Dublin

What Dublin? No I'm still studying in Glasgow. Last weekend me and nine other friends decided to visit Dublin. We had to get up at four in the morning to catch our bus to the Airport. Since we took the regional buss on a Friday evening it was packed with drunken Scots, a very interesting experience. From Glasgow to Dublin takes you only 20 minutes by plain. So at 9 in the morning we arrived at our hostel in Dublin. The hostel was very neat and we even got breakfast! First time that ever happened to me. After a good breakfast we explored the city for a bit. First we went to see Trinity college ( where Steven is currently studying ). The University is the exact opposite of Strathclyde. It's very nice and traditional, pretty buildings and all, whereas Strathclyde is really modern. We visited several musea and parks as well. After sightseeing the city, we made our way to the Guinness brewery! If you go to Dublin, make sure you put that on your bucket list! The day after we also visited the Jameson Distillery. It was very different from the Auchentoshan brewery I visited earlier this semester, although it was interesting to observe the differences between the two. That evening we went to Temple Bar to hit some pubs ( but i'm used to doing that in Glasgow!).

The weekend before my girlfriend visited me. That weekend I had my first Haggis. To be honest it wasn't that bad at all! Is tasted like spicy minced beef, with a bit more fat in it compared to Dutch ground beef. It was very cool showing my girlfriend around Glasgow. That Sunday we went to Edinburgh by bus. It is only about 7 pounds from Glasgow to Edinburgh. Even though Edinburgh is only an hour away, it is totally different from Glasgow. It is much more touristic and has more history, compared to Glasgow. The Dublin castle is very cool, because you are able to see it from almost everywhere in the city. We also visited the Scottish national museum, that is very impressive in size!

This is all for today, since I'm off to a Rangers game! I'll make sure to let you guys know how it was next post.

Cheers

The city of Shanghai

Nǐ hǎo!

I would like to welcome you to China and the city of Shanghai! I’m glad to participate in this blog and to share experiences of studying abroad. I hope my input would give you a good view of living and studying in Shanghai! In this first blog I would like to give you an introduction of this metropolis.

First of all, I’m honored for going on exchange to China and to live in Shanghai in particular. Before the application procedure to study abroad began, I had made a shortlist of my preferences where to go. On the top of that list was Shanghai. I was really glad when I found out that students from Tilburg University (TiU) are able to go there. There are several universities in Shanghai such as Fudan University, Tongji University, and Jiaotong University. The first and the third actually have an exchange program with TiU and my preference was to go to Fudan University. One of the main reasons was that it is one of the best universities of China. In fact, I’ve learned from fellow Chinese students that it is really a big thing to study at Fudan.

The university itself covers numerous different schools and these are mainly located in the north of Shanghai. The main campus is huge and it takes at least a half hour to walk from one side to another. Students usually rent a dormitory room at the campus and various facilities are located nearby. One of them is the School of Management, which is an independent school within the university. I’m following courses of the so called International MBA program. I’m living in a compound outside the campus, between the university and the city center.

To give a brief description of my classmates, the students have already obtained their master’s degree, worked for couple of years, and they went back to the university to better themselves even more. They are therefore a couple years older than the normal Dutch master student. It is really interesting to hear stories about their working experience and they have usually worked for big companies, e.g. Citi group, Tsingtao Beer, and Siemens. Moreover, their study backgrounds vary from all types of fields. They are all very interested to meet Western students and it is for me the same the other way around.

This was a short introduction for studying at Fudan University. There is a lot to tell more and I’ll do this in the next blog posts. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me!

See you soon!

Richard

E: r.n.d.s.jacobs@uvt.nl

Education and St Patrick's day

How are all you guys doing? In Ireland everybody is very excited since tomorrow is St Patrick’s day. This is the national celebration day in Ireland and you can compare it maybe a little bit with Queensday. However according to all the stories this should be even better. As some Irish people told me ‘St Patrick’s day is the time to make the tourist think that all their prejudices about Irish people are true’. It is expected that more than 700.000 green people will infiltrate Dublin city center and will drink for the full 24 hours. I hope it is going to be crazy!!!  Luckily we are also free Monday  from our lectures to recover. 

Celtic!

It has been a while since my last post, but I had a fair reason: midterms! But before I started to get some studying done, I went to see a Celtic game. Seeing either a Celtic or Rangers game is definitely a thing you want to put on your bucket list for Glasgow! We started the afternoon by going to a pub along with all other Celtic fans. The atmosphere was absolutely amazing. Before entering the stadium, we bought some Fish & Chips to eat during the match. The first half wasn’t that good, but the second half was much better. Glaswegians take their football pretty serious, and it is very cool to be part of that.

That same week I had to start studying for the first time while I was here. I had two class tests, one for Financial Analysis and one for Treasury Management & International Finance. The teachers have yet to grade the tests, but I will let you guys know how I did in my next blog. The class tests are on average not too bad. And compared to Tilburg I would say it’s a bit easier.

This weekend we explored Glasgow even further. We went to the museum of transportation, which is absolutely a must do as well. It’s free, it’s fun and there are lot of things to see. However from campus it’s a hour walk, but a good way to explore Glasgow! That evening I went out for dinner with a couple of friends to an Indian place. I must say that in restaurants and bars you have to be alert for people trying to rip you off (It’s definitely the exception, not the rule!), because some restaurants tend to do that when they notice you are a foreigner. However when you do pay attention, there should be no problem. After dinner we went to the Nice & Sleazy which is definitely my favorite pub in Glasgow. The atmosphere is great, the drinks are good and they play nice music.

Today I went to St. Andrews with my flat mates and two others. It took us 2.5 hours to get there by bus, but it was totally worth the travel. After missing the sun for two months, it was a pleasant surprise to see the sun shining for a full day in St. Andrews. The weather on the east coast is significantly better than that on the west coast! We visited and old burned out church, which was pretty cool. Thereafter we visited the University of St. Andrews where almost every person of the Royal family studied and of course the golf courses, since St. Andrews is the home of golf. That’s it for now, in two weeks I will be visiting Dublin!

Preparation and introduction.

Dear reader,

First and foremost, let me introduce myself. My name is Thomas Ossenblok and I am 21 years old. Whereas the main group of exchange students is coming home and re-integrating in Dutch society, I am about to pack for my exciting destination: Peru.
And why, out of all places, did I pick Peru? Good question!

First of all, I love nature and history, both of which are very much present, since Peru is the home of the Incan/Mayan societies and one of the most diverse environments in the world.
Secondly, I wanted to learn a new language, preferably one which is spoken by many people. And last but not least, the family-oriented and sort of laidback culture really spoke to my imagination.

First Impressions in Dublin

Hiya everybody!!

Let me first introduce myself…. my name is Steven, I’m already 23 year old, and since 6 weeks I am a proud citizen of Dublin. To explain why I ended up here…. my reasons to go on this exchange adventure were quite simple, in Tilburg I have so many friends that went abroad and their stories were too good to be true. So after long consideration (because it would take me an extra year of my study) I decided to explore it myself.

The choice for Dublin however was less difficult. Firstly, I really wanted to improve my English, secondly, I don’t believe you have to go outside Europe to find beautiful places and people, and lastly I heard Trinity College is amazing and one of the most beautiful universities in the world. I was really happy to hear that I got the chance to study at Trinity college for 5 months.

Before I went on the exchange I really had the following expectations of going on exchange and Ireland:

Fire, Stirling and Isle of Arran

This week I joined an indoor soccer team for internationals. The way Scots play indoor soccer is somewhat different to what I am used to. They have very little and wide goals and you are allowed to make sliding tackles! During the match we smelled fire. A few minutes later an employee of the university came in to tell us that the James Weir building was on fire! The James Weir building is one of the biggest buildings around campus, so it was a pretty big deal. When we walked back to our flat, we saw a lot of smoke coming out of the building, but no fire whatsoever. The police is still investigating what happened, but they expect some kind of chemical reaction set the building on fire (since all the science labs are located in James Weir). All classes that were supposed to take place in JW were cancelled. Luckily for me the teacher decided to relocate the lecture. While everyone had a day of, I had to attend lecture!

Starting to realize that I'm back home..

Dear all! It has been almost three weeks since I came back home =) First one and a half week were great. Everyone wanted to meet up with me, hear my stories and it was great to feel all the love and all the great things about the Netherlands again. Now, things have calmed down and everyone is back to his/her own life again, including me. This week I will be starting my bachelor thesis. Really working on my graduation from Tilburg University! Perfect timing to make an analysis of the pros and cons of both Budapest and home:

Things that Hungary could improve 0=)

- Our International Office coordinator.. what an..
- Getting in separate queues for stamps, envelopes, addresses and sending the actual package at the post office. The bureaucracy is still crazy, especially in the Immigration Office; the only place where people actually need to speak English.. and don't.

- The women in the supermarket yelling "Tessék?!", when I did not come to the counter quick enough.

- The political climate and the challenges of post-communism for the society, first and foremost corruption.

Things that are great at home

- Seeing and hanging out with my great family and friends.

- Normal supermarkets, with normal bread and a nice variety of food.

- Structure and good responses at Tilburg University.

- Okay, this list is too short... uhm!

- Oh! The one I have been coming to appreciate the most about the Netherlands: the freedom of debate. I have become to realize how special it is that no matter the subject and no matter how much we disagree, when we keep our decency we can talk speak about everything in our country. Anything. That is one of the greatest values of the Dutch society I think and it should be cherished.

- My bike!!

Final Goodbye...

I have been back in the Netherlands since a few weeks now and I miss Glasgow and all my friends so much!! My flight back was on the 21th of January, only two days after my last exam. Consequently I had no time to say a proper goodbye to Glasgow, but I don’t need it because I’m certain I will go back to Glasgow within a year! Some of my friends still study in Glasgow for the next few years and they have offered me a place to sleep anytime I’d like to come to Glasgow.

Zài jiàn Shanghai

I have been back now for nearly a week and I must say that I am in some ways really glad to be back. For me the exchange experience has been less drastic than for others, for I have lived in several countries already and have moved a lot throughout my childhood. However, having never lived in a large city before it was quite a change for me. Having now returned home the differences between living in a small village in Holland and a metropolis in China become evident.

Upon my arrival the first thing I saw was a large banner which awaited me at the arrival gate at Dusseldorf airport. Finally, I was no longer a minority! I was among my friends, family and girlfriend once again! We headed over to the nearest bar to have a small celebration. I had to walk over to the bar to order because as we sat down we were not helped. It was the first real difference I noticed, for in Western society labor is a large cost for businesses while in Asia labor is cheap and service is second nature.

Exploring

Last saturday me and my flatmates decided to explore Glasgow some more. Together with my Tsjech friend george, Canadian friend John and my Mexican friend Esteban we walked around Glasgow for the full day. There are a bunch of really nice places to visit in Glasgow. For you who do not plan to go on exchange to Glasgow, the city is still worth visiting as a city trip! It is very common to go to a pub around noon and have a beer and something to eat, so that is what we did. When we were sitting in a pub, some Gaelic dancers came in and a girl with a violin. All of a sudden they started to play music and dance Gaelic dances. It is really cool to see that traditions are a big part of the Scottish culture. At the end of the day we visited the Kelvin Grove museum and the University of Glasgow, which is pretty amazing.

The city that meets all my needs

I've been back for two days, I feel weird. Happy to be home with family. Sad that I left the beautiful city Lisbon. Sad that it is more than 20 degrees colder here. Happy to see friends and pickup normal life. I don't know what I should feel. The last weeks in Lisbon were amazing. I finished all my courses with around 15. Transformed to Tilburg University a 15 will be an 8, so I am satisfied. The last weeks I was more on my own, since a lot of friends already left. But that gave me more inner peace. I could visit the districts, museums that I didn't visit before.

Saying goodbye to Madrid

Hello blog readers,
Today it is the 31st of January. I will write my last blog while I am back in the Netherlands. Last Time I wrote about my first exams. That Tuesday I decide to not make the exam of genesis of the modern firm. I thought that this course would be an mission impossible and the day after we had the exam of organizational economics.

Wednesday at 17.00h we would have the exam, instead of 17.00h we finally started at 17.45 due to a lack of organization. ( how funny when you come to make an exam for organizational economics.)
We first took our place In the rooms 10.2.07 and 10.2.08. On the aula global site you could find these rooms but once we all had our place we had to go out and were divided by the teacher, all the candidates got called name by name to took place at your own seat. I had my seat in the first row what was so annoying because there was a lot of noise in the hall and I couldn’t read the questions very well. Also the teacher came 3 times in the class to change his questions of the exam because otherwise the answers would be wrong. The exam was very hard and since you got minus points for answering wrong I didn’t answered 4 questions. After the exam I thought it was nice to have a little break at the 100 monteditos with Jasper where we had French fries a salad with salmon and a drink for just 4 euros.

Whoopsy...

To be honest... I totally forgot my blog!! I have been back in the Netherlands since a week now. I will tell you a bit about my last 2 weeks in Glasgow and next week I'll probably write my last blog telling you how it is to be back.

I went back to the Netherlands during the Christmas holiday and New Years Eve. It was nice seeing my family again and spending Christmas with them. However, I do regret my decision to stay in the Netherlands with NYE. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be with NYE in Glasgow and I passed... My flatmates organized a party at our flat, so when I saw all the pictures of my friends in my flat without me I got sad. I did enjoy my NYE in the Netherlands, but I can do that every year, that's not the same with Glasgow!