{"id":129288,"date":"2021-08-17T12:16:15","date_gmt":"2021-08-17T10:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=129288"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:47","slug":"versatile-varied-and-undiscovered-west-feels-like-home-to-these-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/08\/17\/versatile-varied-and-undiscovered-west-feels-like-home-to-these-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Versatile, varied and undiscovered West feels like home to these students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Due to its distance from campus Woudestein, Rotterdam-West is not the most obvious base for many EUR students. Although it is handy for medical students, with Erasmus MC nearby. Isabel from Brazil and Mees from the Netherlands show why West is the perfect place for them.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Isabel Albuquerque at Heemraadssingel with its peaceful green surroundings<\/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\tAmber Leijen<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Isabel Albuquerque (30) comes from Recife, a city in the north-east of Brazil. For her Master Global Markets, Local Creativities, she spent a few months in Glasgow, then a year in Barcelona and is now in Rotterdam. At the beginning of this year, she was able to rent a room through a friend in Middelland, which perfectly reflects the variety of West. On one side, you have Heemraadssingel with its peaceful green surroundings and stately town houses, whilst on the other side you have the bustle of Nieuwe Binnenweg.<\/p>\n

Feels like home<\/h2>

\u201cWe have bars and caf\u00e9s on our doorstep,\u201d says Isabel in front of Caf\u00e9 Steijn, a regular haunt for her and her housemates. \u201cI was really surprised how busy it is here on the street, there are always people around. I really like that, also during this pandemic, the fact that you can see people. It feels a bit like being home. Except it doesn\u2019t rain so much in Recife,\u201d she laughs, sheltering in a doorway. Despite the bad weather, life on Nieuwe Binnenweg goes on. Cyclists negotiate the raindrops, badly parked cars and the treacherous tram rails.<\/p>\n

A bit further on \u2013 the rain has now stopped \u2013 the tram loudly rings its bell. A car is blocking part of the road. The driver hurries out of Warung Mirosso to move his car. \u201cIt smells lovely here,\u201d says Isabel. \u201cI really must try Surinamese food some time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brazilian treats<\/h2>
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>

Supermercado Finalmente Brasil sells just about anything you would find in the supermarket in Brazil<\/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\tAmber Leijen<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

In the Brazilian delicatessen Supermercado Finalmente Brasil, where she often does her shopping, the man behind the counter recognises her. \u201cOi!\u201d <\/em>They chat in Portuguese. The shop opened in Rotterdam five years ago, with the diverse population of West making it the perfect place for it. Besides guarana, tapioca <\/em>and marmelada<\/em>, it sells lots of maize products. Isabel buys a pack of pa<\/em>\u00e7oca<\/em>, a typical Brazilian treat made of peanuts and sugar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen so much diversity in my whole life as here in Rotterdam,\u201d says Isabel. \u201cJust look at this street! It\u2019s like a microcosm. I also like being able to talk to everyone, because everyone speaks English. That wasn\u2019t the case in Barcelona, for example.\u201d She also likes the relatively affordable rent in West. \u201cI pay less rent and live in a nicer area than my friends. They\u2019re all a bit jealous!\u201d<\/p>\n

Families<\/h2>

On Genestetplein in Spangen, on the west bank of the Delfshavense Schie, third-year medical student Mees Kommers (22) shares a house with three other students. The evening before, they\u2019d had a party to replace the cancelled festival summer. Fortunately, they didn\u2019t bother the neighbours. \u201cWe live in a neighbourhood with only families, and we consider ourselves a bit of a family too. Three young neighbours always like to do things with us, like when we were painting the walls. I think they\u2019re quite intrigued by our student life,\u201d says Mees with a laugh, as the girls watch us from behind the window.<\/p>\n

The lovely verandas, well-trimmed hedges and the big playground on Genestetplein are in stark contrast to the image of Spangen as one of the bad areas of Rotterdam. The area also has interesting attractions, like Spartastadion Het Kasteel, the oldest football stadium in the Netherlands, and the old Van Nelle coffee, tea and tobacco factory. Mees has only been living in West for a year, but already has his favourite places. By bike, he shows us Justus van Effenstraat, where in 1922 a revolutionary housing complex was built with an elevated street. His architecture student friends from Delft are enthusiastic about Spangen, particularly because of this housing complex. The complex, now a type of gated community, is perfectly maintained with its green courtyard and big galleries.<\/p>\n

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

Mees Kommers on the Dakpark, with the Lee Towers in the background and the Action on the lower left of the picture<\/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\tFerayed Hok<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Frikandels<\/h2>

Around the corner is Snackbar Florida, a typical Rotterdam snack bar which is frequented by the housemates. \u201cAt the start of the pandemic, we were all quite depressed by lockdown, so we regularly bought frikandels and chips. It was like a kind of community centre where everyone met each other. If we can\u2019t decide what to eat, we\u2019ll come and get frikandels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Compared with Nieuwe Binnenweg, it\u2019s quiet in Spangen. Just outside the neighbourhood, on the other side of Marconiplein, is the Dakpark, where Mees and his housemates sometimes go for a walk in the evening. He points to the Action and Albert Heijn XL signs which can be seen from the roof. \u201cThose are essentially a student\u2019s two basic needs,\u201d he jokes. It\u2019s windy on the roof of the shopping centre, where you can find a wooden playground and a variety of flowers, plants, trees, grasses and rabbits. In recent years, the animals caused so many problems by burrowing in the ground that the roof became unstable. Now they are scared off by pillars that give off a scent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love living so close to Erasmus MC and that there are so many nice places nearby. In fact, it\u2019s relatively undiscovered. Not many people come here, even in summer,\u201d says Mees. From a small elevation, we look out over an alternative skyline of Rotterdam: the combination of business parks, The Lee Towers and the old city harbours in the Merwe-Vierhaven area. \u201cIf you want crowds, you can go into town. Here we can enjoy the peace and quiet,\u201d Mees concludes.<\/p>\n\n\t

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

Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t