{"id":81488,"date":"2017-11-02T17:55:09","date_gmt":"2017-11-02T16:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=81488"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:53","slug":"coming-here-has-given-me-the-chance-to-chat-with-indian-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/11\/02\/coming-here-has-given-me-the-chance-to-chat-with-indian-people\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Coming here has given me the chance to chat with Indian people’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hassan Turi is enrolled in Agrarian, Food and Environmental Studies (AFES) at the ISS.<\/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\tIvar Laanen<\/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 around, we got to know master student Hassan Turi.<\/p>\n

How did you wind up studying at the ISS?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI was doing exactly what you were doing (points to the camera).Taking photos. There was this information evening happening in my city, Islamabad, for students who wanted to study abroad. The organizers asked me if I could take photos, and while I was there I picked up a brochure for the ISS. On the brochure they had all the requirements needed for attending this school, and as I went through them I saw that I already fulfilled all the requirements. I applied, and now I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018We\u2019re all in different political groups and NGOs and we\u2019re all working together to build linkages between various movements\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

What is it like being a part of this small community in The Hague?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been amazing. One of the most interesting things about studying here is that, normally, since I am from Pakistan, I wouldn\u2019t meet any Indians. In the case of Pakistan and India, we can\u2019t go to each other\u2019s countries. Coming here has given me the chance to chat with Indian people. I mean, before coming here, I didn\u2019t have any interactions with people from Latin America either, and same goes with African people. Here I can talk to all these people, and since I\u2019m involved politically, I learn about the politics of all these different countries in detail just by having a conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sounds like a big \u2018Hurrah!\u2019 for internationality.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, yes, but that\u2019s also the one drawback of this whole international experience. We don\u2019t have fellow Dutch students, we don\u2019t really have Dutch faculty. We are all having an international experience in the Netherlands, but we don\u2019t know anything about the Dutch.\u201d<\/p>\n

You still have time to get that Dutch experience though, don\u2019t you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNot really, my time here is almost up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is it bizarre to think you\u2019re almost done here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt all went by very fast. Time flies and you just don\u2019t notice. But the good thing is you know you made friendships with people who are just like you. It\u2019s not like you go back home and don\u2019t take anything with you. No, these friendships will continue on. And we\u2019re all in different political groups and NGOs and we\u2019re all working together to build linkages between various movements. Being here has been more than just getting a degree. That\u2019s what matters to me most.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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