{"id":83370,"date":"2018-02-06T12:26:35","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T11:26:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=83370"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:55","slug":"arts-worden-was-geen-optie-ik-kan-niet-tegen-bloed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2018\/02\/06\/arts-worden-was-geen-optie-ik-kan-niet-tegen-bloed\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Becoming a doctor wasn\u2019t an option, as I can\u2019t stand blood\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Normally, Charlotte Vink, 20, travels from Rotterdam to her mother\u2019s place in Oud-Beijerland, but today her journey takes her to her boyfriend Rodney, who lives a bit further away, in the tiny village of Piershil on the island of Hoeksche Waard. Charlotte is carrying two bags: a backpack and a yoga bag, because tonight Rodney will be joining her to a yoga lesson (his first), in order to try and get a little more flexible. Charlotte takes a bus to Rotterdam three times a week to attend business administration lectures and seminars. \u201cPrior to this I studied psychology for a year, but it was way too woolly for me. I\u2019d picked that degree because it\u2019s wide-ranging and I wasn\u2019t sure yet what I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Checking out twenty-five degree programmes<\/h2>
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In order to determine what she did want to do, she took a gap year, during which, among other things, she attended ten open days organised by various universities. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to rush into another decision, so I checked out twenty-five degree programmes.\u201d The career aptitude tests she took at secondary school were not helpful in this regard either. \u201cThey always told me the same thing: to become a doctor. But I can\u2019t stand blood, so that wasn\u2019t an option. That\u2019s a question they should really add to such tests.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, she opted for Rotterdam, because EUR\u2019s business administration degree is highly regarded. She adds with a smile: \u201cAnd business administration is a wide-ranging degree as well!\u201d So far she has passed all her exams and loved the degree. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot harder than psychology, but I think it\u2019s worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Living together in Rotterdam<\/h2>
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While we are on the bus to the Heinenoord terminal, where we are changing, she tells me that she likes to listen to podcasts while commuting. \u201cReading on a bus makes me nauseous, and music I sometimes get fed up with. Podcasts actually teach me stuff while I\u2019m travelling!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u201cNearly all my friends have moved out\u201d\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Hopefully, she won\u2019t have to commute for too much longer. Because even though it took her a while to persuade him, her boyfriend, Rodney, has now agreed to look for a place in Rotterdam with her. \u201cNearly all my friends have moved out, while his friends live in Piershil. But I did have to promise him that we will return to Hoeksche Waard once I\u2019ve got my degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three stops before the terminus we get off the bus and walk onto a dyke called Sluisjesdijk. When I turn my head to check if it is safe to cross the street, Charlotte laughs at me. \u201cThere\u2019s no need for that here. There\u2019s never any traffic around here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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