I\u2019m from, is a lot more chaotic. Also, I think the Dutch locals are much more approachable and nicer. In Serbia, everyone is unhappy with the economy, meaning everyone is a lot moodier, generally speaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rastko is embarking on the international Bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology in this new academic year. \u201cIt\u2019s a big step, but I\u2019ve heard a lot of good things about Erasmus University. I want to complete my Bachelor\u2019s here, then do a Master\u2019s specialising in hypnotherapy in Barcelona.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far, Rastko hasn\u2019t been enamoured of the Dutch weather. On this particular Saturday, the sky is overcast and rainy. \u201cBut I guess I\u2019ll get used to it. It\u2019s not a huge issue. In Serbia, it\u2019s typically either very hot or very cold. Here it\u2019s a little in between.\u201d Now that he has moved into his room, exploring Rotterdam is next on his list of things to do. Rastko is mainly curious to see \u2018that large roofed market\u2019. \u201cThat\u2019s supposed to be special. And I\u2019ve been told there are a lot of museums here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t

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