{"id":102413,"date":"2019-09-02T14:49:11","date_gmt":"2019-09-02T12:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=102413"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:27","slug":"eur-welcomes-international-students-at-schiphol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/09\/02\/eur-welcomes-international-students-at-schiphol\/","title":{"rendered":"EUR welcomes international students at Schiphol"},"content":{"rendered":"

For three weeks in August, three students named Paul Limpens, Hansi Hettiarachchi and Sophie Vogel ran a special service desk at Schiphol on behalf of EUR\u2019s International Office, where they welcomed newly arrived international students and helped them get to Rotterdam.<\/p>\n

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The International Office welcomes students at Schiphol airport.<\/span><\/p>

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Things are getting highly emotional at Schiphol Airport\u2019s Arrivals 2 section on this particular Thursday afternoon. Those who have stayed at home come to pick up their loved ones, holding balloons and flowers to welcome them. What follows is a lot of smiles, sometimes replete with tears of happiness, whenever the travellers emerge from the baggage retrieval section with their heavy suitcases. It is right next to these scenes of joy that the International Office has erected a service desk.<\/p>\n

Quiet Day<\/h2>

The service desk provides students with a free train ticket (including the Intercity Direct surcharge and a single trip on RET\u2019s buses, metros and trams) allowing them to travel to their Rotterdam digs. Twice a day a student representing the International Office will travel with the international students. In addition, there is a daily shuttle bus that calls at various spots in Rotterdam. Some days are busier than others. \u201cTypically, we will have forty to fifty students arriving in one day,\u201d says Paul.<\/p>\n

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From left to right Paul, Hansi and Sophie from the International Office<\/span><\/p>

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Along with Hansi and Sophie, Paul has been hanging out at Schiphol since 17 August to help incoming students get to their new homes as smoothly as possible. \u201cToday is a quiet day,\u201d he tells us. \u201cSince this morning seven students have come and seen us for free tickets and a SIM card.\u201d He looks at his list of people who have signed up. \u201cLater on we\u2019ll have ten students taking the bus to Rotterdam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Different types of students<\/h2>

In addition to a laptop and mobile phone, the desk features different types of gift-wrap ribbons and a pair of scissors. \u201cWe came up with a colour-coding scheme for the ribbons we attach to the luggage,\u201d Hansi explains. Silver ribbons are for suitcases that need to be removed at the Woudestein Campus, white ribbons are for suitcases going to SSH, blue ribbons for suitcases going to the Student Hotel, golden ribbons for suitcases going to StayOkay, and pink ribbons for suitcases going to Central Station or Erasmus MC. \u201cBut today we\u2019re only getting students who are going to the campus or SSH, so that will keep things easy,\u201d says Sophie. The three students have tucked the train tickets and SIM cards safely away in a drawer. \u201cInitially we had them out on the desk, but random tourists would come up to us and ask if they could get free SIM cards, as well,\u201d says Paul.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\tSome international students are quite relaxed about the whole thing, but sometimes, you\u2019ll see the panic in their eyes\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

In the two weeks they have been here, the trio have come across many different types of students. \u201cSome international students are quite relaxed about the whole thing. They come to pick up their tickets and travel to Rotterdam on their own,\u201d Paul tells us. \u201cBut we also had this one guy who came with his mother. When we explained to him how to get to his student flat in Kralingen, we could see the panic in his eyes.\u201d Paul, who is taking a Master\u2019s degree in Finance & Investment, believes the shuttle service is a very valuable service for students like that.<\/p>\n

Heavy suitcases<\/h2>

The bus to Rotterdam is leaving in three quarters of an hour. Three international students are standing next to the service desk, waiting. Wang Chenyu from China has been under way for over 24 hours. \u201cI had an eighteen-hour stopover in Moscow,\u201d he tells us. \u201cSo I\u2019m really tired now.\u201d Standing next to him, looking rather fresher, is Giulia Affanni. \u201cI\u2019m from Rome,\u201d she says, smiling. \u201cSo my journey wasn\u2019t too bad.\u201d For her part, Vietnamese student Kha\u0144h H\u0101 thought her seventeen-hour journey was OK, but didn\u2019t enjoy lugging her heavy suitcases around all the time. \u201cAs far as that\u2019s concerned, I\u2019m really happy with this shuttle service.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kha\u0144h and Giulia made friends while waiting for the shuttle. <\/span><\/p>

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The three international students are all carrying an immense lot of luggage. \u201cBecause basically, you\u2019re bringing your entire life,\u201d Kha\u0144h says with a smile. She is carrying \u2018over forty kilograms\u2019 of luggage: clothes, shoes and coats, as well as food. \u201cI\u2019m not sure how easy it will be to find Vietnamese products, so I decided to bring them myself.\u201d Giulia completely understands. She is not carrying any pasta or mozzarella in her suitcases herself, \u201cbut my boyfriend will be visiting me next week, and he\u2019ll be bringing a lot<\/em> of food.\u201d Chenyu looks at the two in amazement. Even though he is bringing seventy kilograms\u2019 worth of luggage (\u2018all books \u2013 do you have any idea how expensive textbooks are in the Netherlands?\u2019), he did not bring any food products or spices from his own country. \u201cI don\u2019t want any trouble with the customs officials.\u201d However, he does know that it\u2019s easy to find Chinese shops in Rotterdam and has already arranged for the delivery of a rice cooker. \u201cI bought it from a Chinese student in Rotterdam who is returning home.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kha\u0144h with her stuffed bunny.<\/span><\/p>

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Food is not the only important thing the students are bringing. A paper bag on Kha\u0144h\u2019s trolley contains a stuffed rabbit toy. \u201cThis is my favourite toy,\u201d she says with a shy smile. \u201cIt was the first I bought using my own money, so she had to come to the Netherlands with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

While we are talking, two Russian exchange students named Polina Litvinenko and Liza Kononova arrive. They will only stay in Rotterdam for one semester. Is that why their suitcases appear to be relatively light, compared to the three other students\u2019? \u201cOh, no. We\u2019re just going to do a lot<\/em> of shopping in Rotterdam,\u201d they say, laughing.<\/p>\n

So green<\/h2>

It\u2019s 2.30, but the bus is not yet departing. \u201cWe\u2019ll wait for fifteen more minutes,\u201d says Paul. \u201cMaybe someone else will turn up.\u201d As it happens, this is the right decision, because exactly when the students are setting off for the bus stop, Clover Nguyen arrives on the scene, panting. \u201cThis is EUR\u2019s shuttle service, right?\u201d she asks, sounding somewhat panicky.<\/p>\n

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Clover took photos from the bus.<\/span><\/p>

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Once the driver and Paul have put the suitcases \u2013 neatly colour-coded and organised by destination \u2013 in the boot, the bus journey to Rotterdam can commence. During the trip, the passengers admire the Dutch landscape that is greeting them outside. Some can\u2019t help taking pictures with their mobile phones. \u201cSo green, and so many cows,\u201d Clover enthuses. She lives in downtown Hanoi, so she hasn\u2019t seen this much green in a long time, she says. So what would she like to see in the Netherlands? \u201cAs soon as I have the time, I\u2019ll definitely visit a windmill,\u201d she says, sounding quite determined.<\/p>\n

Long day<\/h2>
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International students at the entrance of the Woudestein campus.<\/span><\/p>

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Chenyu is amazed once the bus enters Rotterdam. \u201cThe city seems to be quite small, but very modern and clean. I think I\u2019ll be very comfortable living here,\u201d he says enthusiastically. \u201cI read that the Netherlands is a cyclist\u2019s paradise. Now I\u2019m seeing it for myself! How cool that cyclists have their own separate lanes here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone gets off once we get to the campus, except for Kha\u0144h and Polina. They stay on until the next stop, which is close to Oostzeedijk. The suitcases have now all been unloaded, but Paul and Hansi, who are travelling with the newly arrived students, have a few more things to arrange. Chenyu wishes to travel to his place by bus, while Clover orders an Uber to her bed-sit in Capelle aan den IJssel. The rest of the group goes to the Hatta Building. It was a long journey for the international students, but it was also a long day for the students representing the International Office. \u201cI\u2019ll be quite happy once this day is over and I can hit the sack,\u201d Paul says while waving goodbye.<\/p>\n\n\t

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