{"id":132701,"date":"2021-11-12T11:50:46","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T10:50:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=132701"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:58","slug":"connecting-with-the-elderly-and-punching-out-stress-at-the-wellbeing-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/11\/12\/connecting-with-the-elderly-and-punching-out-stress-at-the-wellbeing-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecting with the elderly and punching out stress at the Wellbeing Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you ask any student on campus these days how their last couple of weeks have been, you\u2019ll likely hear: \u201cStressful.\u201d Post-exam fatigue is catching up. Right on time comes the Student Wellbeing Festival. From reconnecting with yourself in a cozy massage chair in the middle of Erasmus Plaza to connecting with others and giving back to the community of Rotterdam \u2013 anyone can find their own way to destress.<\/p>\n

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At Erasmus Sport, students could become more mindful by kicking each other's butts.<\/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\tNatalia Khozyainova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

On a crisp Tuesday afternoon, a group of Dutch and international students is meeting at the nursing home Pni\u00ebl in Kralingen. They are welcomed by the Erasmus Student Network. Members of the international student association are here every second Tuesday of the month, for a short walk and a chat with elderly residents of the home. And that\u2019s exactly what they\u2019re doing today.<\/p>\n

Jannat, a law student from Pakistan, came to the walk for the first time because she misses her grandfather. She speaks to him on the phone every day. \u201cI love the elderly, and living abroad makes you miss your family, especially older members, so much. It\u2019s nice to be able to connect with the community here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Memories of a frozen lake and Portugal<\/h2>
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At the Kralingse Plas all the elderly and students made a group photo.<\/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\tNatalia Khozyainova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Before walking across the Kralingse Bos, students get instructions on how to assist the residents with wheelchairs. Since it\u2019s cold, students also help out with putting on gloves, scarfs, and blankets. On the walk, the sights of Kralingen bring out the memories, and residents share their stories \u2013 from remembering skating over a frozen lake in the park, to living in Portugal or learning French in school (and still speaking it).<\/p>\n

The initiative between the nursing home and the university exists for several years, and some students volunteer on a regular basis. This is what Julius, master student Global Business and Sustainability, also wants to do: \u201cI left my contact details at the nursing home, as they are always looking for volunteers. I miss my grandparents and speaking to people outside the student circle\u201d, he shares. \u201cLife stories of the residents are so interesting: the lady I walked with today traveled the globe and knows several languages. We spoke in German, and discussed politics, Covid, traveling, you name it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome residents don\u2019t go out for weeks\u201d, says the coordinator Annemarie van Zessen. \u201cSo it makes them very happy to simply change the scenery and meet new people. Before Covid, students also participated in our Sinterklaas celebrations. We drank hot chocolate, dressed up and connected. Hopefully we will be able to do it again soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Planking for your soul<\/h2>

However, not only mental activities are offered during the festival. As our Roman ancestors knew: mens sana in corpore sano \u2013 healthy body, healthy mind. What is the best way to take your mind off any problem? Visualise it \u2013 and punch it out. Into a punchbag, of course.<\/p>\n

Aziz Ahmad, a boxing coach at Erasmus Sport, agrees with the philosophy, and greets several new students into his kickboxing class on Tuesday evening. The class starts with a warm-up that immediately shows who came here for the first time. \u201cPlanking is good for your soul\u201d, Aziz encourages the sweating students with Nirvana\u2019s Smells like teen spirit playing in the background.<\/p>\n

Julia, master student Strategy Economics and one of the newcomers, laughs: \u201cI haven\u2019t done sports since I arrived in Rotterdam in the summer, and it\u2019s about time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not a thought<\/h2>

Her classmate Maria came to support her. \u201cWe were looking for activities to do during the Wellbeing Festival, and kickboxing looked interesting\u201d, she says after the class is finished. \u201cI was ready to quit mid-class, but continued, because finishing is good. I\u2019m proud now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Best feeling after the class? Realising that you haven\u2019t thought about a single problem in the last one and a half hours. \u201cIt completely gets your mind free. Not a single thought. So nice after the weeks we\u2019ve had\u201d, Maria laughs.<\/p>\n\t

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The Student Wellbeing Festival is taking place until 19 November. Find more information on the activities<\/a>. More information on the \u2018Walk with the Elderly\u2019 can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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