Toronto has it all!

HOLA CHICOS&CHICAS!!

3 Weeks ago i took the plane from Brussels-Chicago. I spend a week in Chicago with a good friend Lotte who is studying in Ottawa at the moment. Chicago was amazing, it is a MUSTSEEcity, i think its comparable with NYcity. I wrote a story about Chicago on www.ireneintoronto.waarbenjij.nu if you are interested in this citytrip that i highly recommend to everybody! Its in Dutch;). Besides i will post Dutch blogs on this website for friends and family, a bit more in detail then on this uniblog, which is more informative and useful.

2 Weeks ago i arrived in Toronto and it feels like home already. I think i adapt pretty fast to my new environment and thats nice, it might help that it still feels like holiday at the moment, i enjoy life here a lot and i see/realize/think things that i wouldnt remark in my everydaylife in Tilburg(which i also enjoy of course). But enough talk about me...
What is interesting to know for YOU about an exchange semester at Schulich school of Business, Yorku in Toronto? I would say, TORONTO HAS IT ALL!

My first week in Shanghai

Dear all,

Now finally settled in my new

apartment in Xuhui District in Shanghai I can finally say I found my place. My Shanghai experience started off a little troubled. With me not knowing where to go from the airport, to getting a small double room with a disgusting bathroom, having to register in Chinese etc etc. So what happened?

Madrid is awesome!

Before I start talking about my first days at Carlos III, I will tell some nice activities, some of them organized by ESN, which is also active at Tilburg University.

Tuesday 30 August we went to visit the new Parque Rio, which was opened last year and designed by students from the Netherlands. When we arrived there, we could not miss the designer bridge, which was quite an amazing structure ...

It was really cool to see an area where you can walk and relax without the hastiness of the big city.
On internet there was written that there was also a ‘beach’, so we really wanted to go and relax there. The beach part of Parque Rio were just some water fountains where you could jump through to refresh, but Kelly and I rented two chairs and a parasol and enjoyed the day with doing nothing and gaining a nice tan. Well, we got not only a tan, but also some burning spots, which really hurt. It was a nice day however.

III

A common reaction for most people when I told them I was going to Stockholm was: “Why would you want to go to such a cold place?!” It is definitely going to be freezing during the winter, as temperatures will probably drop to -15°C. Everybody keeps warning us for how cold the weather is going to be in a couple of weeks/months. However, since I’ve been here I’ve had nothing but good weather. The temperature is around 20°C, the sun is shining, and most of the time I’ve spend here I’ve been able to just wear T-shirts. Not exactly what I was expecting, as you can understand!

There are very big differences in English proficiency between the different exchange students, but overall everyone is at least able to understand each other. Trying to understand some Swedish however is a whole different level for most of us. When you’re Dutch or German however, it’s not impossible to read signs or small sentences. The Swedish language does have its similarities with our languages. Next week I will have my first lessons in the Swedish language, so I’m quite excited!

Did you know?

Let's play a little game about Ireland, where I ask the question did you know and if you can answer with yes on more than half of it you win the game (honour will be your reward)

- Did you know that is western Ireland the weather can change every 10 minutes? You will leave in the sun without a coat and still be soaked at the end

- Did you know that the Irish don't really want to know how you are doing when they ask you? You're supposed to day 'How are ya" back

- Did you know that if they answer to how are you, the answer with "I'm grand' and when you're in a really really good mood, 'you're grand out '?

- Did you know that the Irish don't mind if you break traffic rules? and even the police crosses through a red light?

Seoul at its best

Hello everyone,

Time for my second blog, and I have been thinking about what to write here for a long time because I have done and seen so much in the past few days here that it's way too much to write down.

So let me start by saying that I have been having the best time ever. The dorm where I am currently staying is an international dorm, and I have made many friends. I have met loads of people, ate the best foods, seen beautiful places and all in such as short time.

new people

Hey hey, here I am again.
We are doing so much every day so I will keep you up to date.

Tuesday we went to the new 'parque rio'. It is designed by some Dutch student from Maastricht. It is a very beautiful park. we went to the playa area. We rented 2 beach chairs and a parasol for just 3 euros and made it a really relax day. There was a water playground really nice to cool down a bit and for having so much fun! Unfortunately we forgot to protect ourselves and burned so much.

The real deal!

Hi everyone!

Halleluja, the past two weeks have flown by so rapidly.. So many things happened that I just did not have time to upload my blog 0=) So prepare, it is gonna be a long, but exciting one this time!

Me and the girls at Lake Balaton!

I have arrived in Shanghai, China!

Dear all,

To start off with I'd like to give you some simple advice, if you ever want to study in China, learn the language!

I arrived in China on September 1^st, I did not know where I had to go and definitely not how to get there! Luckily I arrived at Shanghai International Airport at 7:00 in the morning local time so I would have the whole day to figure out what was what. All I knew was that I had supposedly got a room at the Minghang Campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. However it was not yet clear to me whether this Campus was actually just a different part or actually somewhere else in the city. It turned out to be the latter. 

First 5 days in Lisbon

This monday I flew to lisbon with Bianca and Anouk. Of course the girls had to much luggage with them. Fortunately for them I could take some clothes in my bag. When we arrived we met Jorge, the university buddy of Bianca and Anouk. A buddy can help you with searching a room and things like that. I don't have a budy. This charming Portugese guy brought us to our appartments. We live seperated, but all near Praca Marques de Pombal. Almost all the erasmus students are living in this district, and it's a great area to live in. The city centre is 15 minutes walking, and the metro is nearby. My house looks great, balconies everywhere, including in my room. After we had seen our appartment, we went to bairro alto to eat some fresh salmon. Bairro alto(translated higher neighbourhood) is the place for eating and drinking in the small bars or on the streets. There is a really informal vibe and it's a bit alternative. The influences from Brazil are nice to see. Everybody is drinking caipirinha and other national Brazilian cocktails. They are only two euro's. Everything is really cheap. After diner we went back to our appartments because we where really tired.

First days in Finland

The first couple of days in Finland

Already more than two weeks ago, on the 18th of August, I left home to go on exchange to Turku, Finland. My checked-in luggage could be 23 kg and my hand luggage 8. First I thought that it was quite a lot but when I started to pack it wasn’t. Especially if you have to bring your warm winter jackets with you it’s not much. I managed and took the maximum weight with me! After saying goodbye to my parents the airplane left right on time, something that rarely happens to me when going abroad by airplane. Probably this was because I traveled with a Finnish air company and they are very strict and always on time. The airplane arrived around 20 minutes earlier than expected which enabled me to catch my bus from Helsinki airport to the place to be, Turku. Everything went well and my tutor picked me up (by car!) at the bus station. She already had the key of my room and picked up my Starting Package (blanket, pillow, plate, cutlery, cup, glass etc) so I didn’t have to do that myself anymore.

When I told my family and friends that I would go to Finland they asked: “Why Finland and not a nice and warm country? It’s there cold and dark all the time!” Then I just told them that that might be the case in the North but the city where I would go to is in the South at the sea and I believe that the difference with the Netherlands is not that big. What I would expect from Finland is that the people have a very good command of English, that I would not at all be able to understand the Finnish language, that the people have blond hair, that everything is very well organized, that it is hard to truly get into contact with the locals and most of all that it would be expensive.

So let’s see if my expectations came true. 

Exploring Singapore

Last weekend was literally the first weekend I had some spare time to explore Singapore. Saturday I went to Orchard road with a friend, this road is filled with shops of every brand you can imagine. There are shopping malls everywhere, with shops from very expensive (Dior, Gucci, Prada) to shops which are less expensive (Zara, Bershka, Mango), still the less expensive stores are more expensive then in the Netherlands. Probably this will have something to do with the fact that these shops are all European and everything is imported. Another thing you immediately notice is the amount of cloths for the winter they sell, which makes me wondering why??? Because till now, I have wore a long trousers only once and all my tops with long sleeves, I brought them for nothing! After a day of seeing a huge part of Orchard road, we were in for some sushi. In a mall close to a mrt station I knew a place where we can have sushi from an assembly line. Most of you will know this concept from some places in the Netherlands, but the main difference here is that it is really cheap. Everything is freshly prepared and you can have green tea for free. In the end we had to pay 8 dollars (which is around 5 euro's) and we had lots of amazing sushi!

Welcome to Norway!

Exactly three weeks ago I left the Netherlands and went off to Bergen (Norway) to stay there for a semester. I packed my bags, said goodbye to my family and took the plane to Bergen. Packing my bags was not as easy as I thought, since I had to bring clothes, shoes and other stuff to be prepared for all different types of weather. The weather for the most places in Norway is quite unpredictable and can change rapidly. In order to be sure to have enough space I decided finally to take two suitcases with me. When I had some space left I filled it with some food. You have to realize yourself that in Norway everything is very expensive, especially meat, fresh vegetables and alcohol.

Anyway, next to this the country offers only benefits! Let me start with the magnificent surroundings, landscapes and nature of Norway, and especially Bergen. It is never far to go for a trip in the mountains for hiking or to enjoy the amazing scenery of the environment. Bergen is known for the seven mountains around them and together with other international students we regularly climb one of those. When you are on the top you have amazing views over the whole city.

The first week

My first week in Seoul is almost over, so it’s a perfect time to talk about my daily life here and the living conditions! Let me start off by saying this: the Korean people are great! Although my communication hasn’t reached any further than the English-speaking people at the University (the average Korean doesn’t speak a word of English), they are all very open, friendly and eager to help in case there are any issues. I have not run into a single person who could be described as mean or even unkind, this includes the random people on the street. I was a bit worried beforehand that I would stick out like a sore thumb in daily life and while I guess I still do, I do not feel like I am seen as an outcast or that I get weird looks. Of course, I guess that’s something you can also expect from such a international city. It’s starting to feel more like home with each passing day.