{"id":81427,"date":"2017-11-01T14:50:19","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T13:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=81427"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:53","slug":"place-everybody-knows-everybody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/11\/01\/place-everybody-knows-everybody\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018This is the place where everybody knows everybody\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tElmer Smaling<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Just a stone\u2019s throw away from the Dutch parliament is the most remote of the Erasmus schools: the International Institute of Social Studies, a graduate school made up of mostly international students. So who will you run into when you wander around the school? This time: masters student Ubongabasi Edidiong Obot (26) from Nigeria, \u2018Uby\u2019 to her friends.<\/p>\n

How did you end up here at ISS?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAt secondary school, I volunteered at an NGO to help rehabilitate sex workers. After I graduated, I worked at various NGOs, mostly on human rights. I also did a bachelor of Law in Nigeria. When it was time to choose a master programme, I couldn\u2019t find the option I was looking for. I eventually found the ISS through Google. What got to me was the diversity. There are so many nationalities here! The Hague is a beautiful city. And the people here are the tallest I\u2019ve ever seen!\u201d<\/p>\n

Are the students different here compared to regular universities?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been here for two months now. And I truly haven\u2019t met anybody I disliked so far. I\u2019ve been to Rotterdam too, for the opening. But this is the place where everybody knows everybody. We live together and every night, somebody cooks a meal from a different country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Where I come from, people start asking a lot of questions when they meet. Other cultures might feel this is a bit too intrusive.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

What is the \u2018ISS feeling\u2019 for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHere, you can learn first hand about so many different cultures. For example, I say \u2018Tikkie\u2019 now instead of okay. You have to move your hand while you say it. I\u2019ve learned that from an Indian. At first, you have to get used to each other. Where I come from, people are really warm and friendly, and start asking a lot of questions: how are you, how is your family. Other cultures might feel this is a bit too intrusive. So I\u2019ve learned to become more sensitive about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

What does your future look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband lives in Nigeria. We\u2019ve been married since 2014. He\u2019s the most supportive person in the world. Before the wedding, I told him I wanted to chase my dream and become a scholar. And he told me he would support me and he kept his word. After my studies, I\u2019ll probably move back to Nigeria and work on human rights and women\u2019s rights during conflicts. There are so many problems there: we have the conflicts with Boko Haram, the Niger Delta militants, Biafra. I feel I should help the people where I come from.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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