Saturday, August 30, 2008

Cantus

A couple nights ago, I headed to a Cantus, a traditional Dutch beer and singing party that was organized by the student exchange group here. They led us to a club quite a distance away from the residence.


Outside, waiting for them to let us in

Inside, there were long tables set up with benches up and down both sides for us to sit on.

More waiting for the start inside the club

Basically, a Cantus has two "players." There is the Senior who is in charge of running the event and the Corona, the remaining people participating. The Corona cannot drink unless the Senior says you can. If you don't follow the command, you get punished. Punishments were being forced to drink beer mixed with unappetizing ingredients (although by AIESEC standards, they were pretty dull...).

Song lyrics and instruction booklet

The sequence of the Cantus starts with singing a song. They provided us with booklets of lyrics to some well known songs (I Will Survive, Summer of 69, the FRIENDS theme song, Greese medley, and It's Raining Men among others). After the song, there is a toast before the Senior tells us how much to drink. There are three commands:
  • Ad libitum - drink however much you want
  • Ad fundum - drink until your glass is empty
  • Ad statis (??) - drink until the Senior says "statis" meaning stop (I forgot the exact spelling)
If you drink at any other time (like during the song) you'll get punished.

Pouring out the beer - from a watering can

It was definitely an interesting night. Lots of beer was consumed and people got rowdier and rowdier as the night went on. By the end of the evening, the whole room was soaked in beer. People had spilled beer pouring it causing everything to get wet. Right before they kicked us out, people were starting to throw beer around (apparently at normal Cantus' this happens at the beginning?!). Half of my body got soaked in beer, but I ran for cover and was able to escape most of it. Some people I met were completely soaked head to toe.

Afterwards, I headed to the Centrum for some frites. I had seen tons of people walking around with them smothered in mayo so I decided to try that. It was pretty good although the mayo was a bit much. Its a lot tangier than what we have at home.

Frites avec mayo (a la gauche) et ketchup (droit)

It was definitely an interesting night. I met tons of people and found out a bit about Dutch (student) culture. I can't wait to take this tradition home with me!

Adventures in the Grocery Store

Despite everyone (more or less) being able to speak English, everything is still written in Dutch. After I had gotten settled, I decided it was time to search for a grocery store. I had been told it was close by, but got lost searching for it. Finally I was able to find it after many different people giving me directions. Everything here is really different. The packaging, flavourings, brand names... It was so disorienting walking in to see groceries that are the same as home and yet very different. For example, at home, heading down the chip aisle you see Sour Cream and Onion, BBQ, Ketchup and Salt and Vinegar flavours (among others). Here, there is nothing like that. Instead they have Paprika (see pic below), Bolognese (I thought this was a type of pasta?!), and Cheese and Onion. There are a bunch of other flavours, but each as unique and different as those.


I bought a bag of Bolognese flavour chips and they don't really have much taste. At one of the events I went to I tried the Praprika flavoured ones which weren't bad. For the most part, chips here are less salty and have less intense flavouring compared to those at home.

Getting fruit and veggies is an interesting process too. They have these machines (see pic) where you can weigh the produce, select what it is and then it will give you a sticker to put on your bag. Cashiers don't have to memorize code after code like at home.

Produce sticker machine

The end result =)

Another thing drastically different is the availability of alcohol in the grocery store. They have a couple aisles filled with wine, beer and other alcohols. Definitely weird coming from Canada...


One thing I heard a lot about was the cheese here. There are soo many varieties. Some of them look scary (and smell funny). Can't wait to try the different types. Mmmm cheeeeeeese!

Friday, August 29, 2008

Banking Information

In the orientation package, the faculty recommends that we open an account with the Postbank (which I think is a part of ING). I went down to the main branch to open my account. The line was super long - I guess there are tons of students wanting to open an account. Its a pretty good account too - virtually no fees attached.

To open the account, you need to bring your passport and certificate of enrollment from UM. It is a relatively easy process. Only you need to wait about 10 days before the account is actually open. They'll send you a letter with a place to go to pick up your debit card.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Exploring Maastricht

Yesterday I decided to venture out on my on and start exploring the town. I wanted to go to a grocery store, but somehow I made a wrong turn and ended up in the main square. The main part of Maastricht is pedestrian only and has tons of stores, bars and cafes.

Walking through the streets - everything is brick!

There are tons of shops here and I can't wait to go exploring in them! Most of the brands I've never heard of, but there are a few ones that I recognize. I saw a Body Shop, a couple of Claire's, KFC, Espirit, Zara (I only saw the bag, but a number of people had them so I'm guess there is one around somewhere) and Mexx.

Pedestrian only central part of town.

H&M <3!!!>

A McDonald's too! In true European style - with its own patio seating area.

There are tons of cafes lining the streets. One thing I noticed that was really popular are fries. It seems everywhere you turn there are little shops selling fries in a newspaper cone. People were walking around the shops eating fries. Definitely will have to try some one day. Another thing I noticed that was being eaten a lot are waffles (or what look to be waffles) with some kind of syrup drizzled over it. It smelled soo good. Another thing I will have to try.

Cafe lined street

On my walk, I was trying to see if I could find any Asian influenced shops and restaurants here and to my surprise there were! I spotted the following restaurant en route to the main square. I don't think I will want to eat there though. Seems a little sketchy. It sames the same name as me though...

And on the main square, I found this tiny Chinese grocery store. It has a small variety of typical Chinese stuff - soy sauce, various types of instant noodles and herbs for making soups. They even had bok choy! (Although at a ridiculous price) Most things, except for the veggies were pretty reasonably priced, even when converted to CAD. Its about the same price as things in Victoria. At least I know if I'm really craving something Chinese I can probably find it or something really similar here:


After exploring the main square I decided to head for the university campus. I got horribly lost on the way, but thankfully, the city has put up maps at various intersections and I was able to direct myself to the right place.

Tongersestraat 53 - the building where all my classes are

I went to see the student services building too in hopes of getting a school mug, but they only sold sweaters and t-shirts. They don't have a SUB like in Canada. I wonder what they use as a meeting place then... The walk back to my dorm isn't too bad. It took about 10-15 mins. Once I get a bike, it will be a lot faster!

Thats another thing - there are bikes everywhere here. They zoom in and out of traffic with almost no concern for other cars and buses. There are special lanes created for them on the side of the road too. And if they want to cross the street at an intersection, they have a special crosswalk similar to what is provided for pedestrians. You press a button and soon the light will turn green for you to continue on your bike ride.

In place of intersections, there are a lot of roundabouts. It'll be interesting trying to navigate these on a bike. A little intimidating too...

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

ESN Pick Up

"Erasmus Student Network is an international student organization that looks after exchange students within the Erasmus study program. Therefore ESN Maastricht will introduce you to the Dutch and more specifically, the Maastricht student life"

They offer a free service to come pick you up from the train station. I'm SO glad I signed up for it. By the time I arrived in Maastricht I was so exhausted. The last thing I wanted to do was to figure out how to get to the guesthouse. The ride to the guesthouse looked so complicated with so many twists and turns. I was very thankful I signed up.

You can sign up to get picked up on their website. They sent me a confirmation so I knew that they would be there. After arriving in Maastricht, I wandered around the train station looking for them. I found them in the main area of the train station, in front of the ticket office.

The Grand Tour (of my Dorm)

Welcome to my dorm building (Mom - this is for you!). This is the side view and what I see from my window(ish). My room is located on the second floor on the left hand side of the building (if the picture was bigger you could see it).


Ooo, its my room. Lets go take a look!


The view from my desk towards the door. I haven't unpacked yet... And! I have a sink in my room! Kinda random but kinda cool too...


My desk with the only thing unpacked - my computer. Picture taken while talking to my parents (thus the random cable heading off the screen).


My bed. Its super soft and the pillow sucks. I might get a second one just so I have more support. Haven't decided yet.


Looking towards the door from the bed. Huge bookcase and comfy chair =)


Now down the hall to the washroom.


Toilet - interesting. Totally different from CAN.


The showers.



Downstairs is the laundry room... Will need to figure out how to use it soon...


Heading back upstairs to my hallway. Whats that blue door at the end of the hallway?


Its the common room!


Plus kitchen! We have 3 stove tops, 4 fridges and numerous pans. Each person has their own cubby complete with key. Kinda like a hostel environment almost. In the cubby we're provided with 2 plates, 2 cups and cutlery.


Pans in storage yet to be used...


And so ends the tour of my dorm building. There are 3 floors, with 4 wings. My wing has about 25 rooms so there are at least 300 people in this building. I think there are some double rooms too so there many be more. Definitely will be interesting getting to know my neighbours!

Traveling

So after 18 hours of traveling and close to 24 hours of not sleeping, I've FINALLY arrived in Maastricht! I was super exhausted yesterday and tried with all my might to not sleep too early. Eventually, I gave in and fell asleep around 8PM only to wake up again at 1AM. Not cool...

Anyways, here are the details on my super long journey here. My flight was scheduled for 12:20 from YVR. Once we were all on the plane, the captain announced to us that there was some mechanical problems and that we need to get it checked out. By checking it out, the plane was delayed for an hour. Just great. I had a connection time of an hour in Detroit. Pretty much meant that I would not be able to make my connection.

Sunset over Mid USA

The flight was pretty quiet. I was too worried about what I was going to do once I arrived in Detroit that I couldn't rest. Nothing too exciting happened, until landing came. The whole flight, the paneling above the seat behind me was slowly coming loose. The lady sitting under it mentioned it to a flight attendent and the put some tape on it. Apparently not enough because as we were landing, the panel came all the way loose and fell between the lady sitting next to me and me. Right where our chairs met. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but talk about sketchy plane ride!

Loose paneling behind me

In Detroit, there was another flight to Amsterdam, half an hour later than the one I was scheduled for. I think there were enough people trying to catch that plane that they held the flight a bit. It was pretty funny watching a crowd of people running from one side of the aiport to the other (why couldn't they have chosen a closer gate?!). Problem was that I didn't have a ticket for that flight. Thankfully, I was able to secure a seat (the next one after wasn't until the next day!) and off we went with no problems. The plane was newer (thank gawd) and was roomier. I somehow still got a window seat, which was pretty awesome. Only bad part was that the lady sitting directly behind me kept on periodically kicking my chair and making loud noises. I would be drifting off to sleep and then BAM kick in the back. Lets just say Adie was NOT a happy camper. Thankfully, he flight arrived early, almost earlier than the one I was originally scheduled for. No complaints from me.

Once I got off the plane and through customs (literally two questions: why are you in NL and how long are you staying?) I was able to pick up my bags. I was half wishing that they didn't make the connection (so I wouldn't have to carry them on the train), but there they were going around the trolley.

I was able to haul my stuff to the train station and I bought my ticket to Maastricht (29,10 Euros).

My massive pile of luggage

I had problems trying to figure out which train to take. The guy at the ticket counter was not very helpful. I had asked what train to take and he only told me the time. I had asked again phrased differently and he only told me the time. Maybe he didn't understand what I meant. Once I got on the platform (thankfully I picked the right one), I asked someone just to make sure. Soon enough my train came and a hauled my bags onto the train.

I knew I had to change trains, but I didn't know how long before I need to change. I couldn't sleep for fear of missing my stop. Soon enough (30 mins) we arrived at Utrecht Centraal where I got off to wait for the train to take me to Maastricht.

Waiting for the train to Maastricht

Trains here are pretty cool. Reminds me a bit like the skytrain, just only longer distances and much faster. Plus there are bathrooms aboard. This train was larger than the previous one I took. It had two levels. I think it was an express train as it skipped a bunch of stations. I knew that this leg had to be longer (I had been told the whole trip takes about 2.5 hours). I allowed my droopy eyes to close and I think I finally got some sleep.

The second train

And now I'm all settled. I've unpacked and explored (and gotten lost) the town a bit. More about that later!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Packed!

So my bags are packed. I've gotten all my insurance, documentation and flight information together. Everything is ready. Tomorrow is the big day.

I'm half scared, half excited. The fact that I'm leaving, still hasn't sunk in yet. Seems like I'm just packing to go back to Victoria...

I hope I'll be able to sleep tonight and not stay up worrying like crazy (which I'm likely to do...) Next time you hear from me I'll be in MAASTRICHT =)

Monday, August 18, 2008

Residence Permit Issues Continue

So the registration period on my records in Maastricht have been changed.

Dear Adelina

I checked the on-line form and printed PDF, and it was indicated that she would be here for two semesters…. So that is how she got registered for a whole year, not one semester. Seeing as this was not the intention we will have the registration changed. Note that the semester runs officially from 1 September to 23 January 2009, and these will be the dates on the enrolment certificate and for the residence permit.

But apparently their official semester is until January 23 mean I still need to send more money (374 Euros).

Dear Adelina,

We have contacted your faculty and they confirm that you are registered from 1-9-2008 until 23-1-2009. This means, however, that you have to prove €3875 (5 x €775). Since you have only transferred €3501, you still need to transfer an amount of €374 to complete your application.

GAHHH! When will this END?! I had originally sent them an email asking exactly how many Euros I needed to send and they had said 3100 Euros.

Dear Adelina,

You will have to deposit 3100 Euro if you are staying form September till December (four months). There is no specific deadline for transferring the deposit but we do advise you to do this as soon as possible.

Now they're saying another number! It's ridiculous! I'll need to spend extra money to send more money for a time period that I'm not even going to be in the country for! This exchange is giving me a serious headache. I'm so fed up.

Friday, August 15, 2008

At My Wits End with the Visa Office!

I am SO frustrated by the Visa Office in Maastricht (and the university itself too...). I finally was able to send my money over there a couple days ago. This morning, I woke up to this email.

Dear Adie,

We hereby confirm that we have received the correct and complete documents and payments for the residence permit application. Please refer to the enclosure for information on the further residence permit process and additional procedures.

Please inform us as soon as possible when you will arrive in the Netherlands so we can then schedule you for a meeting to complete the residence permit application.

Kind regards

Everything is good. They got the money, they knew that I sent it. That was a good sign. Then, seven minutes later, this comes in:

Dear Adie,

Unfortunately we have just sent you the wrong email. While looking at your registration period we discovered that you will be registered as a student from 1-9-2008 until 10-7-2009. This is over 10 months, so you will have to prove that you have at least 7982.50 Euro.

You have only transferred 3501 Euro. Can you please transfer the rest of the amount to our account?

Kind regards
WHAT?!?!?! No way! So I emailed the exchange coordinator at UVic and she is going to look into it. Hopefully things will work out. I'm only going to be there from Sept to Dec, 4 months, so 3100 Euros. I had talked to others and that was what they were sending or have already sent. I am SO frustrated with them!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Luggage Information

I will be flying with Northwest Airlines. Their current luggage policies are as follows.

Checked luggage
Coach Class: Each ticketed passenger is allowed two (2) pieces of checked luggage.
Each piece: 50 pounds (23 kg) with linear dimensions not to exceed 62 inches (158 cm).
Checked luggage within the free 2 bag allowance that weigh more than 50 pounds and up to 70 pounds will be assessed a $50.00 heavy bag fee.
Carry on luggage

Northwest allows you to carry one piece of luggage on board the aircraft plus a purse or briefcase or laptop computer or small backpack. The carry-on luggage must be of a size and shape to allow for storage in overhead compartments or underneath the seat in front of you.

Dimensions:

  • Cannot exceed 45 linear inches (9 inches by 14 inches by 22 inches
Personal Items

In addition to your carry-on bag, customers may carry on a purse or briefcase or laptop computer or small backpack. Dimensions of the additional item must not exceed 15"x11"x6". At least one carry-on item should go beneath the seat in front of you.

Additional Items that may be brought on board and do not count towards your allowance:

  • Overcoat or wrap
  • Camera and/or pair of binoculars
  • Umbrella
  • Two-wheeled baggage cart
  • Child Car Seats*
  • Reasonable amount of reading material for the flight
  • Fully collapsible umbrella-style stroller*
  • Cane
  • Medical assistive devices
  • Infant diaper bags
  • Collapsible wheelchair
  • Pair of braces or other prosthetic device (provided you are dependent upon the device)












Monday, August 11, 2008

The Countdown Begins

Two weeks from today, I'm flying out. I'm starting to get anxious and super worried. I hope I prepped everything... My parents are getting increasingly worried too. I went home this weekend and both of them were hovering trying to get me to do this and do that, reminding me of this and that...

I just scanned in all my ID and sent it to my parents so they have a copy. Need to print a copy for myself later. Going to start complying embassy addresses and other details of countries that I may be visiting...

Friday, August 8, 2008

Banks

Just some research on local banks where I can open an account

  • Listing of all banks in the Netherlands available via Wikipedia
  • SNS Bank - The university uses this bank. The site is in Dutch.

Cell Phone Problems

I currently have a SE w810i from Rogers and I plan on taking it with me to Maastricht. Only I need to figure out how to unlock it so I can put another carrier's SIM card in. I don't want to pay Roger's stupid roaming fees! Talk about expensive!!!

I've been looking about what kind of phone companies are available in the Netherlands. I've found a listing online at Wikipedia. I took a look at Vodafone's rates. I guess they're not bad for prepaid, but I really have a limited understanding of all this. I also went over to T-Mobile's site as well, but they don't have an English version of the site (or maybe I'm just retarded and cannot find it!).

Only a couple weeks left! There are tons of things I still need to figure out and think about! Scary!! So much to do and plan!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Annoyed at the Visa Office

The visa office that issues the residence permit is starting to get rather annoying. I still haven't sent the funds for the permit, so I can understand that. They sent a reminder a couple days ago about sending the funds and I replied stating that I was having some difficulties collecting the money together as my parents are out of town and very difficult to reach. They replied saying that they understand that collecting the large sum can be difficult and suggested that I can submit the consent form and scanned passport first. So I followed their instructions and did that. They replied the next day saying that I need to physically fill in the form (I did it electronically first). At this point I was getting annoyed at all their rules (and their English isn't all that great and is difficult to understand). I did what they wanted and sent it back, only to have them reply asking where my money is.

UGH! I'm getting frustrated with them. I read the email first thing this morning and definitely was not a good start to the day. I replied with a rather curt response detailing the past couple days of emails, so hopefully they'll leave me alone and I can send them the stupid money on Monday.